Off-Label Use of Anakinra in Inflammatory Conditions in Neonates and Infants Up to 3 Months of Age: A Case Series and a Review of the Literature.

Background: Anakinra is an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra). Since IL-1 has been shown to play a key role in the etiology of different autoinflammatory diseases, blocking its pathway has become an important therapeutic target, even in neonates.

Aims: We aimed to report our experience in using anakinra to treat specific neonatal inflammatory conditions.

Bacterial Meningoencephalitis in Newborns.

Bacterial meningoencephalitis in newborns is a severe and life-threatening pathology, which results from meningeal infection and the subsequent involvement of the brain parenchyma. The severity of the acute onset of symptoms and the risk of neurodevelopmental adverse sequelae in children strongly depend on the timing of the infection, the immunological protection transmitted by the mother to the fetus during pregnancy, and the neonate's inflammatory and immune system response after birth. Although the incidence of neonatal meningitis and meningoencephalitis and related mortality declined in the past twenty years with the improvement of prenatal care and with the introduction of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis against Streptococcus beta Hemolyticus group B (Streptococcus Agalactiae) in the 1990s, bacterial meningitis remains the most common form of cerebrospinal fluid infection in pediatric patients.

Role of Brain Elastography in the Neonatal Setting: State of the Art of Ultrasonographic Techniques and Future Perspectives.

Magnetic resonance imaging is currently used in the neonatal setting for assessing features of the neonatal brain. However, its utilization is constrained by logistic, technical, or clinical challenges. Brain elastography is a new research technique which enhances the diagnostic capability of traditional imaging, and can be paired with both ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Unusual cerebral intraventricular hemorrhage and cardiomyopathy related to congenital cytomegalovirus from non-primary maternal infection: a case report.

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection, resulting from non-primary maternal infection or reactivation during pregnancy, can cause serious fetal abnormalities, complications in the immediate neonatal period, and severe sequelae later in childhood. Maternal non-primary cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy is transmitted to the fetus in 0.5-2% of cases (1).