A United States National Assessment of Pediatric Emergency and Inpatient Encounters Before, During, and Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental and Behavioral Health Diagnoses

Sunshine of My Life

The relationship among timing and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy, placental pathology, and adverse pregnancy outcomes is not well understood. A prospective cohort study of 497 pregnant patients with COVID-19 whose placentas underwent systematic pathologic examination was conducted. The main exposure was timing of COVID-19 during pregnancy (first/second versus third trimester). The primary outcome was composite placental pathology that included high-grade mate...

In this issue, Pereira et al. conduct a systematic review, exploring the complex, often confusing, relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), two commonly occurring neuropsychiatric disorders affecting youth, using cognitive, genetic and neurobiological data to map shared and unique features.1 We applaud this effort to extract and analyze the limited extant literature in these domains in these cohorts precisely because the shared and unique features of each are a frequently encountered dilemma for clinicians.

Clinical Bioinformaticians play a critical role in clinical molecular diagnostics laboratories as developers of data analysis pipelines, tools, and databases. They also contribute to a variety of othe...

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Childhood

It is well documented that autistic people are at an increased risk for co-occurring mental health challenges and suicide.1 There is also a robust and ever-growing body of literature delineating the challenges of meeting the varied mental health needs of autistic children, adolescents, and adults—most notably, access to efficacious treatments. For those who are able to access services, there are concerns about ableism and the failure of clinicians to understand how autistic characteristics may interact with mental health presentation and treatment response.

This study evaluated an ultraviolet (UV) mutational signature classifier applied to circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) liquid biopsies, using the FoundationOne Liquid CDx (F1LCDx) platform. Among 73,790 samples, 12.9% (9,527) met the variant threshold for signature analysis, with UV signatures detected in 3.8% (365) of cases. Of these, 51.5% (188) were initially submitted as cutaneous, 8.5% (31) as unspecified primary, and 40.0% (146) as extra-cutaneous tumors. The UV clas...

In recent years, continued research efforts have yielded new biomarkers for invasive breast cancer (IBC), as well as a deeper understanding of its heritability. The Association for Molecular Pathology issued a four-part webinar series: Breast Cancer Molecular Testing: Catching Up to Increased Complexity (www.amp.org/breastcancer, last accessed February 18, 2025) to provide pathologists, geneticists, oncologists, genetic counselors, laboratory professionals, and other members of the patient care team with a comprehensive overview of this rapidly evolving field.

The angiofibrotic switch refers to the pathologic transition from active angiogenesis to fibrosis, a process that contributes to disease progression in retinal and choroidal neovascular diseases, such...

2025 Annual Report: JAACAP’s Work to Advance Science Regarding the Impacts of Structural and Social Determinants of Health on Children’s Mental Health

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common childhood onset disorder, is associated with impulsivity, impaired attention and executive function, and poor academic performance.1 Stimulants, the first-line medication treatment for ADHD, are associated with better academic functioning and decreased injury risk.2

Functional somatic symptoms, which are physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by any underlying medical condition, run in families. Besides genetic predispositions, parental model behaviors may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of symptom proneness. However, studies examining the long-term influences of parental health and illness factors on their offspring's somatic symptoms are scarce.

A Prospective Birth Cohort Study on the Association Between Cord Blood Acylcarnitine Profile and Childhood Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Addressing Critical Workforce Shortages in Youth Mental Health: Implementation of a Multi-Component Career Development Program

On the Move: A Life

Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) affects 50% of ovarian cancers (OC) and influences PARP inhibitors efficacy. While one-third of HRD tumours harbour a deleterious BRCA1/2 mutation, these mutations are not the sole cause of HRD. Promoter methylation of BRCA1 and RAD51C contributes to 19% and 2% of cases, respectively.A cohort of 224 ovarian cancer (OC) patients tested for HRD validated our droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) technique. DNA was extracted from FFPE tissue, and the Genomic Insta...