Postnatal Month (postnatal + month)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Postnatal Month

  • first postnatal month


  • Selected Abstracts


    Oxidative stress, nitric oxide, and the mechanisms of cell death in Lurcher Purkinje cells

    DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2007
    Rebecca McFarland
    Abstract Oxidative stress is postulated to play a role in cell death in many neurodegenerative diseases. As a model of neonatal neuronal cell death, we have examined the role of oxidative stress in Purkinje cell death in the heterozygous Lurcher mutant (+/Lc). Lurcher is a gain of function mutation in the ,2 glutamate receptor (GluR,2) that turns the receptor into a leaky membrane channel, resulting in chronic depolarization of +/Lc Purkinje cells starting around the first week of postnatal development. Virtually, all +/Lc Purkinje cells die by the end of the first postnatal month. To investigate the role of oxidative stress in +/Lc Purkinje cell death, we have examined nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and the expression of two markers for oxidative stress, nitrotyrosine and manganese super oxide dismutase (MnSOD), in wild type and +/Lc Purkinje cells at P10, P15, and P25. The results show that NOS activity and immunolabeling for nitrotyrosine and MnSOD are increased in +/Lc Purkinje cells. To determine whether peroxynitrite formation is a prerequisite for +/Lc Purkinje cell death, +/Lc mutants were crossed with an ,-nNOS knockout mutant (nNOS,,/,) to reduce the production of NO. Analysis of the double mutants showed that blocking ,-nNOS expression does not rescue +/Lc Purkinje cells. However, we present evidence for sustained NOS activity and nitrotyrosine formation in the GluR,2+/Lc:nNOS,/, double mutant Purkinje cells, which suggests that the failure to rescue GluR,2+/Lc:nNOS,/, Purkinje cells may be explained by the induction of alternative nNOS isoforms. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007. [source]


    The effect of prenatal hypoxia on brain development: short- and long-term consequences demonstrated in rodent models

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2006
    Hava Golan
    Hypoxia (H) and hypoxia-ischemia (HI) are major causes of foetal brain damage with long-lasting behavioral implications. The effect of hypoxia has been widely studied in human and a variety of animal models. In the present review, we summarize the latest studies testing the behavioral outcomes following prenatal hypoxia/hypoxia-ischemia in rodent models. Delayed development of sensory and motor reflexes during the first postnatal month of rodent life was observed by various groups. Impairment of motor function, learning and memory was evident in the adult animals. Activation of the signaling leading to cell death was detected as early as three hours following H/HI. An increase in the counts of apoptotic cells appeared approximately three days after the insult and peaked about seven days later. Around 14,20 days following the H/HI, the amount of cell death observed in the tissue returned to its basal levels and cell loss was apparent in the brain tissue. The study of the molecular mechanism leading to brain damage in animal models following prenatal hypoxia adds valuable insight to our knowledge of the central events that account for the morphological and functional outcomes. This understanding provides the starting point for the development and improvement of efficient treatment and intervention strategies. [source]


    Postnatal neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the guinea pig

    HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 3 2005
    Sandra Guidi
    Abstract In all species examined, the dentate gyrus develops over an extended period that begins during gestation and continues up to adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of postnatal cell production in the dentate gyrus of the guinea pig, a rodent whose brain development has features more closely resembling the human condition than the most commonly used rodents (rat and mouse). Animals of different postnatal (P) ages received one or multiple injections of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), and the number of labeled cells in the dentate gyrus was counted after time intervals of 24 h or longer. The total granule cell number and the volume of the granule cell layer were evaluated in Nissl-stained brain sections from P1 and P30 animals. P1,P5 animals were treated with MK-801 to analyze the effect of NMDA receptor blockade on cell proliferation. Cell production occurred at a high rate (9,000,13,000 labeled cells 24 h after one injection) from P1 to P20, with a peak at 3,6 days of age, and then slowly declined from P20 to P30. The production of new cells continued in adult animals, although at a much-reduced rate (400 cells 24 h after one injection). About 20% of the labeled cells survived after a 17-day period and most (60%) of these cells had a neuronal phenotype. The total number of granule cells increased over the first postnatal month; in 30-day-old animals, it was 20% greater than in 1-day-old animals. Administration of MK-801 to P1,P5 animals caused an increase in cell proliferation restricted to the dorsal dentate gyrus. The present data show that, although the guinea pig dentate gyrus develops largely before birth, the production of new neurons continues at a high rate during the first postnatal month, leading to a considerable increase in cell number. This developmental pattern, resembling the human and nonhuman primate condition, may make the guinea pig a useful rodent model in developmental studies on dentate gyrus neurogenesis. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Re-utilization of Schwann cells during ingrowth of ventral root afferents in perinatal kittens

    JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 2 2008
    A. Ingela M. Nilsson Remahl
    Abstract Ventral roots in all mammalian species, including humans, contain significant numbers of unmyelinated axons, many of them afferents transmitting nociceptive signals from receptive fields in skin, viscera, muscles and joints. Observations in cats indicate that these afferents do not enter the spinal cord via the ventral root, but rather turn distally and enter the dorsal root. Some unmyelinated axons are postganglionic autonomic efferents that innervate blood vessels of the root and the pia mater. In the feline L7 segment, a substantial proportion of unmyelinated axons are not detectable until late in perinatal development. The mechanisms inducing this late ingrowth, and the recruitment of Schwann cells (indispensable, at this stage, for axonal survival and sustenance), are unknown. We have counted axons and Schwann cells in both ends of the L7 ventral root in young kittens and made the following observations. (1) The total number of axons detectable in the root increased throughout the range of investigated ages. (2) The number of myelinated axons was similar in the root's proximal and distal ends. The increased number of unmyelinated axons with age is thus due to increased numbers of small unmyelinated axons. (3) The number of separated large probably promyelin axons was about the same in the proximal and distal ends of the root. (4) Schwann cells appeared to undergo redistribution, from myelinated to unmyelinated axons. (5) During redistribution of Schwann cells they first appear as aberrant Schwann cells and then become endoneurial X-cells temporarily free of axonal contact. We hypothesize that unmyelinated axons invade the ventral root from its distal end, that this ingrowth is particularly intense during the first postnatal month and that disengaged Schwann cells, eliminated from myelinated motoneuron axons, provide the ingrowing axons with structural and trophic support. [source]


    Development of Diaper Rash in the Newborn

    PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
    Marty O. Visscher Ph.D.
    This study documents the earliest stages of rash in a cohort of 31 healthy term newborns over the first 28 days of life. The diaper area was evaluated using a standardized diaper rash grading scale. The anal, buttock, genital, intertriginous, waistband, and leg areas were assessed separately. At birth the average grade was 0.1 and none of the infants had specific features of advanced rash. Nineteen percent had dryness and/or slight redness. By day 7, 71% of infants had some features of skin compromise, giving rise to an overall grade of 0.6. Both the frequency and overall grade increased during postnatal weeks 2 and 3. Overall scores for days 21 and 28 were the same (1.1). The perianal area had the highest overall regional rash grade. Gender differences were present for the genital area only. These findings indicate that epidermal barrier breakdown is an uncommon finding at birth. Clinical signs of irritated skin in the diaper area develop progressively over the first postnatal month. A better understanding of the mechanisms conferring epidermal barrier protection at birth may be important for developing skin care products and practices to extend this protection later into life. [source]


    Which mothers wean their babies prematurely from full breastfeeding?

    ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 8 2009
    An Australian cohort study
    Abstract Aim:, To identify the maternal and infant characteristics associated with an early transition from full breastfeeding to complementary or no breastfeeding during the first 2 months of life in a large, representative cohort of Australian infants. Method:, Multinomial logistic modelling was performed on data for infants with complete breastfeeding and sociodemographic data (N = 4679) including maternal age, education, smoking, employment, pregnancy and birth outcomes. Results:, Ninety-one percent of women initiated breastfeeding. Sixty-nine percent of infants were being fully breastfed at 1 month, and 59% were fully breastfed at 2 months. Maternal characteristics , age less than 25 years, smoking in pregnancy, early full-time postnatal employment and less educational attainment , were associated with early breastfeeding cessation. Infant factors , multiple birth, caesarean birth, infant or first birth , were associated with a transition to complementary breastfeeding in the first postnatal month. Conclusion:, Breastfeeding duration is substantially affected by breastfeeding outcomes in the first postpartum month. The first month is an important window for evidence-based interventions to improve rates of full breastfeeding in groups of women identified as at risk of early breastfeeding cessation. [source]


    Multifocal haemangioma with extracutaneous involvement associated with hypergalactosaemia

    CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 8 2009
    Y. Uchida
    Summary Neonatal haemangiomatosis, characterized by multiple haemangiomas, is a rare disease that develops during the neonatal period with or without visceral involvement. We report a 1-month-old Japanese boy with multifocal haemangiomas with extracutaneous involvement. A haemangioma on his left lower eyelid, present at birth, increased in size during the first postnatal month and more lesions developed during the same period. Neonatal mass screening showed hypergalactosaemia. Laboratory investigations found raised total bile acid and ammonia. Computed tomography and abdominal ultrasonography studies showed multiple hepatic haemangiomas and intrahepatic portovenous shunts. The child's cutaneous and hepatic haemangiomas disappeared spontaneously with normalization of laboratory data, and galactose accumulation improved with the feeding of lactose-free milk. There were no complications and the child has had no recurrence of the symptoms. Our case implies a possible association of multiple haemangioma and hypergalactosaemia, suggesting the necessity for visceral investigation. [source]


    Quantitative analysis of postnatal neurogenesis and neuron number in the macaque monkey dentate gyrus

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
    Adeline Jabès
    Abstract The dentate gyrus is one of only two regions of the mammalian brain where substantial neurogenesis occurs postnatally. However, detailed quantitative information about the postnatal structural maturation of the primate dentate gyrus is meager. We performed design-based, stereological studies of neuron number and size, and volume of the dentate gyrus layers in rhesus macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) of different postnatal ages. We found that about 40% of the total number of granule cells observed in mature 5,10-year-old macaque monkeys are added to the granule cell layer postnatally; 25% of these neurons are added within the first three postnatal months. Accordingly, cell proliferation and neurogenesis within the dentate gyrus peak within the first 3 months after birth and remain at an intermediate level between 3 months and at least 1 year of age. Although granule cell bodies undergo their largest increase in size during the first year of life, cell size and the volume of the three layers of the dentate gyrus (i.e. the molecular, granule cell and polymorphic layers) continue to increase beyond 1 year of age. Moreover, the different layers of the dentate gyrus exhibit distinct volumetric changes during postnatal development. Finally, we observe significant levels of cell proliferation, neurogenesis and cell death in the context of an overall stable number of granule cells in mature 5,10-year-old monkeys. These data identify an extended developmental period during which neurogenesis might be modulated to significantly impact the structure and function of the dentate gyrus in adulthood. [source]


    Microvolt T Wave Alternans Inducibility in Normal Newborn Puppies: Effects of Development

    JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
    Ph.D., SALIM F. IDRISS M.D.
    T Wave Alternans in Normal Newborn Puppies.Introduction: The cause of sudden infant death syndrome is unknown, but increased cardiac vulnerability due to repolarization instability may be a contributing factor. The QT interval normally is long at birth and increases further during the first few postnatal months. Although excessive QT intervals indicate increased cardiac vulnerability in the long QT syndrome, the impact of less pronounced QT prolongation during this developmental period is unclear. In adults and older children, the ease of inducing microvolt-level T wave alternans (TWA) is used as a measure of repolarization instability and arrhythmia vulnerability. The aim of this study was to determine if TWA is inducible in normal newborn puppies. Methods and Results: Atrial pacing was performed in 15 anesthetized beagle puppies 7 to 35 days old. The pacing drive cycle length was systematically decreased in 20-msec steps from baseline until AV conduction blocked. Pacing was performed for 8 minutes at each cycle length. Three-lead ECGs were recorded continuously during the last 5 minutes of pacing at each cycle length. The recordings were analyzed off-line for the presence of microvolt-level TWA using a sensitive spectral analysis technique. Microvolt-level TWA was present in all puppies. TWA was not present at baseline but developed and increased in amplitude as heart rate increased. The threshold heart rate for TWA did not correlate with age. However, due to age-dependent changes in baseline heart rate, the 7- to 14-day-old animals needed a 50% to 78% increase in heart rate to reach threshold heart rate, whereas the oldest animals needed only a 5% to 25% increase. Conclusion: These data suggest that developmentally dependent dynamic repolarization instability exists in puppies as manifest by the inducibility of TWA. [source]