Incidence and evolution of subependymal and intraventricular hemorrhage: A study of infants with birth weights less than 1,500 gm

Pathology and genetics of tumors of soft tissue and bone

PIP: 43 determinants of low birth weight were analyzed from 895 published papers in the English and French literature from 1970-1984 The assessment was limited to singleton births of women living at sea level with no chronic illness; rare factors and complications of pregnancy were excluded The 43 factors were categorized as genetic and constitutional, demographic and psychosocial, obstetric, nutritional, maternal morbidity during pregnancy, toxic exposure and antenatal care The existence and magnitude of a causal effect on birth weight, gestational age, prematurity and intrauterine growth retardation were determined by a set of methodological standards In developed countries, the most important factor was cigarette smoking, followed by nutrition and pre-pregnancy weight In developing countries the major determinants were racial origin, nutrition, low pre-pregnancy weight, short maternal stature, and malaria Pre-pregnancy weight, prior premature birth or miscarriage, diethylstilbestrol exposure and smoking were major determinants of gestational duration, but the majority of prematurity was unexplained in both developed and developing countries There is a need for future research on the effect of maternal work, prenatal care, and certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies on intrauterine growth, and the effect of genital tract infection, prenatal care, maternal employment, stress and anxiety on prematurity

Determinants of low birth weight: Methodological assessment and meta-analysis

BackgroundZika virus (ZIKV) has been linked to central nervous system malformations in fetuses. To characterize the spectrum of ZIKV disease in pregnant women and infants, we followed patients in Rio de Janeiro to describe clinical manifestations in mothers and repercussions of acute ZIKV infection in infants. MethodsWe enrolled pregnant women in whom a rash had developed within the previous 5 days and tested blood and urine specimens for ZIKV by reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assays. We followed women prospectively to obtain data on pregnancy and infant outcomes. ResultsA total of 345 women were enrolled from September 2015 through May 2016; of these, 182 women (53%) tested positive for ZIKV in blood, urine, or both. The timing of acute ZIKV infection ranged from 6 to 39 weeks of gestation. Predominant maternal clinical features included a pruritic descending macular or maculopapular rash, arthralgias, conjunctival injection, and headache; 27% had fever (short-term and low-grade). By Jul...

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Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women in Rio de Janeiro - Preliminary Report.

Hirschsprung disease (HSCR, aganglionic megacolon) represents the main genetic cause of functional intestinal obstruction with an incidence of 1/5000 live births. This developmental disorder is a neurocristopathy and is characterised by the absence of the enteric ganglia along a variable length of the intestine. In the last decades, the development of surgical approaches has importantly decreased mortality and morbidity which allowed the emergence of familial cases. Isolated HSCR appears to be a non-Mendelian malformation with low, sex-dependent penetrance, and variable expression according to the length of the aganglionic segment. While all Mendelian modes of inheritance have been described in syndromic HSCR, isolated HSCR stands as a model for genetic disorders with complex patterns of inheritance. The tyrosine kinase receptor RET is the major gene with both rare coding sequence mutations and/or a frequent variant located in an enhancer element predisposing to the disease. Hitherto, 10 genes and five loci have been found to be involved in HSCR development.

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Hirschsprung disease, associated syndromes and genetics: a review

Male infants have an excessive risk of neonatal death by comparison with females. It has never been clear whether this male disadvantage is due to specific disease processes or is a general biologic feature of being male. In an analysis of 2,735 consecutive newborn autopsies, the ratio of males to females was 1.28:, which differs significantly from the 1.05:1 ratio for all U.S. livebirths. There was a near equal male to female ratio for most disorders in stillborn infants while disorders arising after birth demonstrated a strong male disadvantage. The still-born ratios presumably reflect a predominant maternal influence while birth and removal from the maternal environment uncovers an inherent biologic disadvantage of being male, a disadvantage not selectively related to specific disease processes. This nonspecificity is confirmed by the finding of several disorders in which sex ratios for stillborns are quite different than the ratios recorded for liveborn infants. The sex ratio for liveborn Caucasians was significantly greater than for nonwhites, and the nonpoor had a significantly greater ratio than the poor. About half of these differences appear related to a greater incidence of prenatal bacterial infections in the poor and nonwhites.

Neonatal mortality, the male disadvantage.

Congenital failure of automatic control of ventilation, gastrointestinal motility and heart rate.

Necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Thromboses due to catheterization in infants and children

A quantitative study has been made of organ and cellular development in eight newborn and seven older infants with congenital rubella. The infants were subnormal in size at birth due to retarded intrauterine growth. A further retardation of growth was observed in the postnatal period. The basis of growth retardation in such infants is a subnormal number of cells in many body organs. The cause of the growth disturbance appears to be an activity of the proliferating virus which inhibits cell multiplication. Necrotic or inflammatory changes in the tissues are rare. The subnormal number of cells in many body organs provides a partial explanation for the long-term physical and mental retardation encountered in some persons who have had congenital rubella.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/657356/jama_194_12_002.pdf

William A. Blanc

Papers

Neonatal mortality, the male disadvantage.

Congenital failure of automatic control of ventilation, gastrointestinal motility and heart rate.

Necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Thromboses due to catheterization in infants and children

Pathogenesis of congenital rubella.