Pain in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: A Cross-sectional Survey Study.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the prevalence, intensity, and location of pain in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) and analyze pain-related symptoms and participation restrictions.

Methods: Children and adolescents aged 2 to 16 years diagnosed with CP were invited to participate in a pain survey. The questionnaire was based on the German Pain Questionnaire for Children, Adolescents and Parents (DSF-KJ).

Neurophysiological identification and differentiation between the motor and sensory roots in pediatric spinal cord lipoma surgery.

Background: Radical resection of spinal cord lipomas reduces the rate of re-tethering. Current conventional neurophysiological mapping techniques are not able to differentiate between crucial motor nerve roots and sensory roots. Enhanced differentiation could contribute to complete resection.

Case report: C1/2 rotational instability progressing to extreme subaxial hyperkyphosis in an adolescent with severe catatonia.

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and can be accompanied by a spectrum of psychiatric symptoms, such as schizophrenia and catatonia. Rarely, these symptoms, if left untreated, can result in spinal deformities.

Research Question And Case Description: This case report details the treatment of a 16-year-old male ASD patient with catatonic schizophrenia and mutism, presenting with neck pain, left-rotated torticollis, and fever.

Inflammatory Type Focal Cerebral Arteriopathy of the Posterior Circulation in Children: A Comparative Cohort Study.

Background: Inflammatory type focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA-i) in the anterior circulation (AC) is well characterized, and the focal cerebral arteriopathy severity score (FCASS) reflects the severity of the disease. We identified cases of FCA-i in the posterior circulation (PC) and adapted the FCASS to describe these cases.

Methods: In this comparative cohort study, patients from the Swiss NeuroPaediatric Stroke Registry with ischemic stroke due to FCA-i between January 2000 and December 2018 were analyzed.

Prescription Practices of Cannabinoids in Children with Cerebral Palsy Worldwide-A Survey of the Swiss Cerebral Palsy Registry.

Cannabinoids are prescribed to children with cerebral palsy despite limited evidence. We aimed to assess cannabinoid prescribing practices in children with cerebral palsy, focusing on indications, types of preparations used, and tolerability. Furthermore, we investigated how physicians acquire knowledge about cannabinoid medication.

Trends in Outcomes of Major Intracerebral Haemorrhage in a National Cohort of Very Preterm Born Infants in Switzerland.

Background: Major brain lesions, such as grade 3 intraventricular haemorrhage (G3-IVH) and periventricular haemorrhagic infarction (PVHI) are among the main predictors for poor neurodevelopment in preterm infants. In the last decades advancements in neonatal care have led to a general decrease in adverse outcomes.

Aim: To assess trends of mortality and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in a recent Swiss cohort of very preterm infants with grade 3 intraventricular haemorrhage (G3-IVH) and periventricular haemorrhagic infarction (PVHI).

Association of Acute Infarct Topography With Development of Cerebral Palsy and Neurologic Impairment in Neonates With Stroke.

Background And Objectives: Research investigating neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS) outcomes have shown that combined cortical and basal ganglia infarction or involvement of the corticospinal tract predict cerebral palsy (CP). The research question was whether voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) on acute MRI can identify brain regions associated with CP and neurodevelopmental impairments in NAIS.

Methods: Newborns were recruited from prospective Australian and Swiss pediatric stroke registries.

Action Observation Training to Improve Upper Limb Function in Infants with Unilateral Brain Lesion - a Feasibility Study.

In this study, the feasibility of Action Observation Training (AOT) in combination with sensor-based measurements in infants at high risk of Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy (UCP) were evaluated. Over a four-week period, eight infants at high risk of UCP performed AOT at home while wearing sensors with assistance of caregivers. Sensor data were compared to clinical assessments of upper limb function, the Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI) and the Mini-Assisting Hand Assessment (Mini-AHA).

Lesion size and long-term cognitive outcome after pediatric stroke: A comparison between two techniques to assess lesion size.

Background: There is little consensus on how lesion size impacts long-term cognitive outcome after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). This study, therefore, compared two techniques to assessed lesion size in the chronic phase after AIS and determined their measurement agreement in relation to cognitive functions in patients after pediatric stroke.

Methods: Twenty-five patients after pediatric AIS were examined in the chronic phase (>2 years after stroke) in respect to intelligence, memory, executive functions, visuo-motor functions, motor abilities, and disease-specific outcome.

Systematic Review of Accelerated Long-term Forgetting in Children and Adolescents With Neuropediatric Diseases.

Purpose Of Review: Accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) describes the phenomenon of normal learning and memory performance after short delays, but greater forgetting after longer delays, which is not objectified in standardized memory tests. The topic is attracting increasing interest due to its clinical importance. Studies investigating pediatric ALF remain rare, and no systematic review exists.

Cognitive outcome is related to functional thalamo-cortical connectivity after paediatric stroke.

The thalamus has complex connections with the cortex and is involved in various cognitive processes. Despite increasing interest in the thalamus and the underlying thalamo-cortical interaction, little is known about thalamo-cortical connections after paediatric arterial ischaemic stroke. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate thalamo-cortical connections and their association with cognitive performance after arterial ischaemic stroke.

Needs and Research Priorities for Young People with Spinal Cord Lesion or Spina Bifida and Their Caregivers: A National Survey in Switzerland within the PEPSCI Collaboration.

The aim of this study was to describe the needs and research priorities of Swiss children/adolescents and young adults (from here, "young people") with spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D) or spina bifida (SB) and their parents in the health and life domains as part of the international Pan-European Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury (PEPSCI) collaboration. Surveys included queries about the satisfaction, importance, research priorities, quality of life (QoL), and characteristics of the young people. Fifty-three surveys with corresponding parent-proxy reports were collected between April and November 2019.

Cohort profile: the Swiss Cerebral Palsy Registry (Swiss-CP-Reg) cohort study.

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture that follow injuries to the developing brain. It results in motor dysfunction and a wide variety of comorbidities like epilepsy; pain; speech, hearing and vision disorders; cognitive dysfunction; and eating and digestive difficulties. Central data collection is essential to the study of the epidemiology, clinical presentations, care, and quality of life of patients affected by CP.

Effect of Age at Pediatric Stroke on Long-term Cognitive Outcome.

Background And Objectives: To investigate the effect of age at pediatric arterial ischemic stroke on long-term cognitive outcome in order to identify patients particularly at risk for the development of long-term cognitive sequelae.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included patients in the chronic phase of stroke (>2 years after stroke) previously diagnosed with neonatal or childhood arterial ischemic stroke and a control group. Participants with active epilepsy, severe learning difficulties, or behavioral problems hindering the cognitive assessment were excluded.

Cerebral blood flow and cognitive outcome after pediatric stroke in the middle cerebral artery.

Adaptive recovery of cerebral perfusion after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is sought to be crucial for sustainable rehabilitation of cognitive functions. We therefore examined cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the chronic stage after stroke and its association with cognitive outcome in patients after pediatric AIS. This cross-sectional study investigated CBF and cognitive functions in 14 patients (age 13.

Participation after childhood stroke: Is there a relationship with lesion size, motor function and manual ability?

Background: Childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is associated with significant morbidity with up to 50% of affected children developing hemiparesis. Hemiparesis is assumed to influence participation within the peer group, but it is unclear to what extent its severity affects participation in different areas of social life.

Methods: Thirteen children (mean age 9y6m) with AIS (6 without hemiparesis, 7 with hemiparesis) and 21 controls (mean age 9y8m) participated.

Use and caregiver-reported efficacy of medical cannabis in children and adolescents in Switzerland.

Evidence on the use and efficacy of medical cannabis for children is limited. We examined clinical and epidemiological characteristics of medical cannabis treatment and caregiver-reported effects in children and adolescents in Switzerland. We collected clinical data from children and adolescents (< 18 years) who received Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), or a combination of the two between 2008 and 2019 in Switzerland.

Effects of Correcting for Prematurity on Executive Function Scores of Children Born Very Preterm at School Age.

Objective: To investigate whether correction for prematurity affects executive function scores in school-aged children born very preterm.

Study Design: Executive functions were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests in 142 children born very preterm (born at ≤32 weeks of gestational age or with a birth weight of ≤1500 g) and 391 control children, aged 7-13 years. Four-month age bands were established from the data of control children.

Functional connectivity and upper limb function in patients after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke with contralateral corticospinal tract wiring.

To develop individualized motor rehabilitation, knowledge of the relationship between neuroplastic reorganization and motor recovery after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is crucial. Thus, we investigated functional connectivity in patients after AIS with good motor outcome and in patients with hemiparesis compared with typically developing peers. We included 18 patients (n = 9 with hemiparesis, n = 9 with good motor outcome) with pediatric AIS in the chronic phase (≥ 2 years after diagnosis, diagnosed > 16 years) and 18 peers matched by age and gender.

Safety and efficacy of rivaroxaban in pediatric cerebral venous thrombosis (EINSTEIN-Jr CVT).

Anticoagulant treatment of pediatric cerebral venous thrombosis has not been evaluated in randomized trials. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of rivaroxaban and standard anticoagulants in the predefined subgroup of children with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) who participated in the EINSTEIN-Jr trial. Children with CVT were randomized (2:1), after initial heparinization, to treatment with rivaroxaban or standard anticoagulants (continued on heparin or switched to vitamin K antagonist).

Functional topography of the thalamo-cortical system during development and its relation to cognition.

The thalamus has complex connections with the cortex and is involved in various cognitive processes. However, little is known about the age-related changes of thalamo-cortical connections and their relation to cognitive abilities. The present study analyzed resting-state functional connectivity between the thalamus and nine cortical functional networks (default mode network (DMN), posterior DMN, left/right executive, dorsal attention, salience, motor, visual and auditory network) in a healthy human sample (N = 95, aged 5-25 years).

Performance of the German version of the PARCA-R questionnaire as a developmental screening tool in two-year-old very preterm infants.

Objective: To validate and test a German version of the revised Parent Report of Children's Abilities questionnaire (PARCA-R).

Methods: Multicentre cross-sectional study. Parents of infants born <32 gestational weeks, completed the PARCA-R within three weeks before the follow-up assessment of their child at age two years.

Pediatric ASPECTS predicts outcomes following acute symptomatic neonatal arterial stroke.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS) is useful in determining outcomes after neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS), we assessed accuracy of the modified pediatric ASPECTS (pedASPECTS) to predict cerebral palsy (CP), neurologic impairment, and epilepsy.

Methods: Cross-sectional study included newborns with acute NAIS whose outcomes were assessed at ≥18 months after stroke. PedASPECTS accuracy to predict outcomes was determined by sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, and correlation between pedASPECTS and infarct volume was determined by the Spearman correlation coefficient.