Shifting of the body center of gravity in low-risk preterm infants: A video-pedoscope study.

Aim: To evaluate whether there is any developmental course of the shifting of the center of gravity (COG) in healthy preterm infants.

Methods: Eleven healthy preterm infants were assessed on a computerized pedoscope from early preterm to term age. Data from the pedoscope and the videorecorder were analyzed with a special software for the assessment of the COG shifting.

Case report: Retracing atypical development: a preserved speech variant of Rett syndrome.

The subject of the present study is the development of a girl with the preserved speech variant of Rett disorder. Our data are based on detailed retrospective and prospective video analyses. Despite achieving developmental milestones, movement quality was already abnormal during the girl's first half year of life.

Quantitative aspects of the early motor repertoire in preterm infants: do they predict minor neurological dysfunction at school age?

Background: Qualitative aspects of the motor repertoire, at 11-16 weeks post-term are predictive for minor neurological dysfunction (MND) at 7 to 11 years of age. Predictive value of quantitative aspects is unknown so far.

Aim: To investigate whether quantitative aspects of the motor repertoire between 6 and 24 weeks post-term also have predictive value for neurological outcome at 7 to 11 years of age.

The quality of the early motor repertoire in preterm infants predicts minor neurologic dysfunction at school age.

Objective: The quality of a child's motor repertoire at age 3 to 4 months postterm is predictive of later cerebral palsy (CP). Its predictive power for minor neurologic dysfunction (MND) is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of the quality of the early motor repertoire for the development of MND at school age.

From the reaching behavior at 5 months of age to hand preference at preschool age.

The aim of the study was to examine the reaching behavior at the age of 5 months, and to determine whether and to what extent there is a relationship between hand use at this age and manual laterality at preschool age. 20 participants (13 girls and 7 boys) were investigated on two occasions: At the age of 5 months we assessed the hand use for reaching for four different objects placed at the infant's body midline or in their right or left hemispaces, respectively. At the age of 5 years and 7 months, we assessed the hand use for 22 motor tasks.

General movements in infants with autism spectrum disorders.

General movements (GMs) are a distinct movement pattern carried out spontaneously without external stimulation and seen in fetuses of 9 weeks gestational age till 21 weeks postterm. GMs are helpful in the early diagnosis of an impaired central nervous system and the specific prediction of later neurological deficits. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving a life-long deficit in several aspects of the social and communicative behavior.

A longitudinal study on hand use while building a tower.

The aim of the study was to describe a developmental trend of hand use for picking up and stacking blocks from the age of 18 months to 7 years. A second aim was to determine whether there is a relationship between right-hand use while building a tower and manual laterality at school age. A total of 28 children were asked to build a tower at five longitudinal assessments.

Are abnormal fidgety movements an early marker for complex minor neurological dysfunction at puberty?

Background: Prechtl's method on the qualitative assessment of general movements (GMs) is a powerful tool for early and specific prediction of cerebral palsy. However, it is uncertain whether the GM assessment can be used to predict mild neurological impairment.

Aims: To determine whether the quality of general movements (GMs) from the age of 3 to 5 months, i.

Events at early development: are they associated with early word production and neurodevelopmental abilities at the preschool age?

Background: Obstetrical and neonatal complications and/or an adverse parenting environment are risk factors for language impairment, but little is known about their effects on early word production (late talking).

Aims: To determine obstetrical and neonatal risk factors in children with delayed word production; to assess the influence of the parenting environment on word production; to determine whether the toddler's vocabulary competence is related to his/her social competence; to document the neurodevelopmental outcome at the late preschool age.

Study Design: Prospective follow-up study.

Abnormal general movements in girls with Rett disorder: the first four months of life.

An apparently normal early development was one of the initial criteria for classical Rett syndrome. However, several investigators considered Rett syndrome to be a developmental disorder manifesting very soon after birth. Videos of 14 infants with Rett disorder were carefully assessed for their spontaneous movements, in particular general movements (GMs), during the first 4 months of life.

Does a detailed assessment of poor repertoire general movements help to identify those infants who will develop normally?

Background: The assessment of the quality of general movements (GMs) in young infants is a reliable and valid diagnostic tool for detecting brain dysfunction early in life. Poor repertoire GMs are the most frequently observed abnormal GMs during the preterm, term and early postterm period. However, their predictive value for the neurological outcome is low.

Prechtl's assessment of general movements: a diagnostic tool for the functional assessment of the young nervous system.

General movements (GMs) are part of the spontaneous movement repertoire and are present from early fetal life onwards until the end of the first half a year of life. GMs are complex, occur frequently, and last long enough to be observed properly. They involve the whole body in a variable sequence of arm, leg, neck, and trunk movements.

Is the early development of girls with Rett disorder really normal?

An apparently normal early development was one of the initial criteria for classical Rett syndrome. However, several investigators considered Rett syndrome to be a developmental disorder manifesting very soon after birth. Videos of 22 Rett cases were assessed carefully for movements, posture, and behavior during the first 6 mo of life.

General movements detect early signs of hemiplegia in term infants with neonatal cerebral infarction.

Background. Studies have reported that infants with hemiplegia of congenital origin may have a period between birth and up to 12 months when clinical signs of hemiplegia are not evident. The aim of this study was to establish whether the assessment of general movements (GMs) may help in the earlier detection of signs of hemiplegia.

The early markers for later dyskinetic cerebral palsy are different from those for spastic cerebral palsy.

Qualitative abnormalities of spontaneous motor activity in newborns and young infants are early predictive markers for later spastic cerebral palsy. Aim of this research was to identify which motor patterns may be specific for later dyskinetic cerebral palsy. In a large, prospectively performed longitudinal study involving four European hospitals we identified twelve cases with the relatively rare condition of dyskinetic cerebral palsy and compared their early motor development with twelve spastic cerebral palsy cases and twelve controls.

Cramped synchronized general movements in preterm infants as an early marker for cerebral palsy.

Objective: To ascertain whether specific abnormalities (ie, cramped synchronized general movements [GMs]) can predict cerebral palsy and the severity of later motor impairment in preterm infants affected by brain lesions.

Design: Traditional neurological examination was performed, and GMs were serially videotaped and blindly observed for 84 preterm infants with ultrasound abnormalities from birth until 56 to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age. The developmental course of GM abnormalities was compared with brain ultrasound findings alone and with findings from neurological examination, in relation to the patient's outcome at age 2 to 3 years.

Role of vision on early motor development: lessons from the blind.

For a better understanding of the contribution vision makes to the development of other sensory systems and to movement and posture, we studied effects of early blindness by examining video recordings of 14 totally blind infants. Infants were born at term or preterm and showed no evidence of brain damage. During preterm and term periods no noticeable changes in motor activity were observed.

Early neurological signs in preterm infants with unilateral intraparenchymal echodensity.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to document the early developmental course of neurological signs in a group of preterm infants at risk for hemiplegia due to unilateral intraparenchymal echodensity (UIPE). Sixteen preterm infants with UIPE and sixteen controls were given serial neurological examinations, according to the protocols currently adopted in the different NICUs of the project. Moreover, the quality assessment of their general movements (GMs) was assessed subsequently from videotapes, from birth until around four months postterm.

Quality of general movements in preterm infants with transient periventricular echodensities.

By means of sequential videotape recordings, the relevance of the quality of general movements for neurological outcome was determined in a group of 21 appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm infants with transient periventricular echodensities of variable localization and duration and in 6 infants without echodensities. Echodensities, especially in the parieto-occipital area, affected the quality of general movements. Echodensities persisting beyond 14d were associated with abnormal general movements; infants with echodensities up to 14 d had either normal or abnormal general movements.

Qualitative assessment of general movements in high-risk preterm infants with chronic lung disease requiring dexamethasone therapy.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine in preterm infants at risk for severe chronic lung disease (1) the quality of general movements (GMs) and (2) the effect of dexamethasone treatment on spontaneous motor activity.

Study Design: In 15 very low birth weight infants the quality of GMs was assessed from repeated videotape recordings. Recordings were made at weekly intervals during the preterm period until term age and thereafter three times until the twentieth postterm week.