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Biomedical subjects

M L Ferlin

Publications and source records attributed to M L Ferlin.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Growth of exclusively breast-fed infants from a poor urban population.

The growth of two groups of infants were evaluated, one of them exclusively breast-fed (105 infants) and the other exclusively bottle-fed (61 infants), and compared with one another and with international standards (NCHS). All infants were evaluated by anthropometry at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months of age. A fourth order polynomial was adopted for each infant and for each anthropometric measurement in order to estimate individual growth, and the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles for weight and length were obtained. For the age of 6 months, the weights of breast-fed boys and girls were always statistically equal to or higher than those of infants fed cow's milk or those of NCHS standards. Breast-fed boys presented significantly longer length than bottle-fed boys but shorter than NCHS standards, and breast-fed girls presented significantly shorter length than both bottle-fed girls and than NCHS standards. The greater weight of exclusively breast-fed infants when compared to NCHS standards at six months of age, which differentiates the present study from several other ones carried out in developing countries, was probably due to the association of the beneficial effects of breast-feeding with those of pediatric follow-up.

Body Height↗

[Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia. Study of a case].

Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia is one of inborn metabolic errors that manifest by epileptic seizures of difficult control from the first days of life in hypotonic newborn children. The lack of enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of glycine to hydroxymethyltetrahydrofolic acid, carbon dioxide and ammonia, in liver and brain, results in increased concentration of glycine in blood. It is reported in this study a case of non-ketotic hyperglycinemia diagnosed in neonatal period and characterized by hypotonia and non-controlled multiple seizures. The clinical and electroencephalographic findings, treatment as well as anatomopathologic study are discussed.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗

Total nitrogen and electrolyte levels in colostrum and transition human milk.

The objective of this research was to study the composition of human milk in terms of protein levels and levels of the electrolytes sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and chloride in colostrum 48-72 hours post-partum, and in the transition milk (96 +/- 9 hours, 120 +/- 9 hours and 144 +/- 9 hours post-partum) of mothers who had fullterm and pre-term deliveries. The mothers were kept in the hospital with the objective to control a few important lactation parameters such as exercising or resting conditions, sleep, nutrition and suckling stimulation. Only low socioeconomic level mothers took part in the study. The initial period of lactation was studied because this is the time when secretion suffers rapid changes, going from colostrum to transition milk, and then to mature milk. The results observed for the different times and for the two groups were compared both within and between groups. No significant differences were obtained for any of the comparisons, except for transitory oscillations in potassium, calcium, chloride and phosphorus levels observed within groups. In general, it can be said that there was no variation between colostrum and transition milk for the mothers who delivered at full term or pre-term. No differences were found either when the groups were compared at the different times post-partum. This means that, under the conditions used in this study, milk did not vary as its type naturally changed (from colostrum to transition milk) for the two groups and that the levels of the constituents studied also remained unchanged when studied as a function of full-term or pre-term delivery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Colostrum↗

[Congenital tuberculosis]

OBJECTIVE: Considering the rarity and the significance of early diagnosis for planning appropriate treatment, a case of congenital tuberculosis is reported.CASE REPORT: After a prolonged stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a male pre-term infant without improvement, the diagnosis of tuberculosis was suspected when his mother underwent thoracotomy for valve replacement due to a subacute endocarditis. At this time, multiple pleural granulomas were detected and the diagnosis of tuberculosis was confirmed by histology. His mother seldom went to the NICU to see the baby and she was rarely very close to him in these occasions. After tuberculosis therapy, the baby gradually improved. CONCLUSION: Among the possible ways of transmission, the reported case was probably transmitted by aspiration of contaminated amniotic fluid in utero or at the time of delivery.

Journal Article↗