Effects of long-chain PUFA supplementation in infant formula on cognitive function in later childhood.

Background: Evidence is accumulating that a dietary supply of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) enhances the development of attention and efficient information processing in infants. However, it is uncertain whether LC-PUFAs in infancy influence cognitive development in later childhood.

Objective: The objective was to determine the effects of dietary LC-PUFAs in infancy on measures of cognitive function at age 6 y.

Functional studies and proteomics in platelets and fibroblasts reveal a lysosomal defect with increased cathepsin-dependent apoptosis in ATP1A3 defective alternating hemiplegia of childhood.

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare syndrome with repeated hemiplegic episodes, paroxysmal events and global neurological impairment. Recently, heterozygous de novo ATP1A3 missense mutations have been identified in AHC patients, but the underlying pathogenesis mechanism remains unknown. Mutation analysis of ATP1A3 in 9 unrelated AHC cases revealed mostly D801N or E815K variants.

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood: metabolic studies in the largest European series of patients.

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder with diagnosis based on clinical criteria, as no laboratory, neuroradiological or genetic markers are currently available. The pathogenic mechanisms are still an enigma. Some hypotheses have been proposed such as hemiplegic migraine variant, epileptic mechanism, channelopathy and mitochondrial disorder, but none of these has been confirmed.

Evidence of a non-progressive course of alternating hemiplegia of childhood: study of a large cohort of children and adults.

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood is a neurological disorder characterized by episodes of hemiplegia, various non-epileptic paroxysmal events and global neurological impairment. Characterization of the evolution and outcome into adulthood has not been sufficiently investigated. The goal of this study was to elucidate the natural history of alternating hemiplegia within a large cohort of 157 patients, as part of the European Network for Research on Alternating Hemiplegia project.

The effect of glycaemia on the cerebral oxygenation in very low birthweight infants as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.

The cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI) and fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) reflect the cerebral oxygenation. We studied the effect of glycaemia on the TOI and FTOE, as measured by near-infrared-spectroscopy (NIRS). We continuously measured TOI, glycaemia, mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), saturation (SaO(2)) and transcutaneous carbon dioxide pressure (tPCO(2)) for at least 4 h during the first week of life in neonates with gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks and weight < 1500 g.

Use of tissue oxygenation index and fractional tissue oxygen extraction as non-invasive parameters for cerebral oxygenation. A validation study in piglets.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI), measured with spatially resolved spectroscopy (SRS), and the different oxygenation parameters. To evaluate the relation between a new parameter named fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) and the cerebral fractional oxygen extraction (FOE).

Methods: Six newborn piglets were measured at 33, 35, and 37 degrees C and in hypocapnia.

Variability in pain expression characteristics in former preterm infants.

Objectives: To document pain expression characteristics in former preterm infants in the first year of life in whom systematic evaluation and treatment of pain was provided.

Methods: Data on the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale (MBPS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, crying time and heart rate were collected during immunization. The effect of clinical characteristics {postconception and gestational age [PCA], surgery, ventilation, fentanyl, length of stay (LOS)} on bio-behavioral parameters was evaluated.

Measurement of the liver tissue oxygenation by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Objective: To study the relation between the liver tissue oxygenation index (TOI), transcutaneously measured with spatially resolved spectroscopy (a new method of near-infrared spectroscopy or NIRS), the mixed venous oxygen saturation and the blood flow in the different parts of the splanchnic circulation in newborn piglets.

Design: Tissue oxygenation index of the liver was measured in six newborn piglets at 33 degrees C, 35 degrees C, 37 degrees C and after a decrease in arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO(2)).

Measurements: Mixed venous oxygen saturation, blood gas analysis and peripheral oxygen saturation were measured at each step.

Quantitation of the concordance between cerebral intravascular oxygenation and mean arterial blood pressure for the detection of impaired autoregulation.

Since some important forms of brain injury in premature infants are caused in considerable part by disturbances in cerebral blood flow (CBF), it is important to be able to detect whether the cerebrovascular autoregulation, the mechanism by which CBF is maintained constant despite alterations in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), is working properly. A recent study suggested that concordant changes in MAP and cerebral intravascular oxygenation (HbD), measured non-invasively by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as the difference between the concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb), reflect impaired cerebrovascular autoregulation. Consequently, premature infants with impaired cerebrovascular autoregulation could be identified by simultaneous, continuous measurements of HbD and MAP.

Measurement of tissue oxygenation index during the first three days in premature born infants.

No normal values of tissue oxygenation index (TOI) of the brain are known regarding premature born infants. We measured TOI, a measure for the cerebral hemoglobin oxygen saturation, on the head of 15 preterm infants with a median postmenstrual age of 28 weeks (interquartile range (IQR) between 26-29 weeks) with spatially resolved spectroscopy (NIRO 300, Hamamatsu) during the first three days of life. Infants with intra-ventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leucomalacia before the first measurement, as shown by ultrasound, were excluded.

Risperidone in the treatment of childhood autistic disorder: an open pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of risperidone in childhood autistic disorder.

Methods: A multicenter, open-label, dose-titration study involving seven autistic children (mean age 7.6 years) receiving risperidone for 4 weeks.

Polyarthritis and humeral epiphysial separation in an infant with acute disseminated histoplasmosis.

The case of an immunocompetent infant with disseminated histoplasmosis is described. The case is unusual in its clinical presentation in that it is dominated, apart from respiratory infection, by the presence of polyarthritis and complicated by epiphysial separation of both humeri. There was only little involvement of reticuloendothelial tissues.