We performed a detailed neuroimaging study in a patient with Parry-Romberg syndrome. Proton MR spectroscopy demonstrated normal spectral patterns, though conventional MR imaging revealed ...high-intensity areas in the entire white matter in the left hemisphere. Single-photon emission tomography showed increased perfusion in the cortex of the affected hemisphere. Pyramidal tracts and optic radiations were preserved on diffusion tensor tractography. We will correlate these neuroimaging findings with normal psychomotor development in our patient.
A febrile seizure is a benign condition. However, for parents, witnessing their child's FS can cause excessive anxiety. It is therefore important for pediatricians to provide appropriate information ...in order to reduce anxiety. In this study, we analyze whether work setting and years of experience influence the explanations given to caregivers.
Questionnaires were mailed to members of the Japan Pediatric Society, Tokyo Chapter (n=1 870). The Mantel-Haenszel test was used for dichotomous variables. Differences for continuous variables were evaluated at 95% confidence intervals.
A total of 482 pediatricians participated. There were no significant differences in responses to any questions according to work setting. Responders with less than 20 years of experience reported a higher prevalence of febrile seizures than those in the more experienced group. Compared to the experienced group, more responders with less than 20 years of experience stated that they would administer antiepileptic prophylaxis and advise parents not to use antipyretics, and indicated that they did not know the FS treatment guidelines.
The findings suggest the importance of promoting a better understanding of FS among less-experienced pediatricians and encouraging adherence to the guidelines to maintain a consistent level of support for parents and caregivers.
AIMS To clarify the features of the background electroencephalographic (EEG) activities in clinically well preterm infants born at less than 27 weeks gestation and to outline their chronological ...changes with increasing postconceptional age (PCA). METHODS EEGs of clinically well premature infants born at less than 27 weeks gestation were recorded during the early postnatal period. The infants were separated into three groups according to their PCA at the time of EEG recording (21–22 weeks PCA, 23–24 weeks PCA, and 25–26 weeks PCA). The mean and maximum duration of interburst intervals (IBIs), the mean duration of bursts, and the percentage of continuous and discontinuous patterns in each PCA group were evaluated. RESULTS There were three infants at 21–22 weeks PCA, seven at 23–24 weeks PCA, and five at 25–26 weeks PCA. Eighteen EEG recordings were obtained. The mean and maximum IBI duration decreased with increasing PCA. The percentage of continuous patterns increased with increasing PCA. Conversely, the percentage of discontinuous patterns decreased with increasing PCA. CONCLUSIONS In premature infants born at less than 27 weeks gestation, the characteristics of the background EEG activities were similar to those of older premature infants. These changes reflect the development of the central nervous system in this period. Key messages At less than 27 weeks gestational age, the characteristics of background EEG activities were found to be as follows: the mean and maximum IBI duration decreased with increasing PCA the percentage of continuous patterns increased with increasing PCA the percentage of discontinuous patterns increased with increasing PCA the mean burst duration during discontinuous patterns increased as PCA increased
To evaluate testicular enhancement patterns in various scrotal disorders at dynamic contrast medium-enhanced subtraction magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.
Forty-two patients with scrotal symptoms (22 ...testicular diseases, 20 extratesticular scrotal disorders) underwent three-dimensional (3D) fast field-echo or fast spin-echo dynamic subtraction MR imaging after injection of paramagnetic contrast medium. The relative percentages of peak height and mean slope of the testes on the affected side were compared with those on the unaffected side by using time-signal intensity curves.
Extratesticular scrotal disorders (time-signal intensity curve mean peak height, 93.1%; mean slope, 89.8%) showed gradual and progressive increase in homogeneous testicular contrast enhancement in all normal testes. Relative percentages of peak height and mean slope of testicular torsion (mean peak height, 17.3%; mean slope, 10.6%), infarction (mean peak height, 30.4%; mean slope, 19.8%), traumatic hemorrhagic necrosis (mean peak height, -3.5%; mean slope, -12.0%), and epidermoid cyst (mean peak height, -6.6%; mean slope, -14.2%) were significantly lower than those of extratesticular scrotal disorders. Acute mumps orchitis (mean peak height, 135.1%; mean slope, 307.5%) and malignant testicular tumor (mean peak height, 178.7%; mean slope, 467.6%) showed higher relative percentages of peak height and mean slope.
Dynamic contrast-enhanced subtraction MR imaging can provide information about testicular perfusion on the basis of contrast enhancement and can be used to differentiate testicular diseases from scrotal disorders.
We hypothesized that benign partial epilepsy in infancy (BPEI) and convulsions with gastroenteritis (CwG) may have a similar genetic background, because previous studies indicate that clinical ...features overlap between BPEI and CwG. As carbamazepine is effective for cessation of clustering seizures in children with BPEI and CwG, some genetic mutations regarding sodium channels may be related to the development of BPEI and/or CwG. We focused on SCN1B encoding the voltage-dependent sodium channel β subunit. We explored SCN1B mutation in 6 children with BPEI and 6 children with CwG. Genomic DNAs were extracted from peripheral blood samples accumulated from the patients and all 5 exons of SCN1B were amplified by standard PCR amplification. There were no SCN1B mutations or pathological single nucleotide polymorphisms in any of the patients, although the phenotypes of our patients were typical for BPEI or CwG. Our study demonstrated that SCN1B may not be related to the occurrence of BPEI or CwG.
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