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The possible role of sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase in preterm labour

P J Du Toit1, J J Theron, A S Grobler

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Medical Hypotheses
|September 1, 1996
PubMed

An unacceptably high incidence of preterm labour is seen in the black and coloured communities of South Africa. This hypothesis proposes that sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity plays an important role in preterm labour. The impaired activity of the sodium pump leads to increased cytosolic calcium levels, which may trigger contraction of myometrial smooth-muscle cells, resulting in preterm labour.

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