Background: Psoriasis in pregnancy is a highly prevalent inflammatory condition worldwide, with patients asking how the disease itself, as well as the medications that they take, would affect the general health of the fetus and the course of pregnancy. Objectives: This narrative review aims to explore the effects of biologic efficacy and safety on the pregnancy of women with psoriasis and on their fetus. Methods: A literature search based on biologic therapy, plaque psoriasis and pregnancy terms was conducted. Eleven articles were chosen after screening based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The study recorded 290 pregnancies with psoriasis on biologics across 11 case series, resulting in 211 healthy live births (approximately 72.7% of pregnancies). Ustekinumab is the most extensively studied biologic therapy during pregnancy, with 241 reported pregnancy cases, compared with 42 cases documented for anti-TNF therapies. Most of the biologics were paused early in pregnancy, while 24 pregnancy cases under biologic treatment throughout pregnancy were detected. Most of those cases were under Certolizumab and Adalimumab in a percentage of 33.3% each. Among the 290 biologic-exposed pregnancies included in the analysis, 33 spontaneous abortions, 20 elective terminations, 17 preterm births, four stillbirths, eight low-birth-weight infants, and four congenital anomalies (three unspecified and one case of fetal exencephaly) were reported, but without biologic exposure timing and biologic-specific correlations. Certolizumab was considered to be safe throughout pregnancy with minimal incidence of adverse effects, in accordance with existing guidelines. Conclusions: Current evidence indicates that biologic therapy use during pregnancy among women with psoriasis is generally associated with favorable maternal and fetal outcomes. Reported rates of miscarriage, congenital anomalies, and live births appear to be comparable with those observed in the general population and in other inflammatory conditions. Further large-scale, prospective registry studies are needed to clarify whether specific biologic treatment approaches influence pregnancy outcomes and to support more evidence-based clinical decision-making.

Recent federal court cases involving termination of employees who were denied a religious exemption to refuse COVID-19 vaccination mandated by employers renewed the discussion of the morality of using medicines produced and/or tested in cell lines derived from elective abortions. A common argument of employers in these lawsuits was that the association of COVID-19 vaccines and certain over-the-counter (OTC) medicines with past abortions was equivalent. Therefore, the use of OTC medicines but refusal of COVID-19 vaccines represented a contradiction to a sincerely held religious belief. In this commentary, we demonstrate that the association of COVID-19 vaccines and certain OTC drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, Benadryl, and Claritin) with past abortions is not equivalent. We outline the Catholic church's position on the use of medicines with an association with elective abortions and demonstrate how Catholic doctrine supports religious-exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates citing a tenet of the faith, respect for all human life.

Despite decades of sustained advocacy, Malawi retains one of the world's most restrictive criminal abortion laws. A draft Termination of Pregnancy Bill, developed in 2015 to propose semi-liberal reform to Malawi's abortion law, has yet to be enacted. In contrast, similar or less intensive advocacy efforts have resulted in liberalisation of abortion laws in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Zambia, South Africa, and Ethiopia. This qualitative case study examines the policy processes adopted by advocates and identifies potential pathways for abortion law reform in Malawi. Employing a multi-method approach, we conducted document analysis using the READ approach and semi-structured interviews with 14 key informants actively or formerly involved in Malawi's abortion law reform process. Data was analysed thematically using Bacchi's (2009) "What's the problem represented to be?" (WPR) theoretical framework. The findings revealed evidence-informed strategies aimed at strengthening future advocacy efforts: coordinated advocacy integrating established and emerging organisations; ongoing demographic and lived-experience evidence to counter stereotypes and expose harms; careful reframing of language (e.g. replacing "Termination of Pregnancy Bill" with motherhood-aligned titles); intensive community engagement via trusted local champions; strategic timing mindful of political cycles and U.S. funding pressures (including the reinstated Global Gag Rule); further litigation to clarify and expand existing legal scope; and adequate funding to counter well-resourced opposition and sustain rural outreach. Drawing comparative insights from surrounding Sub-Saharan African countries, we discuss drivers of reform and propose targeted strategies to advance abortion law liberalisation in Malawi and reduce mortality related to unsafe abortion. DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2026.2702233.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes cervical cancer. The objective of the study is to monitor AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine (Cervarix, GSK) safety in a real-world setting in China, using electronic health records from the Yinzhou Regional Health Information Platform (YRHIP). This retrospective observational cohort study included all permanent residents (males and females) aged 9-45 y with ≥12 months continuous YRHIP registration between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2020. The study analyzed demographic information, diagnoses coded using International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision for potential immune-mediated diseases (pIMD) and pregnancy-related outcomes, and HPV vaccination records. Of 1,002,399 participants in the YRHIP, 891,463 met the eligibility criteria. In the age group 9-45 y, uptake of AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine was 11.95/1000 persons. The incidence density for other spondylopathies, sarcoidosis, and pulmonary sarcoidosis was significantly higher in females vaccinated with any dose of AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine compared with females who did not receive HPV vaccination during the study period (p < .01). No causal relationship could be established due to confounding factors and potential misclassification. The GSK safety database or EudraVigilance database were reviewed and no signals associated with these events were identified. For other pIMDs and adverse pregnancy-related outcomes, no increased incidence was found for vaccinated females. While certain pIMDs demonstrated an increased incidence in vaccinated individuals, no causal association was confirmed. Further research is needed to address residual confounding factors and validate findings. The overall safety profile of AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccination in Chinese girls and women aged 9-45 y could be considered as favorable.Clinical Trial Registration:Retrospectively registered on http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn/index.html, 22 March 2021, registration number CTR20210523.

Managing acute leukemia during pregnancy poses clinical challenges requiring a balance between maternal treatment and fetal preservation. From 2019 to 2024, 22 pregnant women were diagnosed with acute leukemia, including 7 acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 15 cases of acute myeloid leukemia, of which 1 was acute promyelocytic leukemia. Diagnosis occurred in the first, second, and third trimesters in 5, 10, and 7 patients, respectively. Nine patients elected pregnancy termination, one had a spontaneous abortion, one had intrauterine fetal demise, and three experienced concurrent maternal and fetal death. Eight patients delivered via elective cesarean section, including one twin pregnancy, resulting in 9 live births. Four neonates (including one twin pregnancy) were exposed to in utero chemotherapy, with no observed congenital anomalies. Chemotherapy was administered to 11 patients, including 3 during pregnancy, all achieving temporary disease control. These findings provide real-world data to inform the management of acute leukemia during pregnancy.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a significant clinical biomarker of traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet understanding the nature, timing, and impact of its degraded and modified products would inform clinical utility. We report novel GFAP breakdown products (BDPs) and post-translational modifications (PTMs) that are unique to TBI including fragment- and patient-specific citrullination signatures that destabilize GFAP filaments. GFAP and its fragments were sequenced by mass spectrometry (MS) from severe TBI patients’ cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sera, identifying two distinct TBI-specific jointly generated product sets within the rod-domain covering coil1 (20–26 kDa) and coil2 (15–19 kDa). Their endings differed from GFAP fragments described in Alzheimer’s and Alexander disease. Label-free quantification showed biofluid co-product abundance differences with coil1-BDPs enriched over coil2-BDPs. Coil imbalance was independently confirmed by immunoblot densitometry in twenty-three TBI patients. Measurements over ten days showed injury day peaks of full-length and end-clipped GFAP fragments, while proteolytic 37/39 kDa and small fragments remained elevated. Six-month outcome (Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale) correlated with GFAP fragments, whereas levels of uncleaved and end-clipped GFAP did not. A human astrocyte culture trauma model provided mechanistic insights linking fluid GFAP levels, subcellular localization, and injury-induced astrocytopathy. A new cleavage site between the two coils was identified through selective epitope loss. Coil1-BDPs were fluid-released post-injury, while coil2-BDPs remained intracellular. Their cellular retention was explained by non-filamentous aggregation of citrulline-modified coil2-BDP’s in pathological astrocytes. Trauma-triggered proteolysis involved calpains and caspases in specific astrocyte injury states using protease inhibitors and live-dye-reporter imaging. These novel data link TBI biofluid GFAP fragments with assembly-defective GFAP aggregation in pathological astrocytes. Clinical TBI outcome correlated with GFAP degradation rather than with overall GFAP release. These translational findings indicate that TBI biomarker GFAP undergoes degradation and modification alongside astrocyte pathology, providing a new conceptual framework for investigating biomarker-associated astrocyte proteinopathy potentially linked to post-traumatic neurodegeneration.