Physiological Stability in Very Preterm Infants During Skin-to-Skin Contact as Assessed by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has been demonstrated to allow adequate thermal stability in high-technology settings with extremely preterm infants, while other aspects on how SSC influences basic physiological parameters have been less extensively investigated. PURPOSE: To evaluate physiological stability during SSC and incubator care in a group of preterm infants born at a gestational age (GA) of 32 weeks or less and receiving respiratory support. METHODS: Descriptive, observational study including 10 preterm infants (GA 22-32 weeks, postnatal age 2-48 days) were evaluated during SSC compared with flanking time periods in the incubator. Cerebral and systemic regional oxygen saturation (rSaO2), pulse oximetry (SpO2), heart rate (HR), and body temperature were recorded, and the fractional tissue oxygen extraction (fTOE) was calculated. RESULTS: A total of 16 periods of SSC (mean duration 3 hours 30 minutes) were evaluated, 9 during nasal continuous positive airway pressure and 7 during mechanical ventilation. Cerebral rSaO2 was 68% ± 4% (SE) and 69% ± 4% during incubator care and SSC, respectively (P = .56). Somatic rSao2 was 64% ± 4% during incubator care and 66% ± 4% during SSC (P = .54). Also, fTOE, HR, and SpO2 was similar during the 2 modes of care. Body temperature increased during SSC (P < .01). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The present study reveals no differences in cerebral and somatic tissue oxygenation between periods of SSC and care in the incubator. The findings indicate that SSC supports physiological stability also during management of very preterm infants receiving respiratory support. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Further studies directed to further optimize SSC performance should enable its safe implementation at gradually lower gestational and postnatal ages.

Sex differences and risk factors for bleeding in Alagille syndrome.

Spontaneous bleeds are a leading cause of death in the pediatric JAG1-related liver disease Alagille syndrome (ALGS). We asked whether there are sex differences in bleeding events in patients, whether Jag1Ndr/Ndr mice display bleeds or vascular defects, and whether discovered vascular pathology can be confirmed in patients non-invasively. We performed a systematic review of patients with ALGS and vascular events following PRISMA guidelines, in the context of patient sex, and found significantly more girls than boys reported with spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage. We investigated vascular development, homeostasis, and bleeding in Jag1Ndr/Ndr mice, using retina as a model. Jag1Ndr/Ndr mice displayed sporadic brain bleeds, a thin skull, tortuous blood vessels, sparse arterial smooth muscle cell coverage in multiple organs, which could be aggravated by hypertension, and sex-specific venous defects. Importantly, we demonstrated that retinographs from patients display similar characteristics with significantly increased vascular tortuosity. In conclusion, there are clinically important sex differences in vascular disease in ALGS, and retinography allows non-invasive vascular analysis in patients. Finally, Jag1Ndr/Ndr mice represent a new model for vascular compromise in ALGS.

DUCT reveals architectural mechanisms contributing to bile duct recovery in a mouse model for Alagille syndrome.

Organ function depends on tissues adopting the correct architecture. However, insights into organ architecture are currently hampered by an absence of standardized quantitative 3D analysis. We aimed to develop a robust technology to visualize, digitalize, and segment the architecture of two tubular systems in 3D: double resin casting micro computed tomography (DUCT). As proof of principle, we applied DUCT to a mouse model for Alagille syndrome (Jag1Ndr/Ndr mice), characterized by intrahepatic bile duct paucity, that can spontaneously generate a biliary system in adulthood. DUCT identified increased central biliary branching and peripheral bile duct tortuosity as two compensatory processes occurring in distinct regions of Jag1Ndr/Ndr liver, leading to full reconstitution of wild-type biliary volume and phenotypic recovery. DUCT is thus a powerful new technology for 3D analysis, which can reveal novel phenotypes and provide a standardized method of defining liver architecture in mouse models.

Many essential parts of the body contain tubes: the liver for example, contains bile ducts and blood vessels. These tubes develop right next to each other, like entwined trees. To do their jobs, these ducts must communicate and collaborate, but they do not always grow properly. For example, babies with Alagille syndrome are born with few or no bile ducts, resulting in serious liver disease. Understanding the architecture of the tubes in their livers could explain why some children with this syndrome improve with time, but many others need a liver transplant. Visualising biological tubes in three dimensions is challenging. One major roadblock is the difficulty in seeing several tubular structures at once. Traditional microscopic imaging of anatomy is in two dimensions, using slices of tissue. This approach shows the cross-sections of tubes, but not how the ducts connect and interact. An alternative is to use micro computed tomography scans, which use X-rays to examine structures in three dimensions. The challenge with this approach is that soft tissues, which tubes in the body are made of, do not show up well on X-ray. One way to solve this is to fill the ducts with X-ray absorbing resins, making a cast of the entire tree structure. The question is, can two closely connected tree structures be distinguished if they are cast at the same time? To address this question, Hankeova, Salplachta et al. developed a technique called double resin casting micro computed tomography, or DUCT for short. The approach involved making casts of tube systems using two types of resin that show up differently under X-rays. The new technique was tested on a mouse model of Alagille syndrome. One resin was injected into the bile ducts, and another into the blood vessels. This allowed Hankeova, Salplachta et al. to reconstruction both trees digitally, revealing their length, volume, branching, and interactions. In healthy mice, the bile ducts were straight with uniform branches, but in mice with Alagille syndrome ducts were wiggly, and had extra branches in the centre of the liver. This new imaging technique could improve the understanding of tube systems in animal models of diseases, both in the liver and in other organs with tubes, such as the lungs or the kidneys. Hankeova, Salplachta et al. also lay a foundation for a deeper understanding of bile duct recovery in Alagille syndrome. In the future, DUCT could help researchers to see how mouse bile ducts change in response to experimental therapies.