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  • Title: A central theory of preterm and term labor: putative role for corticotropin-releasing hormone.
    Author: Majzoub JA, McGregor JA, Lockwood CJ, Smith R, Taggart MS, Schulkin J.
    Journal: Am J Obstet Gynecol; 1999 Jan; 180(1 Pt 3):S232-41. PubMed ID: 9914624.
    Abstract:
    Near the end of human pregnancy the concentration of placental corticotropin-releasing hormone in maternal blood rises exponentially. The rate of elevation of corticotropin-releasing hormone and its duration through time have been linked to the time of onset of labor. Paradoxically, although glucocorticoids are known to inhibit corticotropin-releasing hormone production within the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cortisol actually increases corticotropin-releasing hormone levels in several areas outside the hypothalamus, including the placenta. Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone may be an important component of a system that controls the normal maturation of the fetus and signals the initiation of labor. Abnormal elevations in corticotropin-releasing hormone, which may be a hormonal response to stressors arising in either the mother, placenta, or fetus, may prove to participate in the premature onset of parturition.
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