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We hypothesized that, in pigs selected for low (L) or high (H) serum cholesterol for four generations, neonatal endogenous cholesterol synthesis would be sufficient to meet requirements for brain and body growth. In Experiment 1, eight 16-wk-old L pigs received a diet with or without 200 mg cholesterol/100 g diet for 35 d. Supplemented pigs grew approximately 25% faster and had a significantly greater concentration of free cholesterol in the cerebrum. In Experiment 2, 16 H and 16 L newborn pigs were fed a milk replacer with or without 200 mg cholesterol/100 g diet for 28 d. Pigs fed cholesterol had greater average daily gain (P is less than or equal to 0.09), significantly reduced liver 3-hydroxy-3- methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase activity, and significantly increased cerebral cholesterol content than pigs not fed cholesterol. One of three indices of exploratory behavior was significantly greater in the L pigs that received cholesterol compared with L pigs that did not receive cholesterol. These data suggest that these neonatal pigs are unable to produce sufficient cholesterol to meet requirements for normal growth and brain development and are dependent on dietary cholesterol in milk.

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Abstract. Phenobarbital sodium has been used in anticonvulsant concentrations (15 to 40 micro g/mL serum) in premature newborns in attempts to prevent periventricular and intraventricular hemorrhages. Although its clinical usefulness in this regard is controversial, phenobarbital treatment has been shown to reduce periventricular and intraventricular hemorrhages after hypertensive insult in newborn beagles. In this study cerebral blood flow values in steady state and during phenylephrine-induced hypertension with and without phenobarbital pretreatment were measured in newborn beagles. At anticonvulsant dosage, phenobarbital sodium decreased mean arterial blood pressure transiently during steady state and significantly reduced total cerebral blood flow during phenylephrine-induced hypertension without reducing mean arterial blood pressure. This phenobarbital sodium effect on cerebral blood flow was not as great in the presence of acidosis, and the initial hypotensive effect of phenobarbital sodium was sustained for a longer period of time during acidosis. Phenobarbital sodium may reduce the incidence of hemorrhages in the newborn brain by providing protection against isolated hemodynamic stresses characterized by acute increases in cerebral blood flow, with or without increased mean arterial blood pressure. Pediatrics 1990;86:501-508; cerebral blood flow, hypertension, intraoentricular hemorrhage, neonate, newborn beagle, phenobarbital, phenylephrine hydrochloride, premature infant. INSET: ROUTINE HOSTPITAL ADMISSION IN TWIN PREGNANCY BETWEEN 26 AND.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Periventricular and intraventricular intracerebral hemorrhages occur frequently in premature newborns and are markers for, or contribute significantly to, neurologic morbidity in survivors. Hemorrhages are hypothesized to result from rapid fluctuations in cerebral perfusion pressure and/or cerebral blood flow. Phenobarbital sodium has been given to premature infants in anticonvulsant dosages in attempts to prevent hemorrhages, but its efficacy in clinical studies has been disputed. In this study, in the 24 to 72-hour-old newborn beagle, an animal model for periventricular and intraventricular intracerebral hemorrhage, phenobarbital sodium was administered to obtain anticonvulsant serum levels prior to phenylephrine-induced hypertensive insult. None of the animals was hypoxic or hypercarbic. Resulting hypertensive systemic mean arterial BPs were 99 +/8 mm Hg in the 15 control pups and 93 +/- 15 mm Hg in the 15 phenobarbital sodium-treated pups (not statistically significantly different). The duration of the hypertension was the same in both groups. Phenobarbital caused a Significant decrease in mean arterial BP in the treated group just after its administration (P < .05). Six of the 15 control pups (40%) and one of the 15 treated pups (7%) demonstrated macroscopic and microscopic periventricular and intraventricular hemorrhage (P < .05, chi[sup 2], Yates correction). Thus, in nonasphyxiated newborn beagles, phenobarbital sodium significantly reduced the incidence of hemorrhage after hypertensive insult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]