Related Experiment Videos
[Control of labor onset in the human]
1Abt. Geburtshilfe und Gynäkologie, Univ. Frauenklinik Wien.
While the mechanism of the initiation of labor in humans has not been clarified satisfactorily, it is of major clinical interest, particularly with a view to understanding and avoiding preterm labor. Progesterone, whose role can now be determined in greater detail by the use of newly developed progesterone antagonists, and estrogens both play a role. Recently, attention has focused not only on contraction-stimulating substances such as oxytocin and prostaglandins, but also on cytokines, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of preterm labor related to intrauterine infection. A model describing the various steps leading to regular uterine contractions is discussed and the resulting implications on stimulation and inhibition by pharmacological substances are outlined.
While the mechanism of the initiation of labor in humans has not been clarified satisfactorily, it is of major clinical interest, particularly with a view to understanding and avoiding preterm labor. Progesterone, whose role can now be determined in greater detail by the use of newly developed progesterone antagonists, and estrogens both play a role. Recently, attention has focused not only on contraction-stimulating substances such as oxytocin and prostaglandins, but also on cytokines, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of preterm labor related to intrauterine infection. A model describing the various steps leading to regular uterine contractions is discussed and the resulting implications on stimulation and inhibition by pharmacological substances are outlined.