A 1% colloidal oatmeal OTC cream is clinically effective for the management of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in Black or African American children.

Background: The efficacy and safety of an over-the-counter (OTC) 1% colloidal oatmeal cream versus a ceramide-based prescription barrier cream in children with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) were previously described.

Objectives: Here, findings are reported for the Black/African American subgroup.

Methods: Patients were randomized to 1% oatmeal cream or prescription barrier cream twice daily or as needed for three weeks.

Brain biomarkers and neuropsychological outcomes of pediatric posterior fossa brain tumor survivors treated with surgical resection with or without adjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: Children with brain tumors experience cognitive late effects, often related to cranial radiation. We sought to determine differential effects of surgery and chemotherapy on brain structure and neuropsychological outcomes in children who did not receive cranial radiation therapy (CRT).

Methods: Twenty-eight children with a history of posterior fossa tumor (17 treated with surgery, 11 treated with surgery and chemotherapy) underwent neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment a mean of 4.

Use of the MoCA in Detecting Early Alzheimer's Disease in a Spanish-Speaking Population with Varied Levels of Education.

Background/aims: Performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) has been demonstrated to be dependent on the educational level. The purpose of this study was to identify how to best adjust MoCA scores and to identify MoCA items most sensitive to cognitive decline in incipient Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a Spanish-speaking population with varied levels of education.

Methods: We analyzed data from 50 Spanish-speaking participants.

fMRI of syntactic processing in typically developing children: structural correlates in the inferior frontal gyrus.

Development of syntactic processing was examined to evaluate maturational processes including left language lateralization functions and increased specialization of brain regions important for syntactic processing. We utilized multimodal methods, including indices of brain activity from fMRI during a syntactic processing task, cortical thickness measurements from structural MRI, and neuropsychological measures. To evaluate hypotheses about increasing lateralization and specialization with development, we examined relationships between cortical thickness and magnitude and spatial activation extent within the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and its right hemisphere homologue.

Focus on: structural and functional brain abnormalities in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Children exposed to alcohol prenatally can experience significant deficits in cognitive and psychosocial functioning as well as alterations in brain structure and function related to alcohol's teratogenic effects. These impairments are present both in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and in children with heavy in utero alcohol exposure who do not have facial dysmorphology required for the FAS diagnosis. Neuropsychological and behavioral studies have revealed deficits in most cognitive domains measured, including overall intellectual functioning, attention/working memory, executive skills, speed of processing, and academic skills in children and adolescents across the range of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Abnormal brain activation during working memory in children with prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse: the effects of methamphetamine, alcohol, and polydrug exposure.

Structural and metabolic abnormalities in fronto-striatal structures have been reported in children with prenatal methamphetamine (MA) exposure. The current study was designed to quantify functional alterations to the fronto-striatal circuit in children with prenatal MA exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Because many women who use MA during pregnancy also use alcohol, a known teratogen, we examined 50 children (age range 7-15), 19 with prenatal MA exposure, 15 of whom had concomitant prenatal alcohol exposure (the MAA group), 13 with heavy prenatal alcohol but no MA exposure (ALC group), and 18 unexposed controls (CON group).