Early Neonatal Period (early + neonatal_period)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


PRECLINICAL STUDY: Different effects of chronic phencyclidine on brain-derived neurotrophic factor in neonatal and adult rat brains

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
Jun'ichi Semba
ABSTRACT The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are both known to play major roles in the normal development of the brain. We have hypothesized that the chronic blockade of NMDA with phencyclidine (PCP) may have a different effect on BDNF synthesis at different stages of development. In an acute experiment, rat pups and adult rats were injected with PCP (2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg) at postnatal day (PD) 15 or 49, respectively. In a chronic experiment, rat pups were injected daily from PD 5 to PD 14 with PCP (2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg), while adult rats were injected daily with the same dose from PD 39 to PD 48. BDNF levels in the hippocampus, striatum and frontal cortex were determined by ELISA assay 24 hours after the last injection. Chronic PCP treatment of neonatal rats induced a dose-dependent decrease in BDNF in the hippocampus but not in the frontal cortex and striatum. Single injection of PCP to rat pups showed a slight reduction of BDNF in the hippocampus but only at higher doses. In contrast to neonatal brain, neither acute nor chronic injection of PCP influenced BDNF in adult brain. These findings suggest that chronic blockade of NMDA receptor in the early neonatal period has an inhibitory effect on BDNF synthesis in the hippocampus and may impair normal neurodevelopment in rat pups. [source]


Serum Bile Acids Concentrations in Healthy and Clinically III Neonatal Foals

JOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2007
Michelle Henry Barton
Background:Reference ranges for serum bile acids (SBA) concentration are well established in healthy adult horses. Increased values are indicative of hepatic disease. Hypotheses: SBA concentrations are significantly greater in the neonatal period compared with mature horses, and illness in the neonatal period will further increase SBA. Animals:Ten healthy mature horses, 12 healthy foals, and 31 clinically ill foals. Methods:Prospective cross-sectional study. Blood samples were obtained once from the mature horses, from healthy foals immediately after birth, at 2 days, and at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks of age; and from ill foals less than 1 month of age at the time of admission to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. SBA concentrations were determined enzymatically and by radioimmunoassay. Total and direct bilirubin and triglyceride concentrations were measured, as well as sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) and ,-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities. Results:There was a significant negative correlation between age and SBA concentration. Compared with mature horses, SBA concentrations were significantly greater in healthy foals at each collection time over the first 6 weeks of life. Radioimmunoassay values were lower than enzymatic SBA values, with increasing bias as the mean difference between values increased. When comparing age-matched values between healthy and ill foals, there were no significant differences in SBA. None of the ill foals had a primary diagnosis of hepatic disease. There was no significant correlation between the SBA concentration and the bilirubin or triglyceride concentrations or the GGT activity. There was a significant direct correlation between increased SBA and serum SDH activity in healthy foals only. Conclusion and Clinical Importance: SBA concentrations in foals are significantly higher in the early neonatal period, underscoring the importance of using age-matched references when evaluating clinical pathology values during the neonatal period. [source]


Social class inequalities in childhood mortality and morbidity in an English population

PAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
Stavros Petrou
Summary The objective of this study was to examine the association between social class of the head of household at the time of birth and mortality and morbidity during the first 10 years of life in a cohort of all 117 212 children born to women who both lived, and delivered in hospital, in Oxfordshire or West Berkshire during the period 1 January 1979 to 31 December 1988. Logistic regression was used to estimate social class gradients, with odds ratios (OR), for mortality during the early neonatal period, late neonatal period, post-neonatal period, post-infancy period and throughout the first 10 years of life. Logistic regression was also used to estimate social class gradients, with ORs, for hospital admission rates for 16 broad groups of diseases during years 0,3, 4,6, 7,10 and throughout the first 10 years of life. Poisson regression was used to estimate social class gradients, with effect sizes, for overall hospital admission rates during years 0,3, 4,6, 7,10 and throughout the first 10 years of life. The study revealed a significant social class gradient in mortality during the first 10 years of life (adjusted OR for each decrement in social class category 1.08; [95% confidence interval 1.03, 1.14]). The study also revealed a significant adjusted social class gradient in hospital admission rates for 14 of the 16 groups of diseases during the first 10 years of life. For the majority of these, the social class gradients had attenuated somewhat by the later childhood years. However, the social class gradient persisted throughout the first 10 years of life for diseases of the respiratory system (1.07 [1.05, 1.08]), diseases of the digestive system (1.06 [1.04, 1.09]), and injury and poisoning (1.07 [1.06, 1.09]). In addition, a significant adjusted social class gradient was found in overall hospital admission rates for each age group studied. This study suggests that there are significant social class inequalities in a wide range of adverse child health outcomes. [source]


Spontaneous labor increases nitric oxide synthesis during the early neonatal period

PEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2001
Akihiko Endo
AbstractBackground: This paper aimed to assess the influence of spontaneous labor upon endogenous nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin 1 (ET-1) during transition to extrauterine life. Methods: The serum levels of NO metabolites (the sum of nitrites and nitrates (NOx)) and the plasma level of ET-1 were determined in 53 healthy full-term infants (spontaneous labor group; n=40, cesarean delivery group; n=13). In both groups, blood samples were obtained from a cord vein at birth and from a peripheral vein at 5 days of age. Results: The differences in serum NOx concentrations between the spontaneous labor group and the elective cesarean group were not significant at birth. By the age of 5 days, serum NOx concentrations had risen significantly in the spontaneous labor group to become significantly higher in the elective cesarean group. Conclusion: It is speculated that spontaneous labor might enhance endogenous NO synthesis at 5 days of age. [source]


Do maternal- or pregnancy-associated disease states affect blood pressure in the early neonatal period?

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Alison L. KENT
Background: Placental vascular changes associated with maternal disease states may affect fetal vascular development. There is evidence suggesting that being born prematurely is associated with a higher blood pressure (BP) in later life. Aim: To determine whether maternal disease state affects BP in the early neonatal period. Methods: Cohort study of neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit with exposure to maternal hypertension and diabetes. Inclusion criteria were neonates greater than 27 weeks gestation not ventilated or requiring inotropes for more than 24 h, materna l hypertension (pregnancy induced or essential) or diabetes of any kind requiring treatment, and spontaneous delivery. Exclusion criteria included chromosomal or congenital anomaly and illicit maternal drug use. Oscillometric BP measurements taken until discharge on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Placental histopathology was performed. Results: One hundred and ninety infants enrolled, 104 in the control and 86 in the study group. Sixty-five infants were born between 28,31 weeks and 125 infants between 32,41 weeks gestation. Those born between 28,31 weeks with a history of diabetes had a statistically higher systolic, mean and diastolic BP throughout the first 28 days of life (P = 0.001; P = 0.007; P = 0.02). Those born between 32,41 weeks gestation with placental pathology associated with altered uteroplacental perfusion had a higher systolic BP (P = 0.005). Conclusions: Maternal- or pregnancy-associated disease states appear to influence BP in the early neonatal period. Diabetes and altered placental perfusion were associated with higher BP readings. Clinical significance of these statistically elevated BPs in the early neonatal period is unknown. [source]


Impact of skin tone on the performance of a transcutaneous jaundice meter

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2009
Stephen Wainer
Abstract Aim:, To evaluate the performance of the Konica Minolta/Air-ShieldsŪ JM-103 jaundice meter on the basis of infant skin tone during the early neonatal period. Methods:, Infants were prospectively categorized into light, medium and dark skin tone groups relative to two reference colours. Transcutaneous bilirubin readings were taken at predetermined intervals through the early neonatal period on a convenience sample of 938 healthy infants ,37 weeks gestation. Serum bilirubin measurements were drawn routinely with metabolic studies and repeated in the presence of an elevated transcutaneous reading or clinically significant jaundice. Results:, Multivariate linear regression analysis showed a significant impact on serum and transcutaneous bilirubin agreement by skin tone. Highest precision and lowest bias were observed for medium skin toned infants. Greater disagreement between serum and transcutaneous measurements was noted at serum bilirubin concentrations >200 ,mol/L. Insufficient numbers of dark skin toned infants were enroled to evaluate fully the performance of the jaundice meter for this group. Conclusion:, The JM-103 jaundice meter displayed good correlation with serum bilirubin concentrations in light and medium skin tone infants, although it showed a tendency to under-read in the lighter skin tone group and to over-read in the darker skin tone group. The device shows excellent performance characteristics for use as a screening device. [source]


Congenital systemic Langerhans cell histiocytosis presenting as hydrops fetalis

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2005
Cheuk H Lee
Abstract Congenital Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) encompasses a wide spectrum of disease involvement and severity. Congenital "self-healing" cutaneous LCH represents one end of the spectrum, whereas the case we encountered represents the other extreme. A rare case of congenital LCH with severe multiorgan involvement presenting as hydrops fetalis is described in this report. Hydrops fetalis has not previously been associated with congenital LCH. The overall clinical features of this infant closely mimicked those of disseminated congenital infection, and he ran a fulminant and rapidly fatal course. Conclusion: A high index of suspicion is required to diagnose congenital LCH in the early neonatal period. Hydrops fetalis is an ominous sign and probably reflects severe systemic disease compromising the well-being of the fetus. [source]


Late-onset neutropenia in very low birthweight infants

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2002
G Chirico
Aim: To evaluate the incidence and duration of late-onset neutropenia (defined as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <1500 mm,3 at a postnatal age of >3 wk) in a population of infants with birthweight <2000 g, and to determine whether copper deficiency, a possible cause of both anemia and neutropenia, may be associated with this complication. Methods: Complete blood cell count and differential were assessed in 247 low (LBW) and very low birthweight (VLBW) infants who were discharged after 3 wk of life. In neutropenic infants plasma copper and ceruloplasmin levels were also measured. Results: Late-onset neutropenia was detected in 11 out of 147 VLBW infants (7.5%) and in 7 out of 127 LBW infants (5.5%). A neutrophil count of <1000 mm,3 was observed in 14 infants (5.1%). A significantly lower gestational age was found in neutropenic infants compared with non-neutropenic infants. In neutropenic infants ANCs were significantly correlated with hemoglobin and hematocrit. In addition, a significant negative correlation was found between neutrophil and reticulocyte counts. Plasma copper concentration was significantly correlated with birthweight. Oral copper sulfate was administered to infants with plasma copper concentration <50 ,g dl,1, and did not seem to affect ANC, hemoglobin, hematocrit or reticulocyte counts. Conclusion: Late-onset neutropenia appears to be a benign condition that is not associated with any particular complication and does not require specific treatment. Reference ranges after the early neonatal period and during the first few months of life in LBW and VLBW infants should probably be set at lower values. [source]