Growth impairment in very low birthweight children at 12 years: correlation with perinatal and outcome variables.

AIM: To compare the growth of very low birthweight (VLBW) children in early adolescence with that of their normal birthweight peers; to examine the role of factors contributing to growth-parental height, perinatal variables, bone maturity and sexual maturation; to examine the correlation between head growth and cognitive and educational outcome. METHODS: Standing and sitting heights, weight, occipito-frontal circumference (OFC), skinfold thicknesses and pubertal staging were assessed in 137 VLBW children and 160 controls at 11-13.5 years of age. Ninety six (70%) of the VLBW children had their bone age assessed using the TW2 method. Reported parental heights were obtained by questionnaire. All children had standardised tests of cognitive and educational ability. Perinatal data had been collected prospectively as part of a longitudinal study. RESULTS: VLBW children had lower heights, weight, and OFC. Skinfold thicknesses were no different. The children's short stature was not accounted for by difference in parental height, degree of pubertal development, or by retarded bone age. Indeed, the TW2 RUS score was significantly advanced in the VLBW children. Using the bone ages to predict final adult height, 17% have a predicted height below the third centile and 33% below the tenth. Weight was appropriate for height, but there was a residual deficiency in OFC measurements after taking height into account. In the VLBW group smaller head size was associated with lower IQ and mathematics and reading scores. CONCLUSIONS: Growth problems persist in VLBW children and final heights may be even more abnormal than present heights suggest. VLBW children have smaller OFCs than expected from their short stature alone and this may be associated with poorer educational and cognitive outcomes

Comportamento do Triatoma infestans sob várias condições de laboratório Behavior of the Triatoma infestans' under several laboratory conditions

Foi observado o comportamento do T. infestans submetido às temperaturas de 25ºC e 30ºC, alimentado em galinha e camundongo e infectado pelo T. cruzi ou não. A temperatura mais elevada determinou um encurtamento da duração do ciclo evolutivo desde a eclosão do ôvo até a muda para a fase adulta, menores quantidades de sangue necessário para que se processasse a evolução, assim como menor número de repastos para obtenção do sangue. A alimentação com sangue de camundongo determinou um encurtamento no tempo de evolução, menores volumes de sangue necessário à evolução e menor número de repastos. A infecção pelo T. cruzi determinou aumento da quantidade de sangue necessário para as ninfas de 5.º estádio, assim como maior número de repastos nas ninfas do mesmo estádio submetidas a 25ºC de temperatura. Ocorreram interações entre a temperatura, a fonte de sangue e a infecção pelo T. cruzi.<br>The rearing of T. infestans under several temperature, blood feeding and infection conditions, was observed. Temperature levels were 25 and 30ºC, blood sources were mice and chickens, and were reported as with or without Trypanosoma cruzi infections. A shortness of the entire cycle from the hatching of the egg to adult in the high temperature level was observed. Beside this, less blood quantities and few blood meals were required to reach the adult stage. The utilization of mouse blood gave too a shorter time expended in the evolution, with fewer meals and lesser blood in volume. The trypanosome infection was related with more quantity of blood need by the fifth nymphs, and more meals for these imature stage when submited at 25ºC of temperature. Interactions between the conditions studied, were recorded