Fetal aortic valvuloplasty as the first step in a complex therapeutic strategy.

Background: Fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FAV) is proposed to prevent hypoplastic left heart syndrome due to fetal critical aortic stenosis.

Objective: to report our experience on FAV as the first step in a complex therapeutic strategy.

Method: Series of patients with FAV over an 18-year period.

Monochorionic twin pregnancy from the perspective of the theory of complexity.

In practice, it is very common to associate monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancies with complex or complicated pregnancies, using both terms interchangeably. However, these are not synonyms; dynamism is the protagonist in complex systems, but not in complicated ones. In order to understand a MC pregnancy as a complex system, it is necessary to first look into its main characteristics.

Performance of the cervical shortening for prediction of spontaneous preterm birth in uncomplicated twins.

Objective: There is a lack of consensus about the management of twins with significant cervical length (CL) shortening, especially if CL is above 25 mm. Therefore, it is important to define "abnormal" CL change over time, and to compare the performance of different strategies. The aim of this study was twofold, to describe the performance of the cervical shortening and that of an integrated strategy that includes both the cervical shortening and a fixed CL cutoff <25 mm in any measurement as predictor of spontaneous PTB (sPTB) < 34 weeks in uncomplicated twin pregnancies.

Update on prenatal diagnosis and fetal surgery for myelomeningocele.

A seminal study titled Management of Myelomeningocele Study, from 2011, demonstrated that prenatal myelomeningocele defect repaired before 26 weeks of gestation improved neurological outcomes; based on this study, fetal surgery was introduced as a standard of care alternative. Thus, prenatal myelomeningocele diagnosis within the therapeutic window became a mandatory goal; therefore, research efforts on screening strategies were intensified, especially in the first trimester. In addition, different fetal surgery techniques were developed to improve neurological outcomes and reduce maternal risks.

Cervical-length as a screening for spontaneous preterm birth in uncomplicated twins: one vs. serial measurements.

Objective: While cervical length (CL) provides an effective screening tool for spontaneous preterm birth in singletons, the performance in twins is still controversial. Our aim was twofold. First, to compare the performance of a single CL measurement at mid-gestation (∼20 weeks) versus serial measurements as a predictor of spontaneous preterm birth < 34 weeks in uncomplicated twin pregnancies.

Facilitating Granule Cell Survival and Maturation in Dentate Gyrus With Baicalin for Antidepressant Therapeutics.

Baicalin isolated from possesses antidepressant abilities through its relation to hippocampal neurogenesis. Current research has found that baicalin can promote the proliferation of hippocampal granule cells, however, the detailed mechanism of baicalin on the survival and maturation of hippocampal granule cells has yet to be sufficiently explored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether baicalin could facilitate the survival and maturation of hippocampal granule cells, and to explore its potential mechanism.

Congenital heart disease, prenatal diagnosis and management.

Among congenital malformations, heart defects are the most common type of anomaly, and these are associated with a high perinatal, longterm morbidity and mortality. The objective of this update was to review the rate of prenatal detection, screening characteristics throughout the pregnancy, in both the first and second trimesters, indications for advanced echocardiography, and to establish a management algorithm in case of prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart disease. Potential invasive and non-invasive tests and obstetric follow-up will be discussed here.

Sonographic detection of open spina bifida in the first trimester: review of the literature.

In the beginnings, sonographic diagnosis of open spina bifida (OSB) relied on the meticulous scanning of the fetal vertebrae for abnormalities but many defects were missed. After the mid-1980s, however, with the description of the intracranial findings in the second trimester (the "lemon sign" and the "banana sign"), the prenatal diagnosis of OSB was enhanced. In the last 2 decades, there has been widespread uptake of routine ultrasound examination in the first trimester of pregnancy with the purpose of the measurement of fetal crown-rump length to determine gestational age, to screen for trisomy 21 and other aneuploidies, mainly with the nuchal translucency, and for diagnosis of many major abnormalities.

Discordance of cord insertions as a predictor of discordant fetal growth in monochorionic twins.

Introduction: The type of cord insertion within monochorionic twin pairs could be different. The purpose of study is to evaluate the association of different combinations of placental umbilical cord insertions with birth weight discordance in a large cohort of monochorionic twins.

Methods: All consecutive monochorionic placentas from either uncomplicated twin pregnancies or with fetal weight discordance examined and injected with color dye at our centers were included in this study (n = 374).

Stomach in Contact with the Bladder: A Sonographic Sign of Left Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

The evaluation of the characteristics of the fetal stomach should be part of every routine prenatal ultrasound after 11 weeks. A position that has not been previously described in the literature is the stomach in contact with the bladder. We describe 6 cases with the ultrasonographic finding of the stomach in contact with the bladder, all of them in fetuses with left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

[Advances in fetal therapy].

Fetal therapy may be needed in certain clinical settings with the primary indication to improve perinatal or long-term outcomes for the fetus or the newborn. It can be classified in pharmacotherapy or non-invasive, and invasive therapy. The first one involves the administration of drugs to the mother that cross the placenta and get to the fetus, a non-invasive approach.

Foetal aortic valvuloplasty: experience of five cases.

Objectives: Foetal aortic valvuloplasty has been proposed as a strategy to improve left heart growth and function in foetuses with severe aortic stenosis at risk of progression to hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We report our experience with this intervention.

Methods And Results: Between 2005 and 2010, five foetuses with aortic stenosis and at risk of progression to hypoplastic left heart syndrome underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous foetal aortic valvuloplasty.

Monoamniotic twin pregnancy discordant for lethal open cranial defect: management dilemmas.

Objective: To report the sonographic findings, prenatal courses, and management options in four cases of monoamniotic twin pregnancy complicated by a discordant, lethal open cranial vault defect.

Methods: Cases were collected from two Latin American fetal medicine referral centers after the sonographic detection of a monoamniotic twin pregnancy in which one fetus was structurally normal and the other had a lethal open cranial vault defect. Three abnormal fetuses had acrania-anencephaly sequence and one had a large occipital encephalocele.

Prenatal diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias: contribution of three-dimensional computed tomography.

Objective: To describe the contribution of 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) in the prenatal diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias (SD) in a cohort of patients with inconclusive diagnosis by ultrasound (US).

Methods: Between May 2007 and February 2010, six pregnant women with suspected fetal SD on US examination but with no specific diagnosis were studied with 3D-CT. The images were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team who proposed a likely diagnosis.

Congenital megalourethra: prenatal diagnosis and postnatal/autopsy findings in 10 cases.

Objective: Congenital megalourethra is a rare urogenital malformation characterized by dilation and elongation of the penile urethra associated with absence or hypoplasia of the corpora spongiosa and cavernosa. Postnatal complications include voiding and erectile dysfunction as well as renal insufficiency and pulmonary hypoplasia. To date, only a few prenatally diagnosed cases have been reported.

[Ex utero intrapartum treatment - Management of neonatal congenital high airway obstruction syndrome: Case report].

Unlabelled: In recent years, the ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT), that involves extrauterine fetal intubation prior to delivery, has become relevant for the reduction in morbidity and mortality of neonates affected by congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (CHAOS).

Clinical Case: We report the case of the mother of an unborn child at pregnancy week 22, who was diagnosed a congenital pulmonary malformation that precluded intrapartum fetal circulatory deficit and resulted in the conduction of an EXIT technique, with the aim of ensuring fetal blood gas exchange at the time of delivery.

Conclusions: A timely practice of the EXIT technique resulted, by monitoring both maternal and fetal factors that might affect fetoplacental circulation, in the birth of a child whose immediate and long-term outcomes were successful allowing the child live a normal life.

Prenatal sonographic detection of birth defects in 18 hospitals from South America.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of prenatal sonographic diagnosis of birth defects and the gestational age at detection according to the health insurance schemes of mothers in 450 malformed neonates from 18 South American hospitals on the basis of prenatal sonographic records.

Methods: Between July 2000 and December 2003, 18 hospitals included in the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (13 from Argentina [8 public and 5 nonpublic], 3 from Brazil [2 public and 1 nonpublic], 1 from Chile [nonpublic], and 1 from Venezuela [public]) voluntarily participated in this prospective observational study, recording fetuses with sonographically detected malformations. Prenatal sonographic descriptions of anomalies were compared with those recorded at birth.