Prevention and treatment in utero of autoimmune-associated congenital heart block.

ABSTRACT: Transplacental transfer of maternal anti-Ro and/or anti-La autoantibodies can result in fetal cardiac disease, including congenital heart block and cardiomyopathy, called cardiac neonatal lupus (NL). Thousands of women are faced with the risk of cardiac NL in their offspring, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There are no known therapies to permanently reverse third-degree heart block in NL, although several treatments have shown some effectiveness in incomplete heart block and disease beyond the atrioventricular node. Fluorinated steroids taken during pregnancy have shown benefit in these situations, although adverse effects may be concerning. Published data are discordant on the efficacy of fluorinated steroids in the prevention of mortality in cardiac NL. β-a

SUBMITTER: Saxena A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4539276 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature