Possible association between maternal recurrent orofacial herpes in pregnancy and a lower rate of preterm birth.

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible association between orofacial herpes during pregnancy and pregnancy complications including preterm birth and low birth weight, since the results of previous studies are inconsistent. METHOD: The population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities was used; pregnancies in mothers with and without recurrent orofacial herpes were compared. RESULTS. Of 38,151 newborn infants, 572 (1.5%) had mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy, while 37 577 had mothers with no orofacial herpes. Pregnant women with recurrent orofacial herpes had a higher prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting, threatened preterm delivery, and placental disorders but a lower prevalence of preeclampsia. Mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy also had a somewhat longer (0.4 weeks) gestation (adjusted t = 2.7; p = 0.006) and an obviously lower proportion of preterm births (3.5% vs. 9.3%; adjusted POR with 95% CI = 0.42, 0.27-0.65). However, there was no significant difference in the mean birth weight and rate of low birth weight infants between the two study groups. CONCLUSION: Recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy is associated with a smaller proportion of preterm births.     

In-Hospital Patient Education Markedly Reduces Alcohol Consumption after Alcohol-Induced Acute Pancreatitis

Although excessive alcohol consumption is by far the most frequent cause of recurrent acute pancreatitis (AP) cases, specific therapy is still not well established to prevent recurrence. Generally, psychological therapy (e.g., brief intervention (BI)) is the cornerstone of cessation programs; however, it is not yet widely used in everyday practice. We conducted a post-hoc analysis of a prospectively collected database. Patients suffering from alcohol-induced AP between 2016 and 2021 received 30 min BI by a physician. Patient-reported alcohol consumption, serum gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) level, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of red blood cells were collected on admission and at the 1-month follow-up visit to monitor patients’ drinking habits. Ninety-nine patients with alcohol-induced AP were enrolled in the study (mean age: 50 ± 11, 89% male). A significant decrease was detected both in mean GGT value (294 ± 251 U/L vs. 103 ± 113 U/L, p < 0.001) and in MCV level (93.7 ± 5.3 U/L vs. 92.1 ± 5.1 U/L, p < 0.001) in patients with elevated on-admission GGT levels. Notably, 79% of the patients (78/99) reported alcohol abstinence at the 1-month control visit. Brief intervention is an effective tool to reduce alcohol consumption and to prevent recurrent AP. Longitudinal randomized clinical studies are needed to identify the adequate structure and frequency of BIs in alcohol-induced AP.     

Fetal injury prior to labor: does it happen?

Major advances have been made in the identification and prevention of perinatal factors that lead to long-term handicap or neurologic deficits. When the infant or child exhibits a major handicap, scrutiny of the pregnancy management often occurs in an attempt to define the causal factors. The medical goal of this inquiry is to prevent injuries and, when possible, to eliminate these factors. In the litigious sense, any deviation from optimal, ideal care or any unusual observations, such as unusual or atypical fetal heart rate patterns, are often causally linked to the adverse outcome. There are at least four categories of major fetal injury that probably occur prior to labor. An awareness of, and a diligent search for, details will no doubt clarify the legitimate origins of many so-called birth injuries. Hence the common tendency to fixate on minor deviations and/or deficiencies of labor and delivery management as causing catastrophic injuries will be successfully challenged.     

Regulation of differentiation, proliferation and drug-induced apoptosis in HT58 lymphoma cells

Recently, it has been suggested, that differentiated cells are more resistant to the apoptotic effect of DNA damaging agents possibly due to the decreased activity of “damage detecting/apoptosis triggering” mechanism. Previously, we have shown, that PMA pretreatment reduced etoposide-(ETO) but enhanced staurosporine- (STA) -induced apoptosis in HT58 cells. Data presented here show that the HT58 human, “mature” B-lymphoma cells exposed to PMA secrete more IgM into the supernatant indicating commitment of cells to perform differentiated function. The sensitivity of HT58 cells to ETO- or STA-induced apoptosis is influenced diversely with PMA pre- or posttreatment. Interestingly, the DNA damage (gamma radiation, bleomycin, ETO) or okadaic acic (30 nM) reduced the [PMA+STA] - induced apoptosis.     

Pathogenesis and genetics of neural tube defects

After congenital heart defects neural tube defects (NTDs) is the second most prevalent congenital malformation among birth defects. The average rate of isolated NTDs is 1.4-2.0 per 1000 live births worldwide. The etiology of isolated (nonsyndromic) NTDs is believed to be the result of a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Over 80 genes believed to be engaged in the neurulations have been identified during the investigation and research of the mouse models. Despite exhaustive research efforts, now spanning several decades, little is known about the actual genetic mechanisms governing the primary events involved in neural tube closure (NTC).     

Only Hyperuricemia with Crystalluria,but not Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia,Drives Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

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