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Aim. We measured in parallel and with a bedside equipment, the reference values of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and of total antioxidant defenses (TAD) in healthy full-term infants at birth on cord blood. Type of study. Population study of consecutive patients. Patients and methods. One hundred infants with gestational age 37--42 wks without signs of fetal distress or perinatal asphyxia. ROS and TAD were measured on cord blood -- together with blood gas analysis -- immediately after birth with a bedside equipment (FORM plus, Callegari 1930, Italy). Results. The average time to the end of the exams was 19 min (5--55 min). After outliers' exclusion, ROS resulted meanly 117 ±± 58.2 U.F. and TAD 1.31 ±± 0.45 mmol/l Trol.eq., being the ROS' value lower and that of TAD in the same range than those of adult people. No relationship was found between cesarean and vaginal delivery and between male and female sex. Conclusion. The normal full-term infants present low values of ROS but normal values of TAD when compared to adult people. We speculate this is a defensive mechanism, a sort of preparation of the fetus to face the partial pressure of oxygen of the room-air, increased with respect to that present in the womb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfactant has been a main topic of neonatology in the last 20 years. Many studies have been conducted since the discovery of its role in the pathogenesis of respiratory distress syndrome and the knowledge on its composition and metabolism has become complex. In this article we review the current concepts of its metabolism, ways of acting, properties of its proteins and activities other than the ability of reducing surface tension within the lung as a basis to understand the development of disease in case of its deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a case in a female newborn infant of multiple congenital epulis, i.e. granular cell tumor, that was undetected during regular pregnancy ultrasound monitoring. At birth the neoplasms appeared as two voluminous lesions protruding from the newborn's mouth. The greater of them (5.5 cm × 4 cm × 3 cm) was pedunculated and attached to the external superior gingiva, shifting the alae nasi and making it difficult to enter the coanae. The second mass was somewhat smaller (3 cm × 4 cm × 2.5 cm), pedunculated and attached to the external inferior gum. A third smaller mass was less evident, unpedunculated and attached to the rim of the lower gingiva. Histologically the lesions were characterized by large cells, which had abundant pale acidophilic granular cytoplasm. A round-oval nucleus was located centrally. The cell membranes were distinct. Neither mitosis nor necrosis was found. Staining for cytoplasmic granules was intensely periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) positive and diastase resistant. Immunohistochemical negativity for S100 protein, positivity for lysozyme and numerous phagolysosomes in the cytoplasm of neoplastic elements, observed on ultrastructural examination, supported the hypothesis that the congenital type of granular cell tumor cannot have a Schwannian origin like that of the adult type, but is probably a mesenchymal lesion which, for unknown cause, regresses by a degenerative process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To survey epidemiology and to study the etiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and apparent life threatening events (ALTE) in Emilia-Romagna, a web network was constituted. A regional supervisor and a steering committee plan the action of district and local co-ordinators. They keep contact with the Regional Office of Health Services. District and local co-ordinators collect clinical and laboratory and, in case of SIDS, also autopsy data. Records are communicated to the Regional Supervising Center by on-line software. From these data, future planning of care and of mass information as well as auditing of their efficacy can be carried out. The characteristics of the network that has just started to collect data, as well its future developmental aspects, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main points of the recommendations on use of surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome are reported in the article. In particular the aspects of why to administer it, when to give it and what kind of surfactant to use as well as who should inject it and where are analysed in agreement with the data of literature and the experience of the author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Neonatal seizures are considered an acute manifestation of disturbance of the neonatal brain. Some of them can be considered as neonatal epilepsy. Our goal was to evaluate perinatal risk factors, electroencephalogram (EEG) findings and ictal semeiological characteristics of our newborns with neonatal seizures in order to identify which clinical variables were the most early predictive factors of poor neurodevelopmental outcome and of epilepsy. Methods: Among all preterm infants consecutively admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the University Hospital of Parma in the period between January 1999 and June 2003, 28 preterm infants with gestational age &les; 36 weeks were selected according to the presence of repetitive neonatal seizures, need of chronic anticonvulsant therapy, more than one EEG performed during the neonatal period, and at least one imaging examination (cerebral ultrasound and/or cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These patients were prospectively followed up for at least 6 months to evaluate the clinical outcome. Independent variables considered for analysis included perinatal risk factors, etiology of convulsions, EEG activity and type of seizures. Results: The background EEG activity was the strongest predictive factor of the neurodevelopmental outcome, but status epilepticus (SE) also represented a significant variable associated with poor prognosis and subsequent epilepsy. Conclusions: EEG activity was predictive of the developmental outcome and allowed identification of the infants with SE, a condition often related to neonatal epilepsy (71.4%, p  < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]