De Novo and Rare Inherited Copy-Number Variations in the Hemiplegic Form of Cerebral Palsy

PurposeHemiplegia is a subtype of cerebral palsy (CP) in which one side of the body is affected. Our earlier study of unselected children with CP demonstrated de novo and clinically relevant rare inherited genomic copy-number variations (CNVs) in 9.6% of participants. Here, we examined the prevalence and types of CNVs specifically in hemiplegic CP.MethodsWe genotyped 97 unrelated probands with hemiplegic CP and their parents. We compared their CNVs to those of 10,851 population controls, in order to identify rare CNVs

Working Memory Training in Post-secondary Students with Attention-deficiti/Hyperactivity Disorder-pilot Study of the Differential Effects of Training Session Length

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of study components in order to aid in design refinements for a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT). A total of 38 post-secondary students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were randomized into a waitlist control group, or standard-length (45 minute) or shortened-length (15 minute) WM training group. Criterion measures included the WAIS-IV Digit Span (auditory-verbal WM), CANTAB Spatial Span (visual-spatial WM) and WRAML Finger Windows (visual-spatial WM). Transfer-of-training effects were assessed using indices of everyday cognitive functioning. Participants in the standard- and shortened-length groups showed greater improvements at post-test on auditory-verbal WM and reported fewer cognitive failures in everyday life than waitlist controls. Participants in the standard-length group showed greater improvements in visual-spatial WM at post-test than participants in the other two groups. Preliminary findings suggest that shorter training may have similar beneficial outcomes as documented for the standard-length training, indicating that a larger-scale RCT is warranted.MAS

Hypothetical Effects.

<p>Hypothetical Effects.</p

Descriptive Statistics for Criterion, Near-transfer and Far-transfer measures at pre- and post-test (intent to treat).

<p>* Survived Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons</p><p>Descriptive Statistics for Criterion, Near-transfer and Far-transfer measures at pre- and post-test (intent to treat).</p

Working Memory Training in Post-Secondary Students with ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Study

<div><p>Objectives</p><p>To determine whether standard-length computerized training enhances working memory (WM), transfers to other cognitive domains and shows sustained effects, when controlling for motivation, engagement, and expectancy.</p><p>Methods</p><p>97 post-secondary students (59.8% female) aged 18–35 years with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, were randomized into standard-length adaptive Cogmed WM training (CWMT; 45-min/session), a shortened-length adaptive version of CWMT (15 min/session) that controlled for motivation, engagement and expectancy of change, or into a no training group (waitlist-control group). All three groups received weekly telephone calls from trained coaches, who supervised the CWMT and were independent from the research team. All were evaluated before and 3 weeks post-training; those in the two CWMT groups were also assessed 3 months post-training. Untrained outcome measures of WM included the WAIS-IV Digit Span (auditory-verbal WM), CANTAB Spatial Span (visual-spatial WM) and WRAML Finger Windows (visual-spatial WM). Transfer-of-training effects included measures of short-term memory, cognitive speed, math and reading fluency, complex reasoning, and ADHD symptoms.</p><p>Results</p><p>Performance on 5/7 criterion measures indicated that shortened-length CWMT conferred as much benefit on WM performance as did standard-length training, with both CWMT groups improving more than the waitlist-control group. Only 2 of these findings remained robust after correcting for multiple comparisons. Follow-up analyses revealed that post-training improvements on WM performance were maintained for at least three months. There was no evidence of any transfer effects but the standard-length group showed improvement in task-specific strategy use.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>This study failed to find robust evidence of benefits of standard-length CWMT for improving WM in college students with ADHD and the overall pattern of findings raise questions about the specificity of training effects.</p><p>Trial Registration</p><p>ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01657721?term=NCT01657721&rank=1" target="_blank">NCT01657721</a></p></div

CONSORT Diagram.

<p>CONSORT Diagram.</p

Participant Characteristics.

<p>^a. Raw scores</p><p>^b. Standardized scores</p><p>^c. Z-score</p><p>^d. Percentile Rank</p><p>^e. T-score. NOTE: ASRS = ADHD Self-Report Scale; WASI = Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; TOWRE = Test of Word Reading Efficiency; WAIS = Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; CANTAB = Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery; WRAML = Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning; BDEFS = Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale.</p><p>Participant Characteristics.</p

Types of post and follow-up treatment effects for Criterion, Near transfer and Far transfer measures.

<p>^a Withstood Bonferroni correction</p><p>Types of post and follow-up treatment effects for Criterion, Near transfer and Far transfer measures.</p

Impact of diabetes, obesity and hypertension on preterm birth: Population-based study.

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of pre-pregnancy diabetes mellitus (D), obesity (O) and chronic hypertension (H) on preterm birth (PTB).MethodsRetrospective population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada between 2012-2016. Women who had a singleton livebirth or stillbirth at > 20 weeks gestation were included in the cohort. Exposures of interest were D, O and H, individually, and in various combinations. The primary outcome was PTB at 241/7 to 366/7 weeks. PTB was further analyzed by spontaneous or provider-initiated, early (Results506,483 women were eligible for analysis. 30,139 pregnancies (6.0%) were complicated by PTB ConclusionCombinations of DOH significantly magnify the risk of PTB, especially provider initiated PTB, and PTB with altered fetal growth or preeclampsia