Postural adjustments in preterm infants at 4 and 6 months post-term during voluntary reaching in supine position.

Gradually it is getting clear that motor development - in particular balance control - in so-called "low-risk" preterm infants often differs from that in full-term infants. However, little is known on the etiology and pathophysiology of these problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate postural behavior during reaching by means of kinetic and kinematic measurements.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia-oxidative stress and antioxidants.

There is increasing evidence that oxidative stress is implicated in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Several important factors contribute to augmented oxidative stress in the newborn and especially the preterm infant: first, because of its immaturity, the lung of preterm infants is frequently exposed to oxygen therapy and hyperoxia. Second, the antioxidant defense and its ability to be induced during an hyperoxic challenge are impaired.

Kinematic quality of reaching movements in preterm infants.

Many preterm infants may experience so-called minor developmental disorders; however, in general, the problems in motor behavior are not detected until school age. To introduce therapies aimed at the prevention of these problems, we need to increase our knowledge of motor function and dysfunction at early age. The present study focused on the organization of reaching movements in full-term and preterm infants without cerebral palsy.

Acidosis has opposite effects on neuronal survival during hypoxia and reoxygenation.

To study the effect of extracellular acidosis on apoptosis and necrosis during ischemia and reoxygenation, we exposed human post-mitotic NT2-N neurones to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by reoxygenation. In some experiments, pH of the cell medium was lowered to 5.9 during either OGD or reoxygenation or both.

Maternal health in sudden intrauterine unexplained death: do urinary tract infections protect the fetus?

Objective: To study the impact of maternal health and obstetric complications on the risk for sudden intrauterine unexplained death.

Methods: All 76 cases of sudden intrauterine unexplained death and 165 explained stillbirths among singletons in Oslo, Norway (1986-1995) were compared with 582 controls. Information on maternal health was registered from antenatal health cards and the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.

Detrimental effects of nicotine and endotoxin in the newborn piglet brain during severe hypoxemia.

Hypoxia-ischemia is a major cause of perinatal brain damage, but evidence shows that brain injury also is associated with intrauterine infections and maternal smoking. The mechanisms are not known, and we therefore explored the effects of experimental inflammation or nicotine on perinatal brain metabolism and injury during severe hypoxemia. Twenty-eight 1-week-old piglets were anesthetized and instrumented with microdialysis probes in the striatum and brainstem.

Albumin mixed with meconium attenuates pulmonary dysfunction in a newborn piglet model with meconium aspiration.

We hypothesized that lipids and bile acids in meconium may induce pulmonary insufficiency in newborns. Because albumin may bind these components we studied the effect of albumin on meconium-induced lung injury in piglets. We measured concentration of FFA in the meconium (110 mg dry weight/mL) and added albumin to provide a molar FFA to albumin ratio of 1:1.

Interleukin-10 reverses acute detrimental effects of endotoxin-induced inflammation on perinatal cerebral hypoxia-ischemia.

Unlabelled: Perinatal brain injuries and the subsequent development of cerebral palsy are closely associated with intrauterine infections and inflammatory response. Antibiotics have proven futile in reducing perinatal brain injuries. We tested whether treatment with the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 could have beneficial effects during a concomitant endotoxin and cerebral hypoxic-ischemic challenge.

Prolonged apneas and hypoxia mediated by nicotine and endotoxin in piglets.

Objective: Infections and maternal smoking are risk factors for SIDS, and toxins from common bacteria have been proposed as a causative link between infections and SIDS. Nicotine can be transferred in significant amounts postnatally to the infant through environmental tobacco smoke or maternal smoking before nursing. We investigated the acute effects of nicotine and endotoxin on repeated apnea by laryngeal reflex stimulation and the following autoresuscitation.

Neuronal formation of free radicals plays a minor role in hypoxic cell death in human NT2-N neurons.

Free radicals are suggested to play an important role in hypoxic-ischemic neuronal death. However, the importance in human disease is not known. Furthermore, whether posthypoxic free radical formation mainly occurs in endothelium and neutrophils, or whether neuronal production is important, is not finally determined.