Tremendous Fidelity of Vitamin D3 in Age-related Neurological Disorders.

Vitamin D3 (VD) is a secosteroid hormone and shows a pleiotropic effect in brain-related disorders where it regulates redox imbalance, inflammation, apoptosis, energy production, and growth factor synthesis. Vitamin D3's active metabolic form, 1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)D3 or calcitriol), is a known regulator of several genes involved in neuroplasticity, neuroprotection, neurotropism, and neuroinflammation. Multiple studies suggest that VD deficiency can be proposed as a risk factor for the development of several age-related neurological disorders.

Profile of hospitalised maltreated children aged 0 to 3 years and their families.

Introduction: Maltreatment adversely affects children's health and development. Knowledge of child maltreatment in early childhood is limited. We studied the demographic factors and health issues in children aged 0-3 years who were hospitalised for maltreatment.

Rapid Regression of Prenatally Identified Intrapericardial Giant Rhabdomyomas with Sirolimus.

• Giant cardiac rhabdomyomas were identified on fetal echocardiography. • The rhabdomyomas were unusually located in the pericardial space. • Rapid regression and hemodynamic improvement were seen with sirolimus therapy.

Left Ventricular End-Systolic Eccentricity Index for Assessment of Pulmonary Hypertension in Infants.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common problem in the neonatal intensive care unit and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to identify a quantitative echocardiographic marker of septal curvature that can be used to accurately identify PH in NICU infants with concern for PH.

Methods: Echocardiograms of infants who were prematurely born and infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn were performed using a defined protocol for evaluation of PH.

Three-Dimensional Evaluation of Aortic Valve Annular Shape in Children With Bicuspid Aortic Valves and/or Aortic Coarctation Compared With Controls.

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital cardiac abnormality, occurring in 1% to 2% of the general population. Adults with degenerative aortic valve (AV) disease have been shown to have an elliptical shaped AV annulus. The goal of this study was to investigate the shape of the aortic annulus in children with BAV, coarctation of the aorta (CoA) with or without BAV, and normal controls with trileaflet AVs using 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE).

Normal pediatric data for isovolumic acceleration at the lateral tricuspid valve annulus-a heart rate - dependent measure of right ventricular contractility.

Background: Quantitative assessment of right ventricular (RV) function is important for the management of patients with congenital heart disease. Tissue Doppler (TDI)-derived myocardial acceleration during isovolumic contraction (IVA) is an echocardiographic measure of contractility that is independent of loading conditions. The aim of this study was to establish normative data for IVA at the lateral tricuspid valve annulus (RV IVA).