Disease relevance of Birth Weight

• METHODS: Soon after they were born, we randomly assigned 1202 infants with birth weights of 500 to 999 g (extremely low birth weight) to receive either indomethacin (0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo intravenously once daily for three days [1].
• Rats prenatally exposed to a low concentration of carbon monoxide which results in carboxyhemoglobin levels equivalent to those maintained by human cigarette smokers, show reduced birth weight and decreased weight gain [2].
• Prednisone treatment for infertility and subsequent pregnancy maintenance in humans resulted in a significant decrease in the birth weight of full-term infants and a marked increase in the percentage of newborn infants weighing 2500 grams or less, that is, "light for dates" in comparison to control offspring [3].
• Mutations in SHP were found in 7% of Japanese obese young-onset type 2 diabetic patients and were associated with moderate obesity and increased birth weight [4].
• Rare mutations in the glucokinase (GCK) gene cause fasting hyperglycemia and considerably influence birth weight when present in a mother or her offspring [5].

Psychiatry related information on Birth Weight

• These results confirm the association between GAD2-243 promoter SNP and the risk for obesity and suggest that GAD2 may be a polygenic component of the complex mechanisms linking birth weight to further risk for metabolic diseases, possibly involving the pleiotropic effect of insulin on fetal growth and later on feeding behavior [6].
• CONCLUSION: Nicotine patches had no influence on smoking cessation during pregnancy, although they might increase birth weight in comparison with placebo [7].
• Current smoking habit, chronic alcohol consumption and birth weight were also not associated with an altered postprandial triglyceride response [8].
• No significant association was found between maternal dosage of methadone in the last trimester of pregnancy and lentth of gestation, birth weight, or the reported presence of withdrawal symptoms in the neonate [9].
• Additional measures included birth weights, pain threshold on the hot plate, and basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion [10].

High impact information on Birth Weight

• CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic administration of fluconazole during the first six weeks of life is effective in preventing fungal colonization and invasive fungal infection in infants with birth weights of less than 1000 g [11].
• The mean birth weight was 770 g in the vitamin A group and 769 g in the control group, and the respective gestational ages were 26.8 and 26.7 weeks [12].
• The effects of maternal and fetal glucokinase mutations on birth weight were additive [13].
• Thyroxine (8 microg per kilogram of birth weight) or placebo was administered daily, starting 12 to 24 hours after birth, for six weeks [14].
• Epoetin was most beneficial in boys with birth weights of 1200 g or more and a base-line hematocrit of 48 percent or more [15].

Chemical compound and disease context of Birth Weight

• Women who had positive assays for cocaine, as compared with nonusers, had infants with a 93-g decrease in birth weight (P = 0.07), a 0.7-cm decrement in length (P = 0.01), and a 0.43-cm-smaller head circumference (P = 0.01) [16].
• Exposing pregnant rats to carbon monoxide (150 parts per million) produced only minor reductions in the birth weights of the pups and gave no evidence of overt teratogenesis [17].
• Prednisone therapy and birth weight [18].
• In contrast to previous reports, the HbA1c values did not predict abnormal maternal glucose tolerance or infant birth weight [19].
• RESULTS--The three groups of patients were comparable in birth weight, gestational age, antenatal administration of betamethasone, and other perinatal characteristics [20].
• The biological mechanism behind this association may involve insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which is associated with high birth weight [21].

Biological context of Birth Weight

• When CYP1A1 genotype was considered, the estimated reduction in birth weight was 252 g (SE, 111 g) for the AA genotype group (n = 75; OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.6-2.6), but was 520 g (SE, 124 g) for the Aa/aa genotype group (n = 43 for Aa, n = 6 for aa; OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.6-6.4) [22].
• No significant differences were noted for the frequencies of the 5 UGT1A1 genotypes, gestation age, and birth weight comparing the G6PD-deficient and control groups [23].
• Cell proliferation at embryonic day 15 (E15), in contrast, was decreased in the progeny of exercising mice, and the birth weight was reduced [24].
• This study has confirmed the results of a previous report that human subjects carrying mutations in Gck had reduced birth weights and has provided direct evidence for a link between insulin and fetal growth [25].
• We have studied 477 8-year-old Indian children to define the relationship between birth weight and cardiovascular risk factors, including insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) variables and plasma total and LDL cholesterol concentrations [26].

Anatomical context of Birth Weight

• These babies had a significantly reduced birth-weight compared with controls; many of them had a raised cord-blood salicylate level but had no clinical evidence of bleeding or hypoglycaemia [27].
• To elucidate the relationship between birth weight and genetically determined defects in insulin secretion, we measured the birth weights of neonates derived from crosses of male pancreatic beta-cell type glucokinase knockout (Gck+/-) mice and female wild-type (WT) or Gck+/- mice [25].
• We used data from that study and from a follow-up study conducted in 1998-1999 (when the subjects were 21-27 y of age) to determine associations of birth weight, length at 15 d of age, ponderal index, and length at 2 y of age with adult height, weight, fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass, percentage of body fat, and waist-to-hip ratio [28].
• Type 2 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase messenger ribonucleic acid and activity in human placenta and fetal membranes: its relationship to birth weight and putative role in fetal adrenal steroidogenesis [29].
• The Gly/Arg972 of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), the Thr/Ile130 of the hepatocyte nuclear factor-4alpha (HNF-4alpha), the Pro/Ala75 of HNF-6, and the Ile/Leu27, Ala/Val93, and Ser/Asn4s7 polymorphisms of the HNF-lalpha gene were examined for association with birth weight and length and the ponderal index [30].

Gene context of Birth Weight

• OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the association between maternal cigarette smoking and infant birth weight differs by polymorphisms of 2 maternal metabolic genes: CYP1A1 and GSTT1 [22].
• In preeclamptic patients, a positive correlation between birth weight and PAI-2 values was observed (r = .64, P less than .05), whereas birth weight was inversely correlated with both PAI-1 levels and total PAI activity (r = -.6, P less than .005 and r = -.76, P less than .005 respectively) [31].
• These data show that the biological function of imprinting Igf2r is to increase birth weight and they also establish Igf2r as the Tme gene [32].
• Here we show that administration of carbenoxolone, an inhibitor of placental 11 beta-HSD 2, to pregnant rats, leads to a significant reduction in average birth weight (20% fall) [33].
• IGF-II was weakly related to ponderal index (r = 0.18; P < 0.05) and placental weight (r = 0.18; P < 0.05), and the molar ratio of IGF-II to IGF2R was also related to birth weight (r = 0.15; P < 0.05) [34].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Birth Weight

• CONCLUSIONS--The receipt of prenatal care among cocaine users is associated with significant improvements in birth weight [35].
• The Gly972Arg variant in insulin receptor substrate-1 is not associated with birth weight in contemporary English children. The ALSPAC Study Team. Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood [36].
• The fasting IGF-I concentration and the IGF-I/IGFBP-3 ratio were significantly inversely associated with age, body mass index, smoking, and oral contraception and were positively related to birth weight and fasting insulin levels [37].
• Likewise, the presence of maternal homocysteine concentrations have been associated both with increased habitual spontaneous abortion and pregnancy complications (eg, placental abruption and preeclampsia), which increase the risk of poor pregnancy outcome and of decreased birth weight and gestation duration [38].
• In contrast, cortisol levels were unrelated to birth weight or current body size [39].

References