Intrauterine preeclampsia exposure affects the lifelong cardiometabolic health of the child. Our study aimed to compare the growth (from birth to 6 months) of infants exposed to either a normotensive pregnancy or preeclampsia and explore the influence of being born small for gestational age (SGA). Participants were children of women participating in the Post-partum, Physiology, Psychology and Paediatric follow-up cohort study. Birth and 6-month weight and length z-scores were calculated for term and preterm (<37 weeks) babies, and change in weight z-score, rapid weight gain (≥0.67 increase in weight z-score) and conditional weight gain z-score were calculated. Compared with normotensive exposed infants (n = 298), preeclampsia exposed infants (n = 84) were more likely to be born SGA (7% versus 23%; P < 0.001), but weight gain from birth to 6 months, by any measure, did not differ between groups. Infants born SGA, irrespective of pregnancy exposure, were more likely to have rapid weight gain and had greater increases in weight z-score compared with those not born SGA. Preeclampsia exposed infants born SGA may benefit from interventions designed to prevent future cardiometabolic disease.
Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency is a rare monogenic disorder characterised by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency, red hair and hyperphagic obesity. Two unrelated cases presented with hypoglycaemia due to isolated ACTH deficiency in the neonatal period. POMC deficiency was suspected at age 2 years (c.133‐2A>C) and at age 9 months (c.64del) due to infantile hyperphagic obesity. Neither patient had a convincing red hair phenotype at the time of diagnostic suspicion, illustrating the importance of suspecting POMC deficiency in isolated ACTH deficiency. Both patients have normal psychomotor development, whereas the only other reported case of c.64del had significant delay. This suggests, if ACTH deficiency is treated early in the neonatal period, that psychomotor retardation is not a part of the phenotype. We review 24 reported cases of POMC deficiency published to date. Although there is no current specific treatment for obesity in POMC deficiency, we anticipate that setmelanotide may be a useful future treatment option.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.