Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine

Research

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The Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine actively pursues research to advance the field of medicine. Listed below are some of the many studies and databases the are currently on-going at Keck Medicine of USC.

Studies in Obstetrics

  • Normal reference ranges for thyroid function tests in pregnancy
  • A pilot study of novel candidate genes for preeclampsia
  • A pilot study of the role of endothelin in preeclampsia/eclampsia in women with thyroid disease
  • The molecular endocrinology of parturition
  • The influence of atmospheric particulate matter on placental tissue and the inflammatory response
  • Collection of maternal and umbilical cord blood for the development of assays for diagnostic disease monitoring
  • A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study comparing Clindamycin Phosphate 2%/Butoconazole Nitrate 2% combination vaginal cream With Clindesse™, Gynazole-1®, and placebo
  • Documentation of prenatal intraocular retinoblastoma and normal ocular development with high-resolution 3-D ultrasound and fetal MR imaging
  • Burden of disease: perinatal infection

Protocols in HIV Disease in Pregnancy

Local projects at our institution

  • Natural history of HIV in women during pregnancy
  • Toxicity/tolerability of antiretroviral regimens in pregnancy
  • GDM with ARV regimens in pregnancy
  • Antepartum testing/oligohydramnios in women on ART
  • Breast milk immunology and virology study
  • Evaluation of implementing rapid HIV testing on the OB service at Women’s & Children’s Hospital

Pediatric and Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group and other national research projects

  • Women’s Interagency HIV Study (an NIAID/DAIDS-sponsored natural history study)
  • AACTG 5150: Virologic and immunologic changes in HIV-infected women during the postpartum period
  • AACTG 5153: PK/PD of lopinavir and nelfinavir during pregnancy and postpartum
  • AACTG: 5084: Safety and tolerance of ARV medications in HIV-infected pregnant women
  • AACTG 5093: PK interactions between DMPA and selected protease inhibitor and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapies among HIV-infected women
  • AACTG 5188: PK interactions between ARV’s and the contraceptive patch
  • PACTG 1026S: PK properties of ARV therapy during pregnancy
  • PACTG 353: Phase 1 study of the safety and PK of nelfinavir in pregnancy and the neonate
  • PACTG NWCS 079: Placental pathology in women on protease inhibitors
  • PACTG 1025: Perinatal core protocol
  • PACTG 1046: Phase I/II trial of Stressgen sgn 00101, a fusion protein of the mycobacterium bovis heat shock protein 65 and the hpv 16 e7 protein for the treatment of low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions
  • PACTG 1039: Randomized lopinavir vs abacavir-based regimens during pregnancy
  • PACTG 394: Intrapartum single-dose tenofovir PK
  • PACTG 1022: Randomized nelfinavir vs nevirapine-based regimens during pregnancy and continuing postpartum

Registries and Databases

  • Database analysis of successive pregnancy data from women delivering at Los Angeles County Women’s and Children’s Hospital
  • USC Research Registry for Women’s & Children’s Health
  • HER Foundation database
  • Teratogenic registry