Increased epidermal growth factor in nasopharyngeal aspirates from infants with recurrent wheeze.

Airway remodeling is known to be a consequence of repeated injury and thought to be involved in early stage of asthma. We aimed to investigate the mediators associated with airway remodeling in recurrent early wheezers. Thirty-three infants, aged 2 years or less, admitted with exacerbation of wheezing were enrolled. All of them had experienced three or more episodes of wheezing before admission. They were categorized into two groups: those who had been hospitalized two or more times for severe wheezing (N = 19) and those who had only once or never been hospitalized (N = 14). Epidermal growth factor (EGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 levels in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) collected on admission were measured. The difference between two patients groups divided based on their hospitalization history was assessed. We also examined these mediators in older asthmatic children (N = 15) admitted with exacerbation and their relationship with lung function parameters measured after stabilization. NPA EGF levels were significantly increased in recurrent early wheezers compared to controls. EGF, VEGF, and TGF-ß1 levels were significantly higher in those with a previous history of multiple hospitalizations than in those without. In older asthmatic children, EGF levels were related with age and duration of asthma, but showed an inverse correlation with forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity. Our study shows that there might be significant damage during exacerbation in wheezy infants as levels of the mediators, EGF, VEGF, and TGF-ß1 were higher in those who had been frequently hospitalized. It seems to suggest that those infants with severe recurrent wheezing might have chronic airway obstruction.

Transient asymptomatic white matter lesions following Epstein-Barr virus encephalitis.

We present the case of a patient with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encephalitis who developed abnormal white matter lesions during the chronic phases of the infection. A 2-year-old-boy was admitted for a 2 day history of decreased activity with ataxic gait. The results of the physical examination were unremarkable except for generalized lethargy and enlarged tonsils with exudates. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at admission showed multiple high signal intensities in both basal ganglia and thalami. The result of EBV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the cerebral spinal fluid was positive, and a serological test showed acute EBV infection. The patient was diagnosed with EBV encephalitis and recovered fully without any residual neurologic complications. Subsequently, follow-up MRI at 5 weeks revealed extensive periventricular white matter lesions. Since the patient remained clinically stable and asymptomatic during the follow-up period, no additional studies were performed and no additional treatments were provided. At the 1-year follow-up, cranial MRI showed complete disappearance of the abnormal high signal intensities previously seen in the white matter. The patient continued to remain healthy with no focal neurologic deficits on examination. This is the first case of asymptomatic self-limited white matter lesions seen in serial MRI studies in a Korean boy with EBV encephalitis.

The neuroprotective effect of recombinant human erythropoietin via an antiapoptotic mechanism on hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats.

PURPOSE: The neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin (EPO) have been recently shown in many animal models of brain injury, including hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy, trauma, and excitotoxicity; however, limited data are available for such effects during the neonatal periods. Therefore, we investigated whether recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) can protect against perinatal HI brain injury via an antiapoptotic mechanism. METHODS: The left carotid artery was ligated in 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups (in vivo model). The animals were divided into 6 groups: normoxia control (NC), normoxia sham-operated (NS), hypoxia only (H), hypoxia+vehicle (HV), hypoxia+rHuEPO before a hypoxic insult (HE-B), and hypoxia+rHuEPO after a hypoxic insult (HE-A). Embryonic cortical neuronal cell culture of SD rats at 18 days gestation (in vitro model) was performed. The cultured cells were divided into 5 groups: normoxia (N), hypoxia (H), and 1, 10, and 100 IU/mL rHuEPO-treated groups. RESULTS: In the in vivo model, Bcl-2 expressions in the H and HV groups were lower than those in the NC and NS groups, whereas those in the HE-A and HE-B groups were greater than those of the H and HV groups. The expressions of Bax and caspase-3 and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 were in contrast to those of Bcl-2. In the in vitro model, the patterns of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 expression and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were similar to the results obtained in the in vivo model. CONCLUSION: rHuEPO exerts neuroprotective effect against perinatal HI brain injury via an antiapoptotic mechanism.

Transient splenial lesion of the corpus callosum in a case of benign convulsion associated with rotaviral gastroenteritis.

Transient magnetic resonance (MR) signal changes in the splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC) arise from many different conditions, including encephalopathy or encephalitis caused by infection, seizures, metabolic derangements, and asphyxia. Few case reports exist on reversible SCC lesions associated with rotavirus infection. A benign convulsion with mild gastroenteritis (CwG) is frequently associated with rotaviral infections. This entity is characterized by normal laboratory findings, electroencephalogram, neuroimaging, and good prognosis. We report a case of a 2.5-year-old Korean girl with rotavirus-associated CwG demonstrating a reversible SCC lesion on diffusion-weighted MR images. She developed 2 episodes of brief generalized tonic-clonic seizure with mild acute gastroenteritis without any other neurologic abnormality. Stool test for rotavirus antigen was positive. Brain MRI done on the day of admission showed a linear high signal intensity and decreased apparent diffusion coefficient values on the SCC. The lesion completely disappeared on follow-up MRI 6 days later. The patient fully recovered without any sequelae.

Factors affecting the response to inhaled nitric oxide therapy in persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn infants.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn infant (PPHN), is a clinical syndrome characterized by elevated pulmonary vascular resistance, resulting from reactive vasoconstriction or structural remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature. Although inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has emerged as a novel selective treatment of PPHN, responses to iNO are variable according to the etiologies or the clinical situation. A retrospective chart review of 51 newborn infants with PPHN and treated with iNO, was undertaken to evaluate the factors affecting response to iNO. Response to iNO was defined as a reduction in the oxygenation index (OI) of more than 20%, or disappearance of the difference in oxygen saturation between preductal and postductal circulation after iNO therapy. The patients were divided into two groups; the responder group and the non- responder group. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was more commonly associated with PPHN in the responder group than in the non-responder group (p < 0.05), while there were many more patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the non-responder group than in the responder group (p < 0.05). Infants with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) were similar in both of the two groups. Initial OI, initial mean airway pressure (MAP), and initial and peak NO concentration were significantly lower in the responder group compared to the non-responder group (p < 0.05). Rapid response (response to iNO within the first hour) was shown in 74% of the responder group and 33% of the nonresponder group (p < 0.05). There was no significant differences in the initial chest radiographic findings, such as normal, focal or bilateral diffuse infiltration, with the exception of CDH, between each group. Lower initial OI, lower initial MAP and significant response within the first hour were shown to be favourable factors in response to iNO therapy. Patients with RDS associated with PPHN responded much better to iNO than those with other diseases.

Comparison of mortality and morbidity in multiple versus singleton very low birth weight infants in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Multiple births in Korea have been increased recently as a consequence of increased infertility due to advancing maternal age at first birth, and increased use of assisted reproductive technology. Multiples suffer higher mortality and morbidity than singletons. However, it is not clear whether preterm multiple very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) suffer higher mortality and morbidity than comparable singletons. We evaluated 266 singleton and 113 multiple VLBWI to determine whether mortality and morbidity in multiple VLBWI were higher than those in comparable singletons. The rate of in vitro fertilization and cesarean section were significantly higher in multiples than singletons. The total and the adjusted mortality with gestational age and birth weight were not significantly different between the two groups. Maternal age and the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome, patent ductus arteriosus, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intracranial hemorrhage (grade> or =3), cystic periventricular leukomalacia, and retinopathy of prematurity (stage> or =3) were not significantly different between the two groups, and the incidence of abnormal brainstem auditory evoked potential was higher among the singletons. These results suggest that multiple VLBWI do not suffer higher mortality or morbidity than comparable singletons.