Early human development
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Early human development · Sep 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialSunflower oil versus no oil moderate pressure massage leads to greater increases in weight in preterm neonates who are low birth weight.
Growth velocity is one of the most important problems in low birth weight (LBW) neonates. ⋯ Sunflower oil massage might be used as an effective and safe intervention for weight gain in LBW preterm neonates.
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Early human development · Sep 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialEarly communication in preterm infants following intervention in the NICU.
Despite ongoing improvements in clinical care, preterm infants experience a variety of stressors in the first weeks of life, including necessary medical procedures, which may affect development. Some stress-reduction programmes based in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have reported a positive impact on development. In particular, trials of the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP) have shown positive short and longer term effects, and are based on training parents to recognise and minimise stress responses in preterm infants. ⋯ As significant cognitive and language deficits are reported in longitudinal studies of preterm children, an intervention that improves early infant communication abilities is promising, especially since previous research suggests that the strongest benefits may emerge at later ages.
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Early human development · Sep 2013
Observational StudyNeonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities and MRI brain injury in encephalopathic newborns treated with hypothermia.
Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE) is a prominent cause of infant mortality and neurodevelopmental disability. Hypothermia is an effective neuroprotective therapy for newborns with encephalopathy. Post-hypothermia functional-anatomical correlation between neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities and brain injury findings on MRI in encephalopathic newborns has not been previously described. ⋯ Neonatal neurobehavioral abnormalities identified by the NNNS are associated with MRI brain injury in encephalopathic newborns post-hypothermia. The NNNS can provide an early functional assessment of structural brain injury in newborns, which may guide rehabilitative therapies in infants after perinatal brain injury.
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Early human development · Sep 2013
Community-genotype strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with high-level mupirocin resistance in a neonatal intensive care unit.
The aim of this study was to investigate the genotypes of mupirocin-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MR-MRSA) isolates in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and their potential source. ⋯ Community-genotype strains of MRSA with HLMR may be imported to our NICU through obstetrics clinics and contribute to MRSA colonization or infection in facilities with a high rate of admission of outborn infants.
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Early human development · Aug 2013
Parental psychological distress during pregnancy and childhood cardiovascular development. The Generation R Study.
Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy might lead to higher fetal cortisol exposure, which subsequently leads to fetal cardiovascular developmental adaptations and cardiovascular dysfunction in later life. ⋯ Our results do not support the hypothesis that maternal psychological distress affects cardiovascular development in early life. Similar associations of maternal and paternal psychological distress with left ventricular mass suggest that these associations could be due to unmeasured social and environmental factors, rather than direct intra-uterine effects.