Correlation between Early Visual Functions and Cognitive Outcome in Infants at Risk for Cerebral Palsy or Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Early key visual skills, such as tracking objects, sustaining gaze, and shifting attention, rapidly develop within the first 6 months of infant life. These abilities play a significant role in the development of cognitive functions but are frequently compromised in infants at risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. This systematic review evaluates the potential of early vision function in the prediction of cognition at or above 12 months.

Early Intervention for Children Aged 0 to 2 Years With or at High Risk of Cerebral Palsy: International Clinical Practice Guideline Based on Systematic Reviews.

Importance: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability. Early intervention for children younger than 2 years with or at risk of CP is critical. Now that an evidence-based guideline for early accurate diagnosis of CP exists, there is a need to summarize effective, CP-specific early intervention and conduct new trials that harness plasticity to improve function and increase participation.

Safety and efficacy of topiramate in neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy treated with hypothermia (NeoNATI): a feasibility study.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of a study based on treatment with topiramate (TPM) added to moderate hypothermia in newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Materials And Methods: Multicenter randomized controlled trial. Term newborns with precocious metabolic, clinical and electroencephalographic (EEG) signs of HIE were selected according to their amplified integrated EEG pattern and randomized to receive either TPM (10 mg/kg once a day for the first three days of life) plus moderate hypothermia or hypothermia alone.

Reorganization of visual fields after periventricular haemorrhagic infarction: potentials and limitations.

Visual functions are often impaired in preterm infants with periventricular haemorrhagic infarction, because of the involvement of the region where the optic radiations are located. In some cases an unexpected sparing of the visual fields has been described, and related to the plasticity of thalamo-cortical afferents that are supposedly able to bypass the lesion when it occurs in the early third trimester of gestation. We systematically reviewed the literature in the field to determine the limits and potentials of this type of reorganization.

The effects of preterm infant massage on brain electrical activity.

Aim: Early intervention programmes based on the manipulation of the extra-uterine environment have been used in preterm infants with the aim of improving development and functional outcome. Infant massage, among them, has proved effective for weight gain and reduced length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. We have recently shown that infant massage accelerates brain maturation of low-risk preterm infants without brain abnormalities as measured by global parameters of electroencephalography (EEG) activity.