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Thymic Size (thymic + size)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Early-life nutritional and environmental determinants of thymic size in infants born in rural Bangladesh

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2009
SE Moore
Abstract Aim:, The aim was to assess the impact of nutritional status and environmental exposures on infant thymic development in the rural Matlab region of Bangladesh. Methods:, In a cohort of Nmax 2094 infants born during a randomized study of combined interventions to improve maternal and infant health, thymic volume (thymic index, TI) was assessed by ultrasonography at birth and at 8, 24 and 52 weeks of age. Data on birth weight, infant anthropometry and feeding status were also collected. Results:, At all ages, TI was positively associated with infant weight and strongly associated with the month of measurement. Longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding resulted in a larger TI at 52 weeks. TI at birth and at 8 weeks correlated positively with birth weight, but by 24 and 52 weeks and when adjusted for infant weight this effect was no longer present. Thymic size was not affected by pre-natal maternal supplementation or by socioeconomic status but was correlated to arsenic exposure during pregnancy. Conclusion:, In this population of rural Bangladeshi infants, thymic development is influenced by both nutritional and environmental exposures early in life. The long-term functional implications of these findings warrant further investigation. [source]

Thymic size in preterm neonates: a sonographic study

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2003
DL Jeppesen
Aim: To assess the variation in size of the thymus in vivo in preterm neonates and to identify relations between thymic size and gestational age (GA), birthweight, occurrence of postnatal infections and maternal alcohol and tobacco intake during pregnancy. Methods: Eighty preterm neonates with a GA between 24 and 36 wk, and a birthweight between 490 and 4110 g were examined between days 0 and 19 after birth. The thymic size was assessed by sonography as a volume estimate, the so-called thymic index (Ti). The median Ti was 5.2 (1.2,17.9). Ti was positively correlated with birthweight and GA and negatively correlated with occurrence of postnatal infection (p < 0.01, p= 0.03, p= 0.05, R2= 0.68). A correlation between thymic size and maternal alcohol and tobacco intake was not demonstrated. Conclusion: It is possible to assess the size of the thymus by sonography in very low-birthweight and preterm neonates. A normal range for Ti in preterm neonates has been established. The sonographic method is a safe and effective technique for measuring the size of the thymus in preterm infants. [source]

Previous breastfeeding does not alter thymic size in infants dying of sudden infant death syndrome

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2000
JMD Thompson
The relationship between thymic weights and previous feeding histories was examined in 294 infants of 37 wk gestation or more dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). One hundred and sixty-five infants had been breastfed exclusively, 89 had been partially breastfed and 40 had never been breastfed. We found no relationship between thymic weight and type of previous feeding. The difference between these findings in SIDS and the substantially greater thymic size previously reported in 4-mo-old breastfed living infants deserves further study. [source]

T-lymphocyte subsets, thymic size and breastfeeding in infancy

PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Dorthe L. Jeppesen
We followed the changes in concentration of T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ cells) in peripheral blood and thymus size during infancy. Previous studies have found increased thymus size in breastfed infants. The present study analyzed the association between breastfeeding and the number of CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Two different populations of infants between birth and 1 year of age were examined. Study Group I: infants with a variable duration of breastfeeding. Study Group II: long-term breastfed infants. In both groups a correlation was found between CD8+ cells and the thymic index at 10 months of age. In Group I, infants still breastfed at the 8-month examination had a higher CD8% than formula-fed infants (p = 0.05), and infants breastfed at the 4-month examination had a higher CD4% at 10 months of age (p=,0.03). Group II showed an increase in the absolute number of CD4+ and CD8+ cells from 8 to 10 months of age; and a positive correlation between the number of breastfeedings per day at 8 months of age, and an increase in CD4+ cells from 8 to 10 months of age (p <0.01). In conclusion, a correlation was found between thymus size and CD8+ cells. Breastfeeding might have both a current and long-term immune-modulating effect on the developing cellular immune system. [source]

Early-life nutritional and environmental determinants of thymic size in infants born in rural Bangladesh

The size of the thymus: an important immunological diagnostic tool?

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2003
DL Jeppesen
The report on the influence of seasonal factors on thymic size in early life describes a pattern of ultrasonographically measured thymic growth in Gambian infants including the finding of a smaller thymus in the hungry season. These factors raise a number of important questions: Is the size of the thymus relevant to its function and could measurement of the thymus be a useful immunological diagnostic tool in the investigation of thymic function in humans with a depressed immune system? Conclusion: Studies using the size of the thymus as an immunological diagnostic tool should be encouraged. [source]