BACKGROUND A host defense function for Alkaline phosphatases (ALPs) is suggested by the contribution of intestinal ALP to detoxifying bacterial lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) in animal models in vivo and the elevation of ALP activity following treatment of human cells with inflammatory stimuli in vitro. However the activity of ALP in human plasma (primarily tissue-nonspecific ALP; TNAP) on lipo...

Advances in neonatal intensive care have increased the survival rates of extremely preterm infants. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), late onset sepsis (LOS) and suboptimal nutrition raise the risk of death and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in this population. Improving survival without long-term NDI in extremely preterm infants is a priority. Interventions that optimize enteral ...

Preterm-born children commonly experience motor, cognitive, and learning difficulties that may be accompanied by altered brain microstructure, connectivity, and neurochemistry. However, the mechanisms linking the altered neurophysiology with the behavioral outcomes are unknown. Here we provide the first physiological evidence that human adolescents born preterm at or before 37 weeks of complete...

Whereas infants born at earlier gestational ages suffer the greatest morbidity and mortality, adverse health consequences of late preterm and early term births are also well documented. The aetiology of preterm birth is multifactorial and the pathways leading to it probably vary with gestational age. They include infection or inflammation, uteroplacental ischaemia or haemorrhage, uterine overdi...

GROWING UP IN IRELAND: FACTORS IMPACTING SLEEP PATTERNS OF PRETERM INFANTS By Joanne Fallon MS, OT, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: Shelly J. Lane, PhD, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy Preterm infants represent t...

context maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) and alpha fetal protein (afp) were originally introduced to detect trisomy 21 and neural tube defects. however, in the absence of aneuploidy or neural tube defects, mid-trimester maternal serum hcg and/or maternal serum afp associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. pregnancies with unexplained mid-trimester elevation in maternal serum ...

BACKGROUND Preterm children face higher risk of cognitive and academic deficits compared with their full-term peers. The objective of this study was to describe early childhood cognitive ability and kindergarten academic achievement across gestational age at birth in a population-based longitudinal cohort. METHODS The study population included singletons born at 24-42 weeks gestation enrolled...

BACKGROUND Infants born at 34 to 36 weeks of gestation (late preterm) are at greater risk for adverse outcomes than those born at 37 weeks of gestation or later. Aim of this paper is to examine risk factors for late preterm births and to investigate the complications of the transition period in late preterm infants (LPIs). METHODS All consecutive late preterm deliveries, excluded stillbirths,...

introduction: preterm birth is a risk factor for a number of conditions that requires comprehensive examination. our study was designed to investigate the impact of preterm birth on the processing of auditory stimuli and brain structures at the brainstem level at a preschool age.   materials and methods: an auditory brainstem response (abr) test was performed with low rates of stimuli in 60 chi...

CONTEXT Preterm birth is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Less is known about long-term health among persons born preterm. OBJECTIVE To determine the long-term effects of preterm birth on survival, reproduction, and next-generation preterm birth. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based, observational, longitudinal study using registry data from 1,167,506 singleton...