Evaluation of the Relationship between Pain Exposure and Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in Preterm Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background And Aim: First, to compare somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in preterm newborns without major brain injury studied at term equivalent age (TEA) with a term historical control group. Second, to investigate the impact of pain exposure during the first 28 days after birth on SEPs. Third, to evaluate the association between SEPs and Bayley-III at 2 years corrected age (CA).

Aggregate Channel Features for newborn face detection in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

An efficient face detector could be very helpful to point out possible neurological dysfunctions such as seizure events in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. However, its development is still challenging because large public datasets of newborns' faces are missing. Over the years several studies introduced semi-automatic approaches.

Unilateral Transient Enhanced SEP during Integrated Multiparameter Neurophysiological Monitoring in a Newborn with Symptomatic Seizure.

During Integrated Multiparametric Neurophysiological Monitoring (IMNA), a newborn with suspected hypoxia at birth and microhaemorrhagic and ischaemic lesions presented some clonic-tonic episodes with specific EEG patterns characterized by rolandic and temporal spikes and the appearance of a unilateral enhanced Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) (10.45 µv). Since the literature does not seem to describe cases of giant SEP in newborns, in this case report, we will discuss the hypotheses underlying this potential.

Heart Rate Variability Analysis for Seizure Detection in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

In Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), the early detection of neonatal seizures is of utmost importance for a timely clinical intervention. Over the years, several neonatal seizure detection systems were proposed to detect neonatal seizures automatically and speed up seizure diagnosis, most based on the EEG signal analysis. Recently, research has focused on other possible seizure markers, such as electrocardiography (ECG).

Asymmetry in sleep spindles and motor outcome in infants with unilateral brain injury.

Aim: To determine whether interhemispheric difference in sleep spindles in infants with perinatal unilateral brain injury could link to a pathological network reorganization that underpins the development of unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: This was a multicentre retrospective study of 40 infants (19 females, 21 males) with unilateral brain injury. Sleep spindles were detected and quantified with an automated algorithm from electroencephalograph records performed at 2 months to 5 months of age.

Continous somatosensory evoked potentials and brain injury in neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy treated with hypothermia.

Aim: To explore whether continuous somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) monitoring and video electroencephalograms (VEEG) accurately predict lesions observed on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) receiving therapeutic hypothermia.

Method: This prospective study included 31 neonates (16 males, 15 females; mean [SD] gestational age 39 weeks [1.67]) who received therapeutic hypothermia for HIE.

Comparison of Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR) between Electrical and Acoustic Stimuli in a Healthy Pediatric Population.

Data in the literature report that latency and morphology in the cutaneous sympathetic skin response (SSR) do not change according to the type of stimulus delivered, unlike the amplitude which shows greater values in relation to the intensity of the physical impact caused in patient. Since the acoustic stimulus represents a method better tolerated by the pediatric patient, the aim of this study is to evaluate the presence or absence of significant differences in SSR between electrical and acoustic stimuli. The SSR was performed for each child of 18 recruited in this study, deriving from the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot and initially delivering an electrical stimulus at the level of the median nerve at the wrist.

Consensus protocol for EEG and amplitude-integrated EEG assessment and monitoring in neonates.

The aim of this work is to establish inclusive guidelines on electroencephalography (EEG) applicable to all neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Guidelines on ideal EEG monitoring for neonates are available, but there are significant barriers to their implementation in many centres around the world. These include barriers due to limited resources regarding the availability of equipment and technical and interpretive round-the-clock personnel.

Botulinum toxin for the management of spasticity in multiple sclerosis: the Italian botulinum toxin network study.

Background: Botulinum toxin (BT) is an effective and safe treatment for spasticity, with limited evidence in multiple sclerosis (MS). We aim to describe the use of BT for the management of MS spasticity in the clinical practice, its combination with other anti-spastic treatments in MS and possible MS clinical correlates.

Methods: This is a multicentre cross-sectional observational study including 386 MS patients, receiving BT for spasticity in 19 Italian centres (age 53.

Muscle-ultrasound evaluation in healthy pediatric subjects: Age-related normative data.

Introduction: The muscle ultrasound examination (MUS) is a noninvasive and inexpensive technique for evaluating neuromyopathies. Standardized MUS normative data are incomplete in pediatric subjects.

Methods: We performed a MUS study with 120 healthy children (59 males; mean age, 10.

Multimodal neurophysiological monitoring in healthy infants born at term: normative continuous somatosensory evoked potentials data.

Aim: To describe accurate, standardized 1h-multimodal neurophysiological monitoring (1h-MNM), while simultaneously recording VEEG, aEEG, and SEP-C bilaterally from median nerves, and to collect neonatal normative SEP-C data related to behavioural states.

Method: Twenty healthy, term newborn infants (13 males, 7 females; gestational age 37-42wks; mean 39.6wks, standard deviation [SD] 1.

The cognitive reserve theory in the setting of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis.

Background: The study of cognitive reserve (CR) in relationship with cognitive impairment (CI) in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) may provide cues to identifying subjects at higher risk of impairment and scope for therapeutic strategies.

Objectives: To assess the potential impact of CR on cognition in a cohort of POMS patients.

Methods: In all, 48 POMS patients were followed up for 4.

Neuropsychological features in childhood and juvenile multiple sclerosis: five-year follow-up.

Objective: The aim of the study was to perform a third cognitive assessment in our pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patient cohort and determine predictors of the individual cognitive outcome.

Methods: After 4.7 ± 0.

Short term outcome of term newborns with unexpected umbilical cord arterial pH between 7.000 and 7.100.

Background: The relationship between cord arterial pH (CA-pH) > 7.000 and the neonatal outcome is not clear.

Aims: To evaluate if asymptomatic infants born with unexpected cord arterial pH (CA-pH) between 7.

The prognostic role of evoked potentials in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic insult.

Neonatal encephalopathy is a significant cause of infant mortality and morbidity with risk of neurological sequelae in the survivors of neonates admitted to Neonatal (N) Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The EEG and Evoked Potentials (EPs) are very informative in the ICU. In particular, it is known that the SomatoSensory (SS) EPs are the best single indicator of early prognosis in adults and children patients with traumatic and/or hypoxic-ischemic coma compared to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and CTscan.

IgG and IgM antibodies to the refolded MOG(1-125) extracellular domain in humans.

Antibodies to MOG in serum have a dubious prognostic value in multiple sclerosis. The MOG recombinant protein conformational properties relevant to the antigenic activity are unknown. We employed a solid-phase ELISA based on a product (rMOG(ED)(His)(6)) expressed in E.

Prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potentials in comatose children: a systematic literature review.

Purpose: To review the predictive powers of SEPs in comatose children after acute brain injury.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, OVID, ISI Web of Knowledge, BIOMED Central and the Cochrane Library (1981-2007) were searched. First, predictive values were calculated for each primary study.

A Multicentre Database for Normative Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEPs) in Children: Methodology for Data Collection and Evaluation.

Background: The influence of physiological and methodological factors on recordings of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) is greater in children than in adults.

Objective: To collect and evaluate BAEP data in normal children, and measure intra- and inter-laboratory variability.

Methods: Seven hundred and fifty unselected BAEP recordings were collected and evaluated from children ranging from neonates to 14-year-olds by eight laboratories in Italy.

Prevalence of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and phenotype distribution.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOsd) is a group of demyelinating disorders recently redefined and associated with NMO-IgG/anti-aquaporin 4 antibodies. Because NMOsd is of unknown prevalence worldwide, we conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 850 patients with demyelinating disorders hospitalized in North East Tuscany from 1998 to 2006 to examine the prevalence of NMO and related disorders among unselected consecutive neurological patients with inflammatory CNS diseases and to evaluate the clinical phenotype spectrum of identified cases. Clinical data were updated after at least 2 years of follow-up.