Health status and public health needs in a Togolese child health care centre modelled after the Dutch system.

Background: The charity foundation Association Soutien Enfants Togo started a child health care (CHC) centre in Togo that was modelled after the Dutch high-quality CHC system to improve child health.

Aim: To describe health care data of children who visited the centre.

Subjects And Methods: Data were routinely collected between October 2010-July 2017.

Changes in neonatal morbidity, neonatal care practices, and length of hospital stay of surviving infants born very preterm in the Netherlands in the 1980s and in the 2000s: a comparison analysis with identical characteristics definitions.

Background: This study evaluates changes in the neonatal morbidity, the neonatal care practices, and the length of hospital stay of surviving very preterm (VP) infants born in the Netherlands in the 1980s and in the 2000s; a period over which historical improvements were introduced into neonatal care. We, herein, also study whether these changes in neonatal morbidity, neonatal care practices and length of hospital stay are associated with sociodemographic, prenatal, and infant characteristics.

Methods: Two community-based cohorts from 1983 (POPS) and 2002-03 (LOLLIPOP) have provided the perinatal data for our study.

Frequency of euthanasia, factors associated with end-of-life practices, and quality of end-of-life care in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the Netherlands: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive and lethal neurodegenerative disease that is at the forefront of debates on regulation of assisted dying. Since 2002, when euthanasia was legally regulated in the Netherlands, the frequency of this end-of-life practice has increased substantially from 1·7% of all deaths in 1990 and 2005 to 4·5% in 2015. We aimed to investigate whether the frequency of euthanasia in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis had similarly increased since 2002, and to assess the factors associated with end-of-life practices and the quality of end-of-life care in patients with this disease.

Development of a Rasch-Built Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Impairment Multidomain Scale to Measure Disease Progression in ALS.

Background And Objectives: Current scales used in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) attempt to summarize different functional domains or "dimensions" into 1 overall score, which may not accurately characterize the individual patient's disease severity or prognosis. The use of composite score risks declaring treatments ineffective if not all dimensions of ALS disease progression are affected equally. We aimed to develop the ALS Impairment Multidomain Scale (AIMS) to comprehensively characterize disease progression and increase the likelihood of identifying effective treatments.

Improving behavioural compliance with the COVID-19 precautionary measures by means of innovative communication strategies: Social experimental studies.

Objectives: Behavioural measures such as social distancing are crucial to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People sometimes have difficulty to comply with these behavioural measures for various reasons. Insight is needed into evidence-based strategies that can promote compliance.

Adaptation and norming of the Edinburgh Cognitive and behavioural amyotrophic lateral sclerosis screen (ECAS) for three language groups in South Africa.

To adapt and translate the Edinburgh Cognitive and behavioural amyotrophic lateral sclerosis screen (ECAS); to generate preliminary normative data for three language groups in South Africa (SA); to assess the convergent validity of the ECAS in SA samples. : The ECAS was linguistically and culturally adapted for Afrikaans-, isiXhosa-, and English-speaking SA adults ( = 108, 100, and 53, respectively). Each language group was stratified by age and educational level.

Maternal education and cognitive development in 15 European very-preterm birth cohorts from the RECAP Preterm platform.

Background: Studies are sparse and inconclusive about the association between maternal education and cognitive development among children born very preterm (VPT). Although this association is well established in the general population, questions remain about its magnitude among children born VPT whose risks of medical and developmental complications are high. We investigated the association of maternal education with cognitive outcomes in European VPT birth cohorts.

Reproductive risks in 35-year-old adults born very preterm and/or with very low birth weight: an observational study.

Evidence suggests that increased survival over the last decades of very preterm (VPT; gestational age < 32 weeks)- and very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight < 1500 g)-born infants is not matched by improved outcomes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the reproductive rate, fertility, and pregnancy complications in 35-year-old VPT/VLBW subjects. All Dutch VPT/VLBW infants born alive in 1983 and surviving until age 35 (n = 955) were eligible for a POPS-35 study.

The Distinct Traits of the UNC13A Polymorphism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Objective: The rs12608932 single nucleotide polymorphism in UNC13A is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) susceptibility, and may underlie differences in treatment response. We aimed to characterize the clinical, cognitive, behavioral, and neuroimaging phenotype of UNC13A in patients with ALS.

Methods: We included 2,216 patients with ALS without a C9orf72 mutation to identify clinical characteristics associated with the UNC13A polymorphism.

Multimodal longitudinal study of structural brain involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objective: To understand the progressive nature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by investigating differential brain patterns of gray and white matter involvement in clinically or genetically defined subgroups of patients using cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multimodal MRI.

Methods: We assessed cortical thickness, subcortical volumes, and white matter connectivity from T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRI in 292 patients with ALS (follow-up: n = 150) and 156 controls (follow-up: n = 72). Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess changes in structural brain measurements over time in patients compared to controls.

Development and assessment of the inter-rater and intra-rater reproducibility of a self-administration version of the ALSFRS-R.

Objective: The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) is widely applied to assess disease severity and progression in patients with motor neuron disease (MND). The objective of the study is to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reproducibility, i.e.

Pivotal response treatment: A study into the relationship between therapist characteristics and fidelity of implementation.

Pivotal response treatment is a naturalistic behavioral intervention that teaches pivotal skills to children with autism spectrum disorder to produce widespread gains in other skills. Although most children with autism spectrum disorder benefit from pivotal response treatment, intervention outcomes vary considerably among children. Fidelity of intervention implementation (i.

A neuropsychological and behavioral study of PLS.

: Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a rare motor neuron disease characterized by progressive degeneration of upper motor neurons, resulting in spasticity and disability. There is, however, mounting evidence that the disease is not limited to upper motor neurons alone and that cognitive and behavioral changes within the spectrum of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are part of the clinical phenotype. : To provide an in-depth classification of the cognitive and behavioral profiles of PLS by using the golden standard, a full neuropsychological evaluation, as well as a comprehensive behavioral assessment in a cohort of 30 cases.

Psychological distress and coping styles of caregivers of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a longitudinal study.

: To assess psychological distress levels over time in caregivers of patients in the early stage of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to investigate the association between caregivers' coping styles and psychological distress over time. : Fifty-four caregivers were followed in a RCT of patients in the early stage of ALS. Questionnaires were administered at baseline, 4, 7, and 10 months.

Derivation of norms for the Dutch version of the Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral ALS screen.

Background: The Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral ALS screen (ECAS) was developed specifically to detect cognitive and behavioral changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Differences with regard to normative data of different (language) versions of neuropsychological tests such as the ECAS exist.

Objective: To derive norms for the Dutch version of the ECAS.

Cognitive and behavioural changes in PLS and PMA:challenging the concept of restricted phenotypes.

Objectives: Cognitive and behavioural changes within the spectrum of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are observed frequently in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Whether these changes also occur in other forms of motor neuron disease (MND) is not well studied. We therefore systemically screened a large cohort of patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) and progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) for cognitive and behavioural changes, and subsequently compared our findings with a cohort of patients with ALS.

Caregiver burden in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A systematic review.

Background: Informal caregivers of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis experience increased levels of caregiver burden as the disease progresses. Insight in the factors related to caregiver burden is needed in order to develop supportive interventions.

Aim: To evaluate the evidence on patient and caregiver factors associated with caregiver burden in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis informal caregivers.

Assessment of the factorial validity and reliability of the ALSFRS-R: a revision of its measurement model.

The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R) is a widely used primary outcome measure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical practice and clinical trials. ALSFRS-R items cannot, however, validly be summed to obtain a total score, but constitute domain scores reflecting a profile of disease severity. Currently, there are different measurement models for estimating domain scores.