Periodic limb movements during sleep in children with narcolepsy.

Study Objectives: In adults with narcolepsy, periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS) occur more frequently than in control population, and presence of increased PLMS is associated with greater sleep disruption and shorter mean sleep latency. This study was performed to determine whether PLMS are common in children with narcolepsy, and whether the presence of PLMS is associated with greater sleep disruption.

Design: Demographic and polysomnographic information were collected from consecutive patients diagnosed with narcolepsy identified retrospectively by diagnosis-based search.

Pontine tegmental cap dysplasia with a 2q13 microdeletion involving the NPHP1 gene: insights into malformations of the mid-hindbrain.

The case of a young man with multiple brain and somatic anomalies that presented diagnostic difficulties, is discussed in this report. A majority of his features were suggestive of Joubert syndrome--although it was felt that he did not fully meet diagnostic criteria. The subsequent evaluations included a magnetic resonance image of the brain, that was found to be consistent with pontine tegmental cap dysplasia.

Anxiety in children with epilepsy.

Although the prevalence is unknown, affective disorders are more common in children with epilepsy than in healthy controls. The purpose of the present study was to examine the occurrence of anxiety in children and adolescents with epilepsy and to determine factors associated with elevation of these symptoms. Children and adolescents (n=101) between the ages of 6 and 16 years were given the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS).

Functional MRI and Wada determination of language lateralization: a case of crossed dominance.

The Wada test has historically been the conventional procedure for determining language lateralization before neurosurgery. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a less invasive alternative to the Wada procedure. Research indicates that the two techniques used together may provide comparable, and sometimes complementary, information that results in improved prediction of postsurgical language ability.

Parental anxiety and quality of life in children with epilepsy.

Parental beliefs and attitudes concerning epilepsy may significantly impact adjustment and quality of life for both the child and family. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental anxiety and quality of life in pediatric patients with ongoing epilepsy. Subjects were parents (n=200) of children between the ages of 6 and 16 years who had been diagnosed and treated for epilepsy for at least 1 year.

Symptom differences in children with absence seizures versus inattention.

Objective. Differentiation between the diagnoses of absence seizures and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Predominantly Inattentive Type, is frequently confounded by similarities in symptom presentation. The purpose of the present study was to determine symptoms that would distinguish between the disorders.

Factors Associated with Academic Achievement in Children with Controlled Epilepsy.

Children with epilepsy are at risk for academic underachievement. Multiple etiologies for this academic vulnerability have been suggested by past research including lower self-esteem, inattention, memory inefficiency, and lower socioeconomic status. The present study assessed 65 children (mean age = 10 years, 5 months) with well-controlled epilepsy on the four primary factors, as well as academic achievement and intelligence.

The course of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms in children with new onset seizures.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms in children with newly diagnosed epilepsy, explore the course of these symptoms over time, and examine factors associated with change in these symptoms. Parents of children (n=42) were administered the Attention Deficit Disorder Evaluation Scale-Home Version (ADDES-HV) at the time of diagnosis. The ADDES-HV was readministered after the child's seizures were controlled.

Screening for autoantibodies in children with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia.

Various paraneoplastic autoantibodies have been linked to discrete neurologic syndromes and tumors in adults, but little is known about their incidence in children. We report a cross-sectional study of known paraneoplastic antibodies in 59 children with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia, 86% of whom were moderately or severely symptomatic, and 68% of whom had relapsed at the time of testing. This total number of patients includes 18 children with low-stage neuroblastoma (tested after tumor resection), six of whom had never been treated with immunosuppressants.