Endocrine Disorders, Contraception, and Hormone Therapy during Pregnancy
“Bert” Bertis Britt Little in Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Cabergoline is another drug used to treat acromegaly. In a review, the frequency of congenital anomalies was not increased (3.6 percent) among 83 newborns exposed to cabergoline during the first trimester (Stalldecker et al., 2010). In a single center study of 250 live births to women who used cabergoline during pregnancy the frequency of birth defects was high at 9 percent (n = 23), but only 8 of these pregnancies were exposed during the first trimester (Colao et al., 2008). Among 629 infants whose mothers took cabergoline during the first trimester, the frequency of birth defects was not increased (Molitch, 2015). In contrast, a small cohort of pregnancies (n = 25), the frequency of neural tube defects was increased (Rastogi et al., 2017). The Swedish Birth Defects Registry reported no increased frequency of birth defects among 152 infants whose mother used cabergoline during embryogenesis (Kallen, 2019).
Prenatal diagnosis, antenatal screening and reproductive aspects of medical genetics
Angus Clarke, Alex Murray, Julian Sampson in Harper's Practical Genetic Counselling, 2019
In general, these methods of prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects have proved reliable and free from major problems. However, several points need to be borne in mind. There are a number of other causes of a raised serum AFP level (Box 9.4), including normal twin pregnancy. These other causes can often be distinguished by the level of acetylcholinesterase in amniotic fluid, which is specifically raised in open neural tube defects.Routine obstetric ultrasound scanning is an inadequate substitute for high-resolution ultrasonography performed by an expert, at the optimal gestation (usually at least 18 weeks).Pregnancies already known to be at high risk (before screening) must be considered separately from general population screening and the risks estimated appropriately.Any pregnancy terminated should have an expert fetal autopsy, since numerous syndromes associated with neural tube defects exist, some Mendelian, others chromosomal (see Chapter 14).
Major neonatal conditions
Spencer W. Beasley, John Hutson, Mark Stringer, Sebastian K. King, Warwick J. Teague in Paediatric Surgical Diagnosis, 2018
These are a group of congenital disorders in which the brain and/or spinal cord are malformed as a result of abnormal closure of the neural tube in the embryo. A range of malformations exist with variable neurological deficits. Most neural tube defects are readily detectable by antenatal screening tests including ultrasound imaging. In anencephaly, the cephalic part of the neural tube has failed not only to close, but also to develop. Deficiency of the vault of the skull exposes the brainstem and cerebellum - most of the cerebrum is missing. An encephalocele is a neural tube defect affecting the brain, and is commonest in the occipital and frontal regions.
Polystyrene nanoplastics exposure caused defective neural tube morphogenesis through caveolae-mediated endocytosis and faulty apoptosis
Published in Nanotoxicology, 2021
Jia-hui Nie, Yao Shen, Mohamed Roshdy, Xin Cheng, Guang Wang, Xuesong Yang
The nervous system originates from embryonic neurulation via the formation of neural primordia (Karfunkel 1974), which is a complex multistep event that is implicated in the accurately spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression (Smith and Schoenwolf 1997; Tanabe and Jessell 1996). In this study, we discovered that early chick embryos exposed to PS-NPs exhibited a high frequency of neural tube failure at both the cranial and trunk levels in addition to other developmental abnormalities (Figure 4). This finding implies that PS-NP-induced neural developmental abnormalities occur during gastrulation. Of course, one of the important reasons is that neurulation initiates at a very early stage; thus, neural precursors in the developing neural tube are also exposed to PS-NPs for a long period of time. Additionally, the neural tube undergoes dramatic morphological changes that are also extremely vulnerable to external environmental factors. Cecconi et al. reported that the etiology of neural tube defects was stalwartly multifactorial with both environmental and genetic factors and involved in numerous pathological mechanisms, including faulty cell death during neurulation (Cecconi, Piacentini, and Fimia 2008).
Intellectual characteristics using WISC-IV in children with myelomeningocele
Published in Cogent Medicine, 2018
Hiroshi Mano, Kazuharu Takikawa, Nobuhiko Haga
Spina bifida is defined as a congenital condition in which posterior elements of the spine (including spinous processes and vertebral arches) are defective. Spina bifida and anencephaly comprise neural tube defects. In spina bifida cystica, a protuberance is formed due to dorsal extrusion of the spinal or cauda equina nerve. Spina bifida occulta involves only dysraphism (incomplete or abnormal fusion) of spinal posterior elements with no protrusion of meninges or neural tissue. Spina bifida cystica is especially accompanied by abnormalities, including hydrocephalus, Chiari malformations, and syringomyelia. Frequently used classifications (Bartonek, Saraste, & Knutson, 1999) of neurological-level paralysis are (Sharrard, 1964) and (Hoffer, Feiwell, & Perry et al., 1973) (the latter differs from the Hoffer classification used for ambulation abilities; see hereafter). Meanwhile, Hoffer classification (Hoffer et al., 1973) is used to evaluate ambulation abilities.
Utility of time of onset of hypertension, ADMA and TAS in predicting adverse neonatal outcome in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Published in Fetal and Pediatric Pathology, 2019
Angelin Jeba Malar Abraham, Zachariah Bobby, Latha Chaturvedula, Vickneshwaran Vinayagam, Habeebullah Syed, Sajini Elizabeth Jacob
Few studies have reported the beneficial role of folic acid in reducing the risk of preeclampsia. A study conducted by Ocampo et al. [43] documented a significant reduction in the development of GH and preeclampsia with increased duration of folic acid supplementation. In another study by Manizheh et al. two groups of pregnant women received different doses of folic acid (5 mg/day and 0.5 mg/day) throughout the pregnancy [44]. Their results suggest that irrespective of the dosage, folic acid could prevent the development of HDP. This effect is thought to be mediated by a reduction in homocysteine levels [45]. The WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends folic acid supplements only during the periconceptional period (before conception and during early pregnancy) to prevent neural tube defects [45, 46]. Therefore, continued folic acid administration throughout pregnancy may prove to be beneficial in preventing or delaying the onset of hypertension. Further studies in this line are warranted to throw more light on the beneficial effects of folic acid in HDP.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Anencephaly
- Birth Defect
- Encephalocele
- Gastrulation
- Neural Tube
- Skull
- Vertebral Column
- Brain
- Spina Bifida
- Iniencephaly