Neurodevelopmental outcome in children with periventricular leukomalacia

The purpose of this study was to question the correlation of different grades of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and subsequent neurodevelopmental outcome. In a prospective study we followed 52 preterm infants. Infants were divided into three groups according to their cranial ultrasound findings of PVL (De Vries classification). Seventeen children had PVL 1, 20 children had PVL 2, and 15 children had PVL 3. All 15 (100%) children with PVL 3 developed cerebral palsy with additional visual perceptual dysfunctions and epilepsy. Children with PVL 1 had high frequency of mild neuromotoric delay and visual impairment. PVL 2 and 3 have great predictive value for subsequent severe neurodevelopmental disorder which refers to cerebral palsy, different cognitive deficits, vision impairment and epilepsy. We have determined that due to high frequency of visual impairment and epilepsy we need to include neurophysiologic examinations very early in children with PVL lesions.     

Clinico-morphologic analysis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in patients up to the 19th year of life

Deaths of patients with the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were analysed in the non-selected autopsy material within 1976-1985. Fifteen cases of the disease, i.e. 0.12% of all autopsies and 3.8% of autopsies in the age group between 1 and 19 years, were noted. Fourteen cases of the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were noted in the age group of 5-14 years. Mean age was 9.3 years. The disease was nearly three-fold more frequent in male patients. Time lapse between measles infection or antimeasles vaccination and hospitalization for the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis was 4.2 years for both sexes and was much lower for male patients--2.9 years. Morphological lesions characteristic for the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were seen in the white matter and cortex of the brain in all examined patients. Lesions to the basal ganglia were noted in 9 cases, and additionally to the brain stem and vermiform lobe in 3 cases. The most frequent clinical symptoms accompanying the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis at the beginning of the hospitalization, other diseases and conformation of the clinical diagnosis with sectional findings are also discussed.     

Morphological characteristics of a substantia alba lesion of the cerebral hemispheres in newborn infants with periventricular leukomalacia and sepsis

Neurohistological and electron microscopy studies of the foci of periventricular leukomalacia allowed defining 3 stages in their development: necrosis, resorption and formation of the glial cicatrix or a cyst. Comparative study of the lesions in two groups of neonates (with and without sepsis) showed that sepsis promoted the process persistence and development of new pathological foci. One of the possible pathogenetic mechanisms might be the thrombosis of brain white substance vessels.     

Formation of intestinal microflora in children during the first year of their life

In 525 young children the state of intestinal microbiocenosis was studied every month of the first year their life. The study revealed that the process of the microflora formation lasted throughout the first year of their life and was characterized by dysbiotic disturbances. During this period the aggravation of dysbiotic changes in the intestine of these children on months 3, 6-7 and 11-12 was of particular importance. The formation of stable dysbacteriosis led to a decrease in the immunological status of the child, which was manifested by the increased content of such microorganisms as hemolytic cocci, Proteus and a decrease in the quantitative level of bifidobacteria in the total intestinal microbiocenosis by the end of the first year of child's life.     

Immunity to equine herpesvirus 1 infection in foals during the first year of life.

A band of 23 pregnant mares on a Thoroughbred breeding farm all had serum virus-neutralizing antibody titres to equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). Antibody was not transferred to their foals in utero. All foals received antibody from colostrum and developed antibody titres similar to their dams. The serum virus-neutralizing antibody titres were observed in 10 of these foals for 1 year. Decay of passive immunity occurred at the rate of 3.25 two-fold dilutions in 100 days and reached zero at the mean time of 180 days. The foals were exposed to EHV-1 twice. Foals with a geometric mean titre of 1 : 25 experienced infection and a rise of titre, while those with a geometric mean titre of 1 : 76 resisted infection.     

Morbidity in Canadian Indian and non-Indian children in the first year of life.

A cohort study of health status was undertaken to determine the patterns of morbidity in the first year of life for Indian and non-Indian infants living in southern Ontario. The annual incidence of office-reported health problems was 8.0 episodes for the 99 Indians and 4.5 for the 316 non-Indians studied. The risk of illness of most diagnostic categories was more than 1.5 times greater and the rate of hospital admission 4 times greater for the Indian infants. There was no difference between the two cohorts in the rates of visits to hospital emergency departments. The main cause of illness in both cohorts was respiratory tract infection; lower respiratory tract infections, particularly pneumonia, were a major health problem among the Indian infants. Only 36% of the Indian infants compared with 68% of the non-Indian infants attended five or more well-baby examinations. Part of the difference in morbidity between the Indian and non-Indian infants may be attributed to environmental factors, health care behaviour and geographic constraints.     

The antimeasles immunity in infants in the 1st year of life

The serological survey of 138 infants aged 8 months and 138 mothers having had protective titers of specific antibodies to measles during pregnancy was made. The study revealed that passively transferred antibodies to measles circulated in infants for a longer time and were detected more frequently under the conditions of breast feeding by mothers having had measles (up to 93.7% of infants). In artificially fed infants, born of mothers having had no measles, but previously vaccinated against this infection, antibodies to measles were detected in rather rare cases (only in 7.3%). In infants, artificially fed, but born of mothers having had measles, the level of antibodies to measles was practically unchanged (81.6%).     

乙型肝炎血源疫苗皮内接种4年效果观察

为了解乙型肝炎血源疫苗皮内接种的持久效果,选ＨＢｓＡｇ、抗－ＨＢｓ和抗－ＨＢｃ均（－）的９～１１岁儿童１０３名,随机分成４组,分别皮内接种１μｇ×４和３μｇ×４（均按０,１,２,５月程序）和肌肉接种１０μｇ×３和３０μｇ×３（各按０,１,２月程序）。首针后４８月时,１μｇ、３μｇ、１０μｇ和３０μｇ组抗－ＨＢｓ≥１０ｍＩＵ／ｍＩ者各为６９．２％,８０．０％、９２．３％和８１．８％;ＧＭＴ则为１４．５,７９．０,４４．８和７０．９ｍＩＵ／ｍｌ,３μｇ×４皮内免疫的近期和远期效果与肌肉组３０μｇ×３相似,宜于某些人群采用     

A neurophysiologic study of sleep in children during the first year of life]

Polygraphic investigation of day sleep has been carried out in thirty suckling infants (aged from 25 days to 12 months). EEG, OCG, SGR, respiration ECG, muscular activity, and in some infants, also rheographic parameters (REG and RG of the shin) have shown that already at an early nursing age, states of drowsiness, falling asleep, light and medium depth and deep slow sleep set in, as well as the so-called rapid sleep which occurs only after slow sleep. The denotation of the slow sleep stages is based on the classification by Loomis et al., though their electroenecepholographic expression in the infant is in many ways peculiar and undergoes certain dynamics during the first year of life. Peculiarities of the central area EEG have been exhibited in all the age groups, and it has been assumed that the central parts of the cortex of a suckling infant are a kind of "window" into the subcortical parts. While EEG, displaying new forms of activity at certain stages of sleep undergo distinct age changes, vegetative sleep manifestations display only some age depending quantitative differences. Thus, at the nursing age the mechanisms of electroencephalographic and vegetative sleep manifestations are of different degree of maturity: they possess a considerable autonomy, although they function in concord.     

Cellular composition of tracheal lymphoid tissue in children in their first year of life]

By means of morphometrical methods in histological preparations the quantitative relations of various cell types of lymphoid formations has been studied in newborns and in suckling children. The trachea in the newborns practically does not possess any morphological substrate in the form of lymphoid accumulations, responsible for immune defense of the organ from any external influence. Development of the lymphoid tissue begins in the suckling age and its cytoarchitectonics depends on their localization in the organ's wall. A special place among the accumulations of the lymphoid cells occupy connective tissue spaces of the tracheal glands, where besides lymphocytes and fibroblasts a great amount of plasma cells is situated. Under epithelium these cells are in the least amount, in the prenoduli they are of an intermediate amount. In all the lymphoid structures investigated reproductive function is absent; this is proved by absence of blasts and mitotically dividing cells. Increase in amount of the tracheal lymphoid formations in all age groups studied takes place at the expense of cells migration across blood vessels.     

Transplacental measles immunity in infants in the 1st year of life]

A total of 187 parturients (66 with a history of measles and 121 immunized with live measles vaccine, or LMV, in childhood) and their 187 newborn infants, as well as 195 children aged up to 1 year, were examined. Antimeasles antibodies in blood sera were detected in the hemagglutination inhibition test. In all mothers with a history of measles and in their newborn infants antimeasles antibodies in different titers were detected. In mothers, formerly immunized with LMV, antimeasles antibodies were absent in 5.8% and in their newborn infants, in 6.6% of the examinees. Among children aged up to 1 year, born of formerly immunized mothers, more rapid disappearance of passive antimeasles immunity was observed. In cases of contact with measles, the serological examinations of all children born of mothers immunized with LMV should be carried out in order to protect seronegative children by passive or active immunization.     

The acoustic aspect of the speech development in children during the third year of life

The current part of a Russian language acquisition longitudinal study based on auditory, phonetic and instrumental analysis is devoted to the third year of child's life. We examined the development of supplementary acoustic and phonetic features of the child's speech providing for the possibility for the speech to be recognized. The instrumental analysis and statistical processing of vowel formant dynamics as well as stress, palatalization and VOT development, has been performed for the first time in Russian children. We showed that the high probability of children words recognition by auditors was due to establishment of a system of acoustically stable features which, in combination with each other, provide for the informative sufficiency of a message.     

Respiratory infections in the first year of life in children at risk of developing atopy.

Ninety-two infants, each of whom had one parent with asthma or hay fever, were followed up from birth to age of 1 year and 72 to the age of three years. During the first year of life respiratory symptoms, eczema, and respiratory viral infections were all reported. Within the first year 24 babies developed eczema; 28 had a wheal of 1 mm in diameter or more on prick skin testing with cutaneous allergens. Forty-three children had one or both of these characteristics and formed an atopic subgroup; by the same criteria, 49 children were non-atopic. The number of respiratory infections in the two groups was not significantly different; similar viruses were isolated from both groups. These viruses were associated with both upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Wheezing was a clinical feature in 12 children during lower respiratory tract infections. Of these babies six were atopic in the first year of life. Of the six non-atopic babies, one had eczema in the second year and five children developed raised total serum IgE values within the 3 years.     

Developmental regulation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in the premature brain and their protective role in a rodent model of periventricular leukomalacia

Cerebral white matter injury in premature infants, known as periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), is common after hypoxia-ischemia (HI). While ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) can mediate immature white matter injury, we have previously shown that excitotoxic injury to premyelinating oligodendrocytes (preOLs) in vitro can be attenuated by group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists. Thus, we evaluated mGluR expression in developing white matter in rat and human brain, and tested the protective efficacy of a central nervous system (CNS)-penetrating mGluR agonist on injury to developing oligodendrocytes (OLs) in vivo. Group I mGluRs (mGluR1 and mGluR5) were strongly expressed on OLs in neonatal rodent cerebral white matter throughout normal development, with highest expression early in development on preOLs. Specifically at P6, mGluR1 and mGLuR5 were most highly expressed on GalC-positive OLs compared to neurons, axons, astrocytes and microglia. Systemic administration of (1S,3R) 1-aminocyclopentane-trans-1,3,-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD) significantly attenuated the loss of myelin basic protein in the white matter following HI in P6 rats. Assessment of postmortem human tissue showed both mGluR1 and mGluR5 localized on immature OLs in white matter throughout development, with mGluR5 highest in the preterm period. These data indicate group I mGluRs are highly expressed on OLs during the peak period of vulnerability to HI and modulation of mGluRs is protective in a rodent model of PVL. Group I mGluRs may represent important therapeutic targets for protection from HI-mediated white matter injury.     

Spectral characteristics of vowel-like sounds in children of the first year of life and speech development

To study the continuity in speech development, an investigation of vowel-like sounds recorded in the course of longitudinal research of speech formation was carried out in 12 infants beginning with the first month up to 12 months of their life. It was revealed that features ensuring separation of vowel-like sounds are specific by their amplitude relation and frequency location of the most expressed spectral maxima, including the maxima corresponding to the fundamental frequency. As fundamental frequency increased, the vowel-like sounds [a], [u], [i] began to exhibit specific changes of the amplitude ratios of the spectral maxima. It was established that peculiarities of frequency positions of spectral maxima and relations of their amplitudes may be the very features on the bases of which children compare their own vowel-like sounds to the vowels of the adults in sound imitation. These findings and literature data corroborated the opinion of continuity in speech development, beginning with the early preverbal vocalizations.