Sick neonates often have a disturbed gastrointestinal motility. As somatostatin inhibits various gastrointestinal functions, we investigated whether or not somatostatin levels are high in sick infants. Somatostatin and gastrin levels were measured in plasma samples collected from sick and healthy neonates. Somatostatin levels were found to be significantly elevated in sick infants when compared to healthy ones, both term (91 versus 5 pM) and preterm (35 versus 5 pM). We suggest that the gastrointestinal symptoms seen in infants during illness may be related to an enhanced secretion of gastric somatostatin.

Gastrins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Autonomic reflexes in preterm infants.

Some autonomic nervous reflexes often tested in adult medicine have been studied in 21 preterm infants (25-37 gestational weeks). The aim was to develop such tests for preterm infants and see if there were any differences in babies with recurrent apnea and bradycardia and babies who had been exposed to sympathicolytic drugs before birth. To test sympathetic nervous activity the peripheral vascular resistance was measured before and during 45 degrees of head-up tilting. To test parasympathetic nervous activity the degree of bradycardia was measured in response to cold face test (application of an ice-cube on the fore-head) and laryngeal stimulation with saline. Finally the heart rate changes after a sudden noise (85 dB) were studied as an indicator of both sympathetic and vagal activity. The peripheral resistance was found to be relatively low in these preterm infants, particularly in some infants tested at the postnatal age of about two months. Heart rate and mean blood pressure did not change during tilting, while the peripheral resistance increased significantly mainly due to lowered limb blood flow. The median decrease of the heart rate during the cold face test was 20.0% and during laryngeal receptor stimulation 23.7%. The sudden noise usually caused a biphasic heart rate response. An autonomic nervous reflex score was calculated and found to be negative (parasympathetic) in infants with recurrent prolonged apnea and bradycardia and positive in infants with clinical signs of increased sympathetic nervous activity.

Apnea↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Temperature, metabolic adaptation and crying in healthy full-term newborns cared for skin-to-skin or in a cot.

The aim of the present study was to compare temperatures, metabolic adaptation and crying behavior in 50 healthy, full-term, newborn infants who were randomized to be kept either skin-to-skin with the mother or next to the mother in a cot "separated". The babies were studied during the first 90 min after birth. Axillary and skin temperatures were significantly higher in the skin-to-skin group; at 90 min after birth blood glucose was also significantly higher and the return towards zero of the negative base-excess was more rapid as compared to the "separated" group. Babies kept in cots cried significantly more than those kept skin-to-skin with the mother. Keeping the baby skin-to-skin with the mother preserves energy and accelerates metabolic adaptation and may increase the well-being of the newborn.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Potentiation of tyramine effect on the isolated iris muscle by cocaine.

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Animals↗