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Neonatal Pain : Suffering, Pain and Risk of Brain Damage in the Fetus and Newborn
Until the 1980s it was denied that fetuses and neonates feel pain. With the advent of a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology and new diagnostic tools, the last 30 years have seen great developments in this field. This volume aims to give an overview of current knowledge in the field.
Neonatal Immunity
New advances in cellular immunology, molecular biology, recombinant DNA and proteins, and the function of cytokines and chemokines have revolutionized the study of neonatal immune responsiveness. In Neonatal Immunity, Constantin Bona, MD, critically reviews the classic, as well as most recent-and quite seminal-findings concerning the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of both fetal and neonatal B and T cells, the cells that mediate antibody and cellular immune responses in newborns and infants. Dr. Bona shows how the antibody response of neonates is modulated by maternal antibodies and how, in certain cases, this can cause transient or life-threatening neonatal autoimmune disease. He also describes the characteristics of neonatal tolerance induced by foreign allo- and self-antigens, which are the basis for understanding impaired infant immune response and which provide a rationale for the development of efficient neonatal vaccines. By making clear the characteristics and differences between the immune system and the immune responses of both newborns and infants, compared to those of adults, Dr. Bona offers insights and challenging hypotheses that promise to help overcome the poor responses of neonates to various antigens. Authoritative and forward-looking, Neonatal Immunity critically reviews what we know of the neonatal immune response today, and how this is dramatically opening new therapeutic horizons in such areas as infant vaccination, stem cells, gene therapy, and transplantation.
Mortality and Maldevelopment : Part I : Congenital cardiovascular malformations
The most frequent of them all are the many types of malformations of the cardiovascular system, the heart and its blood vessels.Study of these conditions during the twentieth century took many forms, revolving about examination and analysis of their causes, genetic, nongenetic, and complex. To aid in unraveling the complexities of this causation, various influences on their frequency are considered, among them social conditions, maternal health, birthweight, newborn maturity. And of course the known and possible environmental bases of their occurrence are fully described.
Mobile Professional Voluntarism and International Development : Killing Me Softly?
This book explores the impact that professional volunteers have on the low resource countries they choose to spend time in. Whilst individual volunteering may be of immediate benefit to individual patients, this intervention may have detrimental effects on local health systems; distorting labour markets, accentuating dependencies and creating opportunities for corruption. Improved volunteer deployment may avoid these risks and present opportunities for sustainable systems change. The empirical research presented in this book stems from a specific volunteering intervention funded by the Tropical Health Education Trust and focused on improving maternal and newborn health in Uganda.
Mental health disorders in pregnancy and the early postpartum
Mental health disorders are common in pregnancy and after childbirth with over 10% of women manifesting some form of mental illness during this time. Maternity services will encounter women with symptoms that vary in severity from mild self-limiting to potentially life-threatening. These conditions carry risks for both the woman and the fetus/newborn. Detecting women with, or at risk of, a serious mental health disorder and enabling them to access appropriate care in a timely fashion is a shared responsibility. However, given the frequency of contact they have with women through this period, maternity services have a pivotal role. From a mental health perspective, high-risk pregnancies are those primarily associated with serious mental illness (psychotic illnesses, bipolar disorder and severe depressive episodes). Healthcare professionals caring for pregnant women should have the appropriate skills to detect serious mental illness and identify women at risk and how to access specialist mental health care.
Fetus abnormalities relating drug
Drugs use in pregnancy remains a major public health problem. Fetal teratogenicity results from the effect of these substances during fetal development, particularly when used in combination. Approximately 3-5% of live births are complicated by a birth defect each year totaling around 120,000 babies. Additionally, more women taking any kind of medication has more than doubled in the last 30 years. Current evidence suggests that between 65%-94 % of women take at least one prescription drug during pregnancy. Nearly 70% of women are taking a medication in the first trimester during organogenesis. On average, women are taking 3 medications in pregnancy with over 50% of women using four or more. This includes over the counter medications and herbal supplements. During pregnancy, drugs are often required to treat certain disorders.
Deafness and hearing loss in newborns and children
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities and has lifelong consequences for affected children and their families. Consequences of hearing loss in children include worse outcomes in speech, language, education, social functioning, cognitive abilities, and quality of life. Both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) may be caused by a wide variety of congenital and acquired factors. Genetic causes including syndromic and nonsyndromic etiologies...
Congenital Diseases and the Environment
"In recent years, increasing attention and resources have been brought to bear on the relationship between the environment and congenital diseases. These diseases were previously thought to be mostly due to genetic causes. Even though the importance of genes as factors in causation is accepted, environmental factors seem to be implicated just as strongly. This book explores some further concepts that have arisen from more recent perceptions of environmental effects and their possible interactions with living systems. Discussion and presentation of old and novel ideas is targeted at developing a more holistic and united perception of the interaction between congenital diseases and the environment. Amongst the topics discussed are: -effects of prenatal exposure to toxic chemicals -intra-uterine exposure to drugs -effects of endocrine disrupters -environmental risk and sex ratio in newborns -surveillance of environmental impact-research and policy."
