Setting up a preterm prevention clinic: a practical guide

In gynaecology, specialist menopause, urogynae, colposcopy, infertility, pelvic pain and cancer, rapid access clinics exist at many teaching and busy district general hospitals in the UK. Similarly, in obstetrics many busy maternity units have fetal medicine clinics, dedicated twins clinics and maternal medicine clinics, incorporating various general medical conditions and conditions peculiarly appropriate to pregnancy such as haematological disorders, diabetes and epilepsy. In contrast, in very few hospitals is there a dedicated clinic for women at increased risk of preterm birth, yet this is the major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the developed world. Such a situation may be due to the confusion created by the fact that preterm birth is a heterogeneous condition with multiple aetiologies and hence multiple therapeutic interventions. It is possible to identify a group of women at particularly high risk of preterm birth in whom screening and interventional techniques have the potential to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with spontaneous preterm labour and preterm birth.     

红花黄素对高血压大鼠的降压作用及对肾素-血管紧张素的影响

Safflower yellow (SY) is a mixture of chalconoid compounds extracted from Carthamus tinctorius L. Ig SY 1～2 g·kg^-1·d^-1lowered the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensiverats (SHR), for about 1.86～3.86 kPa. Five weeks after administration of SY, the plasma renin ac-tivity and angiotensin Ⅱ level diminished in the SHR experimental groups. These suggest that the de-crease of blood pressure is mediated by the renin-angiotensin system.