Effectiveness of sodium channel blockers in treating neonatal seizures due to arterial ischemic stroke.

Objective: Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of antiseizure medications (ASMs) according to the etiology of neonatal acute provoked seizures. We aimed to investigate the response to ASMs in term/near term neonates with acute arterial ischemic stroke (AIS), as well as the type of seizure at presentation and the monitoring approach.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated neonates from 15 European level IV neonatal intensive care units who presented with seizures due to AIS and were monitored by continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) and/or amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) in whom actual recordings, timing, doses, and response to ASMs were available for review.

Oxidative Stress in Fetuses and Newborns.

In recent years, significant research has uncovered new mechanisms by which molecules and substances that act as free radicals generate oxidative stress in the biological system, contributing to various forms of injury and disease [...

Impact of daily music on comfort scores in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Premature birth heightens neurodevelopmental risks, theorized to partly stem from altered sensory inputs and disrupted sleep patterns. Modifying the acoustic milieu through music intervention (MI) offers promise to improve neonatal comfort, reduce sleep disturbances, and stabilize physiological parameters. This study explores the impact of non-pharmacological MI on these health indicators within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Association between sleep stages and brain microstructure in preterm infants: Insights from DTI analysis.

Study Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep stages and neural microstructure - measured using diffusion tensor imaging - of the posterior limb of the internal capsule and corticospinal tract in preterm infants.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 50 preterm infants born between 24 + 4 and 29 + 3 weeks gestational age was included in the study. Sleep stages were continuously measured for 5-7 consecutive days between 29 + 0 and 31 + 6 weeks postmenstrual age using an in-house-developed, and recently published, automated sleep staging algorithm based on routinely measured heart rate and respiratory rate.

Machine Learning-Derived Active Sleep as an Early Predictor of White Matter Development in Preterm Infants.

White matter dysmaturation is commonly seen in preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Animal research has shown that active sleep is essential for early brain plasticity. This study aimed to determine the potential of active sleep as an early predictor for subsequent white matter development in preterm infants.

Early qualitative and quantitative amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram and raw electroencephalogram for predicting long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely preterm infants in the Netherlands: a 10-year cohort study.

Background: Extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestation) are at great risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairments. Early amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) accompanied by raw EEG traces (aEEG-EEG) has potential for predicting subsequent outcomes in preterm infants. We aimed to determine whether and which qualitative and quantitative aEEG-EEG features obtained within the first postnatal days predict neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely preterm infants.

Brain injury and long-term outcome after neonatal surgery for non-cardiac congenital anomalies.

Background: There is growing evidence that neonatal surgery for non-cardiac congenital anomalies (NCCAs) in the neonatal period adversely affects long-term neurodevelopmental outcome. However, less is known about acquired brain injury after surgery for NCCA and abnormal brain maturation leading to these impairments.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and The Cochrane Library on May 6, 2022 on brain injury and maturation abnormalities seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its associations with neurodevelopment in neonates undergoing NCCA surgery the first month postpartum.

A grounded theory study on the dynamics of parental grief during the children's end of life.

Aim: Parents are increasingly confronted with loss during their child's end of life. Healthcare professionals struggle with parental responses to loss. This study aimed to understand parental coping with grief during their child's end of life.

Exploring the emergence of morphological asymmetries around the brain's Sylvian fissure: a longitudinal study of shape variability in preterm infants.

Brain folding patterns vary within the human species, but some folding properties are common across individuals, including the Sylvian fissure's inter-hemispheric asymmetry. Contrarily to the other brain folds (sulci), the Sylvian fissure develops through the process of opercularization, with the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes growing over the insular lobe. Its asymmetry may be related to the leftward functional lateralization for language processing, but the time course of these asymmetries' development is still poorly understood.

Morphine exposure and neurodevelopmental outcome in infants born extremely preterm.

Aim: To investigate the association between morphine exposure in the neonatal period and neurodevelopment at 2 and 5 years of age while controlling for potential confounders.

Method: We performed a retrospective, single-centre cohort study on 106 infants (60 males, 46 females; mean gestational age 26 weeks [SD 1]) born extremely preterm (gestational age < 28 weeks). Morphine administration was expressed as cumulative dose (mg/kg) until term-equivalent age.

Feasibility of automated early postnatal sleep staging in extremely and very preterm neonates using dual-channel EEG.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of automated sleep staging based on quantitative analysis of dual-channel electroencephalography (EEG) for extremely and very preterm infants during their first postnatal days.

Methods: We enrolled 17 preterm neonates born between 25 and 30 weeks of gestational age. Three-hour behavioral sleep observations and simultaneous dual-channel EEG monitoring were conducted for each infant within their first 72 hours after birth.

Cranial ultrasound screening in term and late preterm neonates born by vacuum-assisted delivery: Is it worthwhile?

Background: Vacuum extraction is the most common choice to assist vaginal delivery, but there are still concerns regarding the neonatal injuries it may cause. This study aimed to evaluate the rate of intracranial injuries assessed by cranial ultrasound (cUS) among infants born by vacuum extraction, and the relationship with maternal and perinatal factors.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study carried out in a level-3 neonatal unit.

Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Early Brain Activity in Extremely Preterm Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Early brain activity, measured using amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG), is correlated with neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm newborns. F-isoprostanes (IPs) are early biomarkers predictive for brain damage. We aimed to investigate the relationship between perinatal IPs concentrations and quantitative aEEG measures in preterm newborns.

Molecular Polymorphisms of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease affecting primarily preterm and very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Despite the advances in perinatal care, BPD remains a major clinical and costly complication in premature infants. The pathogenesis of BPD is complex and multifactorial.

Neurodevelopmental consequences of preterm punctate white matter lesions: a systematic review.

Objectives: To evaluate punctate white matter lesion (PWML) influence in preterm infants on the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome (NDO).

Methods: PubMed and EMBASE were searched from January 1, 2000, to May 31, 2021. Studies were included in which PWML in preterm infants on MRI around term-equivalent age (TEA) and NDO at ≥12 months were reported.

The relationship between interhemispheric synchrony, morphine and microstructural development of the corpus callosum in extremely preterm infants.

The primary aim of this study is to examine whether bursting interhemispheric synchrony (bIHS) in the first week of life of infants born extremely preterm, is associated with microstructural development of the corpus callosum (CC) on term equivalent age magnetic resonance imaging scans. The secondary aim is to address the effects of analgesics such as morphine, on bIHS in extremely preterm infants. A total of 25 extremely preterm infants (gestational age [GA] < 28 weeks) were monitored with the continuous two-channel EEG during the first 72 h and after 1 week from birth.

The Sleep Well Baby project: an automated real-time sleep-wake state prediction algorithm in preterm infants.

Study Objectives: Sleep is an important driver of early brain development. However, sleep is often disturbed in preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We aimed to develop an automated algorithm based on routinely measured vital parameters to classify sleep-wake states of preterm infants in real-time at the bedside.

Postnatal serum IGF-1 levels associate with brain volumes at term in extremely preterm infants.

Background: Growth factors important for normal brain development are low in preterm infants. This study investigated the link between growth factors and preterm brain volumes at term.

Material/methods: Infants born <28 weeks gestational age (GA) were included.

Feasibility and safety of intranasally administered mesenchymal stromal cells after perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke in the Netherlands (PASSIoN): a first-in-human, open-label intervention study.

Background: Perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (PAIS) is an important cause of neurodevelopmental disabilities. In this first-in-human study, we aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of intranasally delivered bone marrow-derived allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to treat PAIS in neonates.

Methods: In this open-label intervention study in collaboration with all neonatal intensive care units in the Netherlands, we included neonates born at full term (≥36 weeks of gestation) with MRI-confirmed PAIS in the middle cerebral artery region.

A scoping review of behavioral sleep stage classification methods for preterm infants.

Background: Sleep is paramount for optimal brain development in infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Besides (minimally) invasive technical approaches to study sleep in infants, there is currently a large variety of behavioral sleep stage classification methods (BSSCs) that can be used to identify sleep stages in preterm infants born <37 weeks gestational age. However, they operate different criteria to define sleep stages, which limits the comparability and reproducibility of research on preterm sleep.

Shape variability of the central sulcus in the developing brain: A longitudinal descriptive and predictive study in preterm infants.

Despite growing evidence of links between sulcation and function in the adult brain, the folding dynamics, occurring mostly before normal-term-birth, is vastly unknown. Looking into the development of cortical sulci in infants can give us keys to address fundamental questions: what is the sulcal shape variability in the developing brain? When are the shape features encoded? How are these morphological parameters related to further functional development? In this study, we aimed to investigate the shape variability of the developing central sulcus, which is the frontier between the primary somatosensory and motor cortices. We studied a cohort of 71 extremely preterm infants scanned twice using MRI - once around 30 weeks post-menstrual age (w PMA) and once at term-equivalent age, around 40w PMA -, in order to quantify the sulcus's shape variability using manifold learning, regardless of age-group or hemisphere.

Nutritional Intake, White Matter Integrity, and Neurodevelopment in Extremely Preterm Born Infants.

Background: Determining optimal nutritional regimens in extremely preterm infants remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a new nutritional regimen and individual macronutrient intake on white matter integrity and neurodevelopmental outcome.

Methods: Two retrospective cohorts of extremely preterm infants (gestational age < 28 weeks) were included.

Intraparenchymal hemorrhage after serial ventricular reservoir taps in neonates with hydrocephalus and association with neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age.

Objective: Decompressing the ventricles with a temporary device is often the initial neurosurgical intervention for preterm infants with hydrocephalus. The authors observed a subgroup of infants who developed intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) after serial ventricular reservoir taps and sought to describe the characteristics of IPH and its association with neurodevelopmental outcome.

Methods: In this multicenter, case-control study, for each neonate with periventricular and/or subcortical IPH, a gestational age-matched control with reservoir who did not develop IPH was selected.

Serum docosahexaenoic acid levels are associated with brain volumes in extremely preterm born infants.

Background: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) are important for fetal brain growth and development. Our aim was to evaluate the association between serum DHA and AA levels and brain volumes in extremely preterm infants.

Methods: Infants born at <28 weeks gestational age in 2013-2015, a cohort derived from a randomized controlled trial comparing two types of parenteral lipid emulsions, were included (n = 90).