Cardiac transplantation in Friedreich ataxia.

In this article, we describe a 14-year-old boy with a confirmed diagnosis of Friedreich ataxia who underwent cardiac transplantation for left ventricular failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy with restrictive physiology. His neurological status prior to transplantation reflected early signs of neurological disease, with evidence of dysarthria, weakness, mild gait impairment, and limb ataxia. We review the ethical issues considered during the process leading to the decision to offer cardiac transplantation.

Psychogenic movement disorders in children: characteristics and predictors of outcome.

Psychogenic movement disorders are defined as hyperkinetic or hypokinetic movement disorders associated with underlying psychological disorders. Psychogenic movement disorders account for 1% to 9% of all neurologic diagnoses. The assessment and treatment of psychogenic movement disorders can be complex.

A child with raccoon roundworm meningoencephalitis: A pathogen emerging in your own backyard?

Raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) is a cause of devastating neural and ocular disease. The first documented case of raccoon roundworm encephalitis in Canada, in a seven-year-old boy who presented with severe neurological impairment, is presented. His significant recovery illustrates the importance of clinical suspicion and the benefit of early treatment.

Nursing issues in caring for children with moyamoya vasculopathy and their families.

Moyamoya vasculopathy is a rare, progressive neurovascular condition that may cause recurrent transient ischemic attacks, ischemic strokes, hemorrhagic strokes, or neurologic decline in children. Children with moyamoya disease have no clear contributing etiology, but children with moyamoya syndrome have contributory diagnoses such as Down syndrome or neurofibromatosis. The concerns and lived experiences of children affected by this disease and their families have not been well explored or addressed in the nursing literature.

Stereotyped motor behaviors associated with autism in high-risk infants: a pilot videotape analysis of a sibling sample.

This study examined motor behaviors in a longitudinal cohort of infant siblings of children with autism. Stereotypic movements and postures occurring during standardized observational assessments at 12 and 18 months were coded from videotapes. Participants included eight infant siblings later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a random sample of nine non-diagnosed siblings, and 15 controls.

Infantile spasms as an adverse outcome of neonatal cortical sinovenous thrombosis.

Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis is a rare but potentially serious condition often occurring in children with nonspecific presenting features. Much remains to be learned about the long-term outcome of infants with cerebral sinovenous thrombosis. We report a series of four patients taken from a prospective database of neonates with sinovenous thrombosis who subsequently developed infantile spasms, three with hypsarrythmia on electroencephalography and one with multiple independent spike foci.

The risks and safety of clopidogrel in pediatric arterial ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine safety and tolerability of clopidogrel in children with arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). Clopidogrel is the alternative antiplatelet medication when aspirin is not tolerated or fails. The possible risks and safety of clopidogrel in children with AIS have not been assessed.

Partial seizures triggering infantile spasms in the presence of a basal ganglia glioma.

Infantile spasms associated with brain tumors have been reported. A focal cortical lesion can induce infantile spasms by triggering the brainstem and basal ganglia in this vulnerable age group. We report the case of a female infant with a low-grade glioma in the right basal ganglia, spreading to the cortical area.

Paroxysmal non-epileptic events resembling seizures in children with otitis media.

Children may frequently present with recurrent spells, which are often thought to be seizures. However, there are several benign non-epileptic conditions that mimic seizures. A group of 8 children is described who were diagnosed with otitis media and presented with recurrent, stereotypic spells suggestive of seizures.

Diffusion-weighted images in neonatal cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Diffusion-weighted images of magnetic resonance imaging, obtained by mapping apparent diffusion coefficients, are more sensitive than other magnetic resonance imaging sequences in the earliest detection of acute cytotoxic injury. The usefulness of diffusion-weighted images in focal ischemic brain injury has been documented in children and adults. We report eight full-term neonates with global cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury and abnormalities on diffusion-weighted images.