What proportion of the brain structural and functional abnormalities observed among children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is explained by their prenatal alcohol exposure and their other prenatal and postnatal risks?

Background: Individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) often present with a myriad of other prenatal (e.g. exposure to tobacco and other illicit drugs, poor prenatal care) and postnatal risk factors (e.

Long-term Risk of Neuropsychiatric Disease After Exposure to Infection In Utero.

Importance: The developmental origins of mental illness are incompletely understood. Although the development of autism and schizophrenia are linked to infections during fetal life, it is unknown whether more common psychiatric conditions such as depression might begin in utero.

Objective: To estimate the risk of psychopathologic conditions imparted from fetal exposure to any maternal infection while hospitalized during pregnancy.

The Aftermath of Zika: Need for Long-Term Monitoring of Exposed Children.

Pregnancy infections with Zika virus are associated with a spectrum of fetal brain injuries beyond microcephaly. Nonmicrocephalic children exposed to Zika virus in utero or early life should undergo neurodevelopmental testing to identify deficits and allow for early intervention. Additionally, long-term monitoring for higher order neurocognitive deficits should be implemented.

Twin study confirms virtually identical prenatal alcohol exposures can lead to markedly different fetal alcohol spectrum disorder outcomes-fetal genetics influences fetal vulnerability.

Background: Risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is not based solely on the timing and level of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The effects of teratogens can be modified by genetic differences in fetal susceptibility and resistance. This is best illustrated in twins.

Clinicopathological features among patients with advanced human epidermal growth factor-2-positive breast cancer with prolonged clinical benefit to first-line trastuzumab-based therapy: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The magnitude of benefit of trastuzumab for the treatment of advanced HER2-positive breast cancer varies widely. In this retrospective study, we investigated the clinicopathological features associated with prolonged first-line trastuzumab-based treatment duration.

Patients And Methods: A total of 164 patients diagnosed with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and treated with first-line trastuzumab-based therapy from 1999 to 2009 were identified.

Clinical outcomes and treatment practice patterns of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in the post-trastuzumab era.

Background: Trastuzumab is associated with improvements in overall survival (OS) among patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC); however disease course and patterns of care in individual patients are highly variable.

Methods: 113 HER2-positive patients diagnosed with MBC from 1999 to 2005 who received trastuzumab-based therapy were retrospectively identified to allow for a minimum of 5 years of follow-up time. Median OS and median duration of therapy were determined using Kaplan-Meier methodology and group comparisons were based on the log-rank test.

Targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 pathway in breast cancer.

The discovery of amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, was an important milestone in our understanding of the biology of breast cancers. This heralded the discovery of trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting HER2. Trastuzumab is the foundation of treatment of HER2-positive breast cancers, demonstrating dramatic responses in patients with metastatic disease.

The ethical use of mandatory research biopsies.

Increasingly, clinical trials incorporate translational research questions aimed at identifying biomarkers of response or resistance to agents under investigation. Biomarker assays can require tissue samples to be collected through a research biopsy before therapy, during treatment, or at the time of tumor progression. Such biopsy samples will generally not provide a direct benefit to the patient and, given the risks associated with any surgical procedure, ethical concerns have been raised when the participant's enrollment on a clinical trial depends on their consent to undergo a research biopsy.

Utility of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria in predicting the onset of septic shock in hospitalized patients with hematologic malignancies.

Background: The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria have not been validated in patients with hematologic malignancies (HM).

Objective: To determine whether daily assessment of SIRS criteria allows early identification of HM patients who will develop septic shock (SS).

Design: Observational, single-center,nested case-control study.

Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome in acute myeloid leukemia: two cases and a review of the literature.

Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a constellation of electrolyte abnormalities and acute renal failure, which occurs in the setting of rapid cell turnover prior to the administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy. While spontaneous TLS is well described in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma, it is thought to occur less commonly in other hematologic malignancies. We present two cases of spontaneous TLS in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) followed by a review of the literature in this field.