THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common pediatric disability causing long-term functional limitations. CP remarkably influences the life of those affected and their families. For this reason it is important and necessary to direct attention not only type of the CP, but also the impact the disorder has on the child, parents, siblings and the entire family as a whole. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of CP on the child’s quality of life, considering parents’ perceptions about their child's illness, in order to underline the impact the illness has not only on the child but also his/her family. Methods: The study included both parents of the 36 subjects enrolled (19 mal…

Rehabilitative treatment proposals in pediatric non-verbal syndrome

Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) can be defined as a specific learning disorder peculiar for deficits in non-verbal area, such as visuospatial and visuo-constructive difficulties, fine motor coordination impairments, and poor mathematics achievement, associated with well-developed language skills. aim of the present work is suggesting rehabilitative proposal for management treatment of NVLD in pediatric age tailored on children and based on EBM.

A case of femoral-facial syndrome in a patient with autism spectrum disorders.

The Femoral hypoplasia - unusual facies syndrome (FHUF) or Femoral - facial syndrome (FFS) was at first described in 1975. Up to now about 60 cases have been reported. According to our knowledge only 4 cases have had congenital central nervous system's malformations, furthermore the main stages of psychomotor development are almost always reported as normal or slightly altered in early childhood. We describe the first case of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in a patient with FFS, emphasizing that this rare association could be one of many unrecognized underlying features.

Internalizing problems are related to sleep patterns disordered in children affected by primary headache

Introduction: Migraine is a common disorder in children and adolescents, associated with various disorders such as emotions, behavioral problems, and sleep disturbances. Aim of the study is to verify the relationship between psychological problems of cephalalgic patients and sleep disturbances. Materials and methods: 64 subjects (27 females), aged 8-12 years (mean 9.4 years, SD ± 1.03) with primary headache were enrolled. CBCL 6-18 scale and the SDSC scale were used for behavioral screening and for assessing sleep habits. Results: According to the ICHD-III criteria, the distribution of the headache subtype was as follows: headaches without aura (71.87%), headache episodes typical of tensio…

Autonomic Regulation In Autism Spectrum Disorders

Introduction: The sinactive developmental model provides suggests a different way for the brain study by observing the children behavior. In all neurodevelopmental disorders, we can observe autonomic alteration comprising sleep disorders, meal behaviour alteration and self-regulatory impairment. These alterations/impairment are very frequent in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (1-12). Aim of the present preliminary study is the assessment of metabolic rate in children affected by ASD. Material s and methods. 5 males affected by ASD aged 7-10 years (mean age 6.73±3:39), were recruited. The average score at the ADOS scale was 12.24 (SD± 3.29). The control group consisted of 5 males typically d…

G.P.15.09 Memory deficit of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Ketogenic diet as antiepileptic therapy: Administration and formulas

In 1921 Wilder defined classical cholesterol diet providing the patient with a daily calorie intake of less than 20% compared to age-related requirements. The main macronutrient is represented by saturated and long chain unsaturated fatty acids, in the ratio of 4: 1 to carbohydrates and proteins (4 grams of lipids per gram of carbohydrates and proteins). One of the first therapeutic protocols proposed is that of John Hopkins that the onset of the diet should take place in a hospital environment to assess the patient's response in a controlled situation.

EMotional Intelligence And Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome In Children: Preliminary Case-Control Study

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) affects up to 4% of pediatric population, with many co-morbidities in the medium-long term. Functional alterations in prefrontal cortex (PFC) may explain why OSAS impacts aspects such as: executive functions, memory, motor control, attention, visual-spatial skills, learning and mood regulation. Emotional intelligence (EI) is a complex neuropsychological function that could be impaired in many clinical conditions. Aim of the study is to evaluate the difference in emotional intelligence skills among children with OSAS and healthy subjects Materials and methods: 29 children (16 males) mean age 9.5 ± 1.54 years, affected by OSAS were compare…

Sensory perception in preschool children affected by autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a behavioral syndrome caused by a developmental disorder, biologically determined, with onset in the first three years of life. The areas concerned are mainly those related to social communication, social interaction and mutual functional and symbolic play. In the last decades, different conceptions of autism have taken, also emphasizing different sensory-perceptual abnormalities as the basis of the central features of disorder. This pilot study intends to address the issue of sensory perception in preschool children affected by ASD. Material and methods: 11 ASD children were enrolled (7 males, 4 female) aged between 2.3 years and 4.6 years, (…

Anxiety levels in mothers of children affected by x-fragile syndrome

Introduction: Anxiety is the psychological process by which the individual reacts to dangerous external stimuli, triggering responses (mediated by norepinephrine, GABA and serotonin) involving physiological reactions and cognitive strategies. Anxiety can be differentiated in state anxiety and trait anxiety. Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is a disorder most commonly caused by a triplet repeat expansion of > 200 cytosine-guanine-guanine (CGG) repeats in the 50 untranslated region of the Fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Aim of the present study is investigating the state or trait anxiety in a sample of mothers of children affected by X-fragile. Materials and methods: 84 mothers (mean age …

The quality of life in developing age children with celiac disease

The moments that follow the diagnosis of celiac disease and the early stages of the gluten-free diet are extremely difficult and complex for parents and child, because they face an important change punctuated by self-denial and deprivation. The main objective of this research is to assess the impact of celiac disease on quality of life in subjects in developmental age, taking into account the perceptions of parents about the child's illness, with the aim to highlight the effect of disease on the child and the entire family.The study included both parents of 45 children aged between 2 and 10 years, with established celiac disease. To evaluate the effect of celiac disease on the lifestyle of …

Executive functioning in preschool children affected by autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of neurological dysfunction and development characterized by deficits in social and non-verbal interaction. Few studies have explored the executive functioning in ASD preschoolers. The aim of this pilot study is the assessment of executive functioning in preschool children with ASD. Material and methods: 8 ASD children (7 males, 1 female) mean age 3.09 (SD ± 0.83 years) were enrolled in the study and compared with a control group of 15 typically developing children (12 males, 3 females) (mean age 24.3 ± 0.61). All subjects underwent assessment of executive functioning with the BRIEF-P test. Results: The two groups were matched …