Publications by authors named "Jeff Waugh"

The insula is an integral component of sensory, motor, limbic, and executive functions, and insular dysfunction is associated with numerous human neuropsychiatric disorders. Insular efferents project widely, but insulo-striate projections are especially numerous. The targets of these insulo-striate projections are organized into tissue compartments, the striosome and matrix.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pediatric movement disorders (PMD) neurologists care for infants, children, and adolescents with conditions that disrupt typical movement; serving as important subspecialist child neurologists in both academic and private practice settings. In contrast to adult movement disorders neurologists whose "bread and butter" is hypokinetic Parkinson disease, PMD subspecialty practice is often dominated by hyperkinetic movement disorders including tics, dystonia, chorea, tremor, and myoclonus. PMD neurology practice intersects with a variety of subspecialties, including neonatology, developmental pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, epilepsy, child & adolescent psychiatry, psychology, orthopedics, genetics & metabolism, and neurosurgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Each striatal compartment has unique connections and influences on neighboring structures like the globus pallidus interna (GPi) and thalamic nuclei, with different pathways exhibiting varied connectivity patterns.
  • Research using diffusion tractography in humans revealed significant differences in how striosome and matrix connectivity interact with thalamic nuclei, confirming findings from animal studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Youth who identify as transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) are at increased risk of anxiety, depression, bullying, and loss of social and family support. These factors may increase the risk of developing functional neurologic disorder (FND). If the risk of FND is increased in TGNC youth, then identifying which youth are at increased risk, and the particular times when risk is increased, may allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment of FND.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Research has shown that there is a relationship between variability in leg movement and the severity of leg dystonia in people, and that similar movement issues can be induced in mice through long-term excitation of specific brain cells.
  • * The study highlights that chronic stimulation of striatal cholinergic interneurons leads to these movement issues, supporting the idea that targeting these cells could be a potential approach for developing dystonia treatments, emphasizing the importance of early intervention after a brain injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize a metabolic brain network associated with X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP).

Methods: Thirty right-handed Filipino men with XDP (age = 44.4 ± 8.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is an inflammatory disorder that primarily impacts the gastrointestinal tract, leading to malnutrition and chronic microscopic intestinal blood loss. Uncontrolled systemic inflammation can impact other parts of the body, known as extraintestinal manifestations. Up to 25% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease are reported to have these complications in their skin, joints, bones, eyes, liver, lung, and pancreas (Rogler et al.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the brain activity of cervical dystonia (CD) patients during a finger tapping task using fMRI BOLD signals, aimed at understanding any similarities to focal hand dystonia (FHD).
  • Researchers found that CD patients exhibited abnormal, sustained brain signals in the left putamen and left cerebellum both during and after the finger tapping, indicating a potential shared mechanism in motor task execution.
  • The findings suggest that some pathological features of task execution may extend beyond task-specific dystonias, although the effects differ by dystonia type and motor control programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As members of a multidisciplinary team of professionals who treat children and adolescents with functional neurological (conversion) disorder (FND), we highlight the pressing need to develop an FND-informed culture of care that takes into account recent advances in our understanding of this group of patients. Stories of clinical encounters in health care settings from around the world-told by children and adolescents with FND, their parents, and health professionals-portray an outdated culture of care characterized by iatrogenic stigma, erosion of empathy and compassion within the clinician-patient relationship, and a lack of understanding of FND and its complex neurobiology. After a brief exploration of the outdated culture, we share our : how we and our colleagues have worked, and continue to work, to create an FND-informed culture in the health systems where we practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective:: Clinicians who recognize functional neurological disorders (FND) may not share that diagnosis with patients. Poor communication delays treatment and contributes to substantial disability in FND. Diagnostic (ICD-10) coding, one form of medical communication, offers an insight into clinicians’ face-to-face communication.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Heterozygous mutations in the KMT2B gene are linked to early-onset dystonia (DYT28), featuring motor problems that start locally and can spread throughout the body, particularly affecting the face and neck.
  • A study of 53 patients with KMT2B mutations revealed new disease presentations and identified various health issues, such as growth retardation and endocrine disorders, as well as a higher impact on patients with more severe genetic variants.
  • Patients who underwent deep brain stimulation for severe dystonia showed significant improvement in motor function and disability over time, with more than half experiencing over 30% improvement at the one-year mark.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To contextualize the role of child neurologists and neurodevelopmentalists (CNs/NDDs) in cerebral palsy (CP) care, we review the changing landscape of CP diagnosis and survey stakeholder CNs/NDDs regarding their roles in CP care.

Methods: The optimal roles of the multiple specialties involved in CP care are currently unclear, particularly regarding CP diagnosis. We developed recommendations regarding the role of CNs/NDDs noting (1) increasing complexity of CP diagnosis given a growing number of genetic etiologies and treatable motor disorders that can be misdiagnosed as CP and (2) the views of a group of physician stakeholders (CNs/NDDs from the Child Neurology Society Cerebral Palsy Special Interest Group).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In addition to commonly associated environmental factors, genomic factors may cause cerebral palsy. We performed whole-exome sequencing of 250 parent-offspring trios, and observed enrichment of damaging de novo mutations in cerebral palsy cases. Eight genes had multiple damaging de novo mutations; of these, two (TUBA1A and CTNNB1) met genome-wide significance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have mandated a change to standard management of infantile spasms. On April 6, 2020, the Child Neurology Society issued an online statement of immediate recommendations to streamline diagnosis and treatment of infantile spasms with utilization of telemedicine, outpatient studies, and selection of first-line oral therapies as initial treatment. The rationale for the recommendations and specific guidance including follow-up assessment are provided in this manuscript.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound is a novel, non-invasive, image-guided procedure that is able to ablate intracranial tissue with submillimetre precision. It is currently FDA approved for essential tremor and tremor dominant Parkinson's disease. The aim of this update is to review the limitations of current landmark-based targeting techniques of the ventral intermediate nucleus and demonstrate the role of emerging imaging techniques that are relevant for both magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound and deep brain stimulation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The research involved analyzing genetic data and clinical phenotyping to understand the syndrome's symptoms, which include hypotonia, facial dysmorphia, and various neurological and physical issues.
  • * Our findings reveal significant variability in the symptoms associated with TAF1 mutations, indicating challenges in pinpointing the exact effects of specific genetic changes, especially for genes on the X chromosome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a previous report showing white matter microstructural hemispheric asymmetries medial to the pallidum in focal dystonias, we showed preliminary evidence that this abnormality was reduced 4 weeks after botulinum toxin (BTX) injections. In the current study we report the completed treatment study in a full-size cohort of CD patients ( = 14). In addition to showing a shift toward normalization of the hemispheric asymmetry, we evaluated clinical relevance of these findings by relating white matter changes to degree of symptom improvement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To characterize the phenotypic spectrum associated with GNAO1 variants and establish genotype-protein structure-phenotype relationships.

Methods: We evaluated the phenotypes of 14 patients with GNAO1 variants, analyzed their variants for potential pathogenicity, and mapped them, along with those in the literature, on a three-dimensional structural protein model.

Results: The 14 patients in our cohort, including one sibling pair, had 13 distinct, heterozygous GNAO1 variants classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF