Smaller hippocampal volume is associated with anxiety symptoms in high-risk Black youth.

Although there is an established link between smaller hippocampal volume and anxiety, the longitudinal relations between hippocampus structure and anxiety in diverse youth are not well understood. The present longitudinal study investigated hippocampal volumes related to anxiety symptoms in a sample of Black 8-14-year-old youth (N = 64), a population historically underrepresented in neuroimaging research. Smaller hippocampal volumes were associated with greater anxiety symptoms independent of age, sex, intracranial volume and trauma exposure.

Towards predicting PTSD symptom severity using portable EEG-derived biomarkers.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous mental health disorder that occurs following traumatic experience. Understanding its neurobiological basis is crucial to advance early diagnosis and treatment. Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used to explore the neurobiological basis of PTSD.

Microglia are dispensable for experience-dependent refinement of mouse visual circuitry.

To test the hypothesized crucial role of microglia in the developmental refinement of neural circuitry, we depleted microglia from mice of both sexes with PLX5622 and examined the experience-dependent maturation of visual circuitry and function. We assessed retinal function, receptive field tuning of visual cortex neurons, acuity and experience-dependent plasticity. None of these measurements detectibly differed in the absence of microglia, challenging the role of microglia in sculpting neural circuits.

High vs low CPAP strategy with aerosolized calfactant in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Optimal CPAP strategy to prevent CPAP failure defined as need for endotracheal intubation is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of CPAP failure in infants treated with high vs low CPAP strategy while receiving aerosolized calfactant in the AERO-02 clinical trial and AERO-03 expanded access program.

Methods: Infants born between 29 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks were included.

Resting heart rate associations with violence exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms: sex differences in children.

Background: Traumatic events experienced in childhood can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disorders in adulthood. Black Americans are disproportionately affected, as they are at increased risk for experiencing childhood trauma and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. One of the hypothesized mechanisms of this association is through long-lasting dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, a hallmark physiological biomarker of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is twice as prevalent in women compared to men.

Microglia are dispensable for experience-dependent refinement of visual circuitry.

Microglia are proposed to be critical for the refinement of developing neural circuitry. However, evidence identifying specific roles for microglia has been limited and often indirect. Here we examined whether microglia are required for the experience-dependent refinement of visual circuitry and visual function during development.

Predictors of successful treatment of respiratory distress with aerosolized calfactant.

Introduction: Predictors for successful aerosolized surfactant treatment are not well defined.

Objective: To identify predictors for successful treatment in the AERO-02 trial and the AERO-03 expanded access program.

Methods: Neonates receiving nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) at the time of first aerosolized calfactant administration were included in this analysis.

Comparative membrane incorporation of omega-3 fish oil triglyceride preparations differing by degree of re-esterification: A sixteen-week randomized intervention trial.

Background: Fish oil is routinely concentrated into unmodified triglycerides, or trans-esterified into an ethyl ester form. Re-esterification of the ethyl ester form yields re-esterified triglycerides (rTG), which are reportedly more bioavailable than ethyl ester forms. However, the fidelity of the re-esterification process may yield variable triglyceride forms, with only 55-60% being rTG.

Uncertain in the face of change: Lack of contingency shift awareness during extinction is associated with higher fear-potentiated startle and PTSD symptoms in children.

Intolerance of uncertainty is a transdiagnostic risk factor for fear-related disorders and is associated with higher levels of anxiety in children and adolescents. It is unclear how uncertainty relates to development of psychopathology in children who have experienced trauma in early life. The present study used a fear-potentiated startle paradigm in children to examine associations between uncertainty (assessed as unawareness of a change in reinforcement during fear extinction) and symptoms of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as startle potentiation to threat and safety cues.

Dexmedetomidine Use in Infants Undergoing Cooling Due to Neonatal Encephalopathy (DICE Trial): A Randomized Controlled Trial: Background, Aims and Study Protocol.

Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia encephalopathy (HIE) is the leading cause of neonatal death and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes worldwide. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH), while beneficial, still leaves many HIE treated infants with lifelong disabilities. Furthermore, infants undergoing TH often require treatment for pain and agitation which may lead to further brain injury.

Associations between children's trauma-related sequelae and skin conductance captured through mobile technology.

Although many children experience trauma, few receive diagnoses and subsequent care despite experiencing trauma-related sequelae. At age nine (M = 9.11), children (N = 62; female = 46.

Emotion dysregulation and dissociation contribute to decreased heart rate variability to an acute psychosocial stressor in trauma-exposed Black women.

Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) in response to stress is a biomarker of emotion dysregulation (ED) and is related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet less is known about its role with dissociation in trauma-exposed adults. The goals of the current study were to examine unique patterns of associations between ED, dissociation, and PTSD with HRV at 15, 30, and 45 min (T1, T2, T3) following an acute psychosocial stressor task in a sample of 49 trauma-exposed, urban-dwelling Black women. Associations with baseline psychophysiology measures were also examined.

A New Hour-Specific Serum Bilirubin Nomogram for Neonates ≥35 Weeks of Gestation.

Objective: To develop a statistically rigorous, hour-specific bilirubin nomogram for newborns based on a very large data set; and use it prospectively as a replacement for the 1999 Bhutani nomogram.

Study Design: This was a retrospective analysis of first total serum bilirubin (TSB) measurements from 15 years of universal bilirubin screening during birth hospitalizations at 20 Intermountain Healthcare hospitals. Hour-specific TSB values were assembled into a nomogram by percentile, and subgroups were compared.

Implementation and Outcomes of a Telehealth Neonatology Program in a Single Healthcare System.

Intermountain Healthcare, an early adopter and champion for newborn video-assisted resuscitation (VAR), identified a reduction in facility-level transfers and an estimated savings of $1. 2 million in potentially avoided transfers in a 2018 study. This study was conducted to increase understanding of VAR at the individual, newborn level.

Aerosolized Calfactant for Newborns With Respiratory Distress: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Exogenous surfactants to treat respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are approved for tracheal instillation only; this requires intubation, often followed by positive pressure ventilation to promote distribution. Aerosol delivery offers a safer alternative, but clinical studies have had mixed results. We hypothesized that efficient aerosolization of a surfactant with low viscosity, early in the course of RDS, could reduce the need for intubation and instillation of liquid surfactant.

Sensory satellite glial Gq-GPCR activation alleviates inflammatory pain via peripheral adenosine 1 receptor activation.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein expressing (GFAP) glia modulate nociceptive neuronal activity in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS). Resident GFAP glia in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) known as satellite glial cells (SGCs) potentiate neuronal activity by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and neuroactive compounds. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that SGC Gq-coupled receptor (Gq-GPCR) signaling modulates pain sensitivity in vivo using Gfap-hM3Dq mice.

Artificial Intelligence for Rapid Meta-Analysis: Case Study on Ocular Toxicity of Hydroxychloroquine.

Background: Rapid access to evidence is crucial in times of an evolving clinical crisis. To that end, we propose a novel approach to answer clinical queries, termed rapid meta-analysis (RMA). Unlike traditional meta-analysis, RMA balances a quick time to production with reasonable data quality assurances, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to strike this balance.

Impact of ADCYAP1R1 genotype on longitudinal fear conditioning in children: interaction with trauma and sex.

Dysregulated fear conditioned responses have been associated with PTSD in adults, with increased fear-potentiated startle (FPS) serving as a potential intermediate phenotype for PTSD risk. This phenotype has also been associated with stress-related ADCYAP1R1 gene variants in adult women. However, FPS and genotype have not yet been examined during development.

Puberty drives fear learning during adolescence.

Risk for adverse outcomes, including the onset of mental illness, increases during adolescence. This increase may be linked to both new exposures, such as violence at home or in the community, or to physiological changes driven by puberty. There are significant sex differences in adolescent risk, for instance, anxiety disorders are significantly more prevalent in girls than boys.

Time to Step Up: A Call to Action For the Clinical and Quantitative Pharmacology Community to Accelerate Therapeutics for COVID-19.

The global response to finding therapeutics for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is chaotic even if well intentioned. There is an opportunity, but more importantly, an obligation for the global clinical and quantitative pharmacology community to come together and use our state-of-the-art tools and expertise to help society accelerate therapeutics to fight COVID-19. This brief commentary is a call to action and highlights how the global pharmacology community should contribute to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future pandemics.

Neonates with suspected microangiopathic disorders: performance of standard manual schistocyte enumeration vs. the automated fragmented red cell count.

Objectives: To enhance the diagnosis of schistocyte-producing conditions, we compared routine manual schistocyte enumeration with automated fragmented red cell counts (FRCs).

Study Design: In neonates "suspected" of having sepsis, NEC, or DIC we compared manual schistocyte estimates vs. automated FRC counts.

The Effect Of A Newborn Telehealth Program On Transfers Avoided: A Multiple-Baseline Study.

Clinicians who rarely perform neonatal resuscitation exhibit skill deterioration. Telehealth addresses this challenge by facilitating video connections between neonatologists at tertiary care centers and providers at smaller hospitals. However, there is little empirical evidence about the benefits of telehealth programs for neonatal resuscitation.