Publications by authors named "Mary-Ann Matzinger"

Article Synopsis
  • The study explored factors affecting spinal reshaping in children with leukemia and other conditions who were treated with glucocorticoids (GC), analyzing 79 kids over 6 years.
  • Results showed that 82.3% of the children had complete vertebral body reshaping within 1.3 years, with more success in the thoracic region than the lumbar region.
  • Increased GC exposure, a higher spinal deformity index (SDI), and more severe or additional vertebral fractures negatively impacted the likelihood of reshaping, indicating these children could be at risk for lasting spinal issues.
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Purpose: Prevention of fractures is an unmet need in glucocorticoid (GC)-treated Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This study explored factors associated with incident vertebral fractures (VFs) to inform future fracture prevention efforts.

Methods: VFs were evaluated prospectively at study baseline and 12 months on lateral spine radiographs in participants aged 4 to 25 years with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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Osteonecrosis (ON) is a serious complication of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We determined the prevalence of osteonecrotic lesions in our patient population by a one-time multisite magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) more than 1 year following leukemia therapy. MRI findings were evaluated in relationship to clinical factors (including longitudinal changes in bone mineral density [BMD]).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the high prevalence of vertebral fractures (VF) in boys and young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) due to muscle weakness and osteoporosis caused by steroid treatment.
  • Researchers analyzed clinical factors in 60 participants aged 4-25, finding that those with VF were generally shorter and had longer exposure to glucocorticoids, along with greater bone age delay and lower lumbar spine bone mineral density.
  • Results showed that every 0.1 mg/kg/day increase in glucocorticoid dosage significantly raised the risk of spinal deformities, indicating a direct link between steroid treatment and bone fragility in DMD patients.
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Although bone fragility may already be present at diagnosis of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), routine performance of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in every child is not universally feasible. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a risk prediction model for low lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS BMD Z-score ≤ -2.0) at diagnosis, as an important indicator for fracture risk and further treatment-related BMD aggravation.

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Context: Osteoporotic fractures are an important cause of morbidity in children with glucocorticoid-treated rheumatic disorders.

Objective: This work aims to evaluate the incidence and predictors of osteoporotic fractures and potential for recovery over six years following glucocorticoid (GC) initiation in children with rheumatic disorders.

Methods: Children with GC-treated rheumatic disorders were evaluated through a prospective inception cohort study led by the Canadian STeroid-induced Osteoporosis in the Pediatric Population (STOPP) Consortium.

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Vertebral fractures are clinically important sequelae of a wide array of pediatric diseases. In this study, we examined the accuracy of case-finding strategies for detecting incident vertebral fractures (IVF) over 2 years in glucocorticoid-treated children (n = 343) with leukemia, rheumatic disorders, or nephrotic syndrome. Two clinical situations were addressed: the prevalent vertebral fracture (PVF) scenario (when baseline PVF status was known), which assessed the utility of PVF and low lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS BMD; Z-score <-1.

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Due to concerns about cumulative radiation exposure in the pediatric population, it is not standard practice to perform spine radiographs in most conditions that predispose to vertebral fracture (VF). In this study we examined the accuracy of two clinical predictors, back pain and lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS BMD), to derive four case-finding paradigms for detection of prevalent VF (PVF). Subjects were 400 children at risk for PVF (leukemia 186, rheumatic disorders 135, nephrotic syndrome 79).

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Giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB) may be difficult to resect because of size or location. We describe two adolescents who were treated with denosumab and followed for tumoral and biochemical responses. Denosumab was effective in achieving sufficient regression to allow surgical resection and in preserving peritumor cortical bone.

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Objective: To assess the effect of vertebral fractures (VF) and glucocorticoid (GC) exposure on height deficits in children during treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Methods: Children with ALL treated without cranial radiation therapy (n = 160; median age, 5.1 years; 58.

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Osteoporotic fractures are a significant cause of morbidity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our objective was to determine the incidence and predictors of fractures and recovery from osteoporosis in pediatric ALL over 6 years following glucocorticoid initiation. Vertebral fractures (VF) and vertebral body reshaping were assessed on annual spine radiographs, low-trauma non-VF were recorded at regular intervals and spine bone mineral density (BMD) was captured every 6 months for 4 years and then annually.

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Vertebral fractures (VF) are a frequent complication of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Some children with VF undergo vertebral body reshaping to the point of complete restoration of normal vertebral dimensions. Others are left with permanent vertebral deformity if the degree of reshaping has been incomplete by the time of final adult height attainment.

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A number of unusual conditions cause decreased bone mass and density in children and these may be associated with low-trauma fractures. However, a series of reports have more recently identified that children with chronic disease sustain vertebral fractures (VFs) much more often than had been suspected. The common denominator involved is glucocorticoid (GC) administration, although other factors such as disease activity come into play.

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Objectives: The purpose of this article was to determine the incidence and predictors of vertebral fractures (VF) during the 4 years after diagnosis in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Patients And Methods: Children were enrolled within 30 days of chemotherapy initiation, with incident VF assessed annually on lateral spine radiographs according to the Genant method. Extended Cox models were used to assess the association between incident VF and clinical predictors.

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Children with glucocorticoid-treated illnesses are at risk for osteoporotic vertebral fractures, and growing awareness of this has led to increased monitoring for these fractures. However scant literature describes developmental changes in vertebral morphology that can mimic fractures. The goal of this paper is to aid in distinguishing between normal variants and fractures.

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Vertebral fractures are an important yet underrecognized manifestation of osteoporosis in children with chronic, glucocorticoid-treated illnesses. Our goal was to determine the incidence and clinical predictors of vertebral fractures in the 3 years following glucocorticoid initiation among pediatric patients with rheumatic disorders. Incident vertebral fractures were evaluated according to the Genant semiquantitative method on lateral radiographs at baseline and then annually in the 3 years following glucocorticoid initiation.

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Objectives: Our objectives were to assess the magnitude of the disparity in lumbar spine bone mineral density (LSBMD) Z-scores generated by different reference databases and to evaluate whether the relationship between LSBMD Z-scores and vertebral fractures (VF) varies by choice of database.

Patients And Design: Children with leukemia underwent LSBMD by cross-calibrated dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, with Z-scores generated according to Hologic and Lunar databases. VF were assessed by the Genant method on spine radiographs.

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Background: The Genant semiquantitative (GSQ) method has been a standard procedure for diagnosis of vertebral fractures in adults but has only recently been shown to be of clinical utility in children. Observer agreement using the GSQ method in this age group has not been described.

Objective: To evaluate observer agreement on vertebral readability and vertebral fracture diagnosis using the GSQ method in pediatric vertebral morphometry.

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Purpose: Vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis are a potential complication of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To date, the incidence of vertebral fractures during ALL treatment has not been reported.

Patient And Methods: We prospectively evaluated 155 children with ALL during the first 12 months of leukemia therapy.

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Glucocorticoids (GCs) are associated with fragility fractures in children with various chronic illnesses. The impact of GCs on bone health in children with nephrotic syndrome (NS) is less well understood. Here we report skeletal findings in a 10-year-old boy with steroid-sensitive NS who presented with back pain due to vertebral fractures 5 years after NS diagnosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Children with cerebral palsy from periventricular leukomalacia often experience unprovoked seizures, with a study showing that 26% of the analyzed group had epilepsy.
  • Significant risk factors for epilepsy included different types of cerebral palsy, mental disabilities, visual impairments, and history of neonatal seizures, with neonatal seizures being a particularly strong predictor.
  • This research is unique as it specifically links neonatal seizures to later epilepsy in children with this specific cerebral pathology, contributing to the understanding of epilepsy risk in these patients.
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The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning and neuroimaging in children with leukemia treated with the Pediatric Oncology Group 9605 protocol at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Mean age at diagnosis was 4.88 +/- 2.

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