Pediatric cochlear implantation: an update

Deafness in pediatric age can adversely impact language acquisition as well as educational and social-emotional development. Once diagnosed, hearing loss should be rehabilitated early; the goal is to provide the child with maximum access to the acoustic features of speech within a listening range that is safe and comfortable. In presence of severe to profound deafness, benefit from auditory amplification cannot be enough to allow a proper language development. Cochlear implants are partially implantable electronic devices designed to provide profoundly deafened patients with hearing sensitivity within the speech range. Since their introduction more than 30 years ago, cochlear implants have improved their performance to the extent that are now considered to be standard of care in the treatment of children with severe to profound deafness. Over the years patient candidacy has been expanded and the criteria for implantation continue to evolve within the paediatric population. The minimum age for implantation has progressively reduced; it has been recognized that implantation at a very early age (12–18 months) provides children with the best outcomes, taking advantage of sensitive periods of auditory development. Bilateral implantation offers a better sound localization, as well as a superior ability to understand speech in noisy environments than unilateral cochlear implant. Deafened children with special clinical situations, including inner ear malformation, cochlear nerve deficiency, cochlear ossification, and additional disabilities can be successfully treated, even thogh they require an individualized candidacy evaluation and a complex post-implantation rehabilitation. Benefits from cochlear implantation include not only better abilities to hear and to develop speech and language skills, but also improved academic attainment, improved quality of life, and better employment status. Cochlear implants permit deaf people to hear, but they have a long way to go before their performance being comparable to that of the intact human ear; researchers are looking for more sophisticated speech processing strategies as well as a more efficient coupling between the electrodes and the cochlear nerve with the goal of dramatically improving the quality of sound of the next generation of implants

Lysine-restricted diet as adjunct therapy for pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy: The PDE consortium consensus recommendations

BACKGROUND: Seventy-five percent of patients with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) due to Antiquitin (ATQ) deficiency suffer from developmental delay and/or intellectual disability (IQ < 70) despite seizure control. An observational study showed that adjunct treatment with a lysine-restricted diet is safe, results in partial normalization of lysine intermediates in body fluids, and may have beneficial effects on seizure control and psychomotor development. METHODS: In analogy to the NICE guideline process, the international PDE Consortium, an open platform uniting scientists and clinicians working in the field of this metabolic epilepsy, during four workshops (2010-2013) developed a recommendation for a lysine-restricted diet in PDE, with the aim of standardizing its implementation and monitoring of patients. Additionally, a proposal for a further observational study is suggested. RESULTS: (1) All patients with confirmed ATQ deficiency are eligible for adjunct treatment with lysine-restricted diet, unless treatment with pyridoxine alone has resulted in complete symptom resolution, including normal behavior and development. (2) Lysine restriction should be started as early as possible; the optimal duration remains undetermined. (3) The diet should be implemented and the patient be monitored according to these recommendations in order to assure best possible quality of care and safety. DISCUSSION: The implementation of this recommendation will provide a unique and a much needed opportunity to gather data with which to refine the recommendation as well as improve our understanding of outcomes of individuals affected by this rare disease. We therefore propose an international observational study that would utilize freely accessible, online data sharing technologies to generate more evidence