May maternal lifestyle have an impact on neonatal glucose levels?

Neonatal glucose levels correlate negatively with umbilical cord levels of C-peptide, a polypeptide secreted with insulin. In other words, neonatal hypoglycemia results from excessive insulin secretion from fetal/neonatal beta cells. Given that insulin causes fat to be stored rather than to be used for energy, one would expect that chronic hyperinsulinemia would result in large-for-gestational-age neonates. The finding that many small-for-gestational-age neonates have hypoglycemia suggests that the stimulus for insulin production occurs close to delivery. We postulated that a potent stimulation of maternal insulin production close to delivery would also provide a potent stimulus for fetal and neonatal insulin production, causing neonatal hypoglycemia. This study has evaluated 155 mothers with markers of excessive insulin production (such as acanthosis or grade III obesity), or with situations characterized by increased insulin requirements (such as an invasive bacterial infection or use of systemic corticosteroid within a week before delivery; or sedentariness or high-carbohydrate intake within 24h before delivery) and their 158 neonates who were screened for glycemic levels at 1, 2 and 4h after birth. The minimum glucose level was correlated to the maternal parameters, and to classical predictors of neonatal hypoglycemia, such as low-birth weight and preterm delivery. The only independent predictors were sedentariness and high-carbohydrate intake within 24h before delivery. The risk of neonatal hypoglycemia increased five-fold with sedentariness, 11-fold with high-carbohydrate intake, and 329-fold with both risk factors. The risk of neonatal hypoglycemia seems to be highly influenced by maternal lifestyle within 24h before delivery. Controlled randomized trials may help determine whether a controlled carbohydrate diet combined with regular physical activity close to delivery can prevent neonatal hypoglycemia and all its severe complications to the newborn.

Early diagnosis of abnormal development of preterm newborns: assessment instruments.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature regarding screening psychomotor tests for the early identification of developmental problems. SOURCES: A search on SciELO, PubMed and Google Scholar was performed using the terms "prematurity," "developmental delay," "cerebral palsy," "early diagnosis" and "evaluation tests." SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: A total of 455 references were listed, and 174 studies were selected for this review based on title, relevance, and abstract. Only original and electronically available material, from 1985 forward, with information on design, applicability, and psychometric properties of those tests was included. CONCLUSIONS: Screening tests are important to speed the beginning of treatment measures in order to allow for better developmental outcome. Among the many tests that can be employed for this purpose, the DENVER II and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale are the most often used in Brazilian studies. The Movement Assessment of Infants is starting to be used in our country. Two other tests are recommended in the literature due to their high sensibility and specificity: the Test of Infant Motor Performance and the General Movements.

Diagnóstico precoce de anormalidades no desenvolvimento em prematuros: instrumentos de avaliação: [revisão] / Early diagnosis of abnormal development of preterm newborns: assessment instruments: [review]

OBJETIVO: Revisar criticamente os instrumentos de avaliação mais utilizados na atualidade na literatura para triagem e identificação precoce de anormalidades no desenvolvimento em crianças. FONTES DOS DADOS: Foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico nas bases de dados no SciELO, plataforma CAPES, PubMed e Google Scholar, com os unitermos "prematuridade", "atraso no desenvolvimento", "paralisia cerebral", "diagnóstico precoce" e "testes de avaliação". SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Foram listados 455 títulos, sendo selecionados para esta revisão 174 artigos com base em título, relevância temática e resumo. Apenas artigos originais, disponíveis em meio eletrônico, a partir de 1985, com informação sobre a construção, aplicabilidade e propriedades psicométricas dos testes foram usados. CONCLUSÕES: Os testes de triagem podem acelerar o início da intervenção precoce e facilitar o desenvolvimento futuro destas crianças. Vários instrumentos são utilizados para este fim, dentre eles destacam-se, nas pesquisas nacionais, o teste DENVER II e o Alberta Infant Motor Scale. O Movement Assessment of Infant também emerge como teste de triagem utilizado em nosso país. Além desses, dois outros testes são indicados na literatura mundial por sua alta sensibilidade e especificidade em idades precoces: Test of Infant Motor Performance e General Movements.

OBJECTIVE:To review the literature regarding screening psychomotor tests for the early identification of developmental problems. SOURCES: A search on SciELO, PubMed and Google Scholar was performed using the terms "prematurity," "developmental delay," "cerebral palsy," "early diagnosis" and "evaluation tests." SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS:A total of 455 references were listed, and 174 studies were selected for this review based on title, relevance, and abstract. Only original and electronically available material, from 1985 forward, with information on design, applicability, and psychometric properties of those tests was included. CONCLUSIONS: Screening testS are important to speed the beginning of treatment measures in order to allow for better developmental outcome. Among the many tests that can be employed for this purpose, the DENVER II and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale are the most often used in Brazilian studies. The Movement Assessment of Infants is starting to be used in our country. Two other tests are recommended in the literature due to their high sensibility and specificity: the Test of Infant Motor Performance and the General Movements.