The relationship between the risk of celiac disease and both the age at which gluten is introduced to a child’s diet and a child’s early dietary pattern is unclear.

Abstract: Newborns, and especially those delivered preterm, are probably more prone to oxidative stress than individuals later in life. Also during pregnancy, increased oxygen demand augments the rate of production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and women, even with normal pregnancies, experience elevated oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation compared with nonpregnant women. Also, there appears to be an increase in ROS generation in the placenta of pre‐eclamptic women. In comparison with healthy adults, newborn infants have lower levels of plasma antioxidants such as vitamin E, β‐carotene, and sulphydryl groups, lower levels of plasma metal binding proteins including ceruloplasmin and transferrin, and reduced activity of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase. This review summarizes conditions of newborns where there is elevated oxidative stress. Included in this group of conditions is asphyxia, respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis and the review also summarizes the literature related to clinical trials of antioxidant therapies and of melatonin, a highly effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger. The authors document there is general agreement that short‐term melatonin therapy may be highly effective and that it has a remarkably benign safety profile, even when neonates are treated with pharmacological doses. Significant complications with long‐term melatonin therapy in children and adults also have not been reported. None of the animal studies of maternal melatonin treatment or in postnatal life have shown any treatment‐related side effects. The authors conclude that treatment with melatonin might result in a wide range of health benefits, improved quality of life and reduced healthcare costs and may help reduce complications in the neonatal period.

A dietary interview performed by expert personnel is the best method to check whether patients with coeliac disease follow a strict gluten-free diet (GFD). We previously developed a score based on four fast and simple questions that can be administered even by non-expert personnel. The aim of the present study is to verify the reliability of our questionnaire in a new cohort of patients. The questionnaire has a five-level score. From March 2008 to January 2011, the questionnaire was administered to 141 coeliac patients on a GFD, who were undergoing re-evaluation. The score obtained was compared with persistence of both villous atrophy and endomysial antibodies (EMA). The rate of lower scores was higher among the patients with persistence of either villous atrophy (Fisher's exact, P < 0·001; test for trend, P < 0·001) or positive EMA (Fisher's exact, P = 0·001; test for trend, P = 0·018). Given that the coeliac patients have been well instructed on what a GFD means and on how to follow it, our questionnaire is a reliable and simple method to verify compliance to a GFD.

Background. Early-onset (EO) pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) seem to be more extensive than those with a later onset. To test this hypothesis, we ex

As many as 1.2 million people in Europe and more than half a million in the United States are estimated to have Crohn disease. Its incidence is increasing globally,^1-3 and its prevalence is particularly high in North America and Europe (319 to 322 per 100 000 persons).² About 25% of people with Crohn disease develop symptoms as children, and these cases are generally more severe than adult-onset cases. Resistance or intolerance to therapy is common in children with Crohn disease, with up to approximately 18% of cases requiring surgery within 5 years from disease onset. If not adequately treated, children with Crohn disease may have permanent impairments (eg, growth failure, osteoporosis, delayed sexual development, psychological disorders, failure to achieve full educational and career potential).^4-8