Varicella zoster virus antibody titers after intravenous zoster immune globulin in neonates, and the safety of this preparation.

Aims: 1) To assess the safety of intravenous varicella zoster virus hyperimmune globulin G (IV-VZVIG) in neonates; 2) measure varicella zoster virus-specific IgG antibody (VZVIG) changes in newborn IV-VZVIG recipients.

Methods: Eighteen neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) neonates with varicella exposure were given 1 ml/kg (43 International Units (IU)/kg) Varitect IV-VZVIG. Serum VZVIG titers were assayed in neonatal recipients 0, 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 d after IV-VZVIG.

Isolated large third-trimester intracranial cyst on fetal ultrasound: fact or fiction?

Objective: To distinguish the fact from artifact of an isolated, large, intracranial cyst on prenatal sonography (PSG).

Background: The use of PSG is rapidly increasing with most obstetric ultrasounds occurring in general community settings like small hospitals and clinics with personnel who have variable training, experience, and interest levels. In contrast, most PSG articles and books are produced in large subspecialty centers with concentrated referral bases plus both highly-trained and experienced personnel.

Migrating atelectasis in Werdnig-Hoffmann disease: pulmonary manifestations in two cases of spinal muscular atrophy type 1.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) or Werdnig-Hoffmann disease is the second most common neuromuscular disease, with 25% of cases presenting in infancy. Deletions in the survival motor neuron gene are believed responsible for autosomal-recessive SMA. SMA affects about 1 in 10,000 births.

Is coronary artery disease initiated perinatally?

Fetal origins of coronary disease were proposed recently on the basis of evidence that intrauterine growth retardation predisposed to precocious coronary disease. Recent ultrastructural studies suggest a pathogenesis supporting perinatal origins of coronary atherosclerosis. Half of infants show coronary intimal lesions with foam cells.