The Alberta Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System: a 40-year review with prevalence and trends for selected congenital anomalies, 1997-2019

From data extraction to analysis: a comparative study of ELISE capabilities in scientific literature

The exponential growth of scientific literature presents challenges for pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and Medtech industries, particularly in regulatory documentation, clinical research, and systematic reviews. Ensuring accurate data extraction, literature synthesis, and compliance with industry standards require AI tools that not only streamline workflows but also uphold scientific rigor. This study evaluates the performance of AI tools designed for bibliographic review, data extraction, and scientific synthesis, assessing their impact on decision-making, regulatory compliance, and research productivity. The AI tools assessed include general-purpose models like ChatGPT and specialized solutions such as ELISE (Elevated LIfe SciencEs), SciSpace/Typeset, Humata, and Epsilon. The evaluation is based on three main criteria: Extraction, Comprehension, and Analysis with Compliance and Traceability (ECACT) as additional dimensions. Human experts established reference benchmarks, while AI Evaluator models ensure objective performance measurement. The study introduces the ECACT score, a structured metric assessing AI reliability in scientific literature analysis, regulatory reporting and clinical documentation. Results demonstrate that ELISE consistently outperforms other AI tools, excelling in precise data extraction, deep contextual comprehension, and advanced content analysis. ELISE's ability to generate traceable, well-reasoned insights makes it particularly well-suited for high-stakes applications such as regulatory affairs, clinical trials, and medical documentation, where accuracy, transparency, and compliance are paramount. Unlike other AI tools, ELISE provides expert-level reasoning and explainability, ensuring AI-generated insights align with industry best practices. ChatGPT is efficient in data retrieval but lacks precision in complex analysis, limiting its use in high-stakes decision-making. Epsilon, Humata, and SciSpace/Typeset exhibit moderate performance, with variability affecting their reliability in critical applications. In conclusion, while AI tools such as ELISE enhance literature review, regulatory writing, and clinical data interpretation, human oversight remains essential to validate AI outputs and ensure compliance with scientific and regulatory standards. For pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and Medtech industries, AI integration must strike a balance between automation and expert supervision to maintain data integrity, transparency, and regulatory adherence.

Prenatal multidisciplinary counseling for fetal congenital anomalies: A narrative review

INTRODUCTION

Prenatal multidisciplinary counseling for fetuses with congenital anomalies involves a collaborative approach, integrating expertise from various medical fields.

AIMS AND APPROACH

This comprehensive strategy aims to provide expectant parents with accurate information about the diagnosis, potential outcomes, and available interventions. Genetic counselors, obstetricians, neonatologists, and other specialists work together to address medical, psychological, and ethical aspects. The prenatal multidisciplinary counseling approach emphasizes open communication, fostering a supportive environment for the couple to express their concerns and ask questions. In the case of prenatally detected fetal congenital anomalies, several different scenarios can be delineated: (1) detection of surgically correctable congenital anomalies, (2) identification of genetic disease or fetal anomalies likely to result in disabilities, (3) discovery of severe and lethal congenital anomalies, and (4) encountering fetal anomalies that are not well-defined, leading to an unclear scenario. The process of counseling includes discussing the possibility of pregnancy termination, treatment options, potential challenges, and emotional support, enabling expectant parents to make informed decisions aligned with their values and preferences. Additionally, the counseling process extends beyond the initial diagnosis, providing ongoing support as the pregnancy progresses and helping families to prepare for the difficulties they may face after the birth of the child with congenital anomalies. This collaborative effort not only focuses on the medical aspects but also considers the emotional and ethical dimensions of decision-making.

CONCLUSION

The multidisciplinary approach enhances the quality of care and empower parents, facilitating a more informed and compassionate journey throughout the prenatal period.

Anorectal malformations

Anorectal malformations (ARM) are rare congenital anomalies with an overall prevalence of 3.32 per 10,000 pregnancies. ARM describe a spectrum of anomalies of the anus and rectum ranging from a minimally displaced anal canal to a complete fusion of the anorectum, vagina and urethra with hypoplastic sphincter and pelvic floor muscle. Aberrant septation of the hindgut with anomalous cloacal membrane during weeks 6 to 9 of gestation form the developmental basis for a spectrum of anomalies defined as ARM. Although underlying specific syndromes and occasional familiar occurrence suggest genetic aetiology, most ARM are non-syndromic and their causal genetic mechanisms and non-genetic insults remain unclear. ARM is a clinical diagnosis, generally made early after birth via careful inspection of the perineum. Prenatal detection remains rare, and modern technical developments have added little to prenatal diagnostics. ARM is corrected surgically. Since its introduction in 1982, posterior sagittal anorectoplasty is the most common surgery for ARM reconstruction. Subsequent surgical adaptations focus on minimizing iatrogenic operative injury by limiting surgical invasiveness. They include laparoscopic procedures and shortening of incisions with confined dissection in open surgery. Although outcomes in patients with ARM have evolved throughout the past decades, there is urgent need for further improvements both in functional outcomes and quality of life. The importance of psychosocial experiences of affected patients is increasingly recognized. Continued research is necessary to improve prenatal detection, to elucidate genetic and epigenetic alterations and to refine optimal surgical procedures.

Claudin-3 in the non-neural ectoderm is essential for neural fold fusion in chicken embryos

The neural tube, the embryonic precursor to the brain and spinal cord, begins as a flat sheet of epithelial cells, divided into non-neural and neural ectoderm. Proper neural tube closure requires that the edges of the neural ectoderm, the neural folds, to elevate upwards and fuse along the dorsal midline of the embryo. We have previously shown that members of the claudin protein family are required for the early phases of chick neural tube closure. Claudins are transmembrane proteins, localized in apical tight junctions within epithelial cells where they are essential for regulation of paracellular permeability, strongly involved in apical-basal polarity, cell-cell adhesion, and bridging the tight junction to cytoplasmic proteins. Here we explored the role of Claudin-3 (Cldn3), which is specifically expressed in the non-neural ectoderm. We discovered that depletion of Cldn3 causes folic acid-insensitive primarily spinal neural tube defects due to a failure in neural fold fusion. Apical cell surface morphology of Cldn3-depleted non-neural ectodermal cells exhibited increased membrane blebbing and smaller apical surfaces. Although apical-basal polarity was retained, we observed altered Par3 and Pals1 protein localization patterns within the apical domain of the non-neural ectodermal cells in Cldn3-depleted embryos. Furthermore, F-actin signal was reduced at apical junctions. Our data presents a model of spina bifida, and the role that Cldn3 is playing in regulating essential apical cell processes in the non-neural ectoderm required for neural fold fusion.

Acquired Brain Injuries Across the Perinatal Spectrum: Pathophysiology and Emerging Therapies

The development of the central nervous system can be directly disrupted by a variety of acquired factors, including infectious, inflammatory, hypoxic-ischemic, and toxic insults. Influences external to the fetus also impact neurodevelopment, including placental health, maternal comorbidities, adverse experiences, environmental exposures, and social determinants of health. Acquired perinatal brain insults tend to affect the developing brain in a stage-specific manner that reflects the susceptible cell types, developmental processes, and risk factors present at the time of the insult. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology, neurodevelopmental outcomes, and management of common acquired perinatal brain conditions. In the fetal brain, we divide insults based on trimester, and in the postnatal brain, we focus on common pathologies that have a presentation dependent on gestational age at birth: white matter injury and germinal matrix hemorrhage/intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in term infants. Although specific treatments for fetal and newborn brain disorders are currently limited, we emphasize therapies in preclinical or early clinical phases of the development pipeline. The growing number of novel cell type- and stage-specific emerging therapies suggests that in the near future we may have a dramatically improved ability to treat acquired perinatal brain disorders and to mitigate the associated neurodevelopmental consequences.