Browsing by Author "Rocha, Gustavo"
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- Caffeine for preterm infants: a narrative reviewRocha, GustavoCaffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist used to prevent or treat apnea of prematurity in the neonatal period and is now the standard of care for very low birth weight infants. Caffeine is a widely used stimulant that has been shown to reduce the duration of assisted ventilation and oxygen therapy in the short term, as well as the rate of treatment for patent ductus arteriosus and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In the longer term, it improves expiratory airflow in children and has benefits for respiratory health. These results are due to several effects of caffeine. It stimulates the respiratory center in the brain stem and improves diaphragm contractility. In addition, caffeine protects against lung inflammation caused by lipopolysaccharide-induced pro-inflammatory amnionitis and has direct effects on pneumocytes and pulmonary angiogenesis, thereby reducing hyperoxia-induced lung injury. It also has antifibrotic activity in lung tissue. Caffeine improves survival without neurodevelopmental disability at 18 months and has demonstrated long-term safety up to 11 years of age.The present article is a non-exhaustive review of useful information about one of the most commonly used drugs in neonatal medicine.
- Decoding the Human GenomeRocha, Diogo Fernandes de; Rocha, Gustavo; Louro, PedroThe neonatologist is often the first clinician to identify genetic disorders without prenatal diagnosis. Technological advances in genetics over the past few decades have opened up possibilities never before imagined. Gone are the days when we could offer our patients little more than a peripheral blood karyotype. Newer methods, such as comparative genomic hybridization or Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing, allow a more detailed analysis of the human genome, both at the level of large rearrangements (deletions, duplications) and potentially pathogenic point variants. High-tech technologies have been useful in uncovering genes involved in diseases that have long been known to have a genetic origin, but whose etiology has remained elusive. Despite the promise of these technologies, no method is self-sufficient, and all have limitations. The aim of this review is to update clinicians on the genetic tests that are currently available and in use. Given that the first human genome was sequenced just over twenty years ago, what news will the next twenty years bring?