Performance of the German version of the PARCA-R questionnaire as a developmental screening tool in two-year-old very preterm infants.

Objective: To validate and test a German version of the revised Parent Report of Children's Abilities questionnaire (PARCA-R).

Methods: Multicentre cross-sectional study. Parents of infants born <32 gestational weeks, completed the PARCA-R within three weeks before the follow-up assessment of their child at age two years.

Effects of gestational age on brain volume and cognitive functions in generally healthy very preterm born children during school-age: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Objective: To determine whether the relationship of gestational age (GA) with brain volumes and cognitive functions is linear or whether it follows a threshold model in preterm and term born children during school-age.

Study Design: We studied 106 children (M = 10 years 1 month, SD = 16 months; 40 females) enrolled in primary school: 57 were healthy very preterm children (10 children born 24-27 completed weeks' gestation (extremely preterm), 14 children born 28-29 completed weeks' gestation, 19 children born 30-31 completed weeks' gestation (very preterm), and 14 born 32 completed weeks' gestation (moderately preterm)) all born appropriate for GA (AGA) and 49 term-born children. Neuroimaging involved voxel-based morphometry with the statistical parametric mapping software.

Attention problems in children with epilepsy. How is the long-term outcome?

Introduction: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and frequently seen in other conditions like epilepsy as well. The prevalence of ADHD in the general paediatric population is estimated at 3-6% persisting into adulthood in up to one third of persons affected. The prevalence of ADHD in epilepsy is understood to be significantly higher.

Congenital muscular dystrophy with dropped head phenotype and cognitive impairment due to a novel mutation in the LMNA gene.

Mutations in A-type nuclear lamins are known to cause a variety of diseases, which can affect almost all organs of the human body including striated muscle. For lamin-related congenital muscular dystrophy two different phenotypes are known to date. Here, we describe a 3-year-old, white Caucasian girl with a novel de novo mutation in the LMNA gene with marked hypotonia of neck and trunk muscles with dropped head posture, loss of cervical lordosis and marked joint laxity.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in childhood epilepsy: a neuropsychological and functional imaging study.

Purpose: Children with epilepsy have a significant risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is often accompanied by deficits in working memory performance. However, it is not yet clear whether there are specific differences in the underlying mechanisms of working memory capability between children with epilepsy-related ADHD and those with developmental ADHD. There is evidence that methylphenidate can improve the behavioral difficulties in children with developmental ADHD.

Structural and functional imaging approaches in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: does the temporal lobe play a key role?

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by widespread structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. We applied different structural imaging techniques such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) to study anatomical differences between boys with ADHD and healthy controls, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) together with independent component analysis (ICA) to detect functional alterations. 14 boys with ADHD and 12 controls were included in our study.

Decreased fractional anisotropy in the middle cerebellar peduncle in children with epilepsy and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a preliminary study.

Children with epilepsy are at increased risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has been shown that the cerebellum plays a major role in the pathophysiology of ADHD. We aimed to clarify whether children with combined epilepsy/ADHD have the same neurocerebellar pathophysiology as children with developmental ADHD.

Effects of methylphenidate on working memory functioning in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background And Aims: Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often show deficits in working memory performance. Methylphenidate (MPH) is an effective medication to improve these cognitive difficulties. This study aimed to clarify which effect MPH induces on the underlying functional networks of working memory.