158 research outputs found
Neurological functions of the healthy neonate: an overview
No abstract availabl
When does right functional hemispheric lateralization arise? Evidence from preterm infants
In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has allowed researchers to individuate an earlier morphological development of the right hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere before birth. Anatomical asymmetry, however, does not necessarily mean functional asymmetry and whether the anatomical differences between hemispheres at this early age are paralleled by functional specializations is still unknown. Here we show electrophysiological evidence of an early functional right lateralization for pitch processing arising by 30 gestational weeks, not before, in preterm newborns
Courtesy robotic bodies for small bedridden patients
The scientific literature reports an increasing number of actions
aimed at providing mobile robots that allow telepresence experiences
to bed-ridden adult patients [1]. A recent review published in
BJM Open [2] shows that the use of such robots is increasing very
quickly. The nationality of the authors of the articles analyzed in this
work is mainly Italy. The use of humanoid and empathic robots such
as Nao and Pepper is spreading also in Italian pediatric hospitals. It
follows that it is possible and appropriate, as already happens for
adults, to use these robots not only for rehabilitation, surgery and
distraction [Dawe et al 2019] but also to promote inclusion, by
employing them as a telepresence robot. In this case it is no longer
the medical-nursing staff that "guides" the robot used for the patient
but the patient himself who uses the humanoid robot as a "courtesy
body", a robotic avatar, controlled from the bed or from the stay. At
present, applications of this kind reported in literature are very scarce
and focused exclusively in protected contexts (hospitals and other
places of care) but not in other environments (museums, schools,
homes for holidays, mountain refuges). The number of articles containing
the keywords "robot" and "telepresence" has increased exponentially
in the period 2000-2017. Yet, nothing has been published
to date regarding the developmental age. The aim of this work was
therefore to verify whether, within a pediatric hospital, humanoid robots
can have an inclusive role in contexts typical of the developmental
age (school, sports, oratory, summer camps). In particular 3
models of humanoid robots were used in extra-hospital settings and
remote-controlled by a underage patient. From these preliminary experiences,
telepresence robotics carried out with humanoid and empathic
robots seems to be promising for hospitalized children.
Entrusting a small robot avatar use to each underage patient, with
the goal to reach an earlier inclusion, is not only technically possible
but also sustainable from the social, economic and environmental
points of view. The use of BCI (Brain Computer Interface) technologies
in children could make this opportunity universal.
References
1. Young J, Langlotz T, Cook M, Mills S, Regenbrecht H. Immersive
Telepresence and Remote Collaboration using Mobile and Wearable
Devices. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2019;25:1908-1918.
2.Dawe
J, Sutherland C, Barco A, Broadbent E. Can social robots help children in
healthcare contexts? A scoping review. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2018;0:e000371
Neonatal Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials Are Affected by Clinical Conditions Occurring in Early Prematurity
Purpose: Cortical auditory evoked potentials may serve as an early indicator
of developmental problems in the auditory cortex. The aim of the study was
to determine the effect on neonatal cortical auditory processing of clinical
conditions occurring in early prematurity.
Methods: Sixty-seven preterm infants born at 29 weeks mean gestational age
(range, 23\u201334 weeks) were recorded at a mean postconception age of 35
weeks, before discharge from the third level neonatal intensive care unit. The
average of 330 responses to standard 1000 Hz pure tones delivered in an
oddball paradigm was recorded at frontal location. Data of 45 of 67 recruited
premature infants were available for analysis. Mean amplitudes calculated
from the data points of 30 milliseconds centered on P1 and N2 peaks in the
waveforms of each subject were measured. The effect of perinatal clinical
factors on cortical auditory evoked responses was evaluated.
Results: The amplitude of P1 component was significantly lower in infants with
bronco-pulmonary dysplasia (P \ubc 0.004) and retinopathy of prematurity (P \ubc
0.03). The multivariate analysis, done to evaluate the relative weight of
gestational age and bronco-pulmonary dysplasia and/or retinopathy of prematurity
on cortical auditory evoked potentials components, showed an effect of
clinical factors on P1 (P \ubc 0.005) and of gestational age on N2 (P \ubc 0.02).
Conclusions: Cortical auditory processing seems to be influenced by clinical
conditions complicating extremely preterm birth
Non\u2011syndromic isolated dominant optic atrophy caused by the p.R468C mutation in the AFG3 like matrix AAA peptidase subunit 2 gene
Autosomal dominant optic atrophy (DOA) is the most frequent form of hereditary optic atrophy, a disease presenting with considerable inter- and intra-familial clinical variability. Although a number of mutations in different genes are now known to cause DOA, many cases remain undiagnosed. In an attempt to identify the underlying genetic defect, whole exome sequencing was performed in a 19-year-old male that had been affected by isolated DOA since childhood. The exome sequencing revealed a pathogenic mutation (p.R468C, c.1402C>T) in the AFG3 like matrix AAA peptidase subunit 2 (AFG3L2) gene, a gene known to be associated with spinocerebellar ataxia. The patient did not show any signs other than DOA. Thus, the result demonstrates the possibility that mutations in the AFG3L2 gene may be a cause of isolated autosomal DOA
Neurophysiological monitoring in neonatal abstinence syndrome from cocaine
Introduction. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in a newborn is a result of the
sudden discontinuation of exposure to psychotropic drugs abused by the mother during
pregnancy. Since forty decades, the standardized Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring
Tool (FNAST) documents the infant withdrawal, and initiate the appropriate treatment
regimen, when elevated scored are reported. Whereas FNAST is successfully applied for
opioids NAS, in case of other psychotropic drugs and especially cocaine, the tool is not
always efficacious or predictive.
Methods. Continuous v-Electroencephalography (vEEG) provides particularly useful
information about brain cortical functioning and evaluation of background activity in
normal newborns. vEEG allows to properly study and identify clinical manifestations
as physiological motor paroxysms, that disappear from birth to infant age in correlation
with the neurological development. Due to its feature to be a non-invasive tool continuous
vEEG monitoring could be used to describe some clinical manifestations and assess
if they can be correlated to possible injuries in critical neonates as those exposed in utero
to psychoactive drugs presenting NAS.
Results. An example for the potential use of such methodology is discussed in a case
of NAS due to prenatal exposure to cocaine as a complementary tool for the evaluation
of behavioural state and clinical and neurological signs in newborns in utero exposed to
psychoactive drugs, excluding epileptic phenomena.
Discussion. Video-EEG recording could be considered an important and objective tool
that allows the evaluation of behavioural state and clinical and neurological signs in newborns
in utero exposed to psychoactive drugs and the neurophysiological definition of
signs and symptoms, which cannot be evaluated by FNAST such as startles and its variability
during subsequent days after birth, subclinical seizures or brain injuries
A Multicentre Database for Normative Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEPs) in Children: Methodology for Data Collection and Evaluation
The influence of physiological and methodological factors on recordings of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) is greater in children than in adults. To collect and evaluate BAEP data in normal children, and measure intra- and inter-laboratory variability. 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. In newborns, three laboratories showed satisfactory concordance; wave I was more broadly distributed than wave V and IPL I-V. The evaluation of pooled BAEP data from the older children showed that laboratories with age-matched data gave overlapping results; those with unmatched-age data differed significantly. The sound intensities of the laboratories did not significantly affect absolute BAEP latencies or IPLs. Females had shorter latencies than males; the difference was not significant. A single exponential regression model was an adequate but not the best predictor of normal data. The pooled data were consistent with the physiological maturation of the brainstem acoustic pathway. The BAEPs was reliably normalised using the natural logarithm of age. The differences between Centres were related to sample size, measurement accuracy, and inclusion and selection criteria. The creation of multicentre common database from an unmatched data collection is feasible and reliable enough for clinical diagnosis and multicentre clinical research
Sleep spindles across youth affected by schizophrenia or anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor encephalitis
BackgroundSleep disturbances are intertwined with the progression and pathophysiology of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. Reductions in sleep spindles, a major electrophysiological oscillation during non-rapid eye movement sleep, have been identified in patients with schizophrenia as a potential biomarker representing the impaired integrity of the thalamocortical network. Altered glutamatergic neurotransmission within this network via a hypofunction of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is one of the hypotheses at the heart of schizophrenia. This pathomechanism and the symptomatology are shared by anti-NMDAR encephalitis (NMDARE), where antibodies specific to the NMDAR induce a reduction of functional NMDAR. However, sleep spindle parameters have yet to be investigated in NMDARE and a comparison of these rare patients with young individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls (HC) is lacking. This study aims to assess and compare sleep spindles across young patients affected by Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia (COS), Early-Onset Schizophrenia, (EOS), or NMDARE and HC. Further, the potential relationship between sleep spindle parameters in COS and EOS and the duration of the disease is examined.MethodsSleep EEG data of patients with COS (N = 17), EOS (N = 11), NMDARE (N = 8) aged 7–21 years old, and age- and sex-matched HC (N = 36) were assessed in 17 (COS, EOS) or 5 (NMDARE) electrodes. Sleep spindle parameters (sleep spindle density, maximum amplitude, and sigma power) were analyzed.ResultsCentral sleep spindle density, maximum amplitude, and sigma power were reduced when comparing all patients with psychosis to all HC. Between patient group comparisons showed no differences in central spindle density but lower central maximum amplitude and sigma power in patients with COS compared to patients with EOS or NMDARE. Assessing the topography of spindle density, it was significantly reduced over 15/17 electrodes in COS, 3/17 in EOS, and 0/5 in NMDARE compared to HC. In the pooled sample of COS and EOS, a longer duration of illness was associated with lower central sigma power.ConclusionsPatients with COS demonstrated more pronounced impairments of sleep spindles compared to patients with EOS and NMDARE. In this sample, there is no strong evidence that changes in NMDAR activity are related to spindle deficits
Antibiotic Resistance in Paediatric Febrile Urinary Tract Infections
: Febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) is currently considered the most frequent cause of serious bacterial illness in children in the first 2 years of life. UTI in paediatrics can irreversibly damage the renal parenchyma and lead to chronic renal insufficiency and related problems. To avoid this risk, an early effective antibiotic treatment is essential. Moreover, prompt treatment is mandatory to improve the clinical condition of the patient, prevent bacteraemia, and avoid the risk of bacterial localization in other body sites. However, antibiotic resistance for UTI-related bacterial pathogens continuously increases, making recommendations rapidly outdated and the definition of the best empiric antibiotic therapy more difficult. Variation in pathogen susceptibility to antibiotics is essential for the choice of an effective therapy. Moreover, proper identification of cases at increased risk of difficult-to-treat UTIs can reduce the risk of ineffective therapy. In this review, the problem of emerging antibiotic resistance among pathogens associated with the development of paediatric febrile UTIs and the best potential solutions to ensure the most effective therapy are discussed. Literature analysis showed that the emergence of antibiotic resistance is an unavoidable phenomenon closely correlated with the use of antibiotics themselves. To limit the emergence of resistance, every effort to reduce and rationalise antibiotic consumption must be made. An increased use of antibiotic stewardship can be greatly effective in this regard
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