Stability and predictability of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development: evidence from a south Indian birth cohort prospective study.

Objectives: There is limited information about the stability and predictability of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) assessing child development in low- and middle-income settings. The objective of the present study was to analyse stability and predictive validity of BSID using an existing birth cohort.

Design: Prospective birth cohort follow-up study.

Development of an ultrasound-based metric of muscle functional capacity for use in patients with neuromuscular disease.

Introduction/aims: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are progressive neuromuscular disorders characterized by severe muscle weakness and functional decline (Pillen et al., Muscle Nerve 2008; 37(6):679-693). With new therapeutics, objective methods with increased sensitivity are needed to assess muscle function.

Informing future randomized controlled trials of amantadine hydrochloride in neurocritical care and post-neurocritical care stroke patients through a retrospective study.

Background: Amantadine hydrochloride has been increasingly prescribed as a neurostimulant for neurocritical care stroke patients to promote wakefulness during inpatient recovery. However, a lack of guidelines makes it difficult to decide who may benefit from this pharmacotherapy and when amantadine should be initiated during the hospital stay. This study aims to determine some factors that may be associated with favorable response to amantadine to inform future randomized controlled trials of amantadine in critical care or post-critical care stroke patients.

Growth and Cognitive Development in Tanzanian Children are Associated with Timing of Birth in Relation to Seasonal Malnutrition.

Objective: To evaluate in a rural Tanzanian birth cohort the association between birth timing in relation to the preharvest lean season and early-life growth and cognitive development.

Study Design: Children were enrolled within 14 days of birth and followed up for 18 months. Child anthropometry was measured every 3 months.

Motor Impairment Referrals to an International Child Development Clinic: It is Not Always Cerebral Palsy.

Background: The majority of the estimated 50 to 100 million children living with disability worldwide reside in low- or middle-income countries. As families migrate to avoid humanitarian crises, children with developmental disability and delay warrant particular attention in refugee and international health settings. During transitions, medical documentation may be lost and diagnoses may not be fully understood, contributing to the challenges of determining etiologies of motor impairment.

Answering the Rehabilitation 2030 Call.

In 2017, the World Health Organization initiated a global effort to improve rehabilitative services by 2030, with the overall goal of helping individuals with disabilities achieve maximal independence and improved well-being. Though more than 1 billion people worldwide live with a disability, a significant portion do not have access to appropriate rehabilitative services. In low-income countries, such as Zambia, where rehabilitative services are greatly lacking, disability can further exacerbate economic disparities in the context of personal, cultural, and environmental factors that limit participation in society.

Academic performance in moderately and late preterm children in the United States: are they catching up?

Objective: To determine whether preterm birth of 32-36 6/7 weeks gestation affected school performance from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Study Design: We assessed 14350 term infants and 1195 32-36 6/7 weeks gestation infants followed in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten 2011 cohort for classroom performance in kindergarten-fifth grade. Multivariable regression was performed for comparisons, and data were weighted to be representative of the US population.

Co-recovery of physical size and cognitive ability from infancy to adolescence: A twin study.

This study tested phenotypic and biometric associations between physical and cognitive catch-up growth in a community sample of twins (n = 1285, 51.8% female, 89.3% White).

Self- and Caregiver-Reported Participation, Quality of Life, and Related Mood and Behavior Challenges in People Living With Dystrophinopathies.

Background: Previous studies of quality of life (QOL), mood, and behavior in muscular dystrophy focus on caregiver perceptions. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the prevalence of clinically significant mood and behavior problems by both patient and caregiver report and assess relationship between mood/behavior and QOL.

Methods: Forty-one patients with dystrophinopathies (Duchenne muscular dystrophy [DMD] and Becker muscular dystrophy [BMD]) were recruited through the University of Virginia Neuromuscular Clinic.

Nonlinear Catch-Up Growth in Height, Weight, and Head Circumference from Birth to Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin Study.

Owing to high rates of prenatal complications, twins are, on average, substantially smaller than population norms on physical measurements including height, weight, and head circumference at birth. By early childhood, twins are physically average. This study is the first to explore the process of catch-up growth by fitting asymptotic growth models to age-standardized height, weight, and head circumference measurements in a community sample of twins (n = 1281, 52.

Early-Life Enteric Pathogen Exposure, Socioeconomic Status, and School-Age Cognitive Outcomes.

Early-life experiences of enteric infections and diarrheal illness are common in low-resource settings and are hypothesized to affect child development. However, longer-term associations of enteric infections with school-age cognitive outcomes are difficult to estimate due to lack of long-term studies. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between enteropathogen exposure in the first 2 years of life with school-age cognitive skills in a cohort of children followed from birth until 6 to 8 years in low-resource settings in Brazil, Tanzania, and South Africa.

Nonlinear Catch-Up Growth in Height, Weight, and Head Circumference from Birth to Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin Study.

Owing to high rates of prenatal complications, twins are, on average, substantially smaller than population norms on physical measurements including height, weight, and head circumference at birth. By early childhood, twins are physically average. This study is the first to explore the process of catch-up growth by fitting asymptotic growth models to age-standardized height, weight, and head circumference measurements in a community sample of twins (  = 1,281, 52.

Cognitive Development.

Cognitive development in children begins with brain development. Early life exposures may both positively and negatively influence cognitive development in children. Infants, toddlers, and children learn best in secure, nurturing environments and when attachment to a consistent caregiver is present.

Early Childhood Stimulating Environment Predicts Later Childhood Resilience in an Indian Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Human resilience is dynamic and generated through myriad interactions starting from early childhood. Resilience can improve quality of life and longevity.

Objective: The current analysis evaluates childhood resilience at 9 years of age and its associations with concurrent cognition and early childhood factors, using longitudinal follow-up of a community birth cohort in Vellore, south India.

Upper Extremity Examination for Neuromuscular Diseases (U-EXTEND): Protocol for a Multimodal Feasibility Study.

Background: Neuromuscular diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), may result in the loss of motor movements, respiratory failure, and early mortality in young children and in adulthood. With novel treatments now available, new evaluation methods are needed to assess progress that is not currently captured in existing motor scale tests.

Objective: With our feasibility study, our interdisciplinary team of investigators aims to develop a novel, multimodal paradigm of measuring motor function in children with neuromuscular diseases that will revolutionize the way that clinical trial end points are measured, thereby accelerating the pipeline of new treatments for childhood neuromuscular diseases.

Impact of Shigella infections and inflammation early in life on child growth and school-aged cognitive outcomes: Findings from three birth cohorts over eight years.

Background: Shigella infections cause inflammation, which has been hypothesized to mediate the associations between Shigella and child development outcomes among children in low-resource settings. We aimed to assess whether early life inflammation and Shigella infections affect school-aged growth and cognitive outcomes from 6-8 years of age.

Methodology/principal Findings: We conducted follow-up assessments of anthropometry, reasoning skills, and verbal fluency in 451 children at 6-8 years of age in the Brazil, Tanzania, and South Africa sites of MAL-ED, a longitudinal birth cohort study.

The Hidden Disease: Delayed Diagnosis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Co-Occurring Conditions.

Objective: Early diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is important for timely intervention to prolong function and preserve quality of life. The prevalence of various neurocognitive disorders is known to be higher in patients with DMD than the general population. In this study, we highlight cases of delayed DMD diagnosis that resulted from misattribution of early motor symptoms to co-occurring neurocognitive conditions.

Are early childhood stunting and catch-up growth associated with school age cognition?-Evidence from an Indian birth cohort.

Background: Millions of children worldwide especially in the Asian subcontinent are vulnerable to early childhood stunting. There are contradictory reports of the association between catch-up growth in childhood and school age cognition.

Methods: A community-based birth cohort recruited between 2010 and 2012 from urban slums in Vellore, India was followed up until 9 years of age.

Cognitive Outcomes at 18 Months: Findings from the Early Life Interventions for Childhood Growth and Development in Tanzania (ELICIT) Trial.

Micronutrient deficiencies and enteric infections negatively impact child growth and development. We enrolled children shortly after birth in a randomized, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial interventional trial in Haydom, Tanzania, to assess nicotinamide and/or antimicrobials (azithromycin and nitazoxanide) effect on length at 18 months of age. Cognitive score at 18 months using the Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool (MDAT), which includes gross motor, fine motor, language, and social assessments, was a secondary outcome.

Sex Differences in Early Childhood Growth in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Secondary Analysis of the Early Life Interventions in Childhood Growth and Development in Tanzania (ELICIT) Study.

Background: In population-based growth surveys in sub-Saharan Africa, boys have higher rates of growth failure than girls.

Objectives: Our goal was to assess for the presence, timing, and potential etiology of sex-based differences in length-for-age z score (LAZ), weight-for-age z score (WAZ), and head circumference-for-age z score (HCZ) in a birth cohort in rural Tanzania.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial data on 1084 children followed from age <2 wk to 18 mo, assessing anthropometry (measured every 3 mo), illness (hospitalization and monthly maternal report of symptoms), and feeding [monthly maternal report of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and complementary solids and liquids (CSLs)].

Effect of scheduled antimicrobial and nicotinamide treatment on linear growth in children in rural Tanzania: A factorial randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Stunting among children in low-resource settings is associated with enteric pathogen carriage and micronutrient deficiencies. Our goal was to test whether administration of scheduled antimicrobials and daily nicotinamide improved linear growth in a region with a high prevalence of stunting and enteric pathogen carriage.

Methods And Findings: We performed a randomized, 2 × 2 factorial, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the area around Haydom, Tanzania.