Provision of Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements to Mothers During Pregnancy and 6 Months Postpartum and to Their Infants from 6 to 18 Months Promotes Infant Gut Microbiota Diversity at 18 Months of Age but Not Microbiota Maturation in a Rural Malawian Setting: Secondary Outcomes of a Randomized Trial.

Background: Diet may alter the configuration of gut microbiota, but the impact of prenatal and postnatal nutritional interventions on infant gut microbiota has not been investigated.

Objective: We evaluated whether providing lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) to mother-infant dyads promotes a more diverse and mature infant gut microbiota, compared to maternal supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MMN) or iron and folic acid (IFA).

Methods: We enrolled 869 pregnant women in a randomized trial in Malawi.

Prenatal Iron Deficiency and Replete Iron Status Are Associated with Adverse Birth Outcomes, but Associations Differ in Ghana and Malawi.

Background: Previous literature suggests a U-shaped relation between hemoglobin concentration and adverse birth outcomes. There is less evidence on associations between iron status and birth outcomes.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the associations of maternal hemoglobin concentration and iron status with birth outcomes.

Associations between antenatal depression and neonatal outcomes in Malawi.

Studies from several low- and middle-income countries have shown that antenatal depression may be a risk factor for poor neonatal outcomes. However, those studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa have not consistently demonstrated this association. We set out to investigate whether antenatal depression is associated with shorter duration of pregnancy and reduced newborn size in rural Malawi.

Pathways into and out of overweight and obesity from infancy to mid-childhood.

Objectives: To investigate whether high weight in infancy predicts obesity in childhood.

Method: Data from two UK cohorts (Newcastle Growth and Development N = 795, Gateshead Millennium N = 393) and one Finnish (Tampere N = 1262) were combined. Z scores of weight at 3 and 12 months and body mass index (BMI) at 5 and 8 years were categorized as raised/overweight (1 to <2 SD) or high/obese (≥2 SD).

A method to develop vocabulary checklists in new languages and their validity to assess early language development.

Background: Since the adoption of United Nations' Sustainable Goal 4.2 to ensure that all children have access to quality early child development (ECD) so that they are ready for primary education, the demand for valid ECD assessments has increased in contexts where they do not yet exist. The development of early language ability is important for school readiness.

Periapical infection may affect birth outcomes via systemic inflammation.

Objectives: Maternal dental periapical infections are associated with preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction. This study investigates whether the association is mediated through bacterial spread from periapical lesions to placenta (direct pathway) or systemic inflammatory reaction (indirect pathway).

Materials And Methods: We compared birth outcomes in Malawian mothers with and without periapical infection.

Supplementation during pregnancy with small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements or multiple micronutrients, compared with iron and folic acid, increases women's urinary iodine concentration in semiurban Ghana: A randomized controlled trial.

There is little information on whether prenatal multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplements containing iodine affect women's iodine status. In the International Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements DYAD-Ghana trial, we aimed to assess women's urinary iodine concentration (UIC, μg/L) during pregnancy, as one of the planned secondary outcomes. Women (n = 1,320) <20 weeks of gestation were randomized to consume 60 mg iron and 400 μg folic acid per day (iron and folic acid [IFA]); 18 vitamins and minerals including 250 μg iodine per day (MMN); or 20 g/day of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) with the same and additional 4 vitamins and minerals as the MMN (LNS).

Maternal and Child Supplementation with Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements, but Not Child Supplementation Alone, Decreases Self-Reported Household Food Insecurity in Some Settings.

It is unknown whether self-reported measures of household food insecurity change in response to food-based nutrient supplementation. We assessed the impacts of providing lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) to women during pregnancy and postpartum and/or to their children on self-reported household food insecurity in Malawi [DOSE and DYAD trial in Malawi (DYAD-M)], Ghana [DYAD trial in Ghana (DYAD-G)], and Bangladesh [Rang-Din Nutrition Study (RDNS) trial]. Longitudinal household food-insecurity data were collected during 3 individually randomized trials and 1 cluster-randomized trial testing the efficacy or effectiveness of LNSs (generally 118 kcal/d).

CNV-association meta-analysis in 191,161 European adults reveals new loci associated with anthropometric traits.

There are few examples of robust associations between rare copy number variants (CNVs) and complex continuous human traits. Here we present a large-scale CNV association meta-analysis on anthropometric traits in up to 191,161 adult samples from 26 cohorts. The study reveals five CNV associations at 1q21.

Bacterial communities found in placental tissues are associated with severe chorioamnionitis and adverse birth outcomes.

Preterm birth is a major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Bacterial infection and the subsequent inflammatory response are recognised as an important cause of preterm birth. It is hypothesised that these organisms ascend the cervical canal, colonise placental tissues, cause chorioamnionitis and in severe cases infect amniotic fluid and the foetus.

A B-Cell Gene Signature Correlates With the Extent of Gluten-Induced Intestinal Injury in Celiac Disease.

Background & Aims: Celiac disease (CeD) provides an opportunity to study autoimmunity and the transition in immune cells as dietary gluten induces small intestinal lesions.

Methods: Seventy-three celiac disease patients on a long-term, gluten-free diet ingested a known amount of gluten daily for 6 weeks. A peripheral blood sample and intestinal biopsy specimens were taken before and 6 weeks after initiating the gluten challenge.

Epitope-specific immunotherapy targeting CD4-positive T cells in coeliac disease: two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1 studies.

Background: A gluten-free diet is the only means to manage coeliac disease, a permanent immune intolerance to gluten. We developed a therapeutic vaccine, Nexvax2, designed to treat coeliac disease. Nexvax2 is an adjuvant-free mix of three peptides that include immunodominant epitopes for gluten-specific CD4-positive T cells.