Interplay between Maternal and Neonatal Vitamin D Deficiency and Vitamin-D-Related Gene Polymorphism with Neonatal Birth Anthropometry.

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has been associated with poor foetal growth and neonatal birth anthropometry. However, the associations were inconsistent and could be confounded by neonatal vitamin D status and genetic factors. Until recently, limited studies have concomitantly examined the effect of maternal and neonatal vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on neonatal birth anthropometry.

Inadequate vitamin D intake among pregnant women in Malaysia based on revised recommended nutrient intakes value and potential dietary strategies to tackle the inadequacy.

Background/objectives: Recently, the recommended nutrient intakes (RNI) for vitamin D for Malaysian aged 1-70 yrs has been revised from 5 µg/day to 15 µg/day. This study is aimed to assess the adequacy of vitamin D intake based on revised RNI and to recommend several dietary strategies to increase total vitamin D intake.

Subjects/methods: Vitamin D intake from both food and supplement of 217 pregnant women was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Influence of vitamin D binding protein polymorphism, demographics and lifestyle factors on vitamin D status of healthy Malaysian pregnant women.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been related to vitamin D binding protein (GC) gene polymorphism, demographics and lifestyle factors in different populations. However, previous studies only focused on demographic and lifestyle factors or genetic factors alone. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the association between GC gene polymorphism, demographics and lifestyle factors with VDD among Malaysian pregnant women.

Indications for invasive prenatal diagnostic procedures at a dedicated fetal medicine centre: an 8 year audit 2003-2010.

Objective: Analyze indications and type of prenatal diagnostic procedures performed.

Method: This retrospective audit was conducted at a dedicated fetal medicine center in Petaling Jaya. All invasive prenatal diagnosis procedures performed from 2003 up until 2010 (amniocentesis, chorionic villous sampling and fetal blood sampling) were analyzed.

Nanowired drug delivery to enhance neuroprotection in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious clinical situation for which no suitable drug therapy exists. SCI often results in paraplegia or quadriplegia and, apart from the personal trauma leads to huge costs to society for rehabilitation or day-to-day life support. Sensory motor dysfunction following SCI is mainly a consequence of the slowly progressing cord pathology after primary injury that worsens over tine.

Holoprosencephaly: an antenatally-diagnosed case series and subject review.

Introduction: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is an uncommon congenital failure of forebrain development. Although the aetiology is heterogeneous, chromosomal abnormalities or a monogenic defect are the major causes, accounting for about 40% to 50% of HPE cases. At least 7 genes have been positively implicated, including SHH, ZIC2, SIX3, TGIF, PTCH1, GLI2, and TDGF1.

Sonographically guided removal of a double J ureteral stent in an infant.

A 2-month-old male infant with a prenatally diagnosed obstruction of the ureteropelvic junction underwent a dismembered Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty. A transanastomotic double J ureteral stent was placed between the renal pelvis and the urinary bladder. This report describes the subsequent removal of the double J ureteral stent from the patient's urinary bladder without the aid of a cystoscope: a rigid biopsy forceps was introduced trans-urethrally into the urinary bladder, and the stent was removed with sonographic guidance.