In contrast, supra-therapeutic drug doses delayed MBP brain expression and resulted in a decreased number of myelinated axons. We have now found that this biphasic-dose response to buprenorphine can be attributed to the participation of both the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor (NOP receptor) in the oligodendrocytes. This is particularly intriguing

because the NOP receptor/nociceptin system has been primarily linked to behavior and pain regulation, but a role in CNS development or myelination has not been described before. Our findings suggest that balance between signaling mediated by (a) MOR activation and (b) a novel, yet unidentified pathway that includes the NOP receptor, find more plays a crucial role in the timing of oligodendrocyte maturation and myelin synthesis. Moreover, exposure to opioids could disrupt the normal interplay between these two systems altering the developmental pattern of brain myelination. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.”
“Background: Improving perinatal health is the key to achieving the Millennium SIS 3 Development Goal for child survival. Recently, several reviews suggest that scaling up available effective

perinatal interventions in an integrated approach can substantially reduce the stillbirth and neonatal death rates worldwide. We evaluated the effect of packaged interventions given in pregnancy, delivery and post-partum periods through integration of community- and facility-based services on perinatal mortality.\n\nMethods: This study took advantage of an ongoing health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) and a new Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Project initiated in 2007 in Matlab, Bangladesh in half (intervention area) of the HDSS area. In the other half, women received usual AZD1390 PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitor care through the government health system (comparison area). The MNCH Project strengthened ongoing maternal and child health services as well as added new services. The intervention

followed a continuum of care model for pregnancy, intrapartum, and postnatal periods by improving established links between community-and facility-based services. With a separate pre-post samples design, we compared the perinatal mortality rates between two periods-before (2005-2006) and after (2008-2009) implementation of MNCH interventions. We also evaluated the difference-of-differences in perinatal mortality between intervention and comparison areas.\n\nResults: Antenatal coverage, facility delivery and cesarean section rates were significantly higher in the post-intervention period in comparison with the period before intervention. In the intervention area, the odds of perinatal mortality decreased by 36% between the pre-intervention and post-intervention periods (odds ratio: 0.64; 95% confidence intervals: 0.52-0.78).