Medial anterior prefrontal cortex stimulation downregulates implicit reactions to threats and prevents the return of fear.

Downregulating emotional overreactions toward threats is fundamental for developing treatments for anxiety and post-traumatic disorders. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for top-down modulatory processes, and despite previous studies adopting repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over this region provided encouraging results in enhancing extinction, no studies have hitherto explored the effects of stimulating the medial anterior PFC (aPFC, encompassing the Brodmann area 10) on threat memory and generalization. Here we showed that rTMS over the aPFC applied before threat memory retrieval immediately decreases implicit reactions to learned and novel stimuli in humans.

Follow-up of a randomized trial optimizing neonatal nutrition in preterm very low birthweight infants: growth, serum adipokines, renal function and blood pressure.

Objective: The primary objectives were to compare body mass index (BMI) Z-score (Z), systolic blood pressure (SBP), serum leptin:adiponectin (L:A) ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at ~3 years adjusted age between two arms of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing two modes of human milk fortification for very low-birthweight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Study Design: Follow-up of RCT at 33-48 months.

Results: Follow-up data are available in 82/120 infants.

Relationship between Ventricular Size on Latest Ultrasonogram and the Bayley Scores ≥ 18 Months in Extremely Low Gestational Age Neonates: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: A ventricle-to-brain index (VBI) >0.35 is associated with low scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) in preterm infants with birth weight <1,250 g. However, VBI obtained at the third ventricle has only moderate interobserver reliability.

Quality improvement project designed to reduce disproportionate growth in extremely low gestational age neonates: cognitive neurodevelopmental outcome at 18-41 months.

Objective: To assess if the adjusted odds of low composite cognitive Bayley-III scores changed after implementing a single-institution quality improvement (QI) project designed to decrease discharge Z-scores for weight, body mass index (BMI), and weight-for-length, but not length or fronto-occipital circumference (FOC) in infants 23-28 weeks gestational age (GA).

Methods: Compare Bayley-III outcomes at ≥18 months corrected age (postnatal age adjusted for prematurity) in infants tested before (Epoch-1) and after (Epoch-2) QI implementation.

Results: Bayley testing was available in 134/156 infants (86%) in Epoch-1 and 139/175 (79%) in Epoch-2.

Zinc deficiency limiting head growth to discharge in extremely low gestational age infants with insufficient linear growth: a cohort study.

Objective: To assess the relationship of size for age with zinc deficiency in extremely low gestational age (GA) infants (23-28 weeks, ELGANs) who had insufficient linear growth despite optimizing other nutrients and to analyze changes in fronto-occipital circumference (FOC), weight and length with zinc supplementation.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Results: Among 302 ELGANs, a serum zinc concentration was obtained in 52 with insufficient linear growth (17%).

Association of age of initiation and type of complementary foods with body mass index and weight-for-length at 12 months of age in preterm infants.

Objective: To assess whether in very preterm infants (1) body mass index (BMI) Z-score and weight-for-length (WtFL) Z-score at 1 year of age and (2) head growth from discharge to 1 year are associated with breastfeeding at discharge and the age of onset and type of complementary foods.

Study Design: Observational cohort study.

Results: Infants started on only ready-made complementary (RMC) feedings at ≤26 weeks adjusted age had the highest adjusted BMI Z-score and WtFL Z-score at 1 year of age.

Optimizing individual nutrition in preterm very low birth weight infants: double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Objective: In preterm neonates fed human milk, fortification may be adjusted by (1) optimization, based on growth rate and serum nutrient analyses, or (2) individualization, based on serial milk nutrient analyses. The primary aim was to determine whether individualized plus optimized nutrition (experimental) improves velocity of weight gain and linear growth from birth to endpoint (36 weeks postmenstrual age or discharge) when compared with optimized nutrition alone (controls).

Study Design: Double-blinded parallel group randomized trial in 120 neonates <29 weeks gestational age (GA) or <35 weeks and small for GA (birth weight < 10th centile).

Correction to: Adjustable feedings plus accurate serial length measurements decrease discharge weight-length disproportion in very preterm infants: quality improvement project.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Adjustable feedings plus accurate serial length measurements decrease discharge weight-length disproportion in very preterm infants: quality improvement project.

Background: Preterm very-low-birth-weight (≤1500 g) infants exhibit disproportionate weight-for-length growth in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Local Problem: High frequency of body mass index (BMI) > 90th centile at discharge and 1-year postnatal age associated with elevated blood pressure and serum leptin in infancy and adolescence.

Methods: Single-institution quality improvement project in appropriately grown infants born at 23-28 weeks gestational age and discharged home.