Developmental reflex

Accurate determination of death is a necessary responsibility of the medical profession. Brain death, or death by neurological criteria (DNC), can be legally declared after the determination of permanent loss of clinical brain function, including the capacity for consciousness, brainstem reflexes, and the ability to breathe spontaneously. Despite longstanding debates over the exact definition of brain death or DNC and how it is determined, most middle- and high-income countries have compatible medical protocols and legal policies for brain death or DNC...

This study explored the home-based participation of young people with cerebral palsy (CP) and described factors that make participation easier or harder. Fifteen young people with CP aged 15 to 26 years provided written reflections, photographs, or videos about their home-based participation experiences. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Self-reported reflections were grouped inductively into 129 codes, then 20 subthemes and 5 themes which emphasized CP characteristics, thoughts, emotions, equipment, environment, supports, and inclusion as important factors influencing home-based participation...

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a condition characterized by progressive narrowing of arteries in the brain and abnormal development of small collateral vessels. It is commonly found in East Asia but has never been reported in Palestine. CASE PRESENTATION: A 2-year-old female, part of a twin born to non-consanguineous parents, presented with recurring seizures and developmental regression. The physical examination revealed signs of hypotonia, reflex abnormalities, and bilateral Babinski signs...

BACKGROUND: Dravet syndrome (DS) is a Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy (DEE) with onset typically in infancy. Seizures are pharmaco-resistant, and neurodevelopment is compromised in almost all children. There is limited data on the impact of the condition on the family, support needs and hopes and fears in Sweden. METHODS: Interviews were undertaken with the caregivers of 36 of 48 (75%) living children with DS in Sweden focusing on the perceived impact on the family, current supports and hopes and fears for the future...

Nearly 80% of the world's population trusts traditional medicine and plant-based drug compounds to improve health, and more than 50% of women who participated in a study have used herbal remedies during pregnancy. Bocconia frutescens L. is a plant native to tropical America, where infusion of its leaves has been widely used for the treatment of several gastrointestinal disorders. We have already shown that orogastric consumption of B. frutescens L. during the organogenesis period at concentrations equivalent to human consumption produces teratogenic effects in rats, but effects on progeny development have not yet been studied...

BACKGROUND: When healthcare providers (HCPs) become patients, the experience affects their sense of identity, the care they receive, and their clinical practice. In child health, considerably less is known about the experiences of HCP-parents who access the pediatric healthcare system with their own children with disabilities and/or chronic medical conditions. AIMS: This study aimed to examine the experiences of HCPs who have children with disabilities to identify their experiences with healthcare delivery...

This review deals with the developmental origins of extraocular, jaw and laryngeal muscles, the expression, regulation and functional significance of sarcomeric myosin heavy chains (MyHCs) that they express and changes in MyHC expression during phylogeny. Myogenic progenitors from the mesoderm in the prechordal plate and branchial arches specify craniofacial muscle allotypes with different repertoires for MyHC expression. To cope with very complex eye movements, extraocular muscles (EOMs) express 11 MyHCs, ranging from the superfast extraocular MyHC to the slowest, non-muscle MyHC IIB (nmMyH IIB)...

Lead exposure is a significant health concern, ranking among the top 10 most harmful substances for humans. There are no safe levels of lead exposure, and it affects multiple body systems, especially the cardiovascular and neurological systems, leading to problems such as hypertension, heart disease, cognitive deficits, and developmental delays, particularly in children. Gender differences are a crucial factor, with women's reproductive systems being especially vulnerable, resulting in fertility issues, pregnancy complications, miscarriages, and premature births...

INTRODUCTION: Pedestrians are a vulnerable group at the roadside and previous research has identified that children with DCD and ADHD are at a heightened risk of pedestrian injuries. Despite this, limited research has explored parental perspectives of the pedestrian risks faced by children with DCD and/or ADHD. Understanding parents' perspectives provides a unique insight into the challenges children face every day and the concerns that parents perceive regarding their children's safety as pedestrians...

Tmc1 and Tmc2 are essential pore-forming subunits of mechanosensory transduction channels localized to the tips of stereovilli in auditory and vestibular hair cells of the inner ear. To investigate expression and function of Tmc1 and Tmc2 in vestibular organs, we used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), fluorescence in situ hybridization - hairpin chain reaction (FISH-HCR), immunostaining, FM1-43 uptake and we measured vestibular evoked potentials (VsEPs) and vestibular ocular reflexes (VORs). We found that Tmc1 and Tmc2 showed dynamic developmental changes, differences in regional expression patterns, and overall expression levels which differed between the utricle and saccule...

INTRODUCTION: Mental health and substance use services for youth in Canada continue to be fragmented. In response, Integrated Youth Services (IYS) has been proposed to address gaps in youth mental health services that can lead to improved youth outcomes. Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) was launched in 2017 as Ontario's IYS Network for youth ages 12-25, prioritizing continuous improvement through evaluation. DESCRIPTION: At the end of the first three years of the YWHO initiative, an evaluation was carried out to identify the barriers and facilitators to the initial implementation of YWHO and service delivery modifications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic across ten sites...

In a developing embryo, formation of tissues and organs is remarkably precise in both time and space. Through cell-cell interactions, neighboring progenitors coordinate their activities, sequentially generating distinct types of cells. At present, we only have limited knowledge, rather than a systematic understanding, of the underlying logic and mechanisms responsible for cell fate transitions. The formation of the dorsal aspect of the spinal cord is an outstanding model to tackle these dynamics, as it first generates the peripheral nervous system and is later responsible for transmitting sensory information from the periphery to the brain and for coordinating local reflexes...

Pain experiences are common during childhood (e.g., 'everyday' pain, vaccine injections) and are powerful opportunities for children to learn about pain and injury. These experiences likely inform fundamental and life-long beliefs about pain. There is scant research investigating the sociocultural contexts in which children learn about pain and injury. One unexplored context is shared reading of picture books (e.g., between parents/caregivers and children). In this study, we investigated whether shared reading of picture books that included depictions of pain and/or injury prompted parent/caregiver-child interactions...

The SYN1 gene encodes synapsin I, variants within the SYN1 gene are linked to X-linked neurodevelopmental disorders with high clinical heterogeneity, with reflex epilepsies (REs) being a representative clinical manifestation. This report analyzes a Chinese pedigree affected by seizures associated with SYN1 variants and explores the genotype-phenotype correlation. The proband, a 9-year-old boy, experienced seizures triggered by bathing at the age of 3, followed by recurrent absence seizures, behavioral issues, and learning difficulties...

Autosomal Dominant Mental Retardation Type 7 is a disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the DYRK1A  gene. Clinical features associated with this gene mutation include focal dysmorphism, developmental delay, and epilepsy. In this report, we present a case of an 8-year-old boy with a DYRK1A gene mutation, whose clinical manifestations underscore the rarity and clinical challenges of this genetic condition. The patient is a known case of global developmental delay with intractable epilepsy on multiple anti-epileptic medications...

Throughout life, the cerebellum plays a central role in the coordination and optimization of movements, using cellular plasticity to adapt a range of behaviors. Whether these plasticity processes establish a fixed setpoint during development, or continuously adjust behaviors throughout life, is currently unclear. Here, by spatiotemporally manipulating the activity of protein phosphatase 2B (PP2B), an enzyme critical for cerebellar plasticity, in male and female mice, we examined the consequences of disrupted plasticity on the performance and adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)...

From early in life, we encounter both controllable environments, in which our actions can causally influence the reward outcomes we experience, and uncontrollable environments, in which they cannot. Environmental controllability is theoretically proposed to organize our behavior. In controllable contexts, we can learn to proactively select instrumental actions that bring about desired outcomes. In uncontrollable environments, Pavlovian learning enables hard-wired, reflexive reactions to anticipated, motivationally salient events, providing "default" behavioral responses...

BACKGROUND: Physiotherapists in Australia play a vital first-contact role in identifying suspected serious pathologies and navigating their management pathways. Current literature highlights challenges faced by physiotherapists including implications of ineffective identification and management of suspected serious pathologies, yet the perspectives of new-graduate physiotherapists related to this area of practice remain unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore new-graduate physiotherapists' perspectives and developmental needs related to identifying suspected serious pathologies and navigating their management pathways in patients with musculoskeletal complaints...

BACKGROUND: 16p11.2 proximal deletion and duplication syndromes (Break points 4-5) (593KB, Chr16; 29.6-30.2mb - HG38) are observed to have highly varied phenotypes, with a known propensity for lifelong psychiatric problems. This study aimed to contribute to a research gap by qualitatively exploring the challenges families with 16p11.2 deletion and duplication face by answering three research questions: (1) What are parents' perceptions of the ongoing support needs of families with children who have 16p11...

BACKGROUND: The meanings of neurodevelopmental conditions are socially and culturally defined. We explored how parents of a child with Down syndrome experienced public and professional understandings of Down syndrome. METHOD: Qualitative interviews with 25 parents of a child with Down syndrome living in Denmark. From a reflexive thematic analysis, we developed themes describing understandings (i.e., attitudes or perceptions) of Down syndrome. RESULTS: The parents experienced that the Down syndrome diagnosis acted as a 'label'; this had perceived positive and negative consequences for the child...