SARS-CoV-2 variant-related abnormalities detected by prenatal MRI: a prospective case-control study.

Background: There are known complications for fetuses after infection with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. However, previous studies of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy have largely been limited to histopathologic studies of placentas and prenatal studies on the effects of different SARS-CoV-2 variants are scarce to date. To examine the effects of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the placenta and fetus, we investigated fetal and extra-fetal structures using prenatal MRI.

Association of congenital cardiac defects and the C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism.

Objective: MTHFR C677T polymorphism and hyperhomocysteinemia have been associated with congenital malformations of the heart and neural tube defects. A common missense mutation in the MTHFR gene (C to T substitution at position 677) produces a variant with reduced enzymatic action. The aim of this retrospective case control study was to investigate whether the occurrence of the MTHFR polymorphism is increased in mothers and fathers of children with a congenital heart disease (CHD) in our population.