Neurology

Concussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries are a fairly common issue in pediatric practice. For the first time, the CDC is offering evidence-based guidance to standardize diagnosis and management.

Drs. Bass and Valasek’s article in the August 2018 issue of Contemporary Pediatrics titled “Sports-related concussion: When it’s OK to return to play” provides a comprehensive review of sports-related concussions (SRC).

Pediatricians need to understand both pathophysiology and management of concussion to correctly address the question of return-to-play for athletes after a jolt to the head.

Physicians must understand current diagnostic criteria for pediatric migraine and its variants, and exercise their best clinical judgment regarding treatment.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a multicenter observational study published in JAMA Neurology that looked at time to treatment in children with refractory convulsive status epilepticus and the impact on mortality.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a population-based sample published in the American Journal of Psychiatry that followed 7th graders for 4 years and examined the effects of cannabis and alcohol on cognition.

A pediatrician with special training in neuromuscular disorders cautions that nothing replaces the traditional workup-a complete history and physical-for diagnosing neuromuscular complaints.

Stratifying tumors by their clinical characteristics and underlying biology will enable future targeting of specific therapies for glioma in children.

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?