Intake of own mother's milk during the first days of life is associated with decreased morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight infants during the first 60 days of life.

Background: The incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and possibly also of sepsis is lower in preterm infants fed their own mother's milk (hereafter 'mother's milk') compared with formula-fed infants. It is unclear whether this is caused by the protective properties of breast milk or by the absence of cow's milk. Especially in early life, mother's milk is often unavailable to preterm infants, while minimal enteral nutrition is initiated immediately.

[A boy with pruritus and blisters].

A 4-year-old boy came to the emergency department because of pruritus and multiple tense bullae over his entire body, including his ears, hands, feet and perineum. Biopsy revealed the diagnosis: linear IgA bullous dermatosis.

Pharmaceutical aspects of drug eluting stents.

This review focuses on the pharmaceutical aspects of the development of drug eluting stents. It discusses the different processes that can be used to obtain a controlled release of a drug from the stent as well as the coatings therefore applied. Results obtained for stents already available on the market or in a far stage of development are discussed.

Two-year clinical results of a polymer-free, paclitaxel-eluting stent: the ELUTES trial.

Aims: The ELUTES Study was a dose-finding trial to determine clinical safety and angiographic efficacy of a polymer-free, paclitaxel-eluting stent. The aim of this paper is to present the longer term follow-up.

Methods And Results: 192 patients with de novo lesions were randomised to either control or one of four doses of paclitaxel directly applied to a Cook Incorporated V-Flex Plus stent without polymer.

Stent-based tempamine delivery on neointimal formation in a porcine coronary model.

Background: Tempamine is one of new class of antioxidant agents, the nitroxides, which have shown a wide range of biological effects like suppressing free radical driven reactions to maintain cell functions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of a biodegradable polymer coated stent loaded with tempamine on in-stent neointimal formation.

Methods: Stainless steel stents were dip coated in biodegradable elastomeric poly (ester-amide) (co-PEA) or in polymer solution mixed with 50% (wt%) and 100% (wt%) tempamine.