Diagnosis and management of selective fetal growth restriction in monochorionic twin pregnancies: A cross-sectional international survey.

Objective: To identify current practices in the management of selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR) in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: International.

Acute kidney injury in acute heart failure-when to worry and when not to worry?

Acute kidney injury is common in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. It is more common in patients with acute heart failure who suffer from chronic kidney disease. Worsening renal function is often defined as a rise in serum creatinine of more than 0.

Obesity Cardiomyopathy in Sudden Cardiac Death: A Distinct Entity? A Comparative Study.

Background: Obesity cardiomyopathy (OCM) can be associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD) but its pathologic features are not well described.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to characterize the clinical and pathological features of OCM associated with SCD.

Methods: This was a retrospective case control autopsy study.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years in children who received sildenafil therapy in utero: The STRIDER randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) causes stillbirth, neonatal death and neurodevelopmental impairment. Poor maternal spiral artery remodelling maintains vasoactive responsiveness but is susceptible to treatment with sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, which may improve perinatal outcomes.

Design: Superiority, double-blind randomised controlled trial.

Ultrasound prediction of fetal macrosomia in pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To report the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in identifying fetuses with macrosomia in pregnancies complicated by gestational or pregestational diabetes.

Methods: Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancies complicated by diabetes undergoing third-trimester ultrasound evaluation.

The value of angiogenetic biomarkers in the detection of early onset fetal growth restriction.

Objective: The identification of fetal growth restriction (FGR) due to uteroplacental insufficiency is important to improve perinatal outcomes. To distinguish FGR from small for gestational age (SGA), FGR consensus definition is currently based on biometry and/or additional biophysical parameters. This study aims to verify if this definition might be modified by including circulating angiogenic factors.

Two-pore channel 2 is required for soluble adenylyl cyclase-dependent regulation of melanosomal pH and melanin synthesis.

Melanosomal pH is important for the synthesis of melanin as the rate-limiting enzyme, tyrosinase, is very pH-sensitive. The soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) signaling pathway was recently identified as a regulator of melanosomal pH in melanocytes; however, the melanosomal proteins critical for sAC-dependent regulation of melanosomal pH were undefined. We now systematically examine four well-characterized melanosomal membrane proteins to determine whether any of them are required for sAC-dependent regulation of melanosomal pH.

Machine learning prediction of hypertension and diabetes in twin pregnancies using characteristics at prenatal care entry: a nationwide study.

Objectives: To develop a prediction model for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) and gestational diabetes (GDM) in twin pregnancies utilizing characteristics at the prenatal care entry level.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using the US national live birth data between 2016 and 2021. The association of all prenatal candidate variables with HDP and GDM was tested with uni- and multi-variable logistic regression analyses.

Differences in presentation, diagnosis and management of heart failure in women. A scientific statement of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC.

Despite the progress in the care of individuals with heart failure (HF), important sex disparities in knowledge and management remain, covering all the aspects of the syndrome, from aetiology and pathophysiology to treatment. Important distinctions in phenotypic presentation are widely known, but the mechanisms behind these differences are only partially defined. The impact of sex-specific conditions in the predisposition to HF has gained progressive interest in the HF community.

The PRECISE-DYAD protocol: linking maternal and infant health trajectories in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: PRECISE-DYAD is an observational cohort study of mother-child dyads running in urban and rural communities in The Gambia and Kenya. The cohort is being followed for two years and includes uncomplicated pregnancies and those that suffered pregnancy hypertension, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, and/or stillbirth.

Methods: The PRECISE-DYAD study will follow up ~4200 women and their children recruited into the original PRECISE study.

Diagnostic accuracy of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood in detecting chromosomal anomalies in twin pregnancy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To report the diagnostic accuracy of cell-free fetal DNA (cfDNA) in maternal blood in detecting fetal chromosomal anomalies in twin pregnancy.

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to November 2023. The inclusion criteria were twin pregnancy undergoing cfDNA screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13, monosomy X and/or other sex-chromosome aneuploidies (SCA).

Safety and efficacy of long-term sodium channel blocker therapy for early rhythm control: the EAST-AFNET 4 trial.

Aims: Clinical concerns exist about the potential proarrhythmic effects of the sodium channel blockers (SCBs) flecainide and propafenone in patients with cardiovascular disease. Sodium channel blockers were used to deliver early rhythm control (ERC) therapy in EAST-AFNET 4.

Methods And Results: We analysed the primary safety outcome (death, stroke, or serious adverse events related to rhythm control therapy) and primary efficacy outcome (cardiovascular death, stroke, and hospitalization for worsening of heart failure (HF) or acute coronary syndrome) during SCB intake for patients with ERC (n = 1395) in EAST-AFNET 4.

Sex differences in the prognostic role of achieving target doses of heart failure medications: Data from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry.

Aims: Guidelines recommend target doses (TD) of heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) medications regardless of sex. Differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics may explain heterogeneity in treatment response, adverse reactions, and tolerability issues across sexes. The aim of this study was to explore sex-based differences in the association between TD achievement and mortality/morbidity in HFrEF.

Multidisciplinary care of peripartum heart failure: A scientific statement of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC.

Heart failure is the most common cardiovascular complication during pregnancy and the postpartum period. It is associated with increased risk of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as potentially life-threatening foetal pathology. Management of heart failure in pregnancy requires expert knowledge of cardiovascular disease as well as obstetrics which underscores the importance of multidisciplinary cardio-obstetrics teams in order to optimize diagnosis, treatment and outcome.

Pregnant women and measles: we need to be vigilant during outbreaks.

A number of countries including the UK are currently experiencing large outbreaks of measles affecting mainly young children but also adolescents and young adults. Women of childbearing age are a particular group of concern because the 1988 Wakefield Lancet paper, which falsely asserted a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism, was associated with a large and sharp decline in childhood MMR uptake over several years. This has left large cohorts of non-immune adolescents and young adults (born between 1998 and 2004), including young women who are now of childbearing age and remain susceptible to measles as well as rubella.

Outcome of prelabor rupture of membranes before or at the limit of viability: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Counseling of pregnancies complicated by pre- and periviable premature rupture of membranes to reach shared decision-making is challenging, and the current limited evidence hampers the robustness of the information provided. This study aimed to elucidate the rate of obstetrical and neonatal outcomes after expectant management for premature rupture of membranes occurring before or at the limit of viability.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases were searched electronically up to September 2023.

Exploration of individual colorectal cancer cell responses to HO eustress using hopping probe scanning ion conductance microscopy.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), a widespread malignancy, is closely associated with tumor microenvironmental hydrogen peroxide (HO) levels. Some clinical trials targeting HO for cancer treatment have revealed its paradoxical role as a promoter of cancer progression. Investigating the dynamics of cancer cell HO eustress at the single-cell level is crucial.

Association between fetal growth restriction and stillbirth in twin compared with singleton pregnancies.

Objectives: Twin pregnancies are at higher risk of stillbirth compared to singletons. Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a major cause of perinatal mortality, but its impact on twins vs singletons remains unclear. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the association of FGR and small-for-gestational age (SGA) with stillbirth in twin compared with singleton pregnancies.