Perinatal hepatitis c

Perinatal exposure to sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup-55 (HFCS-55) in rats has previously been associated with altered hepatic fat content and composition post-weaning, although the effects on hepatic metabolism are unknown. The current study aimed to determine the sex-specific effects of maternal consumption of sucrose or HFCS-55 on the expression of hepatic lipogenic genes in the offspring. Liver samples were collected from offspring of albino Wistar rats provided with ad libitum access to either water (control), 10% sucrose or 10% HFCS-55 solution during pregnancy and lactation at 3 weeks (control n=16, sucrose n=22, HFCS-55 n=16) and 12 weeks (control n=16, sucrose n=10, HFCS-55 n=16) of age...

Onartuzumab is an engineered single arm, monovalent monoclonal antibody that targets the MET receptor and prevents HGF signaling. Knockout mice have clearly demonstrated that HGF/MET signaling is developmentally critical. A pre- and post-natal development (PPND) study (enhanced design) was conducted in cynomolgus monkeys to evaluate the potential developmental consequences following onartuzumab administration. Control or onartuzumab, at loading/maintenance doses of 75/50 mg/kg (low) or 100/100 mg/kg (high), was administered intravenously once weekly to 12 confirmed pregnant female cynomolgus monkeys per group from gestation day (GD) 20 through GD 174...

BACKGROUND: The controlled temperature chain (CTC) strategy allows vaccines to be kept outside the cold chain for a short period of time. In remote rural areas, the CTC strategy for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) birth dose vaccination could improve its geographical coverage and timeliness of delivery, but with additional outreach costs. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of the CTC strategy for the HBV birth dose across six world regions and 72 countries according to their HBV prevalence, delivery costs, and birth dose coverage and timing...

BACKGROUND: Women taking methadone or buprenorphine are encouraged to breastfeed if stable without polysubstance use. Research Aim: We aimed to determine the difference between stated intention to breastfeed prenatally in women taking methadone or buprenorphine compared with breastfeeding at discharge and 2 months postpartum. Secondary outcomes were determining whether breastfeeding was more common in women taking buprenorphine, in women without hepatitis C infection, and in women without a history of heroin use, and whether breastfeeding reduced the need for pharmacological treatment of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome...

OBJECTIVES: Because of the opioid epidemic, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing among pregnant women, resulting in an increased risk of perinatal transmission and HCV infection among children. Our primary objectives in this study were to determine the prevalence of HCV among pregnant women and the frequency of pediatric HCV screening. METHODS: A population-based, retrospective cohort of pregnant women who delivered between 2006 and 2014 was identified and classified as HCV infected or HCV uninfected by billing codes...

History A 3-month-old previously healthy girl presented to an outside institution with a 4-day history of low-grade fever, irritability, and a tender "knot" in the upper abdomen. Ultrasonography (US) was performed at an outside hospital. US images were not available for review; however, they showed a mass in the left hepatic lobe, per the outside report, and the patient was referred to our institution for further evaluation. Her parents reported a normal full-term pregnancy, with regular prenatal care and normal prenatal US findings...

Objectives To evaluate Hepatitis C virus (HCV) knowledge and awareness among pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD). Methods From May through November 2015, a one-time survey was distributed to a convenience sample of pregnant women with OUD to assess their knowledge and awareness of (a) risk factors for HCV infection, (b) HCV transmission prevention strategies, (c) hepatotoxic risk reduction and (d) perinatal transmission and neonatal implications of HCV infection. Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare demographic characteristics and HCV knowledge between participants who were HCV positive and negative...

Perinatal undernutrition affects not only fetal and neonatal growth but also adult health outcome, as suggested by the metabolic imprinting concept. However, the exact mechanisms underlying offspring metabolic adaptations are not yet fully understood. Specifically, it remains unclear whether the gestation or the lactation is the more vulnerable period to modify offspring metabolic flexibility. We investigated in a rodent model of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) induced by maternal protein restriction (R) during gestation which time window of maternal undernutrition (gestation, lactation or gestation-lactation) has more impact on the male offspring metabolomics phenotype...

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP), a catastrophic illness for both the mother and the unborn offspring, develops in the last trimester of pregnancy with significant maternal and perinatal mortality. AFLP is also recognized as an obstetric and medical emergency. Maternal AFLP is highly associated with a fetal homozygous mutation (1528G>C) in the gene that encodes for mitochondrial long-chain hydroxy acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCHAD). The mutation in LCHAD results in the accumulation of 3-hydroxy fatty acids, such as 3-hydroxy myristic acid, 3-hydroxy palmitic acid and 3-hydroxy dicarboxylic acid in the placenta, which are then shunted to the maternal circulation leading to the development of acute liver injury observed in patients with AFLP...

Perinatal inflammation is known to contribute to neurodevelopmental diseases. Animal models of perinatal inflammation have revealed that the inflammatory response within the brain is age dependent, but the regulators of this variation remain unclear. In the adult, the peripheral acute phase response (APR) is known to be pivotal in the downstream recruitment of leukocytes to the injured brain. The relationship between perinatal brain injury and the APR has not been established. Here, we generated focal inflammation in the brain using interleukin (IL)-1β at postnatal day (P)7, P14, P21 and P56 and studied both the central nervous system (CNS) and hepatic inflammatory responses at 4 h...

The 3rd Workshop on Paediatric Virology, which took place on October 7th, 2017 in Athens, Greece, highlighted the role of breast feeding in the prevention of viral infections during the first years of life. Moreover, it focused on the long-term outcomes of respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus infections in prematurely born infants and emphasised the necessity for the development of relevant preventative strategies. Other topics that were covered included the vaccination policy in relation to the migration crisis, mother‑to‑child transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses, vaccination against human papilloma viruses in boys and advances on intranasal live‑attenuated vaccination against influenza...

Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus infection occurs in a significant minority of cases and the diagnosis, treatment and cure of hepatitis C virus infection with direct acting antivirals prior to pregnancy can eliminate this risk in almost all cases. Women with hepatitis C virus infection have increased risks of adverse events in pregnancy and poor perinatal outcomes for their children, although the contribution of hepatitis C virus per se is difficult to determine. Altering the mode of delivery does not reduce mother to child transmission of hepatitis C virus infection, although avoidance of fetal scalp electrodes and other potential high risk procedures is recommended during pregnancy and delivery...

BACKGROUND: Perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV) children are at risk for under-vaccination and poor vaccine response at 4 years of age. Childhood vaccine coverage and immune response were compared between PHIV and HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children in Latin America and the Caribbean. METHODS: PHIV and HEU children were enrolled prospectively at 15 sites from 2002 to 2009. Full vaccination by age 4 years was defined as: 3 hepatitis B virus vaccine doses; 4 tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine doses; 3 doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine by age 12 months or ≥1 dose given after age 12 months; one measles-containing vaccine dose; one rubella-containing vaccine dose...

BACKGROUND: Inclusion health focuses on people in extremely poor health due to poverty, marginalisation, and multimorbidity. We aimed to review morbidity and mortality data on four overlapping populations who experience considerable social exclusion: homeless populations, individuals with substance use disorders, sex workers, and imprisoned individuals. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for studies published between Jan 1, 2005, and Oct 1, 2015...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health concern in developing countries that has a high morbidity and mortality rate. Vertical transmission of HBV from mother to child has been identified as a major factor leading to chronicity with attendant liver conditions, especially in poor socioeconomic settings. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of serological HBV markers among pregnant women in Ibadan southwestern Nigeria and to determine the implications for perinatal HBV transmission. This study revealed the presence of varied HBV serological patterns of infection or immunity among pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria, and thus the risk of mother to child transmission...

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune thyroid disease and thyroid dysfunction are common in adults receiving interferon (IFN)-based treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Few data are available in children with CHC. This study is aimed to evaluate the appearance and timing of thyroid dysfunction and antithyroid autoimmunity in children with CHC treated with pegylated IFN-α-2b and ribavirin (RBV). METHODS: Sixty-one otherwise healthy children with CHC, 3-17 years of age, infected perinatally and treatment naïve, receiving therapy with pegylated IFN-α-2b and RBV and 183 age- and sex-matched controls were included in a multicenter, prospective, case-control study...

Maternal obesity predisposes offspring to metabolic dysfunction and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Melanocortin-4 receptor (Mc4r)-deficient mouse models exhibit obesity during adulthood. Here, we aim to determine the influence of the Mc4r gene on the liver of mice subjected to perinatal diet-induced obesity. Female mice heterozygous for Mc4r fed an obesogenic or a control diet for 5 weeks were mated with heterozygous males, with the same diet continued throughout pregnancy and lactation, generating four offspring groups: control wild type (C_wt), control knockout (C_KO), obese wild type (Ob_wt), and obese knockout (Ob_KO)...

Despite full immunoprophylaxis, mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of Hepatitis B Virus still occurs in approximately 2-5% of HBsAg positive mothers. Little is known about the bottleneck of HBV transmission and the evolution of viral quasispecies in the context of MTCT. Here we adopted a newly developed tag linkage deep sequencing method and analyzed the quasispecies of four MTCT pairs that broke through immunoprophylaxis. By assigning unique tags to individual viral sequences, we accurately reconstructed HBV haplotypes in a region of 836 bp, which contains the major immune epitopes and drug resistance mutations...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the stability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load suppression within 1 month before birth in pregnant women receiving antenatal combination antiretroviral therapy (CART). METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of a Canadian provincial perinatal HIV database from 1997 to 2015. Inclusion criteria were live birth and CART received for at least 4 weeks. Viral load rebound, defined as viral load greater than 50 copies/mL (or greater than 400 copies/mL for 1997-1998) and measured within 1 month before delivery, was identified in women who had at least one previous undetectable viral load during pregnancy...

BACKGROUND: Exposure to chemicals during critical windows of development may re-program liver for increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Bisphenol A (BPA), a plastics component, has been described to impart adverse effects during gestational and lactational exposure. Our work has pointed to nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) being a modulator of hepatic lipid accumulation in models of NAFLD. OBJECTIVES: To determine if chemical exposure can prime liver for steatosis via modulation of NRF2 and epigenetic mechanisms...