Comparative Analysis of Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Neonates among Women with and without COVID-19 Infection during Pregnancy.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the test results of neonates delivered by COVID-19-positive mothers during pregnancy with those of neonates born to unvaccinated mothers who are COVID-19-free. A cohort study was conducted on 367 pregnant women who gave birth at Premiere Hospital, Timisoara, Romania, between May 2021 and February 2022. Two groups were established: Group 1, with 167 pregnant women infected with COVID-19, and Group 2, with 200 pregnant women who were not affected by COVID-19 during pregnancy. Maternal laboratory examination did not exhibit significant variations except for platelet count. In neonatal blood tests, WBC had a significantly lower median value in the group born to COVID-19-free mothers. Neonatal anemia and leukocytosis showed slightly higher prevalence in Group 1, but the differences were not statistically significant. This study suggests that maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy does not have significant associations with most maternal and neonatal characteristics.

The Benefits of Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 during Pregnancy in Favor of the Mother/Newborn Dyad.

When the first vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 emerged, pregnant women were excluded from clinical trials, so vaccine recommendations were initially adjourned, with late initiation for this populational category. The present study aims to quantify the serum and breastmilk values of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibodies in both the mother and her newborn after complete vaccination during pregnancy. Ninety-one vaccinated patients were included, some of whom presented COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. In the delivery room, venous blood was collected from the mother and umbilical cord blood from her offspring. All samples were processed using the ECLIA (electrochemiluminescence) method. Breastmilk was collected and tested during the third postnatal day. The highest maternal serum values were 19,523 U/mL (detection limit > 0.8 U/mL) and in breastmilk, 206.7 U/mL. Every single newborn had antibody values higher than 0, with a mean serum value (M = 5288.37, SD = 5661.49) significantly higher than 0, t(90) = 8.91, p < 0.001. Consequently, this study intents to emphasize the importance of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. This double kind of neonatal protection, attained by placental and breastmilk transfer, can be accomplished by encouraging vaccination, breastfeeding, bonding, and providing maternal empowerment to participate in her infant's care.

A comprehensive evaluation of an OFDI syndrome from child to teenager.

Orofaciodigital syndrome (OFDS) is a collective term for a rare inherited disorder that displays a wide phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. The findings of diagnostic are the combination of the characteristic oral, facial and digital anomalies. In this heterogeneous group, the diagnosis of OFDI focuses on the association of the oro-dental, digital and cerebral malformations, polycystic kidney disease and several other manifestations. In this article, we report and discuss the case of a girl with OFDI syndrome, who presented as a peculiar phenotype on clinical examination. The present case was diagnosed at 24 months old and re-examined at 16 years old. The imagistic and cephalometric analyses were performed to investigate the alterations in the facial and skeletal bones and also neurological, renal and dental development. The differential diagnosis of this entity is discussed.

Clinical Significance of Measuring Global Hydroxymethylation of White Blood Cell DNA in Prostate Cancer: Comparison to PSA in a Pilot Exploratory Study.

This is the first study investigating the clinical relevance of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in genomic DNA from white blood cells (WBC) in the context of prostate cancer (PCa) and other prostate pathologies. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we identified significantly different distributions of patients with low and elevated 5hmC content in WBC DNA across controls and patients with prostate cancer (PCa), atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP), and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The measured values were within the normal range for most PCa patients, while the latter category was predominant for ASAP. We observed a wider heterogeneity in 5hmC content in all of the prostate pathologies analyzed when compared to the healthy age-matched controls. When compared to blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), this 5hmC-based biomarker had a lower performance in PCa detection than the use of a PSA cut-off of 2.5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Above this threshold, however, it delineated almost three quarters of PCa patients from controls and patients with other prostate pathologies. Overall, genome-wide 5hmC content of WBC DNA appears to be applicable for detecting non-cancerous prostate diseases, rather than PCa. Our results also suggest a potential clinical usefulness of complementing PSA as a PCa marker by the addition of a set of hydroxymethylation markers in the blood, but further studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

Ambras syndrome: report on two affected siblings with no prior family history.

We report two siblings with congenital generalized hypertrichosis and distinctive facial appearance consistent with the dysmorphic facial features described in Ambras syndrome. The patients were born to non-consanguineous, phenotypically normal parents. This is the first report of affected siblings and could be explained by either autosomal recessive inheritance or by germline mosaicism for an autosomal dominant gene. We compared the phenotype of our patients to descriptions of reported cases and discuss phenotypic variability.