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HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) is a severe variant of preeclampsia whose pathogenesis remains unclear. Recent evidence and clinical similarities suggest a link to atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a disease of excessive activation of the alternative complement pathway effectively treated with a complement inhibitor, eculizumab. Therefore, we utilized a functional complement assay, the modified Ham test, to test sera of women with classic or atypical HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia with severe features, normal pregnancies and healthy non-pregnant women. Sera were also evaluated using levels of the terminal product of complement activation (C5b-9). We tested the in vitro ability of eculizumab to inhibit complement activation in HELLP serum. Increased complement activation was found in participants with classic or atypical HELLP compared to normal pregnancy and non-pregnant controls. Mixing HELLP serum with eculizumab containing serum resulted in a significant decrease in cell killing compared to HELLP serum alone. In conclusion, HELLP syndrome is associated with increased complement activation demonstrated by the modified Ham test. This assay may aid in the diagnosis of HELLP syndrome and confirm its pathophysiology relates to aHUS.

Background: This article, prepared by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Undergraduate MedicalEducation Committee, discusses the evolving challenges facing medical educators posed by social media and a new form of professionalism that has been termed e-professionalism. Summary: Eprofessionalism is defined as the attitudes and behaviors that reflect traditional professionalism paradigms but are manifested through digital media. One of the major functions of medical education is professional identity formation; e-professionalism is an essential and increasingly important element of professional identity formation, because the consequences of violations of e-professionalism have escalated from academic sanctions to revocation of licensure. Conclusion: E-professionalism should be included in the definition, teaching, and evaluation of medical professionalism. Curricula should include a positive approach for the proper professional use of social media for learners.

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Serial amnioinfusion appears to have mitigated the severe pulmonary compromise that has, in the past, led to the death of newborns with bilateral renal agenesis.

In a program designed to train academic obstetrician-gynecologists, objective data from medical students' applications did not correlate with successful resident performance in our obstetrics-gynecology residency program. We need to continue our search for evaluation criteria that can accurately and reliably select the medical students that are best fit for our specialty.