Objective To determine the origin of cord serum leptin and its relationship with neonatal anthropometry. Methods Sixty five women and their babies took part in this prospective cohort study. Blood was taken from the women just before delivery and from the umbilical cord of their babies at delivery. Serum leptin was measured by radio immunoassay. Neonatal anthropometric measurements were recorded within 48 hours after delivery. Linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between serum leptin concentrations and anthropometric measures and multiple regression analysis then applied to determine which variables remained independently associated with leptin. Results The leptin concentration ( ?s )in maternal serum was (19.93?7.21) ng/mL and in cord blood was (10.50?3.45) ng/mL. Cord leptin levels correlated with placental weight, neonatal birthweight, skinfold thickness and ponderal index but not with maternal leptin levels. The correlation with Placental weight and neonatal birthweight remained significant after multiple regression analysis. Conclusions Relatively big serum leptin concentration gradient between mother and umbilical vessels indicates that placenta might play an important role in leptin production. We hypothesize that leptin might play an important role during pregnancy and fetal development.

Objective To study the morbidity of Toxoplasma (TOX) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in in patient infants and their clinical character Methods The serum CMV IgG/IgM and TOX IgG/IgM ware measured by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) Results The positive rate of CMV IgG, CMV IgM, TOX IgG and TOX IgM were 86.7%, 5.2%,13.9% and 0.4% respectively in in patient infants. The main clinical manifestication of neonatal TOX and CMV infection were premature, small for gestational age, neonatal pneumonia, sepsis, encephalopathy, hepatitis syndrome Conclusion TOX and CMV infection were widely noticed in in patient infants, and their potential damage should be greatly considered in our clinical practice.