FADIL KARA, FAZLI DEMİRTÜRK
Gynecology Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine - 2003;9(2):148-151
Approximately 15% of all recognized pregnancies miscarry during the first trimester. In women both with and without a history of recurrent miscarriage ~60% of placental biopsies have an abnormal karyotype; in the remaining 40% of recurrent miscarriage cases investigations have failed to reveal a putative cause. For pregnancy to be successful, the embryo must be able to implant into the endometrium, from which the embryo derives nutrition and support for continuing growth. The process of implantation is now understood to require a series of finely orchestrated events to take place between the embryo and the endometrium. Apoptosis, derived from the Greek word for a natural process of leaves falling from trees or petals from flowers, is a distinct form of programmed cell death. The possible regulatory role for apoptosis during implantation and early pregnancy suggests that the disturbed regulation of apoptosis maybe associated directly or indirectly with pregnancy failure.
