Relationship between renal volume, prematurity, birth weight and retinal microvasculature

This thesis consists of a collection of articles arising from a research project carried out as a requirement of a higher research degree at the University of Newcastle. This research project was carried out in a tertiary perinatal centre in North Queensland, Australia. The study cohort consists of three groups – normal and low-birth-weight term infants, and premature infants. In this study, the relationship between renal volume, birth weight and retinal microvasculature was investigated in a cohort of low-birthweight term babies. This study also investigated the relationship between prematurity and extra-uterine renal growth and renal function. For the purpose of assessment of renal function Cystatin C was used, which is a relatively new marker of renal function in infants. Retinal imaging technique and technology used in this study are similar to those used in detecting Retinopathy of prematurity. However, the analysis of retinal microvasculature was limited to term infants. The literature review for this manuscript is presented as a series of published review articles. The results are presented in the format of original research manuscripts, which have been published in peer-reviewed journals. From this study we were able to demonstrate that low birth weight and prematurity result in different yet important changes to the developing kidney. We also demonstrated that while eyes, kidneys and blood vessels are distinct organs, they share common features in low-birth-weight term infants.