Neonatal seizures: aetiology by means of a standardized work-up.

Unlabelled: Neonatal seizures are an alarming symptom and are frequent in neonates. It is important to find the cause of neonatal seizures to start a specific treatment and to give a meaningful prognosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of different aetiologies of neonatal seizures in our hospital by a specific work-up.

Introduction of hypothermia for neonates with perinatal asphyxia in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Background: Therapeutic hypothermia was introduced in the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium, in 2008. Since then, an increasing number of patients has been treated - up to 166 in 2010. Complications and outcome were registered in an online database.

Effect of indomethacin infused over 30 minutes on cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction in preterm newborns with a patent ductus arteriosus.

Background: A significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common finding in the first days of life and, if persistent, is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality in the preterm newborn.

Objectives: Our aim was to investigate, using near-infrared spectroscopy, the effect of indomethacin on the fractional tissue (cerebral) oxygen extraction (FT(c)OE) in a group of preterm newborns undergoing medical treatment for a PDA.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational study.

Effect of treatment of subclinical neonatal seizures detected with aEEG: randomized, controlled trial.

Objectives: The goals were to investigate how many subclinical seizures in full-term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) would be missed without continuous amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) and whether immediate treatment of both clinical and subclinical seizures would result in a reduction in the total duration of seizures and a decrease in brain injury, as seen on MRI scans.

Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, term infants with moderate to severe HIE and subclinical seizures were assigned randomly to either treatment of both clinical seizures and subclinical seizure patterns (group A) or blinding of the aEEG registration and treatment of clinical seizures only (group B). All recordings were reviewed with respect to the duration of seizure patterns and the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).

Loss of desmoplakin tail causes lethal acantholytic epidermolysis bullosa.

The cytoplasmic plaque protein desmoplakin (DP), which is located in desmosomes, plays a major role in epithelial and muscle cell adhesion by linking the transmembrane cadherins to the cytoplasmic intermediate filament network. Mutations of DP may cause striate palmoplantar keratoderma, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, skin fragility/woolly hair syndrome, Naxos-like disease, and Carvajal syndrome. DP must be indispensable, because DP-/- mice are early abortive.

Early neonatal dexamethasone treatment for prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Randomised trial and meta-analysis evaluating the duration of dexamethasone therapy.

Unlabelled: The aim of the aborted trial was to determine whether the short early dexamethasone (DX) given after the birth improves the early outcome. We also reviewed the evidence (meta-analysis) to determine whether the duration of early DX treatment influences the early outcome, particularly in terms of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The participants of the randomised multicentre, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial had a birth weight 500-999 g, gestation < or = 31.