Prenatal and childhood neonicotinoid exposure and neurodevelopment: A study in a young Taiwanese cohort.

Neonicotinoid insecticides (NEOs) dominate the global pesticide market because of their low cost and effectiveness. However, epidemiological studies regarding the potential adverse health effects of exposure to NEOs before birth and in early childhood are limited. Therefore, this study investigated the associations between NEO exposure before birth and during early childhood and neurodevelopment.

Prenatal to preschool exposure of nonylphenol and bisphenol A exposure and neurodevelopment in young children.

Background: Nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) are produced in large quantities worldwide as multipurpose agents. However, studies on relations between NP and BPA exposure and childhood neurodevelopment are few, and the results are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate associations between prenatal and early childhood NP and BPA exposure and neurodevelopment in mother-child pairs.

The Effect of Processing Donor Milk on Its Nutrient and Energy Content.

The pasteurization is a mandatory step to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms of bank milk. For storage, freezing and thawing are necessary. The concentration of macronutrients and energy of bank milk could be influenced by these procedures which are routinely used in human milk bank.

A randomized controlled trial of clinic-based and home-based interventions in comparison with usual care for preterm infants: effects and mediators.

This study examined the effects and mediators of a clinic-based intervention program (CBIP) and a home-based intervention program (HBIP) compared with usual care in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm infants on developmental and behavioral outcomes at 24 months of age (corrected for prematurity). In this randomized controlled trial, VLBW preterm infants received either CBIP (n=57), HBIP (n=63), or usual care (n=58) from hospitalization to 12 months. At 12 months, infant emotional regulation was assessed using the toy-behind-barrier procedure and dyadic interaction was observed during free play.

The growth of very-low-birth-weight infants at 5 years old in Taiwan.

Background: The goal of this study was to compare the growth and effect of growth on cognitive performance at 5 years of age of a group of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants and a group of healthy full-term infants.

Methods: Beginning in 1995, under the sponsorship of the Premature Baby Foundation, the Society of Neonatology, Taiwan, conducted a multicenter follow-up study of VLBW infants in Taiwan. The study enrolled 322 VLBW infants and 103 controls for assessment of growth data and cognitive performance at several time points from birth through to 5 years of age.

Influence of prolonged storage process, pasteurization, and heat treatment on biologically-active human milk proteins.

Objectives: The bioactive proteins in human milk may be influenced by prolonged storage process, pasteurization, and heat treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of these procedures.

Materials And Methods: Three forms of human milk - freshly expressed, frozen at -20°C for a prolonged duration, and pasteurized milk - were collected from 14 healthy lactating mothers and a milk bank.

Characteristics of the first human milk bank in Taiwan.

Background: The benefits of feeding human milk to infants, even in prematurity, have been well documented. Well-organized donor milk processing has made the milk bank a good source of nutrition for premature or sick infants if their own mother's milk is not sufficient or suitable. The Taipei City Hospital Milk Bank was established in 2005 and is the first nonprofit human milk bank to operate in Taiwan.

The effect of in-hospital developmental care on neonatal morbidity, growth and development of preterm Taiwanese infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Intervention studies of developmental care for preterm infants in Western societies have shown early but unsustainable effects on child outcomes, however only a limited of studies have examined if developmental care interventions produce similar effects in Eastern cultural contexts.

Aims: To examine the effectiveness of in-hospital developmental care on neonatal morbidity, growth and development of preterm infants with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight<1500 g) in Taiwan.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight VLBW preterm infants were randomly assigned to the clinical trial during hospitalization at three hospitals in Taiwan; the control group received five sessions of standard child-focused developmental care and the intervention group received five sessions of child- and parent-focused developmental care.

Surfactant lavage decreases systemic interleukin-1 beta production in meconium aspiration syndrome.

Background: Surfactant lavage has been used to remove meconium debris in meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), but the influence of surfactant lavage on pro-inflammatory cytokines and cellular apoptosis is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of pro-inflammatory cytokine and the influence on alveolar cellular apoptosis using therapeutic bronchoalveolar lavage with diluted surfactant to treat MAS.

Methods: Twelve newborn piglets were anesthetized, intubated via tracheostomy, and artificially ventilated.

Cognitive development at age 8 years in very low birth weight children in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: All children should have some developmental screening periodically throughout childhood, especially those who were born prematurely. There is limited information about the development of children with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight < 1500 g) beyond the preschool age in Taiwan. We evaluated intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive ability of prematurely born school-aged children in Taiwan.

Brief report: Taiwanese infants' mental and motor development--6-24 months.

Objectives: To establish the normative data of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition (BSID-II) on Taiwanese infants from age 6 to 24 months and to explore the factors that relate to their mental and motor development.

Methods: Five hundred and seven Taiwanese full-term infants were prospectively examined with the BSID-II at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age.

Results: Taiwanese infants' Bayley mental and motor raw scores were lower than the United States norms from age 6 to 24 months, however, the discrepancy gradually declined with increasing age.

Factors affecting the non-compliance for follow-up in very low birth weight children.

Background: Long-term longitudinal follow up of very low birth weight (VLBW, birth weight < or =1500 g) infants is important. This study assessed the factors affecting non-compliance for follow-up at different ages in VLBW children.

Methods: The demographic data, morbidity and neurodevelopmental data of 321 VLBW infants were analyzed between those returned and not returned.

Prognostic predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome or mortality in very-low-birth-weight infants.

Survival rate of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants has much improved in recent years. However, neurodevelopmental outcomes are still of the most concerned to such infants' parents. In order to survey survival rate, neurodevelopmental outcome and prognostic factors in these infants, we did a retrospective study of VLBW infants who were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of Taipei City Hospital, Branch for Women and Children from 1st January 2001 to 31th October 2004.

Delivery before 32 weeks of gestation for maternal pre-eclampsia: neonatal outcome and 2-year developmental outcome.

Background And Objective: In the literature, there are conflicting data on the neonatal outcome in preterm infants who were delivered for maternal pre-eclampsia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of maternal pre-eclampsia on neonatal morbidity and 2-year developmental outcome in a population of preterm infants delivered before 32 weeks of gestation.

Methods: The hospital records of all 89 surviving VLBW infants with GA below 32 weeks born from January 1997 to December 1999 were reviewed retrospectively.