Active clinical trials for "Premature Birth"

The purpose of this study is to understand reading abilities of children born preterm: their cognitive profiles, the neural basis of good and poor reading abilities, and the behavioral and neural factors that predict persistent difficulties. The investigators hope to learn what specific skills correlate reading skills if preterm children have different cognitive profiles than full term children with respect to reading if cognitive skills measured in kindergarten predict reading ability in the second grade if parts of the brain are associated with reading skill whether brain characteristics in kindergarten predict reading in second grade.

The purpose of this study is to improve secondary prevention of ischemic stroke patients by Estimating prevalence and the prognostic significance of frequent premature atrial complexes in ischemic stroke patients in relation to death, recurrent stroke and atrial fibrillation. Characterize ischemic stroke patients by Echocardiographic characteristics Biochemical markers Plaque composition in the carotid arteries in order to improve risk stratification.

The investigators will measure fetal lung volume by VOCAL and pulmonary artery resistance index in preterm fetuses and correlating the results with postnatal respiratory distress of the preterm neonates.

Research question: Population of study: women diagnosed as term pregnancy in labor (control) and the other group diagnosed as preterm labor (cases). Intervention: measuring uterine natural killer cells . Outcome: uterine natural killer cells has a role in initiation of preterm labor. Research hypothesis: • Are uterine Natural Killer cells involved in the initiation of preterm labor ? Medical Application: • Possibility of prediction of preterm labor by assessment of Natural killer cells as well as preventing preterm labor by suppressing their activity .

This is a research study to quantitatively assess the development of non-nutritive suck (NNS) and feeding readiness in preterm infants using a novel device, the NTrainer©, and to compare this with two clinical assessment tools, NOMAS and EFS.

The purpose of the study is to characterize innate immune function of premature infants, and identify defects that may be responsible for the development of bacterial sepsis.

To determine whether screening of pregnant women with history of previous preterm delivery or with premature contractions for bacterial vaginosis using VS-SENSE, and treatment of positive women will reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm birth.

Preterm labor is a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Several investigators have reported that ultrasound evaluation of the cervix can predict the risk of preterm delivery. Three-dimensional ultrasound may provide additional information about how to best counsel parents about the chances of premature birth. This technology has the capability for accurate volume measurements of irregular structures that is superior to conventional ultrasound. Therefore, it is possible that three-dimensional ultrasound methods may better characterize cervical changes and the risk for preterm delivery. Our protocol will attempt to identify prognostic indicators of adverse pregnancy outcome by three-dimensional ultrasound. A maximum of 680 pregnant women with the diagnosis of preterm labor will be prospectively studied to characterize cervical morphology and volume as predictors of preterm delivery risk. These results will be correlated with placental pathology and pregnancy outcome. We will also compare the performance of conventional two-dimensional endovaginal ultrasound with three-dimensional ultrasound findings. This information is expected to improve our understanding about the nature and timing of cervical volume changes in relation to pregnancy outcome.

A major goal of modern perinatal and neonatal medicine is to reduce the rate of developmental disabilities, especially mental retardation. Cerebral palsy is frequently associated with neurologic abnormalities and mental retardation. Improvements in neonatal intensive care have resulted in improved survival of very low birthweight infants but also in an increased frequency of cerebral palsy. Prematurity is a leading risk factor for cerebral palsy. Two thirds of preterm neonates are born to mothers with preterm labor with intact membranes or preterm premature rupture of membranes. A growing body of evidence suggests that these conditions are heterogeneous. This is an observational cohort study designed to identify the mechanisms of disease in patients with preterm labor/contractions and preterm premature rupture of membranes and to describe the relationship between clinical, biochemical, histological, biophysical parameters and the development of infant neurological disorders.

The purpose of this study is to describe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization rates and to begin to address the utilization of outpatient resources for RSV medically-attended lower respiratory tract infections (MALRI) in 32-35 week gestational age (GA) premature infants who are less than 6 months of age and do not receive treatment.