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Previous Volume 357:1248-1250 September 20, 2007 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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A single course of prenatal corticosteroid therapy has been shown to accelerate fetal lung maturation when premature delivery is imminent.^1,2,3 This therapy reduces morbidity and mortality in premature newborns by reducing the incidence of respiratory disease and dependence on mechanical respiratory support. Longer-term follow-up has revealed no adverse effects on neurodevelopmental outcomes or growth, and this treatment is routinely recommended for women at risk for premature delivery between 24 weeks and 33 weeks of gestation.^2,3

Prenatal corticosteroid therapy accelerates fetal lung maturation through a complex interaction of hormonal and intercellular signaling that leads to differentiation of the surfactant lipid–protein pathways . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

From the Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.

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