Growth versus inflammation : lung development after antenatal inflammation and corticosteroids

In the Western world 5-13% of all children are born early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy duration. Premature birth is often caused by a bacterial infection in the uterus. The most common disorder in these babies is bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), an incurable disorder in the lung growth as a result of which they don’t get sufficient oxygen in their body. So, it is known that uterus infections often lead to the development of BPD, but how this exactly happens is not clear. This dissertation studies how bacterial infections influence the lung development, so that in the future new therapies can be developed to cure or even prevent BPD.