Bipolar Disorder in Children With ADHD: A Clinical Sample Study.

Objective: To explore the impact of early-onset bipolar disorder (pediatric bipolar disorder [PBD]) on ADHD.

Method: We compared ADHD symptom severity, ADHD subtype distribution, and rates of comorbid and familial psychiatric disorders between 49 ADHD children with comorbid PBD and 320 ADHD children without PBD.

Results: Children with ADHD and PBD showed higher scores in the Hyperactive and Inattentive subscales of the ADHD Rating Scale, than children with ADHD alone.

Epilepsy and cerebral palsy: characteristics and trends in children born in 1976-1998.

Background: Although epilepsy is common in children with cerebral palsy (CP), no data exists on prevalence rates of CP and epilepsy.

Aims: To describe epilepsy in children with CP, and to examine the association between epilepsy and neonatal characteristics, associated impairments and CP subtypes.

Methods: Data on 9654 children with CP born between 1976 and 1998 and registered in 17 European registers belonging to the SCPE network (Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe) were analyzed.

The forward parachute reaction and independent walking in infants with brain lesions.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the onset of forward parachute reaction (FPR) in infants with brain lesions and its correlation with age of walking.

Method: FPR was assessed at 6, 9, and 12 months in 140 infants with brain lesions (78 males, 62 females; mean gestational age 31 wks; SD 3.6 wks; mean birthweight 1450 g, SD 252 g).

Epigenetic modification of the FMR1 gene in fragile X syndrome is associated with differential response to the mGluR5 antagonist AFQ056.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an X-linked condition associated with intellectual disability and behavioral problems. It is caused by expansion of a CGG repeat in the 5' untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. This mutation is associated with hypermethylation at the FMR1 promoter and resultant transcriptional silencing.

Treatment with valproic acid ameliorates ADHD symptoms in fragile X syndrome boys.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading cause of inherited mental retardation, due to expansion and methylation of the CGG sequence at the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. Around 90% of affected boys present with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while this percentage is lower in FXS girls (35-47%). Treatment of these behavioral symptoms is critical for many families.