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Biomedical subjects

R Olegård

Publications and source records attributed to R Olegård.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Regional skin temperature, heat flow and conductance in preterm neonates nursed in low and in neutral environmental temperature.

The changes of regional dry heat loss and skin temperature in 15 healthy preterm babies, 8 with a gestational age (GA) of 33-36 weeks and 7 with a GA of 28-31 weeks, were studied under controlled conditions at environmental temperatures ranging from 29.5 to 34.0 degrees C. In both groups of babies the skin temperature for all body regions followed the changes in operative temperatures. Regional dry heat losses also closely followed the external temperature gradient. In the 33-36 weeks GA neonates the regional changes in thermal conductance (index of cutaneous blood flow) indicated that only the foot responded to low environmental temperature with vasoconstriction while vasodilatation was indicated for the trunk. In the 28-31 weeks GA neonates similar but not significant changes of thermal conductance were calculated. The limited ability to reduce heat loss by reducing the skin conductance over a major part of the body surface area contributes to the vulnerability to low environmental temperature in preterm neonates.

Body Surface Area↗
PubMed1996

Growth hormone status in six children with fetal alcohol syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal alcohol exposure may cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which is associated with pre- and postnatal retardation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Spontaneous 24-h growth hormone (GH) secretion was measured in six prepubertal short children with FAS (two boys and four girls) aged 4-14 years. The response to a GH stimulation test, and levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) were also measured. Comparisons were made between the children with FAS and healthy children of both normal and short stature, as well as children born small for gestational age (SGA). RESULTS: There were no differences in the mean area under the curve above the baseline or the maximum level of GH during a 24-h period (GHmax) between the children with FAS and the reference groups. However, the estimated rate of spontaneous 24-h GH secretion in children with FAS was similar to that of children born SGA, but lower than in children of normal stature (p = 0.02). The plasma concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 were in the lower parts of the normal range. CONCLUSION: We conclude that GH secretion in short children with FAS is similar to that in short children born SGA; that is, in the lower range of normal children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Measurement of skin temperature and heat flow from skin in term newborn babies.

Regional heat loss and skin temperature changes in 25 healthy, full-term infants were studied under controlled conditions at environmental temperatures of 28-32 degrees C. Skin temperatures for all body regions followed changes in operative temperatures. Regional dry heat losses closely followed the external temperature gradient (difference between skin and operative temperature). The technique allows measurement of regional dry heat loss from the newborn skin exposed to different environmental conditions for different body surface areas. Thermal conductance, as an index of cutaneous blood flow, was calculated in a subgroup of 8 of the 25 babies by decreasing the operative temperature by 3-4 degrees C from the assumed thermoneutal zone. Thermal conductance indicated that only the foot responded to lower temperatures with vasoconstriction. Blood flow index of the chest region increased in all babies at lower temperatures.

Body Temperature Regulation↗
PubMed1994

Early postoperative lipid administration after neonatal surgery.

The ability of neonates to eliminate and utilize lipid emulsions after surgery was investigated in 12 patients. All were subjected to major surgery within 29 h of birth. All neonates were given 10% glucose iv intraoperatively. Six patients continued with 10% glucose iv for 24 h postoperatively and 6 patients received a combination of 5% glucose and soy bean emulsion (Intralipid 20%). Both regimes provided equal amounts of fluid and energy. Blood glucose, lactate, triglycerides, free fatty acids, fractions of fatty acids in triglycerides, 3-hydroxybutyrate and arterial blood gases were measured at predetermined intervals throughout this period. Administration of a lipid emulsion early after neonatal surgery was well tolerated and utilized, with some latency. Concentrations of triglycerides, free fatty acids and 3-hydroxybutyrate were higher in the lipid group, but no accumulation of these substances was found. Palmitinic and linoleic acid were also higher in the lipid group.

Fat Emulsions, Intravenous↗
PubMed1992

Alcohol and narcotics. Epidemiology and pregnancy risks.

Among alcohol and narcotics, alcohol is most comprehensively documented as a teratogen. However, for all other narcotics, data are continuously accumulating, convincingly displaying the teratogenic effects. The proportions between "somatic" teratogenicity and "behavioral" teratogenicity vary between the different agents. Preventive work in prenatal clinics and among social workers, as well as objective mass media attention to the problem, seems to have lowered the incidence of severe fetal alcohol syndrome where the above-mentioned activities have been practiced. The female alcohol consumption in Sweden decreased from 1976 to 1985; thereafter, a slow continuous increase is underway again. In Sweden the number of recruits to narcotic abuse peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s. Thereafter, the number of recruits among females decreased, but abuse has continued among the members of the older age groups.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1990

Parenteral nutrition in preterm neonates with and without carnitine supplementation.

The effects of carnitine supplementation on fat and glucose metabolism and carnitine balance were studied in 12 preterm neonates receiving full or partial parenteral nutrition (PN) for 5 to 21 days. The gestational age ranged from 27 to 32 weeks and the birth weight from 790 to 2090 g. The neonates were assigned at random to receive either L-carnitine 10 mg/kg (n = 6) or saline (n = 6). In the carnitine group, increased concentrations in plasma of total and free carnitine were observed. Less than 50% of the given dose was recovered in urine. In the placebo group no changes in the total plasma carnitine concentration were seen. In all neonates plasma triglycerides, free fatty acids, glycerol, alanine, 3-hydroxybutyrate (BOB), glucose and lactate were measured at predetermined intervals. The only significant difference between the groups was higher BOB-concentrations in the carnitine group 2 days after the start of parenteral nutrition. Elevated BOB concentrations are an indicator of improved fatty acid oxidation in the carnitine group. In this study, only a temporary effect of the carnitine supplementation was found.

Alanine↗
PubMed1990

Congenital malformations and maternal consumption of benzodiazepines: a case-control study.

This study assessed potential teratogenic properties of benzodiazepine (BZD) intake during early pregnancy. Four neonatal diagnoses of congenital malformations (embryopathy and fetopathy, unspecified; unspecified congenital malformations of the nervous system; cleft palate and cleft lip; congenital malformations of the urinary tract) were selected. The authors' previous clinical experience had shown these diagnoses to be characteristic of infants born to mothers with excessive intake of BZD in early pregnancy. The selected diagnoses were present in 25 of 10,646 liveborn infants (2.3 per 1000) delivered by mothers living in the city of Gothenburg in 1985 and 1986. In 18 of these cases, it was possible to analyse maternal plasma, and eight samples (44 per cent) were found to be BZD-positive. Of 60 controls, two maternal blood samples (3 per cent) were positive for BZD. The difference is highly significant and suggests an association between these congenital malformations and BZD consumed during early gestation.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1989

Teratogenic effects of benzodiazepine use during pregnancy.

Eight children exposed in utero to benzodiazepines had characteristic dysmorphic features, growth aberrations, and central nervous system abnormalities from birth. Their dysmorphic characteristics resembled those of the fetal alcohol syndrome, although they had greater focal involvement of cranial nerves, with a sullen and expressionless face, and they more often had impairment of vitality at birth. One infant died and at autopsy had varying degrees of distortion of neuronal migration, with concomitant heterotopias. Five of the eight mothers had regularly consumed benzodiazepines, and the three remaining mothers had blood samples during pregnancy revealing benzodiazepine concentrations indicative of regular use. Our findings indicate that maternal consumption of benzodiazepines may be teratogenic in humans.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1989

Replication error, a new hypothesis to explain the origin of a supernumerary marker chromosome in a mentally retarded boy.

A marker chromosome present in all the lymphocytes of a mentally retarded boy (47,XY,+mar) was identified. The karyotype of all fibroblasts was normal, 46,XY. His parents had normal karyotypes. The supernumerary marker chromosome was interpreted as a dicentric palindromic chromosome iso(9) (pter----q12, q12----pter). The marker chromosome may have originated through a ligation error in a replication fork during the S-phase followed by a new replication (endoreduplication).

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1988

Prediction of sepsis neonatorum following a full-term pregnancy.

The aim of the present study was to identify obstetrical factors predicting sepsis neonatorum following a full-term pregnancy. In 1982 26 infants out of 2,977 full-term pregnancies had septicemia. For comparison 42 women of corresponding age were randomly selected. A stepwise regression analysis was performed in order to evaluate the association between seven different variables and sepsis neonatorum. We found that prolonged rupture of the membranes (p less than 0.003) and primary amniotomy (p less than 0.02) were the most important factors predicting sepsis neonatorum (r2 = 0.22). Factors such as cervical ripening, vaginal examinations, intrauterine monitoring devices, prolonged labor and prolonged pregnancy did not add to the predicted power of the analysis.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1987

Prenatal factors including fetal alcohol syndrome.

The first discovered exogenous teratogen causing mental retardation was rubella embryopathy described in 1940. Later, cytomegalic virus infection and toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and ionogenic radiation has been shown to cause embryofetopathies with concomitant mental retardation. Methyl mercury in high doses cause severe central nervous system pathology in both mothers and their fetuses. The fetal alcohol syndrome is now generally accepted as causing mostly mild mental retardation. Of therapeutic drugs, antiepileptics have been shown to carry a risk for the fetal antiepileptic syndrome complex. We have recently been able to describe fetal pathology following high intake of benzodiazepines during pregnancy.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1987

Children of alcoholic mothers.

The effects of maternal alcohol abuse during pregnancy on the offspring were investigated in three different studies. The aim of the studies was to examine the dynamics of infant physical growth and psychological development and to analyze the outcome in relation to the environment during upbringing. Size at birth was related to later mental retardation and neuropsychological symptoms. Psychosocial problems were significantly more frequent in children brought up in their biological homes. Alcohol abuse during the second and third trimester was found to have greater consequences for growth and mental development than during the first trimester.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Children of alcoholic mothers. Growth and motor performance compared to matched controls.

Twenty-one children born 1970-76, selected from 103 children of 30 alcoholic women, were paired to controls matched for sex, age, birth weight and gestational age. The sample (10 girls, 11 boys) was representative of the whole group with regard to weight, length and head circumference at birth. At follow-up (mean age 70 months) the study group was significantly leaner, shorter and had smaller mean head circumference than the control group. The controls had significant catch-up growth from birth to follow-up of weight, height and head circumference to the mean for Swedish children. The study group had no catch-up growth. Compared to controls the study group had significantly lower fine and gross motor age test scores and inferior coordination. One child had cerebral palsy (spastic hemiplegia) and in 6 other children slight tremor and ataxia were observed. Malformations and/or other signs of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) were found in 10 cases. Study group children with FAS had significantly slower growth of head circumference than others without FAS. Children placed in foster home care (n = 11) were found to have significantly (p less than 0.05) lower birth weight, birth length and head circumference than children raised at home (n = 10). There were no significant differences at follow up between study group children raised in foster homes or in homes of their biological mother.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1985

Children of alcoholic mothers. Developmental, perceptual and behavioural characteristics as compared to matched controls.

From a retrospective material including all the 103 children of 30 alcoholic women, the 21 youngest born 1970-76, were paired to controls matched for sex, age, birth weight, gestational age and living area. IQ scores were measured with Griffiths and WISC scales. Controls tested within the normal range for Swedish children, while the study group scored 15-19 IQ points below controls (p less than 0.01), the means of the study group corresponding to -1.6 SD below means of the controls. Significant differences between the groups were found in all subscales. Visual perception was measured with Frostig's test. Perceptual age was generally equal to mental age except in the most severely affected cases where perceptional age was lower than mental age. A marked perceptual delay exceeding 1 year was found in 8/17 tested cases in the study group, while all controls were normal. Developmental levels evaluated from Human Figure Drawings according to Koppitz was in accordance with IQ test results. Indicators of emotional instability were found significantly more often in the study group than in controls. Hyperactivity, distractability and short attention span were found in 12/21 cases and perseveration in 6/21 cases but not among controls. Members of the study group with traits of the fetal alcohol syndrome (10/21) had significantly lower IQ and perceptual delay was more pronounced than in members without such signs. No significant IQ difference was found between subjects reared in foster homes and in biological homes.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1985

Carnitine in maternal and neonatal plasma.

Total plasma carnitine was analysed in 19 women, with uncomplicated pregnancies, who underwent elective caesarean section, and in their neonates. The women were given a balanced glucose (glucose group) or saline (saline group) infusion, group allocation being on a random basis. The carnitine levels in maternal or infant plasma did not differ between these two groups. At delivery, the mean maternal carnitine value, 17.4 +/- 1.25 mumol/l, was lower than the mean infant value, 25.9 mumol/l +/- 2.67 (mean +/- SE, p less than 0.005) and lower than the mean value in non-pregnant, fertile women, i.e. 40.9 +/- 1.22 mumol/l. The mean carnitine value in the unfed neonate had not changed when the infant was 4 hours old. A positive correlation was found between carnitine levels in maternal and infant plasma (p less than 0.01). At delivery, the levels of non-esterified fatty acids and 3-OH-butyrate in infant plasma were different in the two groups, but not at 4 hours of age. The results suggest that the maternal carnitine level is the most important factor governing plasma carnitine levels in the neonate.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗