Lipocalin-2 and calprotectin as stool biomarkers for predicting necrotizing enterocolitis in premature neonates.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a major challenge for premature infants in neonatal intensive care units and efforts toward the search for indicators that could be used to predict the development of the disease have given limited results until now.

Methods: In this study, stools from 132 very low birth weight infants were collected daily in the context of a multi-center prospective study aimed at investigating the potential of fecal biomarkers for NEC prediction. Eight infants (~6%) received a stage 3 NEC diagnosis.

IL-17-related signature genes linked to human necrotizing enterocolitis.

Objective: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most frequent life-threatening gastrointestinal disease experienced by premature infants in neonatal intensive care units all over the world. The objective of the present study was to take advantage of RNA-Seq data from the analysis of intestinal specimens of preterm infants diagnosed with NEC. Function enrichments with Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used to analyse previous data in order to identify biological and functional processes, which could provide more insight into the pathogenesis of NEC in infants.

Impaired antimicrobial response and mucosal protection induced by ibuprofen in the immature human intestine.

Background: The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin (INDO) and ibuprofen (IBU) has been shown to be an effective therapy for the closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). However, this treatment has been associated with an increased risk of developing enteropathies in neonates. Whether the use of IBU is safer than INDO for the immature intestine remains to be elucidated.

The nitric oxide synthase 2 pathway is targeted by both pro- and anti-inflammatory treatments in the immature human intestine.

Background And Aim: NO synthase 2 (NOS2) was recently identified as one the most overexpressed genes in intestinal samples of premature infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NOS2 is widely implicated in the processes of epithelial cell injury/apoptosis and host immune defense but its specific role in inflammation of the immature human intestinal mucosa remains unclear. Interestingly, factors that prevent NEC such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) attenuate the inflammatory response in the mid-gestation human small intestine using serum-free organ culture while drugs that are associated with NEC occurrence such as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin (INDO), exert multiple detrimental effects on the immature human intestine.

Gene expression profiling in necrotizing enterocolitis reveals pathways common to those reported in Crohn's disease.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most frequent life-threatening gastrointestinal disease experienced by premature infants in neonatal intensive care units. The challenge for neonatologists is to detect early clinical manifestations of NEC. One strategy would be to identify specific markers that could be used as early diagnostic tools to identify preterm infants most at risk of developing NEC or in the event of a diagnostic dilemma of suspected disease.

Malnutrition in hospitalized children: prevalence, impact, and management.

Purpose: Malnutrition in hospitalized children has been reported since the late 1970s. The prevalence of acute and chronic malnutrition was examined in hospitalized patients in a general pediatric unit, and the impact and management of malnutrition were assessed.

Methods: The nutritional risk score (NRS) and nutritional status (NS) (weight, height, body mass index, and skinfold thickness) of children aged zero to 18 years were assessed upon hospital admission.

Burden of rotavirus disease: A population-based study in Eastern Townships, Quebec.

Background: Since July 2010, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization of Canada has recommended rotavirus vaccination for all healthy infants. However, before implementing this vaccine in routine health programs, Canadian provinces need to establish current epidemiological data on rotavirus-associated acute gastroenteritis (AGE).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of children <5 years of age with AGE from 2002 to 2008 was performed in Eastern Townships, Quebec (population in 2006: 298,780).

Deleterious effects of indomethacin in the mid-gestation human intestine.

The use of the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin (INDO) in preterm infants has been associated with an increased risk of developing enteropathies. In this study, we have investigated the direct impact of INDO on the human mid-gestation intestinal transcriptome using serum-free organ culture. After determining the optimal dose of 1 μM of INDO (90% inhibition of intestinal prostaglandin E2 production and range of circulating levels in treated preterm babies), global gene expression profiles were determined using Illumina bead chip microarrays in both small and large intestines after 48 h of INDO treatment.

Anti-inflammatory effects of epidermal growth factor on the immature human intestine.

The inflammatory response of the preterm infants' intestine underlines its inability to respond to hemodynamic stress, microbes, and nutrients. Recent evidence suggests that exogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF) exerts a therapeutic influence on neonatal enteropathies. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of EGF remain to be clarified.

Gene-expression profile analysis in the mid-gestation human intestine discloses greater functional immaturity of the colon as compared with the ileum.

Background And Objectives: The occurrence of many neonatal inflammatory intestinal diseases in preterm infants highlights the susceptibility of the immature intestine to responding inadequately to nutrients and microbes. A better understanding of functional intestinal development is essential for the design of optimal treatments ensuring survival and growth of premature infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the gene expression profiles of the human ileum and colon at mid-gestation because these 2 segments are considered to be similar at this stage and are the sites of the most frequent pathologies in preterm infants.

Hypersensitivity reaction to parenteral nutrition in an intrauterine growth-restricted newborn: a case report.

Hypersensitivity reaction to parenteral nutrition (PN) in infants is a rare condition, especially in the neonatal period. The authors report the case of a neonate with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) who presented symptoms of anaphylaxis while receiving standard PN. Given the very common practice of neonatal PN use, especially in newborns with IUGR, clinicians should be alerted about possible acute reactions to this useful therapy.

Luminal fermentation and colonocyte metabolism in a rat model of enteral nutrition.

Large intestinal fermentation and nutrient metabolism in colonocytes were investigated in a rat model of enteral feeding. Male Wistar rats (240-280 g) were submitted to 7 or 14 days of treatment: intragastric feeding (elemental formula) versus oral feeding (isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet, containing 5% purified cellulose) in the control group. Fermentation products and bacterial populations were analyzed in cecal contents.