Parental report of language, attention and executive functions at two years: correlational structure of measures and applications to prematurity, wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...
wellcomeopenresearch.org
James P Boardman
@jamespboardman.bsky.social
Prof of Neonatal Medicine, Edinburgh. Past president @NeonatalSociety. Interested in the brain. Views own. Picture: The Library, Trinity College Dublin.
New paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From microbes to milestones: Gut bacterial abundances and functional pathways associate with neurodevelopment following preterm birth
The early life gut microbiome has been identified as a potential driver of neurocognitive development. Evidence for this relationship in preterm child…
sciencedirect.com
We @Newbornbrains reviewed the neurocritical care needs of babies diagnosed with a neurological problem during pregnancy - hopefully, a useful aid for planning neonatal care. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Neonatal neurocritical care considerations for prenatally identified neurological disorders - Pediatric Research
Pediatric Research - Neonatal neurocritical care considerations for prenatally identified neurological disorders
nature.com
MPs have personal beliefs, but also solemn duties: that’s why they must reject the assisted dying bill this week | Gordon Brown www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
MPs have personal beliefs, but also solemn duties: that’s why they must reject the assisted dying bill this week | Gordon Brown
Our obligations to each other are ill served if laws focus unduly on those who want assisted dying. The priority should be the best palliative care, says former prime minister Gordon Brown
theguardian.com
If universities do go down, we will need: *Urban renewal fund to plug the gap *Proper Special Administrative Regime in law *Plan to reapportion students between unis *Research council policy on moving grant money *PhD training centre and partnership moves (1/3)
🚨ACTION🚨 We plan to send this open letter asking ministers and UKRI to rethink their plans for REF2029 imminently. Any UK academic can sign. The REF is important because it allocates £2 billion a year in research funding. Current proposals pose serious risks 🧵 lucaf.org/viewdocument...
Open letter on Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029
Open letter on Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029
lucaf.org
Important learning from US experience of looking after 22 weekers 2014-23: many more receiving active treatment, and survival increased from 25.7% to 41%.
JAMA@jama.com · last yr.In infants born prematurely between 2014 and 2023, the increase in active treatment and survival was most notable at 22 weeks. https://ja.ma/433uG9k #PAS2025
Implications of the Sullivan review for medicine described in this BMJ editorial here. Direct relevance to maternity comprehensively described in: www.frontiersin.org/journals/glo...
Frontiers | Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language
On 24 September 2021, The Lancet medical journal highlighted an article on its cover with a single sentence in large text; ‘Historically, the anatomy and phy...
frontiersin.org
Margaret McCartney@mgtmccartney.bsky.social · last yr.free link, to me and Susan Bewley editorial in the @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Ridiculous narcissists and solipsists, thinking that the church is all about a modern liberal-to-conservative axis. Maybe it's been around a bit longer than that eh. Maybe that isn't the be-all and end-all. www.ft.com/content/8f3e...
The Maga Catholics trying to take back control of the church
[FREE TO READ] A growing number of Americans hope that Pope Francis’s death will mark a decisive conservative shift for the papacy
ft.com
# publication alert Children born <34 weeks had lower cognitive performance at age 9–10 vs. full-term (≥39 wks), even after adjusting for genetics, SES, and perinatal risks. Late preterm & early term performed similarly to full-term. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Gestational Age and Cognitive Development in Childhood
This cross-sectional study assesses whether preterm and early-term births are associated with lower cognitive scores in children aged 9 to 10 years compared with full-term peers.
jamanetwork.com
The genesis of this scandal was in the aftermath of last big NHS reconfiguration & Public Health England made a decision to axe quality peer review checks on test centres. Concerns by experts were ignored in 2013...a warning from history as the next big change is on the horizon.
Shaun Lintern@shaunlintern.bsky.social · last yr.🚨 EXC: @wesstreeting orders inquiry into how hundreds of children were misdiagnosed by NHS hearing tests. He tells The Sunday Times inaction by senior NHS leaders was "unforgiveable" Full story: www.thetimes.com/article/1e20...
🧪The Trump administration's anti-science crusade has US scientists, particularly graduate students and postdocs, eyeing the exits. 🧠drain. #neuroskyence #neurology www.nature.com/articles/d41...
75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving
More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.
nature.com
The COLLABORATE trial getting underway in the UK will settle this question once and for all. It's a big one for parents of babies <29 weeks and their clinicians when a supplement to maternal milk is needed. Interested NNUs can sign up: www.imperial.ac.uk/neonatal-dat...
The fifty billion dollar question: does formula cause necrotizing enterocolitis? - Journal of Perinatology
Journal of Perinatology - The fifty billion dollar question: does formula cause necrotizing enterocolitis?
nature.com
Time to put the brake on TH for infants <36 weeks with moderate to severe encephalopathy jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy
This randomized clinical trial investigates if hypothermia initiated at less than 6 hours after birth reduces the probability of death or disability at 18 to 22 months’ corrected age in infants 33 to ...
jamanetwork.com
In 24,919 child-mother pairs (est. conception May'20- Sep'21), there were no adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 13-15 months. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Early childhood developmental concerns following SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy: a Scottish population-level retrospective cohort study
Understanding the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy can help inform clinical guidance and tackle vaccine hesit…
sciencedirect.com
Then they came for the research funding bodies and there was no science and no evidence ... www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Never seen anything like this’: Trump’s team halts NIH meetings and travel
In an unprecedented move, research-grant reviews have been suspended indefinitely at the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research.
nature.com
A lot of rich parents are very upset at the government for charging VAT on private school fees. Maybe they should instead ask why private schools have put up fees so far above inflation over the past 15 years. www.ft.com/content/852b...
Perinatal Science International is a novel forum to discuss & develop high-impact research with a multidisciplinary group in a tranquil setting. Numbers limited to 80; registration open! Join us in Venice April 10-12, 2025 @99nicu.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @neonatal.bsky.social
New RCT coming to the UK in 2025! COLLABORATE will determine clinical efficacy, effect size, and safety of widely used enteral feeds in reducing surgical NEC, mortality, and cognitive impairment in extremely preterm babies. 2 randomisations: 1/2
🔈New paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... ComBat was used to harmonise multisite neonatal dMRI in white matter. 1/2
Harmonizing multisite neonatal diffusion-weighted brain MRI data for developmental neuroscience
Large diffusion-weighted brain MRI (dMRI) studies in neonates are crucial for developmental neuroscience. Our aim was to investigate the utility of Co…
sciencedirect.com
Excited to share our @natureportfolio.bsky.social Mental Health cover story! Led by @alussier.bsky.social, we found that childhood adversity rewires DNA methylation. The twist? Early stress was linked to both depression risk AND resilience mechanisms 🧬 Paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
New paper from us about the gut-brain-axis in preterm infants. ➡️Bacterial community composition associates with MRI features of encephalopathy of prematurity esp Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. www.cell.com/cell-reports... 1/2
The neonatal gut microbiota: A role in the encephalopathy of prematurity
Vaher et al. perform a comprehensive characterization of very preterm infant gut microbiome and its associations with MRI markers of encephalopathy of prematurity. The results suggest links between bacterial species and their functions with brain development. Because gut microbiome is modifiable, this research could offer new avenues for perinatal neuroprotection.
cell.com
Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, yesterday and today. A different 🌎 in 24 hours.
Gordon Brown calling for a commission to strengthen palliative care and make it equitable, rather than rush to assisted dying. Gordon Brown says daughter’s death showed value of ‘good’ dying over assisted dying www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
Gordon Brown says daughter’s death showed value of ‘good’ dying over assisted dying
Former PM, whose daughter died when she was 11 days old, says debate is moving too fast and calls for commission on palliative care
theguardian.com
New publication with a BAPM working group: fn.bmj.com/content/earl...
Recognising uncertainty: an integrated framework for palliative care in perinatal medicine
In perinatal medicine, the number of babies with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions is increasing and the benefits of providing palliative care with a holistic, interdisciplinary approach ar...
fn.bmj.com
Thanks to the Guardian for this excellent long read on neonatal intensive care for the smallest babies. Considered opinions from UK neonatalologists explain the issues. Hope gives a window into this world for the wider public www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
‘Look, they’re getting skin!’: the moral challenge of saving the world’s tiniest babies
The long read: Doctors are pushing the limits of science and human biology to save more extremely premature babies than ever before. But when so few survive, are we putting them through needless suffe...
theguardian.com