Point-of-Care Ultrasonography in the Intensive Care Unit for the Obstetric Patient.

Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a tool that can be used to evaluate critically ill obstetric patients, in the same way as for nonpregnant patients. With knowledge of the physiology and anatomical changes of pregnancy, POCUS can provide meaningful information to help guide clinical management. A POCUS cardiothoracic evaluation for left and right ventricular function, pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, and pneumothorax can be performed in pregnancy.

A Call for Development of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Recommendations in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skillsets are now taught throughout training levels from medical school through fellowship given the broad utility in assisting with bedside procedures and triaging clinical presentations for expedited workup. This is reflected in training curricula for emergency medicine, internal medicine, and general surgery residencies. However, these skillsets are not formally taught or required in obstetrics and gynecology residency.

Use of point-of-care ultrasound to diagnose spontaneous rupture of fibroid in pregnancy.

Complications of fibroids in pregnancy are well known, including postpartum hemorrhage, labor dystocia, and cesarean delivery. Outside of pregnancy and labor, the rare occurrence of spontaneous fibroid rupture has been documented. The current case report involves a woman who presented with acute abdominal pain in the third trimester of pregnancy and was found to have spontaneous rupture of a fibroid before the onset of labor.

Electrographic spikes are common in wildtype mice.

High-voltage rhythmic electroencephalographic (EEG) spikes have been recorded in wildtype (WT) rats during periods of light slow-wave sleep and passive wakefulness. The source of this activity is unclear but has been attributed to either an inherent form of absence epilepsy or a normal feature of rodent sleep EEG. In contrast, little is known about epileptiform spikes in WT mice.

mGluR5 Modulation of Behavioral and Epileptic Phenotypes in a Mouse Model of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Drugs targeting metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) have therapeutic potential in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The question whether inhibition or potentiation of mGluR5 could be beneficial depends, among other factors, on the specific indication. To facilitate the development of mGluR5 treatment strategies, we tested the therapeutic utility of mGluR5 negative and positive allosteric modulators (an mGluR5 NAM and PAM) for TSC, using a mutant mouse model with neuronal loss of Tsc2 that demonstrates disease-related phenotypes, including behavioral symptoms of ASD and epilepsy.

Replicable in vivo physiological and behavioral phenotypes of the null mutant mouse model of autism.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a clinically and biologically heterogeneous condition characterized by social, repetitive, and sensory behavioral abnormalities. No treatments are approved for the core diagnostic symptoms of ASD. To enable the earliest stages of therapeutic discovery and development for ASD, robust and reproducible behavioral phenotypes and biological markers are essential to establish in preclinical animal models.

Treatment of a Pregnant Patient in a Persistent Vegetative State.

Background: Brain injury leading to a persistent vegetative state during pregnancy involves difficult medical and ethical decisions.

Case: A 21-year-old multigravid woman entered a persistent vegetative state at 20 1/7 weeks of gestation after cardiac arrest with postanoxic brain injury from a suspected drug overdose. The clinical disciplines responsible for her case formed a collaborative care plan involving ventilator, nutrition, and medication support of the mother and regular fetal monitoring and ultrasound testing.

An 8-year old boy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep presenting with positive onconeuronal antibodies.

Objective: To determine the etiology of epilepsy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep (CSWS)/electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) in an 8-year old boy with a history of neuroblastoma and opsoclonus-myoclonus.

Material & Methods: A combination of clinical characterization and follow-up, video EEG and laboratory investigations.

Results: We report the case of an 8-year old boy with a history of neuroblastoma and opsoclonus-myoclonus, who presented with intellectual disability, pharmacotherapy-resistant epilepsy and CSWS/ESES.

A vascular model of Tsc1 deficiency accelerates renal tumor formation with accompanying hemangiosarcomas.

Unlabelled: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal disease caused by inactivating mutations in either of the tumor suppressor genes TSC1 or TSC2. TSC-associated tumor growth is present in multiple tissues and organs including brain, kidney, liver, heart, lungs, and skin. In the kidney, TSC angiomyolipomas have aberrant vascular structures with abnormal endothelial cells, suggesting a role for endothelial mTORC1 function.