Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Neurology & Neurodevelopmental Disorders".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2021) | Viewed by 23478

Special Issue Editor

Department of Neurology, Division of Pediatric Neurology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
Interests: conditions associated with dysautonomia; critical care neurology; neurological emergencies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurological problems in children are a source of great concern and anxiety to parents and caregivers. Fortunately, there have been rapid developments in our understanding of genetics which have led to the ability to define the genetic and molecular basis of many neurological disorders in children—in some cases, allowing the practice of precision medicine in areas of developmental delay, epilepsy, metabolic disorders, stroke, and neuromuscular disorders. We must keep abreast of these advances so as to care most appropriately for our patients. In addition, there have been tremendous advances in our understanding of neuroimmunology as well, which has led to much better diagnostics and therapeutics in these patients and improvements in our ability to treat disorders that were previously unrecognized.

The goal of this Special Issue of Children is to highlight recent advances in information, diagnostics, and treatment across the wide range of neurological disorders in children. We welcome reviews and original research to advance our understanding and bridge any gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders in children.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Vinay Puri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Genetics
  • Precision Medicine
  • Neuroimmunology
  • Developmental Delay
  • Epilepsy
  • Metabolic Disorders
  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Stroke

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2984 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Trend and Associated Factors of Neuropsychological Development of Infants and Toddlers Based on Longitudinal Data
by Deng Chen, Yunzhe Huang, Andrew Swain, Xiaoguang Yang and Jinming Yu
Children 2021, 8(10), 866; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8100866 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1748
Abstract
Objective: To explore the trend and associated factors of neuropsychological development of infants and toddlers in China. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted among 619 infants and toddlers (2914 person-times) aged 0 to 36 months from different provinces or cities in China from [...] Read more.
Objective: To explore the trend and associated factors of neuropsychological development of infants and toddlers in China. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted among 619 infants and toddlers (2914 person-times) aged 0 to 36 months from different provinces or cities in China from January 2013 to December 2019. Results: The development age of each area increased with the extension of follow-up time, but this upward trend slowed down with physiological age at first measurement increasing. Among a low age group and each area, most of the development qualification rates in different follow-up periods were higher than that in the baseline (p < 0.05); however, many of them were not higher than that in the baseline among the medium or high age group (p > 0.05). For the areas of gross motor and self-care, the growth of qualification rate with the extension of follow-up was not obvious in the medium and high age group (both p trend > 0.05). Some impact factors of development in all areas were identified. Conclusions: The neuropsychological development delay of various areas of infants and toddlers, especially that of gross motor and self-care, should be paid early (within 1 years old) and constant attention. The impact of gender and maternal age on the development of young children has been further confirmed in the present study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children)
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7 pages, 218 KiB  
Article
Malformations of Cortical Development, Cognitive Involvementand Epilepsy: A Single Institution Experience in 19 Young Patients
by Valeria Venti, Maria Chiara Consentino, Pierluigi Smilari, Filippo Greco, Claudia Francesca Oliva, Agata Fiumara, Raffaele Falsaperla, Martino Ruggieri and Piero Pavone
Children 2021, 8(8), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8080637 - 26 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1867
Abstract
Background. Malformations of cortical development (MCD) include a wide range of congenital disorders mostly causing severe cognitive dysfunction and epilepsy. Objective: to report on clinical features including cognitive involvement, epileptic seizures with response to antiseizure medications, comorbidities in young patients affected by MCD [...] Read more.
Background. Malformations of cortical development (MCD) include a wide range of congenital disorders mostly causing severe cognitive dysfunction and epilepsy. Objective: to report on clinical features including cognitive involvement, epileptic seizures with response to antiseizure medications, comorbidities in young patients affected by MCD and followed in a single tertiary hospital. Patients and methods: A retrospective review of the medical records and magnetic resonance images (MRI) of 19 young patients with an age ranging between eight days and fifteen years affected by MCD and admitted to Pediatrics Department University of Catania, Italy from October 2009 and October 2020 were selected. Patients were distinguished in three groups following the Barcovich et al. 2012 classification for MCD: 4 (21%) in Group I; 8 (42%) in Group II; and, and 7 (37%) in Group III. Clinical features and MRI of the patients including cognitive involvement, epilepsy type and response to drugs treatment were analyzed. Results: In Group I, two patients showed cortical dysplasia and two dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors plus focal cortical dysplasia; developmental delay/intellectual disability (DD/ID) was severe in one, moderate in one and absent in two; the type of seizures was in all the cases focal to bilateral tonic-clonic (FBTCs), and drug resistant was found in one case. In Group II, three patients showed neuronal hetero-topias and five had pachygyria-lissencephaly: DD/ID was severe in four, moderate in two, and absent in two; the type of seizure was focal (FS) in five, focal to bilateral tonic-clonic (FBTCs) in two, infantile spasms (IS) in one, and drug resistant was found in three. In Group III, six showed polymicrogyria and one schizencephaly: DD/ID was found severe in five, moderate in two, and the type of seizure was focal (FS) in five, FBTCS in two, and drug resistance was found in three. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children)

Review

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17 pages, 1266 KiB  
Review
Update on Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis in Children and Adolescents
by Serena Massa, Adriana Fracchiolla, Cosimo Neglia, Alberto Argentiero and Susanna Esposito
Children 2021, 8(4), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8040280 - 6 Apr 2021
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 9953
Abstract
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an immune-mediated, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that usually affects children and young adults after an infection or vaccination. The presence of several conditions mimicking ADEM, added to the lack of specific biomarkers, makes [...] Read more.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an immune-mediated, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that usually affects children and young adults after an infection or vaccination. The presence of several conditions mimicking ADEM, added to the lack of specific biomarkers, makes diagnosis potentially hard. Prompt diagnosis is necessary to start adequate treatment to improve the clinical course and long-term outcome. Because of its heterogeneity in both clinical presentation and course, challenges remain in establishing the most appropriate therapeutic approach in each patient. The aim of this review is to provide an update on management of this disease with a focus on acute treatment and to give suggestions for future research. We showed that there are currently no guidelines that help clinicians manage ADEM and therapeutic decisions are often made on a case-by-case basis. Further studies are necessary to identify clinical, laboratory, and instrumental criteria that could be correlated with outcomes and guide clinicians in choosing when and what treatment should be given in each case. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children)
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Other

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13 pages, 1767 KiB  
Systematic Review
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in PANS/PANDAS in Children: In Search of a Qualified Treatment—A Systematic Review and Metanalysis
by Salvatore Cocuzza, Antonino Maniaci, Ignazio La Mantia, Francesco Nocera, Daniela Caruso, Sebastiano Caruso, Giannicola Iannella, Claudio Vicini, Elio Privitera, Jerome Rene Lechien and Piero Pavone
Children 2022, 9(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020155 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6342
Abstract
Background: Several treatment options have been proposed for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome/pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infection (PANS/PANDAS). Still, no clear therapeutic protocol has been recognized to prevent these neuropsychiatric diseases. The study aims to report on the literature evidence and [...] Read more.
Background: Several treatment options have been proposed for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome/pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infection (PANS/PANDAS). Still, no clear therapeutic protocol has been recognized to prevent these neuropsychiatric diseases. The study aims to report on the literature evidence and different treatment strategies related to these disorders. Methods: We analyzed the last 20 years’ English language literature and performed a comprehensive review of the PANS/PANDAS treatment, including studies reporting OCD outcomes post-treatment follow-up. Results: We covered 11 articles in our systematic literature review for a total of 473 patients, of which four studies included 129 surgical subjects and seven papers with 326 medically treated patients. Pooled outcomes analysis, surgical and medical treatment reported an OCD reduction, but no statistical significance was obtained (p < 0.05 for both). Conclusions: Surgical therapy in selected patients can lead to promising results, although further evidence is needed. On the other hand, the role of medical therapy remains controversial, often due to the lack of univocal curative protocols and variable responses depending on the drug used and the timing of administration. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to clarify the most appropriate therapeutic procedure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children)
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9 pages, 500 KiB  
Case Report
Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome in Children and Adolescents: A Therapeutic Challenge
by Marina Auconi, Laura Papetti, Claudia Ruscitto, Michela Ada Noris Ferilli, Fabiana Ursitti, Giorgia Sforza, Federico Vigevano and Massimiliano Valeriani
Children 2021, 8(11), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8110965 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2432
Abstract
Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is a neurological non-fatal disease that usually responds to immunotherapies. However, the real challenge is to counteract the high frequency of relapses and long-term developmental sequelae. Since the OMS is extremely rare, a common consensus regarding therapeutic guidelines is still [...] Read more.
Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is a neurological non-fatal disease that usually responds to immunotherapies. However, the real challenge is to counteract the high frequency of relapses and long-term developmental sequelae. Since the OMS is extremely rare, a common consensus regarding therapeutic guidelines is still lacking. The goals of this study were to test whether ACTH was superior to other immunotherapies and to investigate whether an early treatment could improve the outcome. Sixteen children affected by OMS were retrospectively reviewed. Eight children had a neuroblastic tumor. The other eight patients were affected by non-paraneoplastic OMS. Overall, the most commonly used treatment was corticotherapy (n = 11). However, ACTH (n = 10), rituximab (n = 7), immunoglobulins (n = 4), cyclophosphamide (n = 3), and mycophenolate (n = 2) were also administered. ACTH was associated with a high percentage of patients who healed (80%) and, as a first-line therapy, was associated with a lower incidence of relapses. An early treatment was associated with a favorable long-term outcome. Long-term sequelae occurred in 42% of patients who were treated early and in all of those who were treated late. It is advisable for the affected children to be identified at an early time, as they may benefit from an early treatment. ACTH represents an effective treatment with a high probability of recovery and low rate of relapses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Neurologic Related Diseases in Children)
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