Preemie pain alters pain sensitivity later

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LONDON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Painful medical interventions early in life may alter sensitivity to pain later in life, British researchers suggest

Researchers at University College of London linked being born prematurely to altered responses to hot and cold.

In the study, 43 11-year-old children born at less than 26 weeks of gestation were tested for their responses to different sensations -- temperature and light touch -- using quantitative sensory testing. Compared to a group of children who had been born at full term, the premature children were less sensitive to temperature but not to light touch. This was most marked in those who had also undergone a surgical operation as a baby.

Ovation Pharmaceuticals Faces Lawsuit Over Preemie Heart Drug

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Illinois-based Ovation Pharmaceuticals illegally maintained a monopoly on the only two medicines approved for treatment of a potentially life-threatening heart defect in premature infants, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission alleges in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Ovation set the price for both medications at about $500. Before it was acquired by Ovation, Indocin cost $36. Each year, the two drugs are used to treat an estimated 30,000 babies with the heart defect called patent ductus arteriousus.

"As a result, hospitals have little choice but to pay Ovation's price," the FTC said in the lawsuit. "The artificially high prices that hospitals are forced to pay ultimately raise costs for families, tax-supported programs such as Medicaid, and other public and private insurers."

Health impact of late preemie births still not well understood: MUHC/McGill expert

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Late preterm babies, or those born between 34 and 36 completed weeks of gestation, suffer from fewer problems than early preterm babies (those born before 34 weeks of gestation). Late preterm babies face three times the risk of developing cerebral palsy, and a slightly higher risk of developmental delay than full term babies. “Although the absolute risks are low for individual babies, they could become a public health problem because of the growing number of these births in the general population,” Kramer explained.

70-Year-Old Woman Gives Birth

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"Married for 50 years, she had been trying, without success, to have a child for much of that time, until she entered menopause (which was 20 years ago). The Hindustan Times, announcing the birth yesterday, quotes her as saying : “We longed for a child all these years and now we are very happy to have one.”

The baby was conceived through the use of a donor egg that was injected with Ms. Devi’s 72-year-old husband’s sperm. And she seems to be a preemie, since the embryo transfer took place on April 18, according to newspaper reports, and she was born seven months later."

Devi’s newborn can be called a triumph of science over infertility, but is this really a triumph? Where does the yearning to be a parent become selfish disregard for the life of the child being created? A child whose parents will almost definitely not see her into adulthood?

How old is too old to have a baby?"

High Oxygen Babies

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"Oxygen appears to inhibit lung development, and what you develop is a lung that remains relatively simplified," says Lung Biologist Dr. Michael O'Reilly.

That simplification factors into kids' lives beyond the neonatal intensive care unit.

"Their lung function is a little bit reduced, meaning they tire more easily if you exercise them. And they also appear to be more susceptible to asthma, more susceptible to infections," says O'Reilly.

Dr. O'Reilly's research also finds that supplemental oxygen may push a preemie's immune system into overdrive.

"It's an exaggerated response to the flu. So, although they're not sick to start with, if they get the flu, they have an exaggerated response. They get sicker," says O'Reilly.

Link Between Preemie Low Blood Pressure And SIDS

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Scientists from Monash University, Melbourne have shown that infants born prematurely have lower blood pressure during sleep in the first six months of life, compared to healthy, full-term infants.

Scientists at the Ritchie Centre for Baby Health Research, Monash Institute of Medical Research, believe this may be one reason premature infants are at an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Chief Investigator, Associate Professor Rosemary Horne, said that previous studies have shown that prematurely-born babies are at a significantly increased risk of SIDS; approximately 20 percent of all SIDS cases occur in preterm babies, though preterm babies comprise only 8-10 percent of infants born.

"It has been hypothesized that the underlying mechanism of SIDS involves a fall in blood pressure during sleep combined with a failure of the baby to arouse from sleep which would normally restore blood pressure," Associate Professor Horne said.

"Our study has now provided evidence as to why preterm babies are at a higher risk for SIDS."

The study monitored the blood pressure of 25 preterm and 20 full-term infants at two to four weeks; two to three months and five to six months. Blood pressure was lower during sleep in the preterm infant group at all ages studied, but was lowest in the two to three month age group, when the risk of SIDS is highest.

"Our recommendation is that additional research needs to be undertaken to determine whether preterm infants also have impaired cardiovascular control, as this may also contribute to the higher rate of SIDS in preterm infants, particularly when sleeping face down/on the stomach," said Associate Professor Horne.

"Parents of both term and preterm infants should follow the advice of SIDS and Kids for infant safe sleeping practices and always sleep their infant on his/her back, keep their baby away from cigarette smoke and ensure that the baby's head cannot be covered by bedding," she said.