Corticosterone release in response to repeated, short episodes of neonatal isolation : evidence of sensitization

Repeated isolation of neonatal rats produces persistent changes in physiology and behavior. In Experiment 1, we examined changes in plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels as a possible mechanism for the effects of isolation. Pups that were isolated from their mother and the nest for 1 h per day on postnatal days (PND) 2–9 were compared to control litters of pups that were either nonhandled or handled but not isolated. On PND 2, compared to nonhandled pups, handled pups had elevated CORT levels that returned to baseline levels within 30 to 60 min of return to the home cage. No significant elevation of CORT levels were found in handled pups on PND 9. The CORT levels of isolated pups were over twice those of nonhandled pups on PND 2 and four times those of nonhandled pups on PND 9. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether the increased CORT release in response to isolation on PND 9 was the result of the pups treatment on the previous six days as against an effect of maturation. Plasma CORT levels were measured in rat pups that were either isolated, handled or nonhandled on PNDs 2–8 during the conditions of isolation, handling and nonhandling on PND 9. There were no differences among the groups in basal plasma levels of CORT. Handling on PND 9 did not result in elevated CORT levels in any of the groups. All three groups showed a significant increase in plasma CORT levels after isolation on PND 9. However, the CORT response to isolation of pups previously isolated on PND 2–8 were significantly higher than pups that were either handled or nonhandled on PNDs 2–8. Thus, daily episodes of isolation potentiate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to stress.     

Breastmilk intake and growth in infants from two to ten months

Longitudinal measurements of breastmilk intake in 48 Cambridge infants showed that intake reached a peak of 824 g/24 h in boys and 741 g/24 h in girls in the third and fourth months, respectively. Regression analysis demonstrated that, in the early months, the infants' weight accounted for a major part of the variance in breastmilk intake. Infants in non-manual social classes received more breastmilk and started solids later than those in manual groups. In the early months weight gain showed a relative increase compared to growth standards, but later infancy was characterized by a progressive deceleration in weight and length gain. Adiposity, as measured by triceps skinfold thickness differed most markedly from growth charts and was only equivalent to the tenth standard centile at all ages. The lower skinfold thickness measurements are considered to be more appropriate to breastfed infants in general.     

Management of infant sleep problems in a residential unit

Torrens House provides a short residential programme for families with a baby (8–12 months of age) identified by parents as having a sleep problem such as waking frequently at night and being difficult to settle. The programme involves the promotion of infant self-settling by the use of a controlled crying technique, together with wrapping, cessation of night feeds and establishment of a day-time routine. Twenty families (with 23 babies) were followed through the programme and for 3 months afterwards. There were significant decreases in the number of times the babies woke, the number of night-feeds and the length of time awake at night at 1 month follow-up, with a reduction in depressive symptomatology of the parents and a perceived improvement in their infants' behaviour. Twenty of the 23 babies were sleeping well at 3 month follow-up.     

南阳市1999～2001年新生儿破伤风疫情监测

目的 对南阳市3年的新生儿破伤风疫情监测结果进行分析，掌握该市新生儿破伤风发病概况，有针对地制订防治对策。方法 对3年的监测资料进行分析评价。结果 1999—2001年3年的发病率分别为0．09‰、0．07‰、0．04‰，发病县3年的年发病率均小于1‰。结论 开展各种形式的宣传活动，提倡住院分娩，推广消毒接生，对育龄妇女进行破伤风类毒素接种，从而有效降低其发病率。     

新生儿重组酵母乙肝疫苗接种免疫的研究

目的：探讨重组酵母乙肝疫苗新生儿接种后抗体应答持续时间，强化复种的必要性。方法：常规对新生儿0d(出生后当天)、1月、6月接种重组酵母乙肝疫苗后检测抗体应答情况，再随机分两组，一组为强化组，一组为常规组，并随访其5年的抗体应答情况。结果：新生儿常规接种法，于12个月后有一明显抗体应答下降期(0d、1月、6月、12月)，强化组乙肝表面抗体形成率高，持续时间均高于常规接种法。结论：新生儿乙肝疫苗0d、1月、6月、12月接种法有较好的远期保护效果，对现有的0d、1月、6月新生儿乙肝疫苗常规接种法，有强化接种的必要。     

新生大鼠卵巢异体异位移植的实验研究

目的 :探讨新生大鼠卵巢异体异位移植后的生长发育及功能。方法 :将新生大鼠的卵巢移植入去势成年雌性大鼠的肾被膜下 ,移植 5 0d后取材进行组织学及组织化学研究 ,观察移植效果 ;同时测定血清雌激素水平。结果 :受体在移植后第 16 6 0± 7 4 1d出现动情周期 ,移植物内可见不同阶段的发育卵泡和间质腺 ;3- β -羟甾脱氢酶组织化学染色显示它们呈不同程度的阳性反应 ;血清E2 水平与正常成年大鼠间无显著性差异 (P >0 0 5 )。结论 :新生大鼠卵巢异体异位移植后能继续生长发育并具有内分泌功能。     

妊娠期低水平铅暴露对新生儿钙磷代谢及造血系统的影响

目的 :研究妊娠期低水平铅暴露对新生儿钙磷代谢及造血系统的影响。 方法 :分别测定 79例汉族及5 9例维吾尔族 (维族 )母亲及新生儿脐血铅、钙、磷、碱性磷酸酶、血红蛋白、红细胞游离原卟啉的含量 ,分析脐血铅对新生儿钙、磷、碱性磷酸酶及血红蛋白、红细胞游离原卟啉的影响。 结果 :(1)汉族产妇血铅 6 3 87μg/L ,新生儿脐血铅 4 7.71μg/L ,维族产妇血铅 87 92 μg/L ,新生儿脐血铅 6 1.5 7μg/L ,维族产妇及新生儿脐血铅均高于汉族产妇及新生儿脐血铅含量 (P <0 .0 5 ～ 0 .0 1) 。 (2 )以脐血铅 10 0 μg/L为界将新生儿分为高铅组和低铅组 ,两组血钙相比差异有统计学意义 (P <0 .0 1) ,而两组血红蛋白及红细胞游离原卟啉相比差异均无统计学意义 (P >0 .0 5 )。 结论 :妊娠期低水平铅暴露可致新生儿血钙下降 ,但对新生儿血红蛋白及红细胞游离原卟啉则无影响     

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene expression in the human brain: A post mortem in situ hybridization study with special reference to Parkinson's disease

Summary Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor for dopaminergic neurons. Since dopaminergic neurons degenerate in Parkinson's disease, this factor is a potential therapeutical tool that may save dopaminergic neurons during the pathological process. Moreover, a reduced GDNF expression may be involved in the pathophysiology of the disease. In this study, we tested whether altered GDNF production may participate in the mechanism of cell death in this disease. GDNF gene expression was analyzed by in situ hybridization using riboprobes corresponding to a sequence of the exon 2 human GDNF gene. Experiments were performed on tissue sections of the mesencephalon and the striatum from 8 patients with Parkinson's disease and 6 control subjects matched for age at death and for post mortem delay. No labelling was observed in either group of patients. This absence of detectable expression could not be attributed to methodological problems as a positive staining was observed using the same probes for sections of astroglioma biopsies from human adults and for sections of a newborn infant brain obtained at post-mortem. These data suggest that GDNF is probably expressed at a very low level in the adult human brain and its involvement in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease remains to be demonstrated. GDNF may represent a powerful new therapeutic agent for Parkinson's disease, however.     

雾化吸入对新生儿肺炎患儿血氧饱和度的影响

采用动脉血氧饱和度仪对５２例新生儿肺炎患儿，在雾化吸入治疗过程中的动脉血氧饱和度（ＳａＯ２）进行了监测，对比了吸氧与否对ＳａＯ２改变的影响。结查表明：与基础值比较，雾化吸入时患儿的ＳａＯ２显著下降（Ｐ＜０．０１），而雾化吸入同时吸氧者ＳａＯ２无明显变化（Ｐ＞０．０５），但两者比较具有显著性差异（Ｐ＜０．０１）。结果提示雾化吸入可使新生儿肺炎患儿ＳａＯ２下降；同时吸氧，对防止ＳａＯ２的下降有一定作用。     

新生鼠和成年鼠脑7种微量元素含量的比较

利用高频电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法（ICP－AES）测定Sprunge－Dawley大鼠新生期大脑皮层、海马、小脑、间脑和脑桥等部位的锌、铁、铜、锰、铬、锶、钼等7种微量元素的含量，并与成年动物做了比较。结果表明：（1）新生期大鼠全脑7种微量元素含量的多寡依次为：锌、铁、铬、锶、锰、铜、钼；成年期时钢跃居第四位，总含量低于新生期。（2）脑内不同部位微量元素的含量不同。新生大鼠海马和小脑内多数元素含量高于其他脑区，钼在间脑和海马中含量较高。成年鼠皮层、海马微量元素含量较高，皮层内铜、锶、钼含量最低。