Methodology: Adult female Wistar rats were time-mated and grouped into three categories: (a) control-given 0.1 mL of normal saline, (b) low-dose nicotine-given 6.88 mg/ kg/d/0.05 mL, and (c) high-dose nicotine-given 13.76 mg/kg/d/0.1 mL in two divided doses. Treatment was given intraperitoneally from gestational days 2 to 6. On postnatal day 15 (P15), the pups were separated from their mothers, anaesthetised and sacrificed, followed by intracardial perfusion with 4% paraformaldehyde. PFC was excised from the brain and processed for tissue histology, histochemistry, and morphology of brain cells.
Results: Gestational nicotine exposure during the first week of gestation in rats significantly reduced birth weights in nicotine-treated groups compared with control; it, however, accelerated body weights, altered neuronal morphology, and elevated astrocytic count significantly, while oligodendroglial count was slightly increased in the PFC of juvenile rats examined at P15.
Conclusion: These alterations revealed that gestational nicotine exposure before the commencement of the cellular processes involved in brain development negatively affects neurodevelopment, and this could result in neurological dysfunctions in later life.
RESULTS: All of the mutations were found in adenocarcinoma, except one that was in squamous cell carcinoma. The mutation rate was 45.7% (221/484). Complex mutations were also observed, wherein 8 tumours carried 2 mutations and 1 tumour carried 3 mutations.
CONCLUSIONS: Both methods detected EGFR mutations in FFPE samples. HRM assays gave more EGFR positive results compared to Scorpion ARMS.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary referral liver centre in Malaysia, using data from electronic medical record from January 2015 to December 2019. A total of 1457 medical records of female with HBV infection were screened. The inclusion criteria of the study were pregnant women with HBsAg positive or known to have HBV infection during the study period. We excluded patients with co-infections of other types of viral hepatitis or human immunodeficiency virus, concurrent liver diseases (e.g.: autoimmune hepatitis, Wilson’s disease), previous organ transplant and malignancy—except for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
RESULTS: This study included 117 pregnancies and 21/117 (17.9%) were on antiviral therapy (AVT) for HBV. In 2017– 2019, 13/18 (72.2%) of those with HBV DNA >200,000IU/ml were on AVT, compared to 5/9 (55.6%) for 2015–2016, indicating 58% (95% CI −63% to 568%) higher odds of being on AVT in post GHSSVH group after accounting for HBV DNA.
CONCLUSION: Uptake of maternal AVT for the prevention of MTCT shows an increased trend since the introduction of GHSSVH, with room for improvement.