Predictive value of the General Movements Assessment and Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment in infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Aim: To compare the predictive values of the General Movements Assessment (GMA) and the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA) neurological scale for atypical neurodevelopmental outcome in 3-month-old at-risk infants.

Method: A total of 109 infants (gestational age 30 weeks; range: 24-41; 52 males) attending a non-academic outpatient clinic were assessed with the GMA and the SINDA at 3 (2-4) months corrected age. The GMA pays attention to the complexity of general movements and presence of fidgety movements.

Nanoparticle-enhanced proton beam immunoradiotherapy drives immune activation and durable tumor rejection.

The combination of radiation therapy (RT) and immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment option in oncology. Historically, x-ray radiation (XRT) has been the most commonly used form of RT. However, proton beam therapy (PBT) is gaining recognition as a viable alternative, as it has been shown to produce similar outcomes to XRT while minimizing off-target effects.

NBTXR3 improves the efficacy of immunoradiotherapy combining nonfucosylated anti-CTLA4 in an anti-PD1 resistant lung cancer model.

The efficacy of immunoradiotherapy consisting of radiation therapy and immune checkpoint blockade relies on effectively promoting the systemic antitumor immune response's activation while simultaneously reducing local factors favoring immune suppression. We previously demonstrated that NBTXR3, a nanoparticle radioenhancer, significantly improved immune responses in a murine anti-PD1-resistant metastatic lung cancer model. We hypothesize that radioactivated-NBTXR3 addition to anti-PD1 and a second-generation anti-CTLA4 could improve treatment effectiveness.

Vimentin and cytokeratin: Good alone, bad together.

The cytoskeleton plays an integral role in maintaining the integrity of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells primarily employ cytokeratin in their cytoskeleton, whereas mesenchymal cells use vimentin. During the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cytokeratin-positive epithelial cells begin to express vimentin.

Considering Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy: A Patient Decision Aid Video and Workbook.

Unlabelled: Women report difficulty understanding and personalizing breast reconstruction information during the complex and time-limited period of cancer treatment planning. Patient decision aids can help patients become well informed, form realistic expectations, prepare to communicate with the surgical team, and be more satisfied with their decision-making process.

Methods: We engaged patients, providers, and stakeholders in a user-centered design process to develop an online patient decision aid video and interactive workbook for breast reconstruction after mastectomy.

Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment developmental and socio-emotional scales: reliability and predictive value in an at-risk population.

Aim: To assess the reliability and predictive validity of the developmental and socio-emotional scales of the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA).

Method: To assess reliability, two sets of three assessors forming eight assessor-pairs independently rated the developmental and socio-emotional scales of 60 infants. To evaluate predictive validity, 223 infants (gestational age 30wks [range 23-41wks]; 117 males, 106 females) attending a non-academic outpatient clinic were assessed by different assessors with SINDA's neurological, developmental, and socio-emotional scales.

Reliability and predictive validity of the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment neurological scale.

Aim: To assess reliability and predictive validity of the neurological scale of the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA), a recently developed assessment for infants aged 6 weeks to 12 months.

Method: To assess reliability, three assessors independently rated video-recorded neurological assessments of 24 infants twice. Item difficulty and discrimination were determined.

Two-year development of children conceived by IVM: a prospective controlled single-blinded study.

Study Question: Is there a difference in mental development of children conceived by IVM in comparison to IVF or ICSI, independently, at the age of 2 years?

Summary Answer: No differences could be found in mental development of IVM children compared to IVF and IVM children compared to ICSI as well.

What Is Known Already: Only few retrospective or non-controlled studies addressed the health of IVM children and did not show a negative impact of the IVM procedure.

Study Design, Size, Duration: Prospective controlled single-blinded study including 63 pregnancies (21 per IVM, IVF and ICSI groups) with 70 children expected.

Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity suggest therapeutic implications in SCN2A-related disorders.

Mutations in SCN2A, a gene encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.2, have been associated with a spectrum of epilepsies and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we report the phenotypes of 71 patients and review 130 previously reported patients.

Cerebellar Bottom-of-Fissure Dysplasia-a Novel Cerebellar Gray Matter Neuroimaging Pattern.

We report on seven patients with a novel neuroimaging finding that involves exclusively the cerebellar gray matter at the bottom of several fissures of both hemispheres but spares the vermis. The abnormal fissures were predominantly located in the lower and lateral parts of the cerebellar hemispheres. The affected cerebellar cortex was hypointense on T1-weighted and hyperintense on T2-weighted and fluid attenuation inversion recovery sequences.

Phenotypic and molecular insights into CASK-related disorders in males.

Background: Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the X-linked CASK gene cause progressive microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH) and severe intellectual disability (ID) in females. Different CASK mutations have also been reported in males. The associated phenotypes range from nonsyndromic ID to Ohtahara syndrome with cerebellar hypoplasia.

Computer-based analysis of general movements reveals stereotypies predicting cerebral palsy.

Aim: To evaluate a kinematic paradigm of automatic general movements analysis in comparison to clinical assessment in 3-month-old infants and its prediction for neurodevelopmental outcome.

Method: Preterm infants at high risk (n=49; 26 males, 23 females) and term infants at low risk (n=18; eight males, 10 females) of developmental impairment were recruited from hospitals around Heidelberg, Germany. Kinematic analysis of general movements by magnet tracking and clinical video-based assessment of general movements were performed at 3 months of age.

Cognitive development in 7- to 24-month-old extremely/very-to-moderately/late preterm and full-term born infants: The mediating role of focused attention.

The present study analyzed the links between prematurity, attention, and global cognitive performance in infancy and early childhood. At 7 months, focused attention (FA) was examined with an object examination task in 93 preterm infants (39 of them born extremely/very preterm, 54 born moderately/late preterm, and 38 infants born full-term). Global cognition was assessed at 7 and 24 months with the Bayley-II cognitive scale.

Validation of a screening tool for attention and executive functions (EpiTrack Junior) in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy.

Objective: Our prospective study aimed at the validation of EpiTrack Junior, a neuropsychological screening tool for attention and executive functions in children with epilepsy.

Methods: Twenty-two children with absence epilepsy aged 8-17 years underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation including EpiTrack Junior and measures of intelligence, verbal and nonverbal memory, word fluency and visuoconstructive organization. Concurrent and discriminant validity of EpiTrack Junior subtests and total score as well as sensitivity and specificity of the total score were analyzed.

Pattern and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among pediatric patients with epilepsy.

Parents of pediatric patients with chronic conditions such as epilepsy increasingly opt for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, data on the pattern and reasons of CAM use in childhood epilepsy are scarce. The objectives of this study were as follows: first, to characterize CAM use among pediatric patients with epilepsy by assessing its spectrum, prevalence, costs, and frequency of use; second, to evaluate the influence of CAM use on compliance and satisfaction with conventional care as well as to explore parent-child neurologist communication concerning CAM; and third, to investigate predictors of CAM use.

Negative reactivity in toddlers born prematurely: indirect and moderated pathways considering self-regulation, neonatal distress and parenting stress.

High negative reactivity in early childhood interferes with later academic and behavioral adjustment. Thus, investigating the origins of high negative affectivity in early childhood is of high relevance for understanding emotional morbidity after preterm birth. The present work explored (1) direct prematurity-related consequences for negative reactivity, (2) self-regulatory deficits as a mechanism indirectly relating prematurity to negative affectivity and (3) the implications of the interplay between procedural distress in the neonatal period and parenting stress for preterm children's negative reactivity.

Comparison of the developmental tests Bayley-III and Bayley-II in 7-month-old infants born preterm.

The study aims on comparing Bayley Scales of infant development third (Bayley-III) and Bayley second (Bayley-II) edition with special focus on patterns in the first year of life. Fifty-five premature infants (43 with low birth weight/LBW >1,499 g and 12 with very/extremely low birth weight/VLBW/ELBW <1,500 g) aged 7 months (corrected for prematurity) were assessed with the complete Bayley-III. From this assessment, Bayley-II results were retrospectively estimated.

Kinematic assessment of stereotypy in spontaneous movements in infants.

Movement variation constitutes a crucial feature of infant motor development. Reduced variation of spontaneous infant movements, i.e.

Cognitive development in very vs. moderately to late preterm and full-term children: can effortful control account for group differences in toddlerhood?

Background: Preterm birth is thought to have an adverse impact on cognitive development and self-regulation.

Aim: Examining the effect of very vs. moderately to late premature birth on cognitive development and effortful control, as well as evaluating whether effortful control explains the link between preterm birth and poorer cognitive development.

Interpeduncular heterotopia in Joubert syndrome: a previously undescribed MR finding.

The so-called molar tooth sign is the radiologic hallmark of JSRD. Joubert syndrome is a rare, most often autosomal-recessive disorder with a characteristic malformation of the midhindbrain. We describe 3 patients with JSRD and the additional MR finding of tissue resembling heterotopia in the interpeduncular fossa, which in one patient was combined with a more extensive intramesencephalic heterotopia.

Quantitative score for the evaluation of kinematic recordings in neuropediatric diagnostics. Detection of complex patterns in spontaneous limb movements.

Objective: Evaluation of spontaneous infant movements is an important tool for the detection of neurological impairments. One important aspect of this evaluation is the observation of movements which exhibit certain complex properties. This article presents a method to automatically extract segments which contain such complex patterns in order to quantitatively assess them.

Compensation of large motion sensor displacements during long recordings of limb movements.

In motion capture applications using electromagnetic tracking systems the process of anatomical calibration associates the technical frames of sensors attached to the skin with the human anatomy. Joint centers and axes are determined relative to these frames. A change of orientation of the sensor relative to the skin renders this calibration faulty.