Active clinical trials for "Hydrops Fetalis"

This is a prospective observational pilot study on pregnant women who are diagnosed to have Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome (BHFS) affected fetuses and opt for continuation of pregnancy will be invited to consider undergoing in-utero hematopoietic stem cell transplantation under a research protocol, aiming to determine whether in-utero hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for fetuses with confirmed BHFS at the time of in-utero transfusion (IUT) of red blood cells could be feasible in Hong Kong. The participants will undergo bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells harvest and an IUT combined with maternal stem cells.

The investigators aims to evaluate the safety of in utero hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in fetuses with alpha-thalassemia major performed at the time of in utero transfusion of red blood cells.

A fetal hydrops, also called a fetal anasarca, is the buildup of fluid in the serosa and / or fetal subcutaneous tissue. The diagnosis is made by ultrasound, possibly from the first trimester of pregnancy. The etiologies of hydrops can be immune or non-immune. The historically classic immune causes are linked to fetal-maternal alloimmunizations in erythrocyte blood groups. The implementation of systematic prevention of these anti rhesus immunizations since the 1970s has significantly reduced the incidence of immune hydrops Non-immune hydrops (NIH) now represent 90% of fetal hydrops. Known causes of NIH can be classified in several ways depending on the mechanism or organ involved. The prognosis for NIH is closely linked to the cause. Fetal anemia due to maternal-fetal infections can heal spontaneously or give rise to in utero transfusions. Cardiac rhythm abnormalities are accessible to medical treatment. Chylothorax compressions may benefit from in utero drainage, but chromosomal or metabolic causes cannot benefit from antenatal care. The term of pregnancy in which the hydrops is discovered also has an impact on survival, which however remains poor. In France, certain pathologies can be considered as particularly serious without the possibility of treatment and give rise to a request for medical termination of pregnancy. This possibility is subject to acceptance by two practitioners who are members of a multidisciplinary prenatal diagnostic center (CPDPN). This preliminary multidisciplinary reflection participates in the development of prenatal counseling with the greatest precision in diagnostic hypotheses. This prenatal advice is essential for a couple on the decision to make a pregnancy in progress but also for future pregnancies, given the 25% risk of recurrence due to the autosomal recessive mode of transmission. Thus the current screening strategy for inherited metabolic diseases on amniotic fluid is fragmented. The resulting subdiagnosis explains the objective of the study of using the new high throughput sequencing techniques (NGS) in this indication. This approach should make it possible to reduce the number of cases classified as idiopathic, to allow the parents concerned to receive suitable genetic counseling with a view to new pregnancies, and to refine the knowledge of the prenatal epidemiology of these pathologies.

The FAST Trial Registry is a prospective observational cohort study of fetuses with a new diagnosis of atrial flutter (AF) or supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) that is severe enough to consider prenatal treatment (see eligibility criteria below). Aims of the Registry include to establish a large clinical database to determine and compare the efficacy and safety of different prenatal treatment strategies including observation without immediate treatment, transplacental antiarrhythmic fetal treatment and direct fetal treatment from the time of tachycardia diagnosis to death, neonatal hospital discharge or to a maximum of 30 days after birth.

This is a national, prospective study designed to investigate the genetic etiologies of non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) and other birth defects. At least half of prenatally diagnosed NIHF cases remain of unknown etiology after standard work up, and a substantial proportion of other birth defects remain of unknown etiology as well. The investigators are performing exome sequencing (ES) for the affected fetus or neonate in unexplained cases, as well as enrolling cases with a genetic explanation to represent the full spectrum of diseases underlying NIHF and other birth defects.

Non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) is diagnosed on prenatal ultrasound when abnormal fluid collections are seen in the fetus. NIHF carries significant risks of stillbirth, preterm birth, and postnatal morbidity and mortality, particularly when the etiology remains unknown and critical opportunities for focused care and implementation of treatments are missed. In contrast, when an etiology is found, both pre- and postnatal management are directly impacted: counseling is focused, risks to the fetus and neonate are accurately anticipated, surveillance and in utero available treatments such as intrauterine transfusions are implemented, and postnatal treatments are promptly initiated to optimize outcomes. The overarching hypothesis is that discovering the precise etiologies of NIHF will create critical opportunities to improve outcomes through earlier, targeted pre- and postnatal care. Several important steps remain in order to uncover the genetic etiologies for cases remaining unsolved and improve care for these pregnancies. The study team proposes a multicenter collaboration to discover additional genetic diseases and novel variants underlying NIHF in a prospectively enrolled, large and diverse cohort utilizing whole genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing. The team will further perform comprehensive phenotyping to: a) collect detailed postnatal phenotypes and outcomes, b) re-analyze WGS data utilizing postnatal phenotype to identify diagnoses missed when sequencing algorithms incorporated only phenotype, and c) expand the phenotypes of all genetic in utero in utero diseases the investigators identify to optimize prenatal diagnosis and yield of genomic testing during pregnancy. Such a focused and comprehensive approach to the evaluation and diagnosis of NIHF has not previously been performed, particularly in a large and diverse cohort, and it is expected that this work will significantly improve the ability to understand and reshape the perinatal care for NIHF. This work will lay the foundation for redefining the approach to prenatal diagnosis, management, in utero and postnatal care for NIHF, and will create future opportunities to develop novel diagnostic algorithms and approaches to manage the complications of specific diseases underlying in utero NIHF.

Brief Summary: Nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) is a potentially fatal condition characterized by abnormal fluid accumulation in two or more fetal compartments. Numerous etiologies may lead to NIHF, and the underlying cause often remains unclear (1). The current standard of genetic diagnostic testing includes a fetal karyotype and chromosomal microarray (CMA), with an option to pursue single gene testing on amniocytes collected by amniocentesis (2). A large subgroup of the NIHF causes includes single gene disorders that are not diagnosed with the standard genetic workup for hydrops. Currently, nearly 1 in 5 cases of NIHF is defined as idiopathic, meaning there is no identified etiology (2). The investigators believe this is because the causes of NIHF are not completely investigated, specifically single gene disorders. Our research study aims to increase the diagnostic yield by performing whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) on prenatal and neonatal NIHF cases when standard genetic testing is negative, identifying known and new genes, thus providing vital information to families regarding the specific diagnosis and risk to future pregnancies. The investigators plan to perform WES as the initial diagnostic test. If WES is negative, then the investigators will proceed to perform WGS.

Each year world-wide, 2.5 million fetuses die unexpectedly in the last half of pregnancy, 25,000 in the United States, making fetal demise ten-times more common than Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This study will apply a novel type of non-invasive monitoring, called fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) used thus far to successfully evaluate fetal arrhythmias, in order to discover potential hidden electrophysiologic abnormalities that could lead to fetal demise in five high-risk pregnancy conditions associated with fetal demise.

Based on multi-center clinical research resources, a large-scale prospective cohort study will be conduted to make a more accurate diagnosis and intervention plan of Non-immune fetal hydrops (NIFH), and then establish NIFH accurate treatment strategy which is suitable for China's national conditions.

The objective of this pilot study is to prospectively evaluate amniotic fluid of pregnancies complicated by non-immune hydrops and severe symmetrical intrauterine growth restriction by tandem mass spectrometry for inborn errors of metabolism.