Background There is conflicting literature on the effect of maternal asthma on congenital malformations and neonatal outcomes.Objectives This review and meta-analysis sought to determine if maternal asthma is associated with an increased risk of adverse neonatal outcomes.Search strategy We searched electronic databases for: (asthma or wheeze) and (pregnan* or perinat* or obstet*). Authors' conclusions Despite limitations related to the observational nature of the primary studies, this review demonstrates a small increased risk of neonatal complications among pregnant women with asthma. Further investigations into mechanisms and potential preventive interventions to improve infant outcomes are required.Keywords Asthma, congenital anomaly, malformation, neonatal death, neonatal intensive care unit, perinatal mortality, pregnancy, stillbirth.Please cite this paper as: Murphy V, Wang G, Namazy J, Powell H, Gibson PG, Chambers C, Schatz M. The risk of congenital malformations, perinatal mortality and neonatal hospitalisation among pregnant women with asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BJOG 2013;120:812-822.

Efficient DNA electrotransfer into muscles can be achieved by combining two types of electronic pulses sequentially: short high-voltage (HV) pulse for the cell electropermeabilization and long low-voltage (LV) pulse for the DNA electrophoresis into cells. However, the voltages currently applied can still induce histological and functional damages to tissues. Pluronic L64 has been considered as a molecule possessing cell membrane-disturbing ability. For these reasons, we hope that L64 can be used as a substitute for the HV pulse in cell membrane permeabilization, and a safe LV pulse may still keep the ability to drive plasmid DNA across the permeabilized membrane. In this work, we optimized the electrotransfer parameters to establish a safe and efficient procedure using a clinically applied instrument, and found out that the critical condition for a successful combination of electrotransfer with L64 was that the injection of plasmid/L64 mixture should be applied 1 h before the electrotransfer. In addition, we revealed that the combined procedure could not efficiently transfer plasmid into solid tumor because the uncompressed plasmid may rapidly permeate the leaky tumor vessels and flow away. Altogether, the results demonstrate that the combined procedure has the potential for plasmid-based gene therapy through safe and efficient local gene delivery into skeletal muscles.