Neurology

Phase III clinical trials of new antiepileptic medications show promise for reducing frequency of convulsive seizures in children.

New research looks at the role of maternal-placental-fetal interaction on cognitive function and disease.

Pediatricians are the frontline providers for identifying neurologic problems in neonates and infants.

When is a spot not just a spot? Children can sprout a variety of discolorations, and it takes a trained eye to know when to investigate further.

It’s no secret that babies love to look at their parents’ faces and hear their voices, but pediatricians are now being challenged to help parents understand that what they say to their children in the first years of their life can have a lasting effect on their brain development and scholastic achievement.

Crying and agitation for no apparent reason in children with severe neurologic impairment is a common and frustrating problem for parents and providers alike. A methodical approach is helpful in dealing with this problem, yet sometimes the cause is not apparent, even after a thorough search. It is helpful to explain to parents and caretakers that the cause of the distress may take some time to figure out, and that diagnosis is often difficult. However, in most cases, a satisfactory treatment can be found.

The presentation described a number of neonatal neurology issues about which pediatricians commonly have questions and described an efficient and evidence-based approach to doing a neonatal neurology exam called the Dubowitz exam.

Every year, US children die of heat stroke after being trapped in vehicles. The people responsible for these preventable tragedies are typically loving, well-meaning parents-none of whom believe it could happen to them.

The current epidemic of football-related concussions and the association of repeated concussions with CTE is a serious problem that must be addressed and resolved.

Boys exposed to lead experience more negative effects on cognition than girls, a new study indicates. The study also may be the first to show that lead exposure has a detrimental cognitive impact on very young children.

Recent data indicate that the incidence of stroke in the pediatric population is much higher than previously estimated, and the explanation may be multifactorial, including more accurate methods of ascertainment as well as increased recognition because of greater awareness and advances in imaging.

Children with chronically high blood glucose levels are more likely to show slower brain growth than children with normal glucose levels, a new study has found.

A “broader perspective” and a “comprehensive multidimensional assessment” are necessary to establish a causal link between intrapartum hypoxic events and neonatal encephalopathy, according to the latest report from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Task Force on Neonatal Encephalopathy.

It seems that certain common infections put children at greater risk of ischemic stroke, and certain recommended vaccinations help decrease that risk.

The number of emergency department (ED) visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) rose astronomically in the past decade, but the percentage of children admitted to the hospital from the ED with sports-related TBI did not, and the severity of the injuries seems to be decreasing.

The first brain wave test to diagnose attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will be hitting the market following recent approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

There’s good news for premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD): treatment with hydrocortisone does not seem to adversely effect brain growth, meaning that hydrocortisone may provide a safer alternative to dexamethasone.

Young children learning to play the drums, or a tiny violin, or the piano might not be making music to their parents’ ears, but they definitely are making their brains grow, says a new study.

Primary care physicians, including pediatricians, admit that they are not as familiar about specific aspects of epilepsy as they should be.

A new study has identified retinal imaging as a tool that can distinguish cases of abusive brain trauma with 93% accuracy.

Children institutionalized early in life show significant reductions in gray and white matter in the cerebral cortex, researchers report. Can the effects be reversed?

Treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children early can alter their entire learning trajectory, new research shows. What treatment was most effective in reversing cognitive deficits caused by OSA?

An ongoing study that could lead to an imaging biomarker for autism as early as 6 months, before the onset of observable behavioral symptoms, may also eventually provide practitioners an avenue for earlier intervention in autism spectrum disorders

Child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University found that children who are nurtured and shown love and affection from the earliest days of their lives have brains with a larger hippocampus, the key part of the brain involved with memory, stress response, and learning. Find out more about how this study and its provocative findings add to previous studies of nurturing.

Assessing underlying risk factors for childhood stroke is important to survival and quality of life. New findings suggest that recent minor acute infections of the ear, upper respiratory tract, and urinary tract can pose a high risk of ischemic stroke in children. These are common pediatric occurrences, so how can you identify patients at risk?

Most US teenagers are sleep deprived-nearly 70% do not get 8 or more hours of sleep a night. Now, new research suggests that the implications of that may be more significant than simply parents being kept awake by late-night tapping on mobile phones or even by groggy teens nodding off in class. What did a study in mice find out about how short-term sleep restriction can affect the balance between growth and depletion of brain synapses?

Perennial concerns about whether cell phones cause brain cancer often focus on children and adolescents. In the first-of-its-kind study, Swiss researchers found that answer is no, and they also offer some advice to parents who are anxious.

The Simplified Motor Score can replace the Glasgow Coma Scale for predicting outcomes of traumatic brain injury in the out-of-hospital setting, according to a new study.

Low hemoglobin levels put severely anemic children, especially those with sickle cell disease (SCD), at risk of silent infarctions (SI) that could cause long-term cognitive and learning deficits.

Children with newly diagnosed epilepsy generally have favorable outcomes, according to new research.