Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Metabolomic Biomarkers For Hypertensive Disease Of Pregnancy, Akasham Rajagopaul

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hypertensive disease of pregnancy (HDP) is a serious cardiometabolic pregnancy complication. Early onset HDP (EO-HDP) is more severe but rare, whereas late onset HDP (LO-HDP) is milder but common. Current disease markers, including placental growth factor (PlGF), are reasonable predictors of EO-HDP but poor predictors of LO-HDP. We sought to assess the performance of metabolomic biomarkers in HDP through a scoping review and primary analysis of plasma from symptomatic patients. Review of 31 studies indicated better prediction of all HDP and EO-HDP than LO-HDP using metabolomic biomarkers. Due to substantial heterogeneity in reported metabolites, no set of reliable biomarkers have …

In Utero Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry For Fetal Tissue Development, Simran Sethi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fetal life is a significant period of human development because organ systems that sustain life outside the uterus begin to develop during this time. A necessary process that begins during fetal life is myelination, which is the process by which myelin, a lipid-rich substance, is wrapped around neurons in the brain to increase the speed of action potential transmission. Since myelination is critical for the normal function of the central nervous system, fetal myelin assessment is important for understanding neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an excellent tool for visualizing fetal anatomy …