Altered structural connectome and motor problems of very preterm born children at school-age.

Infants born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) show distinct cognitive and motor problems throughout childhood. This study aims 1) to investigate differences in the structural connectome between very preterm born children and term born controls at school-age, and 2) to examine the relationship of the structural connectome with cognitive and motor problems. This study included 29 very preterm (12 males, mean age 8.

Voluntary and Involuntary Control of Attention in Adolescents Born Very Preterm: A Study of Eye Movements.

Very preterm birth is associated with attention deficits that interfere with academic performance. A better understanding of attention processes is necessary to support very preterm born children. This study examined voluntary and involuntary attentional control in very preterm born adolescents by measuring saccadic eye movements.

Social Adjustment in Adolescents Born Very Preterm: Evidence for a Cognitive Basis of Social Problems.

Objective: To increase the understanding of social adjustment and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in adolescents born very preterm by studying the role of emotion recognition and cognitive control processes in the relation between very preterm birth and social adjustment.

Study Design: A Dutch cohort of 61 very preterm and 61 full-term adolescents aged 13 years participated. Social adjustment was rated by parents, teachers, and adolescents and autism spectrum disorder symptoms by parents.

Neurocognitive processes underlying academic difficulties in very preterm born adolescents.

Very preterm birth is associated with academic difficulties, but the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms of these difficulties remain largely unclear. The present study aimed to assess the role of working memory (WM), attentional processes, and processing speed in academic difficulties of very preterm born adolescents at 13 years. Participants included 55 very preterm and 61 full-term adolescents.

Implicit Learning Abilities in Adolescents Born Very Preterm.

Very preterm birth is associated with neurodevelopmental impairments and outcomes have not improved over the last decades. Insight in learning processes is important for the development of effective interventions. Implicit learning is of particular interest because of its independence from working memory processes that are affected by preterm birth.

EEG profiles and associated neurodevelopmental outcomes after very preterm birth.

Objectives: To assess brain oscillations in very preterm and full-term born adolescents and explore subgroups based on integrative patterns of brain oscillations with different frequencies. Additionally, subgroups were related to functional outcomes and very preterm birth.

Methods: A Dutch cohort of 53 very preterm and 61 full-term born adolescents aged 13 years participated.

Academic trajectories of very preterm born children at school age.

Objectives: To characterise the developmental trajectories of arithmetic, reading comprehension and spelling abilities of very preterm and full-term born children during primary school.

Design: A longitudinal analysis of academic performance data of very preterm and full-term born children was performed. Academic performance was assessed in grade 1-6 of primary school using a pupil monitoring system, with 11 measurements of arithmetic and spelling performance and 7 measurements of reading comprehension.

Cognitive Outcomes of Children Born Extremely or Very Preterm Since the 1990s and Associated Risk Factors: A Meta-analysis and Meta-regression.

Importance: Despite apparent progress in perinatal care, children born extremely or very preterm (EP/VP) remain at high risk for cognitive deficits. Insight into factors contributing to cognitive outcome is key to improve outcomes after EP/VP birth.

Objective: To examine the cognitive abilities of children of EP/VP birth (EP/VP children) and the role of perinatal and demographic risk factors.

A randomised trial of enteral glutamine supplementation for very preterm children showed no beneficial or adverse long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Aim: This study evaluated the long-term effects of enteral glutamine supplementation on neurodevelopmental outcomes of a Dutch cohort of very preterm children at 13 years of age.

Methods: The cohort was enrolled in a randomised placebo-controlled trial between 2001 and 2003 in which infants received glutamine- or alanine-supplemented enteral nutrition during the first month of life. Participants were invited for follow-up at a mean age of 13.

Academic performance of children born preterm: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Background: Advances in neonatal healthcare have resulted in decreased mortality after preterm birth but have not led to parallel decreases in morbidity. Academic performance provides insight in the outcomes and specific difficulties and needs of preterm children.

Objective: To study academic performance in preterm children born in the antenatal steroids and surfactant era and possible moderating effects of perinatal and demographic factors.

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children.

Background: Attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits reported in very preterm children (below 32 wk of gestation) at school age. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the brain abnormalities underlying attention problems in very preterm children by investigating the role of abnormalities in white and gray brain matter during interference control, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-guided probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography.

Methods: Twenty-nine very preterm children (mean (SD) age: 8.

A crucial role of altered fractional anisotropy in motor problems of very preterm children.

Background: Very preterm children (<32 weeks of gestation) are characterized by impaired white matter development as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA). This study investigates whether altered FA values underpin the widespread motor impairments and higher incidence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in very preterm children at school-age.

Methods: Thirty very preterm born children (mean (SD) age of 8.

Visual search and attention in five-year-old very preterm/very low birth weight children.

Introduction: This study aimed to establish visual search performance and attention functioning in very preterm/very low birth weight (VP/VLBW) children using novel and well established measures, and to study their contribution to intellectual functioning.

Methods: Visual search and attention network efficiency were assessed in 108 VP/VLBW children and 72 age matched term controls at 5.5 years corrected age.

Perinatal infections and neurodevelopmental outcome in very preterm and very low-birth-weight infants: a meta-analysis.

Importance: Perinatal infections are commonly present in preterm and very low-birth-weight (VLWB) infants and might contribute to adverse neurodevelopmental outcome.

Objective: To summarize studies evaluating the effect of perinatal infections on neurodevelopmental outcome in very preterm/VLBW infants.

Evidence Review: On December 12, 2011, we searched Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Knowledge for studies on infections and neurodevelopmental outcome.

Predictive value of the Bayley scales of infant development on development of very preterm/very low birth weight children: a meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: The Bayley scales of infant development (BSID) is the most widely used measure to assess neurodevelopment of very preterm (gestational age ≤32 weeks) and very low birth weight (VLBW, ≤1500 g) infants in the first three years of life. This meta-analysis determines the predictive value of the mental developmental index (MDI) and the psychomotor developmental index (PDI)/motor composite, collectively referred to as Bayley motor scale, of the BSID-I, -II and Bayley-III for later cognitive and motor functioning in very preterm/VLBW children.

Methods: Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsychINFO and CINAHL were searched for English-language peer-reviewed studies published before March 2013.

Glutamine effects on brain growth in very preterm children in the first year of life.

Background & Aims: Glutamine supplementation in the neonatal period has been associated with increased brain structure volumes at school-age in very preterm children. The aim of this study was to clarify the emergence and specificity of differences in brain structure volumes, using growth trajectories of head circumference, weight, and length.

Methods: Sixty-five very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) children, who originally took part in a randomized controlled trial on glutamine supplementation, participated.

The crucial role of the predictability of motor response in visuomotor deficits in very preterm children at school age.

Aim: We aimed to clarify the underpinnings of widespread visuomotor deficits in very preterm children.

Method: Fifty-eight very preterm children (26 males, 32 females; mean [SD] age 7 y 6 mo [5 mo], gestational age 29.2 wks [1.

Effects of glutamine on brain development in very preterm children at school age.

Objectives: The amino acid glutamine has been shown to reduce the number of serious neonatal infections in very preterm children, which may benefit long-term brain development. The aims of the current follow-up study were to (1) determine the long-term effects of glutamine-enriched feeding in the first month after birth in very preterm children on measures of brain development at school age, and (2) elucidate a potential mediating role of serious neonatal infections.

Methods: Fifty-two very preterm children who originally took part in a randomized controlled trial on enteral glutamine supplementation between day 3 and 30 after birth participated at a mean (SD) age of 8.

Post-traumatic amnesia predicts intelligence impairment following traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis.

Context: Worldwide, millions of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) suffer from persistent and disabling intelligence impairment. Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) duration is a promising predictor of intelligence following TBI.

Objectives: To determine (1) the impact of TBI on intelligence throughout the lifespan and (2) the predictive value of PTA duration for intelligence impairment, using meta-analytic methods.

Attention problems of very preterm children compared with age-matched term controls at school-age.

Objectives: To clarify the severity, specificity, and neurocognitive underpinnings of attention problems in very preterm children.

Study Design: A sample of 66 preterm (<32 weeks gestation), mean (SD) age 7.5 (0.

Placental pathology and long-term neurodevelopment of very preterm infants.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare neonatal morbidity and long-term neurodevelopmental outcome between very preterm infants with placental underperfusion and very preterm infants with histological chorioamnionitis.

Study Design: We measured the mental and motor development at age 2 and 7 years in 51 very preterm infants with placental underperfusion and 21 very preterm infants with histological chorioamnionitis.

Results: At 2 years, very preterm infants with placental underperfusion had poorer mental development than very preterm infants with histological chorioamnionitis (mean [SD] 90.

Effects of neonatal enteral glutamine supplementation on cognitive, motor and behavioural outcomes in very preterm and/or very low birth weight children at school age.

In very preterm ( < 32 weeks of gestation) and/or very low birth weight (VLBW, < 1500 g birth weight) children, serious neonatal infections are among the main causes of poor developmental outcomes later in childhood. The amino acid glutamine has been shown to reduce the incidence of serious neonatal infections in very preterm and/or VLBW children, while developmental effects beyond 24 months are unknown. We determined the cognitive, motor and behavioural outcomes at school age of a cohort of sixty-four very preterm and/or VLBW children (aged 7·5 (sd 0·4) years) who participated in a randomised placebo-controlled trial using enteral glutamine between day 3 and day 30 of life.

Brain development of very preterm and very low-birthweight children in childhood and adolescence: a meta-analysis.

Aim: The aim of this article was to clarify the impact and consequences of very preterm birth (born <32wks of gestation) and/or very low birthweight ([VLBW], weighing <1500g) on brain volume development throughout childhood and adolescence.

Method: The computerized databases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and EMBASE were searched for studies that reported volumetric outcomes during childhood or adolescence using magnetic resonance imaging and included a term-born comparison group. Fifteen studies were identified, encompassing 818 very preterm/VLBW children and 450 term-born peers.

Lower limb muscle strength (LLMS): why sedentary life should never start? A review.

Aging coincides with a decline in LLMS. Preserving LLMS may be considered a very important determinant of functional independence in the elderly. To maintain LLMS the question arises whether habitual physical activities (HPA) can prevent a decline in LLMS.