Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0728731 (prematurity)
 7,134 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. Viable preterm guinea pigs were delivered by Caesarean section from 62 day gestation (term = 68 days). 2. Survival rates (24 hr) were greater than 90%, greater than 55% and greater than 35% respectively at 65, 63 and 62 days gestation. Guinea pig pups experienced increasing respiratory difficulty with progressive prematurity. 3. Lung phosphatidylcholine concentration increased steadily from 0.52 +/- 0.09 mumol/mg DNA at day 50 to 3.9 +/- 0.5 mumol/mg DNA at term. The relative contribution of the disaturated dipalmitoyl species increased over this time from 24.5 to 42.9%. 4. Pulmonary antioxidant capacity increased markedly over the final eight days of gestation, individual increases being manganese superoxide dismutase 68%, copper/zinc superoxide dismutase 48%, glutathione peroxide 37% and catalase 198%.
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PMID:Biochemical maturation of the guinea pig lung and survival following premature delivery. 201 54

According to National Vital Statistics Reports, premature infants (< 36 weeks gestation) account for approximately 7.4% of all births. During the 8 years from 1989 to 1997, multiple births steadily increased across all categories from twin to quintuplet and higher orders. During that same period low birth weight (< 2500 g) births increased almost 12%, and very low birth weight (< 1500 g) births increased approximately 20%.Attendant to these national trends in multiple and preterm births, overall gestation-specific survival rates have improved substantially. This improved outcome can be attributed in large measure to advances in neonatal care and technology. Despite the encouraging statistics on survival, infants born prematurely, at low or very low birth weights and/or with chronic conditions that predispose to lower respiratory tract illness, continue to incur serious risk of long term morbidity and the consumption of inpatient hospital services. In a recent 2-year study of US children, low and very low birth weights were found to be independent risk factors for bronchiolitis-associated mortality. In the past 14 years what defines bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)/chronic lung disease (CLD) has shifted away from clinical, radiographic and pathologic findings in the preterm infant toward the pathophysiology of arrested lung development and the need for supportive care beyond 36 weeks corrected gestational age. The incidence of BPD/CLD ranges from 14 to 43%, with higher rates observed among infants of lower gestational age and birth weight. The health care team approach to the management of BPD directs its efforts toward minimizing pulmonary vascular resistance, alleviating airway obstruction and improving short term lung mechanics. Measures to prevent BPD/CLD attempt to forestall both acute and chronic lung function abnormalities. To that end researchers have investigated the early use of continuous positive airway pressure, vitamin supplementation and recombinant human copper/zinc superoxide dismutase. Despite significant gains in the survival of infants born at lower gestational ages, prematurity, low birth weight and/or underlying chronic pulmonary disease put the pediatric patient at risk for increased frequency and severity of respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract illness and the potential for its long term sequelae.
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PMID:Populations at risk for developing respiratory syncytial virus and risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus severity: infants with predisposing conditions. 1267 50

Oxygen radicals are believed to contribute to typical diseases of prematurity, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Our aim was to investigate whether these disorders are associated with disturbances in antioxidant enzyme activities and with low trace elements, which are co-factors of antioxidant enzymes. 209 infants with birthweight less than 1000g were enrolled into a European multicentre randomised erythropoietin (rhEPO) trial; 155 developed one or more of the above mentioned diseases. We analysed Zn, Cu, Fe, Se in plasma and red blood cells (RBCs), superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) in RBCs on the 3rd and 68th day of life. Zn, Fe, Se in plasma, and Se in RBCs decreased (p<0.01), and Zn in RBC (p<0.001), CuZn-SOD (p<0.01) and CAT increased (p<0.05), whereas GSH-Px remained unchanged. No differences were observed between the rhEPO and control groups. Antioxidant enzyme activities did not correlate with gestational age. In infants with BPD, IVH, ROP, or NEC, CuZn-SOD and CAT (p<0.05) were higher at day 68 than in infants without these diseases. CuZn-SOD and GSH-Px at 3 days and CuZn-SOD at 68 days correlated positively (p<0.05) with the duration of oxygen treatment. In conclusion, in ELBW infants, trace element concentrations decreased over the first 10 weeks of life. Lower trace element concentrations, did not affect the activities of CuZn-SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT. Typical diseases of prematurity were not associated with decreased antioxidant enzyme activities.
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PMID:Trace elements and antioxidant enzymes in extremely low birthweight infants. 2041 69

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a complex disease that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Several small studies have found genetic variants in EPAS1, VEGF, SOD, and members of the WNT family in association with ROP. Design in genetic studies is challenging because of changing recommendations for the management of prematurity and ROP, the fact ROP is rare, and that availability of resources for managing premature infants can vary throughout the world. In addition, there is a shortage of ophthalmologists with the ability to diagnose and characterize severe ROP. Careful determination of the degree of prematurity is important when evaluating genetic studies. Controlling for significant epidemiologic factors and multiple comparisons is also important to consider when evaluating genetic studies. One large candidate gene study controlled for degree of prematurity, significant epidemiologic factors, and multiple comparisons and found variants within the intron of BDNF associated with severe ROP. Future studies using unbiased techniques to assess genetic risk are important as are in-depth study of BDNF through deep sequencing and associated mechanistic studies using appropriate experimental models.
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PMID:Genomics in the neonatal nursery: Focus on ROP. 2647 93