Impact of frequent premature ventricular contractions on pregnancy outcomes.

Objectives: To determine cardiac and fetal/neonatal event rates among pregnant women with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) and compare with control groups.

Methods: Prospective case-control cohort study: 53 consecutive pregnancies in 49 women referred to the St. Paul's Hospital between 2010 and 2016 with PVC burden >1% in women without underlying cardiac disease.

Dynamic changes in IKBKAP mRNA levels during crisis of familial dysautonomia patients.

Unlabelled: Familial dysautonomia is a neurodegenerative, genetic disorder caused by an autosomal recessive mutation in the IKBKAP gene, which encodes the IkB kinase complex-associated protein. Familial dysautonomia patients have recurrent crises characterized by bouts of nausea, vomiting, hypertension, tachycardia, sweating, blotching and personality changes. The dysautonomia crisis is usually triggered by stressful physiological or emotional events, however the pathophysiology of the crisis is not yet fully clear and little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in onset and consequences of the crisis.