Cognitive and motor function of neurologically impaired extremely low birth weight children.

Background: Rates of neurological impairment among extremely low birth weight children (ELBW [<1 kg]) have decreased since 2000; however, their functioning is unexamined.

Objective: To compare motor and cognitive functioning of ELBW children with neurological impairment, including cerebral palsy and severe hypotonia/hypertonia, between two periods: 1990 to 1999 (n=83) and 2000 to 2005 (n=34).

Methods: Measures of function at 20 months corrected age included the Mental and Psychomotor Developmental Indexes of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Gross Motor Functional Classification System as primary outcomes and individual motor function items as secondary outcomes.

Delivering perinatal psychiatric services in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Aim: To describe characteristics of mothers who would likely benefit from on-site short-term psychiatric services while their infant is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods: For 150 consecutive mothers who were referred for psychiatric evaluation and psychotherapeutic intervention in an innovative NICU mental health programme, baseline information was collected. Data regarding their referrals, diagnosis, treatments and infants were analysed.

Fetal irradiation interferes with adult cognition in the nonhuman primate.

Background: Exposure to x-irradiation in early gestation has been shown to disrupt normal thalamocortical development in the monkey and thereby model one key feature of the neuropathology of schizophrenia. However, the effect of fetal irradiation on cognitive functions that are vulnerable in schizophrenia (e.g.

Postdischarge growth failure among extremely low birth weight infants: Correlates and consequences.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and correlates of postdis-charge growth failure among extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (weighing less than 1 kg) and its impact on growth and development.

Methods: One hundred fifty-four ELBW infants were followed to 20 months corrected age. Growth failure was defined as a decrease in weight z score (standard deviation score) of over 0.

Outcomes of extremely low birth weight (<1 kg) and extremely low gestational age (<28 weeks) infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: effects of practice changes in 2000 to 2003.

Objective: The goal was to evaluate whether changes in neonatal intensive care have improved outcomes for children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (oxygen dependence at corrected age of 36 weeks).

Methods: We compared outcomes of extremely low birth weight (<1 kg) and extremely low gestational age (<28 weeks) infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia between 2 periods (period I, 1996-1999: extremely low birth weight, n = 122; extremely low gestational age, n = 118; period II, 2000-2003: extremely low birth weight, n = 109; extremely low gestational age, n = 107).

Results: For both groups, significant practice changes between period I and period II included increased prenatal and decreased postnatal steroid therapy and increased surfactant therapy, indomethacin therapy, and patent ductus arteriosus ligation.

Improved neurodevelopmental outcomes for extremely low birth weight infants in 2000-2002.

Background: Neurodevelopmental impairment of extremely low birth weight infants increased in the 1990s. Modern therapeutic changes may have influenced more recent neonatal outcomes.

Objective: We sought to compare neonatal therapies and outcomes among all extremely low birth weight infants born in 2000-2002 (period III) to 2 previous periods: 1982-1989 (period I) and 1990-1999 (period II).

Poor predictive validity of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development for cognitive function of extremely low birth weight children at school age.

Objective: The Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition (BSID II) are commonly used to assess outcomes of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. We sought to assess the predictive validity of the BSID II Mental Developmental Index (MDI) for cognitive function at school age.

Design/methods: Of 330 ELBW infants admitted in 1992-1995, 238 (72%) survived to the age of 8 years, of whom 200 (84%) were tested at both 20 months' corrected age (CA) and 8 years.

Cortical afferents to the smooth-pursuit region of the macaque monkey's frontal eye field.

In primates, the frontal eye field (FEF) contains separate representations of saccadic and smooth-pursuit eye movements. The smooth-pursuit region (FEFsem) in macaque monkeys lies principally in the fundus and deep posterior wall of the arcuate sulcus, between the FEF saccade region (FEFsac) in the anterior wall and somatomotor areas on the posterior wall and convexity. In this study, cortical afferents to FEFsem were mapped by injecting retrograde tracers (WGA-HRP and fast blue) into electrophysiologically identified FEFsem sites in two monkeys.

Improved survival rates with increased neurodevelopmental disability for extremely low birth weight infants in the 1990s.

Background: Advances in perinatal care have resulted in increased survival rates for extremely low birth weight children. We sought to examine the relative changes in rates of survival and neurodevelopmental impairment at 20 months of corrected age among 500- to 999-g birth weight infants born at our perinatal center during 2 periods, before and after the introduction of surfactant therapy in 1990.

Methods: Four hundred ninety-six infants with birth weights of 500 to 999 g were born at our perinatal center during period I (1982-1989) (mean body weight: 762 g; mean gestational age: 25.

The effect of neonatal maternal milk feeding on the neurodevelopmental outcome of very low birth weight infants.

The effect of maternal milk feeding during the first 4 weeks of life on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 20 months corrected age (CA) of singleton very low birth weight (VLBW) (< 1.5 kg) infants was examined. Ninety-eight VLBW infants born from January 1997 to February 1999 were followed to 20 months CA (mean birth weight, 1012 g; gestational age, 27 weeks).