Health risk behaviors (HRBs) in adults with spina bifida such as poor diet, reduced physical activity, increased television viewing time, and substance abuse often have their genesis in early childhood. They are potentially preventable but if not addressed aggressively may continue to progress across the lifespan. Findings from a population-based…

Aim: To review recent developments in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS). Method: Members of the Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium Sturge-Weber Syndrome National Workgroup contributed their expertise to review the literature and present promising directions for research. Results: The increasing number…

Aim: To investigate the relationships among the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Using questionnaires describing each scale, mothers reported GMFCS, MACS, and CFCS levels in 222…

Aim: The aim of this article was to clarify the impact and consequences of very preterm birth (born less than 32wks of gestation) and/or very low birthweight ([VLBW], weighing less than 1500g) on brain volume development throughout childhood and adolescence. Method: The computerized databases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and EMBASE were searched for…

Aim: Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) is a disorder caused by damage to the retrogeniculate visual pathways. Cerebral palsy (CP) and CVI share a common origin: 60 to 70% of children with CP also have CVI. We set out to describe visual dysfunction in children with CP. A further aim was to establish whether different types of CP are associated with…

Aim: Research suggests important links between motor coordination and executive functions. The current study examined whether motor coordination predicts working memory, inhibition, and switching performance, extending previous research by accounting for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and other confounding factors,…

Aim: The aim of this unregistered evidence-based systematic review was to determine the state and quality of evidence on the effects of oral motor exercises (OME) on swallowing physiology, pulmonary health, functional swallowing outcomes, and drooling management in children with swallowing disorders. Method: A systematic search of 20 electronic…

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the frequency, risk factors, manifestations, and outcome of epilepsy in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) due to perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS). Method: The study group comprised 63 participants (41 males, 22 females) from a population-based CP register whose brain imaging showed…

Aim: We assessed motor and intellectual outcome in triplets at school age and investigated the predictive value of perinatal and demographic factors. Methods: Seventy-one live-born newborn infants (24 triplet pregnancies) were prospectively enrolled at birth. At the age of 6 years, 58 children (31 males, 27 females; mean gestational age 31.2wks…

Aim: Little is known of minor neurological dysfunction (MND) in infancy. This study aimed to evaluate the inter-assessor reliability of the assessment of MND with the Touwen Infant Neurological Examination (TINE) and the construct and predictive validity of MND in infancy. Method: Inter-assessor agreement was determined in a sample of 40 infants…

The disorders of the neuromuscular junction seen in children, the congenital myasthenic syndromes and autoimmune myasthenia gravis, are very rare. Their clinical symptoms and signs may be variable, most notably in the neonate and infant. They should enter the differential diagnosis of many different clinical presentations, such as "floppy infant"…

Aim: Worster-Drought syndrome (WDS), or congenital suprabulbar paresis, is a permanent movement disorder of the bulbar muscles causing persistent difficulties with swallowing, feeding, speech, and saliva control owing to a non-progressive disturbance in early brain development. As such, it falls within the cerebral palsies. The aim of this study…

Disturbances in the serotonergic system have been recognized in autism. To investigate the association between serotonin and dopamine transporters and autism, we studied 15 children (14 males, one female; mean age 8y 8mo [SD 3y 10mo]) with autism and 10 non-autistic comparison children (five males, five females; mean age 9y 10mo [SD 2y 8mo]) using…

The aim of this study was to examine sensory changes of the hand in brachial plexus birth injury (BPBI). Ninety-five patients (43 females, 52 males) comprising two age groups, 6 to 8 years (mean age 7y 6mo) and 12 to 14 years (mean age 13y 2mo), were included. Sixty-four had upper (cervical [C] 5-6), 19 upper and middle (C5-7), and 12 had total…

Neurological examination of children includes the screening for soft neurological signs (NSS). There is little knowledge about their evolution during adolescence, except that their lasting presence has been associated with developmental, psychological, and cognitive disorders. We report the results of a NSS exam (assessing gross and fine motor…