Influence of Intrauterine Inflammation, Delivery, and Postnatal Feeding on the Temporal Changes of Serum Alpha 1 Acid Glycoprotein Levels in Extremely-Low-Birth-Weight Infants.

Infection remains the primary cause of death in extremely-low-birth-weight infants (ELBWIs). Alpha 1 acid glycoprotein (α1AG), an acute-phase protein, has been shown to be elevated in sporadic cases of septic ELBWIs prior to abnormal clinical signs. To delineate the roles of inflammation, delivery, and feeding in postnatal α1AG changes in ELBWIs, 75 ELBWIs of 26.

Near-infrared light scattering and water diffusion in newborn brains.

Objective: MRI provides useful information regarding brain maturation and injury in newborn infants. However, MRI studies are generally restricted during acute phase, resulting in uncertainty around upstream clinical events responsible for subtle cerebral injuries. Time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy non-invasively provides the reduced scattering coefficient ( ), which theoretically reflects tissue structural complexity.

Foetal growth, birth transition, enteral nutrition and brain light scattering.

If the brain structure is assessed at neonatal intensive care units, covert clinical events related with subtle brain injury might be identified. The reduced scattering coefficient of near-infrared light (μ') obtained using time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy from the forehead of infants is associated with gestational age, body weight and Apgar scores, presumably reflecting subtle changes of the brain related to foetal growth and birth transition. One hundred twenty-eight preterm and term infants were studied to test whether μ' obtained from the head at term-equivalent age is associated with foetal growth, birth transition and nutritional status after birth, which are key independent variables of developmental outcomes.

Case Report: Management of Cholestasis Associated With Congenital Syphilis.

Cholestasis is a rare but life-threatening complication of congenital syphilis. However, standard management methods for this disease have not been established. Here, we report a case of congenital syphilis presenting with progressively worsening cholestasis, and we review the clinical features and management practices.

Promoting sound development of preterm infants in the name of developmental neuroscience: Beyond advanced life support and neuroprotection.

Despite the increased survival opportunities for extremely preterm infants, their long-term cognitive outcomes remain poor, with increased incidence of cognitive impairments in childhood and reduced opportunities to attend higher education in young adulthood compared to their term-born peers. Given that a considerable fraction of preterm infants develop cognitive impairments even without apparent sentinel events at birth and cerebral lesions on MRI assessed at term equivalent age, future strategies to improve the outcome may need to address cerebral dysfunction, which cannot be explained by the classical understanding of the injury cascade triggered by hypoxia-ischaemia around birth. Developmental care has been proposed to minimize neurodevelopmental impairments related to preterm birth.

Radial Glial Fibers Promote Neuronal Migration and Functional Recovery after Neonatal Brain Injury.

Radial glia (RG) are embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) that produce neuroblasts and provide fibers that act as a scaffold for neuroblast migration during embryonic development. Although they normally disappear soon after birth, here we found that RG fibers can persist in injured neonatal mouse brains and act as a scaffold for postnatal ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ)-derived neuroblasts that migrate to the lesion site. This injury-induced maintenance of RG fibers has a limited time window during post-natal development and promotes directional saltatory movement of neuroblasts via N-cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts that promote RhoA activation.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in AGTR1, TFAP2B, and TRAF1 are not associated with the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus in Japanese preterm infants.

Background: Persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a frequent complication in preterm infants. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in several genes, including angiotensin II receptor, type 1 (AGTR1), transcription factor AP-2 beta (TFAP2B) and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), have been reported to be associated with PDA in preterm infants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between PDA in preterm infants and polymorphisms in AGTR1, TFAP2B and TRAF1 in the Japanese population.

Nemaline myopathy with KLHL40 mutation presenting as congenital totally locked-in state.

We report a case of nemaline myopathy with KLHL40 mutation, presenting as congenital totally locked-in state. At birth, a male patient developed hydrops fetalis, which was diagnosed based on the generalized edema and pleural effusion and could perform no significant spontaneous movements. His eyes were open, without blinking, and the eyeballs were locked in the midposition.

Risk factors for early death in transient myeloproliferative disorder without phenotypic features of Down syndrome: a case report and literature review.

Not only in newborns with Down syndrome, but newborns without phenotypic features of Down syndrome also develop transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD). In these cases, trisomy 21 and related chromosomal abnormalities are either constitutionally mosaic or limited to blood cells. Risk factors for early death of these patients are unknown so far.