May 2012

Effect of phototherapy on airborne concentrations of volatile organic compounds found in neonatal incubators
Eppler M, Donovan R, Schweig L, Cortes DR, Prazad P, Gulati A, Puppala B

Article not available in PubMed. Published in Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2012, volume 5 (3), pages 221-227.

December 2010

Ghrelin levels in cord blood from concordant and discordant twin pairs: association with birth weight and postnatal catch-up growth
Sharih U, Puppala BL, Donovan R, Parilla BV

• Ghrelin is a peptide that has potent growth hormone releasing activity.  The researchers set out to investigate whether ghrelin levels at birth would predict postnatal catch up growth among concordant (twins with similar birth weights) and discordant (twins whose birth weight differed by >15%) twin pairs.  A statistically significant correlation was found between ghrelin levels and birth weight among the concordant twins, but not the discordant.  Ghrelin did appear to predict postnatal growth at 6 months of age among discordant twin pairs who shared the same placenta.

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May 2010

Involvement of imidazoline and opioid receptors in the enhancement of clonidine-induced analgesia by sulfisoxazole
Boxwalla M, Matwyshyn G, Puppala BL, Andurkar SV, Gulati A

• Because of the serious adverse events associated with narcotic (opioid) medications, there is a real need to find pain management therapies that can maximize relief with a minimum of side effects.  The use of medications administered in combination has been under evaluation recently.  Using a mouse model, this study examined the influence of sulfisoxazole [an endothelin (ETA) receptor antagonist] on clonidine (non-narcotic).  Results from this study showed that the combined administration of clonidine and sulfisoxazole produced a marked reduction in sensitivity to pain in mice.  This finding suggests that this combination might provide an alternative to narcotic use (e.g., morphine) for pain relief in humans.

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April 2009

Complication of emergency cesarean section: Open metacarpophalangeal disarticulation and complete extensor tendon lacerations of the hand in a neonate
Prazad P, Puppala BL, Baxamusa TH, Mangurten H, Schweig, L

Accidental fetal injury is a serious but under-reported complication during cesarean delivery, particularly after one that is emergent. The most commonly documented injury is skin laceration. Though the majority of reported lacerations are superficial, a few are deep and require surgical intervention. We report a case of severe multiple extensor tendon lacerations with open metacarpophalangeal joints sustained at the time of an emergency cesarean delivery that resulted in an excellent functional outcome following surgical repair.

Article not available in MedLine. Published in the Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2009, volume 2, pages 131-133. 

August 2008

Airborne concentrations of volatile organic compounds in neonatal incubators
Prazad P, Cortes DR, Puppala BL, Donovan R, Kumar S, Gulati A.

This study set out to identify any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which may be present in the air found inside of neonatal incubators. Two compounds, 2-heptanone and n-butyl acetate were identified and appear to originate from within the incubator. Further research is planned to evaluate what health effects may relate to neonatal exposure to these VOCs.

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