Uncontrolled pesticide use in agriculture pollutes the environment and has harmful consequences on food chain participants. Health-safe plant production, without residues of carcinogenic and toxic pesticides, is a priority in food production. In addition, plant pests (insects) are becoming increasingly resistant to existing chemical pesticides. In order to grow healthy crops, the application of pesticides has to be decreased, while preventive and biological control should be intensified, i.e. biopesticides should be used instead of chemical ones. In addition to microbiological preparations, plant essential oils are also intensively used as biopesticides. The present study indicates that it is possible to use essential oils in organic agriculture as natural agents in the control of harmful insects. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate the existence of significant insecticidal effects of plant essential oils. Mono- and sesquiterpene components of essential oils are mainly neurotoxic to insects. However, despite this, the number of commercially available preparations is limited. It is necessary to better regulate the legislation on organic agriculture, as well as to additionally test the action modes of these oils.
With advances in antenatal and neonatal therapy and care, the survival of preterm neonates, especially extremely immature, has increased. Brain injury occurs significantly more often in preterm neonates compared to full-term neonates, which is associated with a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. Three common and frequent forms of preterm brain injury are intraventricular hemorrhage, white and gray matter injury. There are numerous antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal strategies in order to reduce risk of preterm brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcome. First of all, studies showed that antenatal corticosteroid and magnesium sulfate administration in case of threatened preterm delivery has an importance role in reducing the risk for preterm brain injury and neurodevelopmental disabilities. Also, delayed cord clamping and many interventions in early neonatal period, such as maintenance of optimal ventilation and hemodynamic stability, blood glucose monitoring concentration, recognition of neonatal seizures and administration of anti-seizure medications, use of caffeine and optimal nutrition affect the improvement of the neurological development of the preterm neonates. At the end of the 20th century, a special program for the care and assessment of the behavior of neonates, Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program, was developed, which is used today in many neonatal intensive care units in order to minimize developmental delays of preterm neonates. A number of drugs and interventions whose possible neuroprotective effects are being investigated include mild hypothermia, erythropoietin, melatonin, allopurinol, stem cell therapy, maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy, exosomal-based therapy, et al.
Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) affects approximately 1 in 15 000 individuals. We leveraged the power of multicentre registry data to assess the trend and predictors of blood pressure (BP) within children and young persons with 21OHD to inform monitoring strategies. Method: Data from the International CAH Registry in patients younger than 20 years was compared to normative values. Values of BP were modeled to create reference curves, multiple change point analysis applied to quantify the difference with normative data. Covariate adjustment was informed by a directed acyclic graph, prior to joint outcome regression modeling to accurately assess predictors of BP. Results: A total of 6436 visits within 554 patients (52.5% females) showed BP-Standard deviation scores (SDS) were higher at younger ages. Patients under five years had systolic BP-SDS of 1.6 (Q1:0.6-Q3:2.7) decreasing to 1.0 (Q1:0.2-Q3:1.8) over 5 years, equating to 31.0% over the 95th centile decreasing to 15.0%. Higher doses of fludrocortisone were associated with a small increase in systolic BP equivalent to 1.2 mmHg with every 100 g extra fludrocortisone. Renin of 100 U/mL was associated with 4.6 mmHg lower systolic BP than a renin of 1 U/ mL, higher 17OH-progesterone and androstenedione also predicted lower systolic and diastolic BP (P < .05). Conclusion: Higher BP in children with 21OHD is common and particularly pronounced at a younger age, but may not be attributable to excessive mineralocorticoid replacement. There is a need to improve our understanding of the determinants of this raised BP as well as its long-term effects. The Author(s) 2025.
