| 1. |
- Ek, Ulla, et al.
(författare)
-
Relation between blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity and autistic spectrum disorders: a population-based study.
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. - 0012-1622. ; 40:5, s. 297-301
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Children with blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)--who are at greatly increased risk of cerebral damage--have been noted to have a high rate of autistic symptoms, but systematic controlled studies have been lacking. A controlled population-based study was performed; one group was blind due to ROP (N=27) and the other was congenitally blind due to hereditary retinal disease (N=14). Fifteen of the 27 children with ROP had autistic disorder. All these children were mentally retarded and about one-third of them had cerebral palsy. In the comparison group, two of the 14 children had autistic disorder. It is concluded that there is a strong association between ROP and autistic disorder. The association is most probably mediated by brain damage and is largely independent of the blindness per se.
|
|
| 2. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Autistic disorders in children with CHARGE association
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. - 0012-1622. ; 41:4, s. 270-272
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three children with CHARGE association (coloboma, heart defect, atresia of the choanae, retarded growth and development, genital hypoplasia, ear anomalies and hearing defects) as well as concomitant autistic disorder are reported. Two of the children also had mental retardation. Several types of cerebral maldevelopment/dysfunction have been reported in CHARGE association. With regard to aetiology, involvement of the neural crest has been suggested. Autism in CHARGE association may represent a neuro-endocrine dysfunction. Children with a CHARGE association have many medical problems and therefore autistic behaviour can easily be overlooked. A multidisciplinary approach with respect to assessment, treatment, and habilitation is of vital importance.
|
|
| 3. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Autistic symptoms in children with infantile hydrocephalus.
- 1991
-
Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica. - 0001-656X. ; 80:4, s. 451-457
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- From a population-based series of children with Infantile Hydrocephalus (IH) 69 patients (mean age 11.7 years) were examined with respect to the occurrence of autistic symptoms. Autistic symptomatology was evaluated according to a modified short Swedish version of the so-called Autism Behavior Checklist. Sixteen of the 69 IH children (23%) reached a score which was considered indicative of autistic symptoms (AS) in the child. This group was compared with the remaining 53 IH children without autistic symptoms (non AS). Significant differences were found between these two groups with respect to aetiological and clinical data. In the AS group 44% were born preterm as compared to 9% in the non AS group. CT scan showed major abnormalities in 64% of the AS children while this was present in 28% in the non AS group. The occurrence of major neuroimpairments--epilepsy, mental retardation and cerebral palsy--was 50%, 88% and 50% in the AS group as compared to 9%, 23% and 19% respectively in the non AS group. It was concluded that the more severe the brain damage in children with IH the more likely that autistic symptomatology would ensue. This implies that specific neuropsychiatric services to these families are required.
|
|
| 4. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Behavioural problems in children with infantile hydrocephalus.
- 1991
-
Ingår i: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. - : Wiley. - 0012-1622 .- 1469-8749. ; 33:5, s. 388-395
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The occurrence of behavioural problems in a population-based series of children with infantile hydrocephalus (non-spina bifida) was analysed, using parent questionnaires. Children with both infantile hydrocephalus and mental retardation had significantly more behavioural problems compared with those with no mental retardation and controls. Inattentiveness and hyperactivity were particularly typical. No differences were found between children with infantile hydrocephalus and no mental retardation and the control group.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Infantile hydrocephalus epidemiology: an indicator of enhanced survival.
- 1994
-
Ingår i: Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition. - 1359-2998. ; 70:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The epidemiology of infantile hydrocephalus in the birth years 1973-90 was investigated in west Sweden. The study revealed a significant increase in prevalence from 1973-8 and 1979-82 considered due to the enhanced survival of very and extremely preterm infants. The increase did not continue from 1983-90. This could indicate an improved outcome in preterm survivors as the neonatal survival rate continued to increase. The striking predominance of a perinatal/neonatal aetiology in very preterm hydrocephalic infants could be confirmed: 89% born from 1983-90 had suffered a confirmed postpartum intraventricular haemorrhage. In infants born at term, prenatal origins, mainly maldevelopments, dominated. The outcome in very preterm surviving infants with infantile hydrocephalus was poor: 73% had cerebral palsy, 52% epilepsy, 22% severe visual disability, and 55% were mentally retarded. Despite the increased survival resulting in a majority of healthy infants, there is an accumulating cohort of hydrocephalic children.
|
|
| 7. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Infantile hydrocephalus--the impact of enhanced preterm survival.
- 1990
-
Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica. - 0001-656X. ; 79:11, s. 1080-1086
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The epidemiology of infantile hydrocephalus (IH) in the birth years 1983-86 was investigated in the south-western health care region of Sweden. The study was made as a continuation of a previous one which had shown a significant increase in the prevalence of IH in 1967-82. That rise was entirely referable to the relatively larger number of preterm IH infants born in 1979-82 and was considered to be due to the enhanced survival, especially of very preterm infants. The present series comprised 57 liveborn IH infants--27 preterms and 30 born at term. The livebirth prevalence of IH was 0.64 per 1,000, 0.30 for preterm and 0.34 for fullterm infants. The high prevalence of preterm IH infants in 1979-82 had persisted, but had not increased further. This might indicate an improved outcome in preterm survivors in the period 1983-86, as the survival rate had continued to increase. The striking predominance of a perinatal aetiology of IH in very preterm infants could be confirmed: 90% had had intraventricular haemorrhages verified by ultrasound in the postpartum period. The outcome in very preterm surviving infants with IH was still alarmingly poor: 78% had cerebral palsy, 72% mental deficiency, and 56% epilepsy.
|
|
| 8. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948
(författare)
-
Mild mental retardation in schoolchildren in a Swedish suburban municipality: prevalence and diagnostic aspects.
- 1996
-
Ingår i: Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). - 0803-5253. ; 85:5, s. 584-588
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The prevalence of mild mental retardation (MMR) (IQ 50-72) was investigated in a Swedish suburban municipality with special demographic characteristics. The study population consisted of the 6397 children aged 9-15 years residing in the municipality on December 31, 1994. A total of 82 children fulfilled psychometric and adaptive criteria of MMR, corresponding to a prevalence of 12.8/1000. The prevalence was higher than that reported in previous Swedish and Finnish studies using similar case-finding methods. This can probably be explained by the lower socioeconomic status in the municipality studied and by the fact that testing is now more acceptable. Nearly 90% of the MMR children had symptoms in their preschool years, mainly motor, speech/language deviations and a relative inability to perform certain tasks. These symptoms also occur in children with minimal brain dysfunction/ deficits in attention, motor control and perception which should be taken into consideration when selecting screening tests.
|
|
| 9. |
- Fernell, Elisabeth, 1948, et al.
(författare)
-
Possible effects of tetrahydrobiopterin treatment in six children with autism--clinical and positron emission tomography data: a pilot study.
- 1997
-
Ingår i: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. - 0012-1622. ; 39:5, s. 313-318
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Six children, between 3 and 5 years of age, having infantile autism according to DSM-III-R, were treated for 3 months with 6R-L-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin (R-BH4), a cofactor for tyrosine hydroxylases in the biosynthetic pathway of catecholamines and serotonin. A criterion for inclusion in the study was a relatively low level of R-BH4 in the cerebrospinal fluid. For clinical evaluation, the Parental Satisfaction Survey (PASS) was used every fourth week and the Griffiths Developmental Scales were used before starting and 3 months after completing the treatment. During the treatment period, all parents reported improvements in the child's social functioning-mainly eye contact and desire to interact-and in the number of words or sounds which the child used. Small positive changes were noted on the Griffiths Developmental Scales between the two testing occasions. R-BH4 levels in CSF increased significantly after treatment. The positron emission tomography (PET) study showed that the high value of dopamine D2 receptor binding in the caudate and putamen decreased by about 10% towards the normal level after treatment with R-BH4. The observations in this open study indicate that the drug might be useful for a subgroup of children with autism, but there is a need for a larger double-blind study with a longer treatment period.
|
|
| 10. |
- Jacobson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
-
Children with blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity: a population-based study. Perinatal data, neurological and ophthalmological outcome.
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. - : Wiley. - 0012-1622 .- 1469-8749. ; 40:3, s. 155-159
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A population-based group of 27 children with total blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), born in Sweden from 1980 to 1990, was examined. They constituted all but two of the total of 29 children with total blindness due to ROP known to the national register of visually impaired children when reviewed from 1980 to 1 January 1995. All children had a gestational age of less than 31 weeks and most had had a complicated perinatal period. The retinal disease was discovered late, most often after it had already progressed to bilateral retinal detachment. Repeated vitreoretinal surgery had been performed in most children, but postoperative visual function did not improve. Three-quarters of the group had major neurological impairment (mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or epilepsy) at age 4 to 14 years. There was an impression that extensive ophthalmological efforts delayed neurodevelopmental assessments and examinations as well as adequate habilitation.
|
|
