Background & Aims: Peripartum prophylaxis (PP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is the standard of care to prevent mother-to-child transmission of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection in mothers who are highly viremic. We investigated the maternal and infant outcomes in a large Chinese cohort of TDF-treated CHB pregnant participants.
Methods: In this prospective study, treatment-naive mothers with CHB and highly viremic (HBV DNA ≥200,000 IU/ml) but without cirrhosis were treated with TDF at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy.
Fetal hyperthyroidism can occur secondary to maternal autoimmune hyperthyroidism. The thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) transferred from the mother to the fetus stimulates the fetal thyroid and causes fetal thyrotoxicosis. Fetuses with this condition are difficult to detect, especially after maternal Graves disease therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To review prenatal diagnosis and outcome of alpha thalassaemia major through universal antenatal screening.
Method: This was a retrospective study on ultrasound features, antenatal diagnosis, in-utero intervention and long term outcome of pregnancies at risk of Haemoglobin Bart's hydrops foetalis syndrome attending prenatal diagnosis from 2000 to 2019 at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Hong Kong.
Results: Among 390 foetuses from 373 at-risk pregnancies, 122 (31%) prenatal invasive procedures were performed and 65 affected foetuses were diagnosed antenatally.
Objective: Recessive genetic diseases impose physical and psychological impacts to both newborns and parents who may not be aware of being carriers. Expanded carrier screening (ECS) allows screening for multiple genetic conditions at the same time. Whether or not such non-targeted panethnic approach of genetic carrier screening should replace the conventional targeted approach remains controversial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMosaic variegated aneuploidy (MVA) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in , or . We describe the prenatal diagnosis, molecular characterization, and clinical management of a long-lived patient with -related MVA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chromosomal microarray (CMA) has been shown to be cost-effective over karyotyping in invasive prenatal diagnosis for pregnancies with fetal ultrasound anomalies. Yet, information regarding preceding and subsequent tests must be considered as a whole before the true cost-effectiveness can emerge. Currently in Hong Kong, karyotyping is offered free as the standard prenatal test while genome-wide array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH), a form of CMA, is self-financed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is difficult to prenatally identify 5p deletion (-) syndrome. Here, we report five cases of 5p- syndrome diagnosed by invasive prenatal diagnosis. Of them, three had a small cerebellum in the second trimester.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
June 2019
Chromosomal microarray (CMA) is recommended as a first tier investigation for patients with developmental delay (DD), intellectual disability (ID), autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), and multiple congenital anomalies (MCA). It is widely used in the prenatal and postnatal settings for detection of chromosomal aberrations. This is a retrospective review of all array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH/ array CGH) findings ascertained in two major prenatal and postnatal genetic diagnostic centers in Hong Kong from June 2012 to December 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Increasing preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) cycles are being performed in Hong Kong. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and ethical consideration of Chinese couples toward PGT.
Methods: Couples requesting PGT between June 2013 and March 2014 were invited to complete a questionnaire.
Chromosome alignment at the equator of the mitotic spindle is a highly conserved step during cell division; however, its importance to genomic stability and cellular fitness is not understood. Normal mammalian somatic cells lacking KIF18A function complete cell division without aligning chromosomes. These alignment-deficient cells display normal chromosome copy numbers in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that chromosome alignment is largely dispensable for maintenance of euploidy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: When cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing is used as a secondary screening tool following combined first-trimester screening (cFTS), cFTS is used to estimate the prior risk for chromosome abnormalities. This study aimed to assess the factors that are associated with common and atypical abnormalities following cFTS, including cFTS risk, advanced maternal age, increased nuchal translucency (NT) ≥3.5 mm, and abnormal levels of serum markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext.—: The College of American Pathologists published guideline recommending bone marrow synoptic reporting for hematologic neoplasms.
Objective.
This study supports training in genetic counseling for obstetricians and adoption of a multidisciplinary approach in the counseling process following prenatal diagnosis of sex chromosome aneuploidy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) has become an invaluable tool for genetic diagnosis in paediatrics. However, it has not been widely adopted in the prenatal setting. This study evaluated the use of WES in prenatal genetic diagnosis in fetuses with structural congenital anomalies (SCAs) detected on prenatal ultrasound.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We report here clinical, cytogenetic and molecular data for a pair of monochorionic diamniotic twins with paternal isodisomy for chromosome 19. Both twins presented with dysmorphic features and global developmental delay. This represents, to our knowledge, the first individual human case of paternal uniparental disomy for chromosome 19 (UPD19).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) coexisting with a viable fetus is a rare finding in pregnancies. Accurate diagnosis often relies on ultrasonographic, histopathological and molecular techniques in the definite diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, a liveborn fetus coexisting with CHM with trisomy 9 has not been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The use of array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) has been increasingly widespread. The challenge of integration of this technology into prenatal diagnosis was the interpretation of results and communicating findings of unclear clinical significance. This study assesses the knowledge and acceptance of prenatal aCGH in Hong Kong obstetricians and pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA fetus of Chinese descent presented with ultrasound features of anemia at 20 weeks' gestation. Father had low a mean corpuscular volume (MCV) level. Multiplex gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) excluded common α-thalassemia (α-thal) deletions and mutations and PCR sequencing of the α1- and α2-globin genes were negative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is recommended as a first-tier genetic test for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, interpretation of results can often be challenging partly due to the fact that copy number variants (CNVs) in non-European ASD patients are not well studied. To address this literature gap, we report the CNV findings in a cohort of Chinese children with ASD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrops fetalis is commonly due to Hb Bart's (γ4) disease in South East Asia. Here, we report an unusual case of hydrops fetalis due to congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) associated with compound heterozygosity for Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) gene mutations. Fetal cardiomegaly was first detected on routine mid-trimester scan in a pregnant woman with normal mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and Rhesus positive status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Provision of anticipatory guidance for parents is recommended as an effective strategy to prevent injuries among young children. Technology-based anticipatory guidance has been suggested to reinforce the effectiveness of injury prevention and improve parents' knowledge of child safety.
Objective: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a technology-based injury prevention program with parental anticipatory guidance for enhancing mothers' knowledge of child safety.
We report the second case of ETV6-ACSL6 associated myeloproliferative neoplasm that has received a full course of imatinib therapy. The patient was a 51-year-old previously healthy man who presented with three months of worsening dyspnea and was found to have a white count of 216,000/cmm, of which 84% were eosinophil lineage. Cytogenetic analysis revealed a t(5;12)(q31~33;p13).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chromosomal microarray offers superior sensitivity for identification of submicroscopic copy number variants (CNV) and it is advocated to be the first tier genetic testing for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this regard, diagnostic yield of array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for ASD patients is determined in a cohort of Chinese patients in Hong Kong.
Methods: A combined adult and paediatric cohort of 68 Chinese ASD patients (41 patients in adult group and 27 patients in paediatric group).
Unlabelled: Chromosomal abnormalities are detected in up to 13% of stillbirths and over 20% of those with developmental anomalies. These estimates may be low since up to 50% of samples fail to achieve a result due to microbial overgrowth or nonviability. Tissue for cytogenetics can be procured at bedside by the clinician or by the pathologist in the laboratory.
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