The Expanding Role of Genetics in Cerebral Palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a clinical diagnosis of a nonprogressive developmental disorder of motor impairment. The scope of the diagnosis of cerebral palsy has been broadening significantly in recent years to include patients with genetic disorders. This article helps clinicians to determine which patients would benefit from a thorough genetic/metabolic evaluation and helps to delineate an approach for the work-up, with an emphasis on newer technologies and the evolving fields of fetal medicine and genetics.

Evaluation of Safety in Exceeding Maximum Adult Doses of Commonly Used Second-Generation Antiepileptic Drugs in Pediatric Patients.

Objective: Pediatric patients often require larger doses of antiepileptic drug (AED) than adults in order to attain therapeutic serum concentrations and/or achieve seizure control. Safety and efficacy data are often extrapolated from adult literature; hence, optimal dosage may only be determined anecdotally or based on expert opinion. With limited pediatric dosing guidelines, milligrams per day that are based on weight may exceed the maximum adult dose.

Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis in Children: A Report of Two Fatal Cases and Review of the Literature.

Background: Primary amebic meningoencephalitis is a rare, almost uniformly fatal disease of cerebral invasion by Naegleria fowleri, occurring most commonly after swimming in warm fresh water in summer months. Treatment using the experimental medication miltefosine demonstrated improved survival and favorable neurocognitive outcome in a 2013 North American patient. There is little information about the electroencephalographic findings of such patients, and our understanding of factors predicting survival is limited.