Congenital CMV is the most common congenital infection in the developed world. Infection results in congenital disease ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe neurodevelopmental impairment, and occasionally fetal or neonatal death. Fetal infection can occur through maternal-fetal transmission during primary maternal infection or maternal reactivation or re-infection. Awareness among maternal health care providers and parents is low. The prevention of maternal CMV infection currently relies on hygiene measures, with no effective CMV vaccine or prophylactic therapies. No licensed treatment options are available to prevent maternal-fetal transmission or fetal disease. Hyperimmunoglobulin and valaciclovir have been investigated for prevention of maternal-fetal transmission or fetal treatment, with some evidence supporting consideration of maternal administration of hyperimmunoglobulin or valaciclovir therapy in certain circumstances. This article outlines the clinical evidence regarding proven preventative behavioral measures and experimental hyperimmunoglobulin and valaciclovir therapies, that is structured around common questions asked by pregnant women about CMV infection. It is aimed to help maternity health care providers counsel prospective parents about congenital CMV disease and the preventative and therapeutic strategies currently available.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pd.5692 | DOI Listing |
Placenta
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address:
Introduction: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an opportunistic pathogen that can induce chorioamnionitis (CA), increasing the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in the offspring. The placenta facilitates maternal-fetal communication through the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which may carry inflammatory molecules such as interleukin (IL)-1. Although the role of EVs in immune modulation is well established, their specific characterization in the context of GBS-induced CA has not yet been investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenes (Basel)
January 2025
Perinatal Pathology Consulting, 490 Dogwood Valley Drive, Atlanta, GA 30342, USA.
Oropouche virus (OROV) is an orthobunyavirus endemic in the Brazilian Amazon that has caused numerous outbreaks of febrile disease since its discovery in 1955. During 2024, Oropouche fever spread from the endemic regions of Brazil into non-endemic areas and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, resulting in 13,014 confirmed infections. Similarly to other orthobunyaviruses, OROV can undergo genetic reassortment events with itself as well as other viruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDig Dis Sci
January 2025
Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Background: Fecal lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a biomarker of neutrophil activation, which is elevated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, its dynamic changes during pregnancy and early life are largely unknown. We characterized LCN2 levels by maternal IBD diagnosis, offspring feeding behavior, and gut microbiota composition.
Methods: In the prospective MECONIUM (Exploring Mechanisms of Disease Transmission In Utero through the Microbiome) study, we analyzed 559 fecal samples from 91 pregnant women with IBD, 78 healthy controls, and their 147 offspring for LCN2 levels at each trimester of pregnancy and multiple time points during early life using linear mixed-effects model and multiple logistic regression analyses.
Epigenetics Chromatin
January 2025
Department of Maternal‑Fetal Biology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, 157‑8535, Japan.
Background: DNA methylation plays a crucial role in mammalian development. While methylome changes acquired in the parental genomes are believed to be erased by epigenetic reprogramming, accumulating evidence suggests that methylome changes in sperm caused by environmental factors are involved in the disease phenotypes of the offspring. These findings imply that acquired sperm methylome changes are transferred to the embryo after epigenetic reprogramming.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAJOG Glob Rep
February 2025
Materno-fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department Woman-Mother-Child, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!