• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-15
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• 2018

We need to understand the outcomes into adulthood for survivors born either extremely low birthweight (ELBW; <1,000 g) or extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks' gestational age), particularly their blood pressure and cardiovascular metabolic status,respiratory function, growth, psychological and mental health performance, and functional outcomes. Blood pressure is higher in late adolescence and early adulthood in ELBW/EP survivors compared with controls. In some studies, expreterm survivors have higher insulin and blood lipid concentrations than controls, which may also increase their risk for later cardiovascular disease. ELBW/EP survivors have more expiratory airflow obstruction than do controls. Those who had bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in the newborn period have even worse lung function than those who did not have BPD. As a group, they are unlikely to achieve their full lung growth potential, which means that more of them are likely to develop chronic obstructive airway disease in later life. Although they are smaller than term born controls, their weight gradually rises and ultimately reaches a mean z-score close to zero in late adolescence, and they ultimately attain a height z-score close to their mid-parental height z-score. On average, ex-preterm survivors have intelligence quotient (IQ) scores and performance on tests of academic achievement approximately 2/3 SD lower than do controls, and they also perform less well on tests of attention and executive function. They have similar high rates of anxiety and depression symptoms in late adolescence as do controls. They are, however, over-represented in population registries for rarer disorders such as schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorder. In cohort studies, ex-preterm survivors mostly report good quality of life and participation in daily activities, and they report good levels of self-esteem. In population studies, they require higher levels of economic assistance, such as disability pensions, they do not achieve education levels as high as controls, fewer are married, and their rates of reproduction are lower, at least in early adulthood. Survivors born ELBW/EP will present more and more to health carers in adulthood, as they survive in larger numbers.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.61-70
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• 2012

Objectives: Literature Study of clinical cases with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as reference for Korean medicine based treatment of juvenile patients with Down's syndrome. Methods: 4 TCM journals with the highest impact factors were searched and selected among the journals listed in www.cnki.net. The search keywords were "蒙古症", "唐氏症(産生唐氏症)", "唐氏症候群", "先天愚型", "伸舌樣痴呆", "21三体綜合徵", "三染色体症", "Down's syndrome", and "Mongolism". Accordingly, searched papers were analyzed. Results: Total 6 studies were selected: RCT(5), case report(1). Among the RCT related studies, 2 studies tested the effect of Electroacupuncture (電鍼), 1 study tested the effect of Electroacupuncture and Pharmacopuncture (藥鍼) treatment together, and 2 studies tested the effect of Electroacupuncture and Herbal Medicines (藥物) co-treatment. In all the studies, the study groups showed significantly improved intelligence quotient (IQ) in comparison with the control groups. The case report showed improvement of cognitive ability and other clinical parameters as a result of Acupuncture (鍼) and Herbal Medicines co-treatment in juvenile patients with Down's syndrome. Conclusions: Clinical studies testing the effect of TCM for the treatment of Down's syndrome have been conducted in small scales, and all the studies showed a certain level of brain function improvement of the patients in the study groups. These results implicate that the methods in Korean medicine can be highly potential treatment options for the treatment of Down's syndrome. Conduction of accurate and well-controlled studies in large scale would be required to prove the effect of Korean medicine for the treatment of patients with Down's syndrome.