Young adult outcomes following premature birth: A Western Australian experience.

Background: Childhood outcomes following preterm birth are widely published, however long-term adult outcomes are less well described. We aimed to determine the quality of life and burden of co-morbidities experienced by preterm-born young adults in Western Australia.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted.

Evaluation of the frequency and obstetric risk factors associated with term neonatal admissions to special care units.

Introduction: Approximately 10-15% of term babies may require admission to neonatal special care units. This level of care is frequently an unexpected event for parents.

Aims: To review the frequency and obstetric risk factors associated with the admission of term neonates to a tertiary hospital special care unit (SCN).

The hypoxia challenge test does not accurately predict hypoxia in flight in ex-preterm neonates.

Background: Air travel may pose risks to ex-preterm neonates due to the low oxygen environment encountered during flights. We aimed to study the utility of the preflight hypoxia challenge test (HCT) to detect in-flight hypoxia in such infants.

Methods: Ex-preterm (gestation < or = 35 completed weeks) infants ready for air transfer from the intensive/special care nursery to regional hospitals were studied.

Functional maturation of CD4+CD25+CTLA4+CD45RA+ T regulatory cells in human neonatal T cell responses to environmental antigens/allergens.

A number of laboratories have reported cord blood T cell responses to ubiquitous environmental Ags, including allergens, by proliferation and cytokine secretion. Moreover, the magnitude of these responses has been linked with risk for subsequent expression of allergy. These findings have been widely interpreted as evidence for transplacental priming and the development of fetal T memory cells against Ags present in the maternal environment.

Development of interleukin-12-producing capacity throughout childhood.

Increasing evidence indicates that the capacity to induce protective Th1 immune responses is impaired in early childhood, an observation that can be partially attributed to deficiencies in antigen-presenting-cell function. Synthesis of interleukin 12 (IL-12), a key Th1-trophic cytokine, is markedly reduced in the neonatal period, though there is a paucity of knowledge concerning the ontogeny of IL-12-synthetic capacity throughout the childhood years. Hence, we examined the production of bioactive IL-12 p70 by circulating mononuclear cells in a population of healthy individuals.