http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Premature babies are more likely to survive when they are born in high-level neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) than in hospitals without such facilities, and this benefit is considerably larger than previously reported. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-survival-premature-babies-high-level-nicus.html Pediatrics Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:40:49 EST news262266036 (Medical Xpress) -- Last month the United Nations backed a study that produced among other things the statistic that 15 million babies were born prematurely in 2010, a number that represents how far medical science has come in saving babies that are born early; unfortunately, it might also signal a coming rise in the number of people that develop severe mental disorders as a team of researchers from Britain and Sweden, with lead Chiara Nosarti, of King's College, has found that babies born at less than 32 weeks into a pregnancy have a three times greater chance of developing a severe mental disorder in adulthood. The team has published the results of their findings in the Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-link-premature-births-severe-mental.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 04 Jun 2012 07:48:27 EST news258014896 Tufts Medical Center researchers have shown that presence of a gene strongly linked to appetite regulation is highly predictive of a premature infant's readiness to feed orally. An analysis of just a drop of an infant's saliva could be the key to preventing many feeding problems and the expensive medical complications that can occur when infants are fed by mouth too early. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-marker-premies-saliva-readiness-mouth.html Pediatrics Mon, 21 May 2012 18:11:06 EST news256842630 Many premature babies enter the world with a mountain of challenges in front of them. Even after they overcome any life-threatening issues, they face ongoing, and typically unpleasant, medical procedures, long hospital stays and increased chances of chronic health issues throughout their lives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-musical-pacifier-premature-babies-healthy.html Pediatrics Mon, 21 May 2012 18:05:30 EST news256842315 (Medical Xpress) -- The way premature babies are fed in hospitals could change following the results of an Oxford University-led study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-vulnerable-premature-babies.html Health Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:17:10 EST news253433824 Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a novel device to continuously and systematically monitor the dynamics of premature babies' breathing. The small, noninvasive device dubbed "Pneumonitor," makes possible the early detection of respiratory problems, allowing for preventative care before the onset of complications. The findings were published in the January issue of Intensive Care Medicine.   Dr. Danny Waisman of the Technion Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Carmel Medical Center and Prof. Amir Landesberg of the Technion Department of Biomedical Engineering, the device’s developers, say the device has been already been tested on animals in different disease models – including asthma and respiratory tract disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-respiratory-premature-babies-ready-fda.html Other Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:31:30 EST news252747081 Neonatal services in England have seen a considerable improvement since the introduction of new guidelines in 2003, a study published on bmj.com claims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-significant-neonatal-england-years.html Health Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:30:03 EST news252689388 Children who were born prematurely may lag behind their peers when it comes to more advanced language skills, according to an international study that involved more than 2000 children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-prem-babies-lag-language.html Health Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:30:26 EST news251663413 Maternal obesity may contribute to cognitive impairment in extremely premature babies, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-maternal-obesity-brain-premature-infants.html Health Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:27:36 EST news250428228 (AP) -- One of the world's smallest surviving babies was discharged Friday from the hospital where she spent nearly five months in an incubator - but not before getting the Hollywood treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-tiny-baby-los-angeles-hospital.html Other Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:50:01 EST news246347387 (AP) -- One of the world's smallest surviving babies is headed home. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-la-hospital-tiny-baby-home.html Other Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:02:12 EST news246261693 One of the most comprehensive studies to date of the microbes that are found in extremely low-birthweight infants found that hard-to-treat Candida fungus is often present, as well as some harmful bacteria and parasites. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-premature-babies-harbor-dangerous-microbe.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:24:17 EST news242587451 Two out of every thousand babies are at risk of brain damage in connection with birth. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified mechanisms behind these injuries, which could lead to better treatment and a richer life for the infants affected. Roughly two in every thousand babies are at risk of suffering brain damage as a result of events before, during and after delivery. Infections in the blood or a reduced supply of oxygen and blood can lead to inflammation in the brain, causing injury. This type of brain damage, which is much more common in premature babies, can result in neurological problems such as cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and epilepsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-toll-like-receptors-role-brain-newborns.html Medical research Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:40:03 EST news241262616 Three premature babies have died in a clinic in northern Germany, after being infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics, authorities announced Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-bacteria-premature-babies-germany.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:20:01 EST news239474535 A woman goes into labor, and gives birth. The newborn is swaddled and placed to sleep in a nearby bassinet, or taken to the hospital nursery so that the mother can rest. Despite this common practice, new research published in Biological Psychiatry provides new evidence that separating infants from their mothers is stressful to the baby. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-maternal-stresses-baby.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:48:19 EST news239449692 Premature infants exposed after birth to drugs known as glucocorticoids are at increased risk for having impaired growth of the cerebellum, according to findings from a new UCSF-led study. The cerebellum is a region of the brain associated with balance, motor learning, language and behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-pre-term-babies-exposure-steroids-impaired.html Neuroscience Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:00:05 EST news238248969 Young adults who were born prematurely show multiple biological signs of risks to future health, research from Imperial College London has found. The scientists, reporting their findings tomorrow in the journal Pediatric Research, say that the research indicates that urgent work is now needed to monitor preterm babies into adulthood to improve the detection of early signs of disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-premature-babies-ill-health-life.html Health Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:40:19 EST news238149613 A discovery by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies might explain why some premature infants fail to respond to existing treatments for a deadly respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and offers clues for new ways to treat the breathing disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-life-primary-killer-premature-infants.html Medical research Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:38:45 EST news238149507 The negative effects that premature birth can have on the lungs of babies could be as severe in moderately premature babies as those born extremely prematurely but may be reversed in their teenage years, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-lung-function-moderately-premature-babies.html Health Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:23:21 EST news236316188 (Medical Xpress) -- Premature or low birthweight babies are more than three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders in adolescence than full-term infants, according to psychologists at the University of Birmingham. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-premature-babies-mental-health-problems.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:08:13 EST news228481672 In the longest running U.S. study of premature infants who are now 23 years old, University of Rhode Island Professor of Nursing Mary C. Sullivan has found that premature infants are less healthy, have more social and school struggles and face a greater risk of heart-health problems in adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-uri-nursing-effects-premature-birth.html Health Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:38:00 EST news227378258 Guidelines that reduce the use of mechanical ventilation with premature infants in favor of a gentler form of respiratory support can profoundly affect those children's outcomes while reducing the cost of care, according to a team of researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-guidelines-ventilator-premature-infants-easier.html Other Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:07:27 EST news227182022 Scientists from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast are teaming up to develop a cure to an illness that can lead to blindness in premature babies, thanks to funding from children's charity Action Medical Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-queen-scientists-teaming-premature-baby.html Ophthalmology Tue, 17 May 2011 10:55:44 EST news224848530 (Medical Xpress) -- The gut may need bacteria to provide a little bit of oxidative stress to stay healthy, new research suggests. Probiotic bacteria promote healing of the intestinal lining in mice by inducing the production of reactive oxygen species, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-beneficial-bacteria-intestinal-injury-reactive.html Medical research Tue, 10 May 2011 15:07:00 EST news224258764 Extremely premature babies fed human donor milk are less likely to develop the dangerous intestinal condition necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) than babies fed a standard premature infant formula derived from cow's milk, according to research by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-formula-fed-preemies-higher-dangerous-gi.html Health Sun, 01 May 2011 05:41:59 EST news223447294 Immigrants living less than five years in Canada are less likely than their Canadian-born counterparts to have premature babies regardless of where they live, according to a new study by St. Michael's Hospital. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-immigrants-premature-babies-years-canada.html Health Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:00:05 EST news223209279 Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have pioneered a new needle-free test to take the sting out of medicine testing in premature babies. The research will not only lead to greater accuracy in prescribing, but will also significantly reduce the trauma of such tests for newborn infants and their families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-queen-needle-free-premature-babies.html Health Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:37:23 EST news221906223 Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight. But there are conflicting reports about how much alcohol, if any, it is safe for a pregnant woman to drink. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth looked at the amounts of alcohol women drank during their early pregnancy and showed the effect this had on their babies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-pregnancy-premature-birth.html Health Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:48:38 EST news221712502