Pain-related increase in serotonin transporter gene methylation associates with emotional regulation in 4.5-year-old preterm-born children.

Aim: The main goal of this study was to assess the association between pain-related increase in serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) methylation and emotional dysregulation in 4.5-year-old preterm children compared with full-term matched counterparts.

Methods: Preterm (n = 29) and full-term (n = 26) children recruited from two Italian hospitals were followed-up from October 2011 to December 2017.

From early stress to 12-month development in very preterm infants: Preliminary findings on epigenetic mechanisms and brain growth.

Very preterm (VPT) infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are at risk for altered brain growth and less-than-optimal socio-emotional development. Recent research suggests that early NICU-related stress contributes to socio-emotional impairments in VPT infants at 3 months through epigenetic regulation (i.e.

Maternal Sensitivity Buffers the Association between SLC6A4 Methylation and Socio-Emotional Stress Response in 3-Month-Old Full Term, but not very Preterm Infants.

Background: Very preterm (VPT) infants are hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and are exposed to life-saving procedures eliciting pain-related stress. Recent research documented that pain-related stress might result in birth-to-discharge increased methylation of serotonin transporter gene () in VPT infants, leading to poorer stress regulation at 3 months of age in VPT infants compared to their full-term (FT) counterparts. Maternal sensitivity is thought to support infants' stress response, but its role in moderating the effects of altered methylation is unknown.

Very Preterm and Full-Term Infants' Response to Socio-Emotional Stress: The Role of Postnatal Maternal Bonding.

Very preterm (VPT) infants are at risk for altered socio-emotional stress regulation, even in the absence of perinatal complications. Moreover, becoming a mother of a VPT infant is a traumatic event, which might affect the establishment of a bonding relationship toward the infant during the postnatal period. The main aim of the present study was to assess the association between maternal postnatal bonding and socio-emotional stress response in 3-month-old VPT infants, compared to full-term (FT) controls.

Fetal development of the corpus callosum: Insights from a 3T DTI and tractography study in a patient with segmental callosal agenesis.

Commissural embryology mechanisms are not yet completely understood. The study and comprehension of callosal dysgenesis can provide remarkable insights into embryonic or fetal commissural development. The diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique allows the in vivo analyses of the white-matter microstructure and is a valid tool to clarify the disturbances of brain connections in patients with dysgenesis of the corpus callosum (CC).

SLC6A4 promoter region methylation and socio-emotional stress response in very preterm and full-term infants.

Aim: The present study is part of a prospective micro-longitudinal research project and reports on the association between SLC6A4 methylation and socio-emotional stress response in very preterm (VPT) and full-term (FT) infants.

Materials & Methods: SLC6A4 methylation was assessed at birth and discharge in 32 VPT infants, and at birth in 27 FT infants. Socio-emotional stress response (i.

A Comparison of Maternal and Paternal Experiences of Becoming Parents of a Very Preterm Infant.

Objective: To compare maternal and paternal experiences of very preterm (VPT) birth (gestational age < 32 weeks) and the NICU stay.

Design: Qualitative study.

Setting: Data collection took place at parents' homes 3 to 6 months after NICU discharge.

Serotonin Transporter Gene (SLC6A4) Methylation Associates With Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Stay and 3-Month-Old Temperament in Preterm Infants.

Preterm birth and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay are early adverse stressful experiences, which may result in an altered temperamental profile. The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), which has been linked to infant temperament, is susceptible to epigenetic regulation associated with early stressful experience. This study examined a moderation model in which the exposure to NICU-related stress and SLC6A4 methylation moderated infant temperament at 3 months of age.

Survival rate and neurodevelopmental outcome of extremely premature babies: an 8-year experience of an Italian single neonatal tertiary care center.

Extremely preterm babies are at major risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcome, being the gestational age (GA) the main determinant for a good-quality survival. Aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the neurodevelopmental outcome in a population of extremely preterm babies admitted to a single neonatal tertiary care unit over an 8-year period. All babies born between 23+0 and 25+6 weeks of GA from January 2003 until December 2010 were retrospectively enrolled.

Cranial ultrasound findings in late preterm infants and correlation with perinatal risk factors.

Background: Late preterm infants are the most represented premature babies. They are exposed to a wide spectrum of brain lesions which are often clinically silent, supporting a possible role of cerebral ultrasound screening. Aim of the study is to describe the pattern of cranial ultrasound abnormalities in late preterm infants and to define the need for cranial ultrasound according to perinatal risk factors.

The Impact of Twin Birth on Early Neonatal Outcomes.

Objective: This study aims to describe the impact of twin birth, chorionicity, intertwin birth weight (BW) discordance and birth order on neonatal outcomes.

Study Design: We performed a hospital-based retrospective study on 2,170 twins (6.4% of all live births) and 2,217 singletons inborn 2007 to 2011.

Pain-related stress during the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay and SLC6A4 methylation in very preterm infants.

Very preterm (VPT) infants need long-lasting hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) during which they are daily exposed to pain-related stress. Alterations of DNA methylation at the promoter region of the SLC6A4 have been associated with early adverse experiences in infants. The main aim of the present work was to investigate the association between level of exposure to pain-related stress during hospitalization and changes in SLC6A4 DNA methylation at NICU discharge in VPT infants.

Intracranial haemorrhage: an incidental finding at magnetic resonance imaging in a cohort of late preterm and term infants.

Background: Intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) in term newborns has been increasingly recognised but the occurrence in late preterm infants and the clinical presentation are still unclear.

Objective: To investigate the appearance of intracranial haemorrhage at MRI in a cohort of infants born at 34 weeks' gestation or more and to correlate MRI findings with neonatal symptoms.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed neonatal brain MRI scans performed during a 3-year period.

From germinal matrix to cerebellar haemorrhage.

For many years cerebellar development after preterm birth has been poorly investigated and has been studied without taking germinal matrix-intraventricular haemorrhage into account. Advanced neuroimaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging, as well as the use of various acoustic windows (mastoid fontanelle, occipital foramen) have allowed for in vivo diagnosis of acquired focal haemorrhagic lesions in the cerebellum of very preterm babies. The vulnerability of the cerebellum also seems to be related to specific gestational ages, i.