[Mortality and cause of death of hospitalized neonates in Weifang, China: a multicenter study]. / æ½åŠå¸‚ä½é™¢æ–°ç”Ÿå„¿ç— æ­»çŽ‡åŠæ­»äº¡åŽŸå› çš„å¤šä¸­å¿ƒç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the changes in the mortality rate and cause of death of hospitalized neonates in grade A tertiary hospitals in Weifang City of Shandong Province during a 10-year period. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 461 neonates who died in three grade A tertiary hospitals in Weifang City of Shandong Province from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2021. The related clinical data were collected to examine the changes of neonatal mortality with time, gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW). The main causes of death of the neonates were compared between the first 5 years (2012-2016) and the last 5 years (2017-2021) in the period. RESULTS: A total of 43 037 neonates were admitted from 2012 to 2021, among whom 461 died, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.07%. The mortality rate in the last 5 years was significantly lower than that in the first 5 years [0.96% (211/22 059 vs 1.19% (250/20 978); P<0.05]. The mortality rate of neonates decreased with the increases in GA and BW (P<0.05). In the first 5 years, the top three main causes of neonatal death were respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), sepsis, and pneumorrhagia, while in the last 5 years, the top three causes were sepsis, pneumorrhagia, and RDS. The leading cause of death was severe asphyxia for the neonates with a GA of <26 weeks and a BW of <750 g in both the first and last 5 years. For the neonates with a GA of 26-<28 weeks, the leading cause of death changed from RDS in the first 5 years to pneumorrhagia in the last 5 years. For the neonates with a BW of 750-<1 000 g, the leading cause of death changed from pneumorrhagia in the first 5 years to RDS in the last 5 years. For the neonates with a GA of 28-<32 weeks and a BW of 1 000-<1 500 g, the leading cause of death was RDS in both the first and last 5 years. For the neonates with a GA of 32-<37 weeks and a BW of 1 500-<2 500 g, the leading cause of death changed from RDS in the first 5 years to sepsis in the last 5 years. The leading cause of death was sepsis for the neonates with a GA of 37-<42 weeks and a BW of 2 500-<4 000 g in both the first and last 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The mortality rate of neonates in the grade A tertiary hospitals in Weifang City of Shandong Province has been decreasing in the past 10 years, and it decreases with the increases in GA and BW. Sepsis, RDS, and pneumorrhagia are the leading causes of neonatal death. The mortality rate caused by RDS decreases from the first 5 years to the last 5 years, while the mortality rate caused by sepsis or pneumorrhagia increases from the first 5 years to the last 5 years. Therefore, reducing the incidence rates of sepsis, RDS, and pneumorrhagia is the key to reducing neonatal mortality.

MiR-194-5p serves as a potential biomarker and regulates the proliferation and apoptosis of hippocampus neuron in children with temporal lobe epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study is to explore the expression level and the clinical significance of miR-194-5p to the children with temporal lobe epilepsy, and investigate its functions in regulating cell behaviors of hippocampal neurons. METHODS: The expression level of miR-194-5p was detected in the serum of 59 temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) children and 63 healthy children. To further study the role of miR-194-5p in the development of TLE in children, the epileptiform discharge model was established in rat hippocampal neurons to mimic TLE conditions in children. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the ROC curve were established to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum microRNAs to the differentiation of the TLE group and healthy group. The influence of miR-194-5p on the proliferation and apoptosis of hippocampus neurons was examined by using MTT and flow cytometric apoptosis assay. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the target gene of miR-194-5p. RESULTS: The result demonstrated that miR-194-5p was significantly dysregulated in plasma of TLE patients. Analysis of ROCs showed that the miR-194-5p had high specificity and sensitivity in the diagnosis of the TLE in children. The expression of miR-194-5p was found to increase in the hippocampal cells cultured in the magnesium-free medium through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Hyper-expressed of miR-194-5p reversed TLE-induced reduction for the cell viability, and inhibited the cell apoptosis induced by TLE. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) was proved to be a direct target gene of miR-194-5p. CONCLUSION: MiR-194-5p is a likely potential biomarker and treatment target of TLE in children. IGF1R might be involved in the regulatory role of miR-194-5p in hippocampus neuron apoptosis.

[Risk factors for elevated serum total bile acid in preterm infants].

OBJECTIVE: To study the risk factors for elevated serum total bile acid (TBA) in preterm infants. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 216 preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. According to the presence or absence of elevated TBA (TBA >24.8 µmol/L), the preterm infants were divided into elevated TBA group with 53 infants and non-elevated TBA group with 163 infants. A univariate analysis and an unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the risk factors for elevated TBA. RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the elevated TBA group and the non-elevated TBA group in gestational age at birth, birth weight, proportion of small-for-gestational-age infants, proportion of infants undergoing ventilator-assisted ventilation, fasting time, parenteral nutrition time, and incidence of neonatal respiratory failure and sepsis (P<0.05). The unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low birth weight (OR=3.84, 95%CI: 1.53-9.64) and neonatal sepsis (OR=2.56, 95%CI: 1.01-6.47) were independent risk factors for elevated TBA in preterm infants. CONCLUSIONS: Low birth weight and neonatal sepsis may lead to elevated TBA in preterm infants.

[Diagnostic value and influencing factors for amplitude-integrated EEG in brain injury in preterm infants].

OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnostic value and influencing factors for amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) in brain injury in preterm infants. METHODS: One hundred and sixteen preterm infants with a gestational age (GA) between 27 weeks and 36(+6) weeks were enrolled as subjects. The aEEG scores of all preterm infants were obtained within 6 hours after birth. According to the diagnostic results, the 116 preterm infants were divided into two groups: brain injury (n=63) and non-brain injury (n=53). The risk factors for brain injury were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. According to the aEEG results, the 116 preterm infants were divided into two groups: normal aEEG (n=58) and abnormal aEEG (n=58). The influencing factors for aEEG results in preterm infants were determined using univariate analysis. RESULTS: The brain injury group had a significantly higher rate of abnormal aEEG than the non-brain injury group (83% vs 11%; P<0.05). The infants in the brain injury group from two different GA subgroups (27-33(+6) weeks and 34-36(+6) weeks) had significantly lower aEEG scores than the non-brain injury group from corresponding GA subgroups (P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that low GA (<32 weeks), low birth weight (<1 500 g), abnormal placenta, fetal membranes, and umbilical cord, and hypertension during pregnancy were high-risk factors for brain injury (P<0.05). There were significant differences in GA, birth weight, abnormal placenta, fetal membranes, and umbilical cord, and hypertension during pregnancy between the normal and abnormal aEEG groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for brain injury are consistent with the influencing factors for aEEG results in preterm infants, suggesting that aEEG contributes to the early diagnosis of brain injury.

[Long-term subculture and biological characterization of the murine bone marrow endothelial cell line].

The murine bone marrow endothelial cell line (mBMEC) has been maintained by means of subculture and cryopreservation for over 10 years since it was established in our laboratory. This study was aimed to newly identify biological characteristics of this cell line for further study. The cultured mBMEC cells were observed by inverted microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PECAM-1 (CD31) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) were detected by immunofluorescent staining. The phagocytotic activity of the cells in culture was tested by using fluorescent acetylated low-density lipoprotein (Dil-Ac-LDL). The cell growth kinetics analysis and karyotype analysis were performed. The results showed that the adherent cells were mostly elliptical, rounded and spindle-shaped, and some of them connected to each other to form cord- and network-like arrangements in mBMEC cultures at subconfluence. The adherent cells grew up to confluence as a cobblestone-like monolayer. Several ultrastructural features of the endothelial cells could be observed in TEM sections of the cultured cells. More than 94% of mBMEC cells were positive for either CD31 or vWF. The phagocytotic ingestion of Dil-Ac-LDL occurred in 98.5% of cells. In normal culture conditions, the cells grew with a mean population doubling time of 54.6 hours and the maximal mitotic index was 38 per thousand in the rapid growth period. The colony yields were 4.33% to 7.40% depending on the plating density of cells. Karyotypes of all the cells were aneuploidy with a greater percentage of hyperdiploid. It is concluded that mBMEC cells retain the fundamental properties of endothelial cells, but the growth kinetics and biological behaviors are slightly different from those in the early days after the establishment of this cell line.