Changes in Spina Bifida Lesion Level after Folic Acid Fortification in the US.

Objective: To assess whether the severity of cases of spina bifida changed after the institution of mandatory folic acid fortification in the US.

Study Design: Six active population-based birth defects programs provided data on cases of spina bifida for 1992-1996 (prefortification period) and 1999-2016 (postfortification period). The programs contributed varying years of data.

Neural Tube Defects in Pregnancies Among Women With Diagnosed HIV Infection - 15 Jurisdictions, 2013-2017.

In May 2018, a study of birth defects in infants born to women with diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Botswana reported an eightfold increased risk for neural tube defects (NTDs) among births with periconceptional exposure to antiretroviral therapy (ART) that included the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir (DTG) compared with other ART regimens (1). The World Health Organization* (WHO) and the U.S.

Gastroschisis Trends and Ecologic Link to Opioid Prescription Rates - United States, 2006-2015.

Prevalence of gastroschisis, a serious birth defect of the abdominal wall resulting in some of the abdominal contents extending outside the body at birth, has been increasing worldwide (1,2). Gastroschisis requires surgical repair after birth and is associated with digestive and feeding complications during infancy, which can affect development. Recent data from 14 U.

Computational and synthetic studies towards improving rescinnamine as an inducer of MSH2-dependent apoptosis in cancer treatment.

We, and others, have previously shown that mismatch repair proteins, in addition to their repair function, contribute to cell death initiation. In response to some drugs, this cell death activity is independent of the repair function of the proteins. Rescinnamine, a derivative of the indole alkaloid reserpine, a drug used to treat hypertension several decades ago, was shown to target the cell death-initiating activity of mismatch repair proteins.