Congenital cytomegalovirus infection is associated with congenital rickets: a retrospective autopsy cohort study

Congenital rickets is characterised by deficient bone mineralisation at the growth plate in utero. A review of published cases of congenital rickets found that maternal vitamin D deficiency likely contributes to its pathogenesis.1 Two recent studies showed that human cytomegalovirus (CMV) led to a rapid, pronounced and persistent reduction of vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA expression in vitro and in vivo.2 3 This effect was specific to CMV and was not observed for other common viruses.2 VDR is essential for mediating the biological function of vitamin D and for bone development.4 Therefore, we hypothesised that congenital rickets could be observed in fetuses and neonates with congenital CMV (cCMV) infection. We searched our electronic autopsy database and retrospectively identified fetal and neonatal autopsies with a diagnosis of cCMV, performed at Alberta Children’s Hospital from 1 January 2006 to 31 October...
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Tags: PostScript Source Type: research