No evidence of congenital varicella zoster virus infection assessed through dried blood spot in children with autism spectrum disorders

Aim: Several authors have hypothesized an association between congenital viral infections and the onset of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We aimed to assess the prevalence of congenital varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in patients with ASD. Patients & methods: Congenital infection by VZV was evaluated in a cohort of 38 children with ASD and in 44 healthy controls. PCR for VZV-DNA performed on dried blood spots collected at birth. Results & conclusion: No VZV infection was detected in both groups. With the limitation of the small sample size of this study, the results are not in favor of a role of VZV in the etiology of ASD

A Multidisciplinary Telerehabilitation Approach for Supporting Social Interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorder Families: An Italian Digital Platform in Response to COVID-19

Due to its complexity and high variability in symptomology, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires a coordinated and multidisciplinary intervention to better support the different programs over time and to promote social interactions in all contexts of life. Telemedicine can offer a valuable contribution in this regard, providing low-cost and portable applications. In this paper, we presented an Italian project, SUPER, which aimed to foster collaboration and information sharing between ASD families, health services, and schools. SUPER provided a digital platform with several tools that were useful both to enhance general and specific ASD knowledge and to promote personalized programs for children with ASD. We conducted a preliminary user test for the platform with 30 participants (18 therapists and 12 parents of children with ASD) using the system usability scale (SUS). The total mean SUS score (89.2) showed that SUPER is an excellent, usable system. Moreover, we extracted the usability and learnability mean components from the SUS scores, which were 96.1 and 61.7, respectively. Our preliminary results indicate that SUPER is a very user-friendly application and its innovative telemedicine approach could be ahelpful communication and collaboration tool among the different contexts of care for children with ASD

Impact of malnutrition on gastrointestinal disorders and gross motor abilities in children with cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often demonstrate abnormal feeding behaviours, leading to reduced food consumption and malnutrition. Moreover, most of them present with gastrointestinal disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and/or chronic constipation (CC), and poor motor function rehabilitation. The aim of our study was to assess the possible relationship between malnutrition and gastrointestinal problems and to evaluate the role of nutrition on their gross motor abilities in a population of children with CP and mental retardation. Patients: Twenty-one consecutive children (10 boys; mean age: 5.8 ± 4.7 years; range: 1-14 years) with CP and severe mental retardation. Methods: Nutritional assessment included the measurement of body mass index (BMI = W/H2), fat body mass (FBM) and fat free mass (FFM). Children with symptoms suggesting GERD underwent prolonged 24 h intraesophageal pH monitoring and/or upper GI endoscopy with biopsies before and after a 6 months of pharmaceutical (omeprazole) and nutritional (20% increment of daily caloric intake) treatments. The motor function was evaluated by "The Gross Motor Function Measure" (GMFM) before and after the 6 months on nutritional rehabilitation. Results: BMI for age was â¤5° percentile in 11 children (52%) and FBM was â¤80% of ideal value for height in 15 (71%). GERD was present in 14 children (67%), 9 of them were affected by both GERD and CC. Among children with FBM ⤠80%, GERD was present in 11 (73%) and CC in 9 (60%). Considering the group of patients with BMI ⤠5° percentile, 9 out of 11 children had GERD (82%) and 7 had CC (64%). Fourteen malnourished children (FBM ⤠80%) completed the 6 months nutritional trial. Their starting and final means ± SD BMI were 13.56 ± 1.31 and 14.15 ± 1.85 (p = 0.08), respectively. GMFM values were significantly (p < 0.05) improved in 9/14 pts (Group A), while it remained unchanged in 5/14 pts (Group B). Nine children with GERD and malnutrition completed the 6 months of pharmaceutical and nutritional treatments. Their initial mean ± SD weight was 10.1 ± 2.9 kg, whereas the final mean ± SD weight was 12.7 ± 4 kg (p < 0.05). A marked improvement of GERD was noted in four of nine (44.4%) children. Despite successful nutritional rehabilitation with a BMI achievement of â¥25° percentile, five of nine (55.5%) patients had persistent GERD when they were taken off the medication. Conclusions: Malnutrition and gastrointestinal disorders are very common in children with cerebral palsy. Improved nutritional status, particularly fat free mass gain, appears to have an impact on motor function in children with CP. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Recommendations for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy

The SINPIA-SIMFER(Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry-Italian Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) Intersociety Commission was set up in December 2000 and is composed of members from both scientific societies, who are experts in the field of rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy (CP). In accordance with the indications of the Italian Health Ministry's Planning Department, in 1999 this Commission was entrusted with the task of drawing up "Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Children Affected by Cerebral Palsy", and to successively revise and update it every five years. The present document is a summary of the latest update, drawn up through meetings of the Intersociety Commission, held in 2012 and 2013, and discussed and approved at the annual SINPIA-SIMFERmeeting held in Brindisi in October 2013. The current version of the Recommendations extends and updates the previous one, also addressing new areas of intervention and adding some in-depth analysis. The document as a whole is not so much a proposal for treatment updated on the basis of advancing knowledge in the field of rehabilitation of CP, as a presentation of the method that should be applied by professionals seeking to define the most appropriate intervention and treatment strategies. The text is the offspring of a process of careful exchanges, which have been conducted in a collegial and collaborative fashion among professionals working in different fields (rehabilitation medicine and child neuropsychiatry) and in healthcare settings at different levels (ranging from first-level local settings to third-level national ones) and of different types (affiliated outpatient clinics and centers, local health authorities, hospitals, "IRCCS" research hospitals, universities)