Fetal Therapy ─ Scientific Basis and Critical Appraisal of Clinical Benefits

Kilby (fetal medicine, U. of Birmingham, UK), Johnson, and Oepkes provide maternal-fetal medicine and neonatology specialists and trainees with 22 chapters on the current status of fetal therapy. Fetal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, reproductive medicine, and other specialists from Europe, North America, Australia, and Hong Kong consider aspects of transplacental therapy and both ultrasound and fetoscopic-directed interventions to treat fetal disease. They describe the pathogenesis of disease processes, treatment involving transplacental drug therapy, invasive procedures, and fetal surgery for various diseases, emphasizing treatments that have been established in clinical practice, reviewing the literature, and discussing why some therapy has failed to live up to its promise. The introductory section on general principles includes discussion of the ethics of in-utero therapy, the rationale for fetal therapy, human embryology, insights into the pathogenesis of adult cardiovascular disease from fetal animal studies, and risks, emotions, and the doctor's role in the decision-making process. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)