Plasticity in children

OBJECTIVES: Aspiration of foreign bodies into the tracheobronchial tree is a common accident in children. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and outcome of foreign body removal by flexible bronchoscopy using a retrieval basket in children. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of children treated for foreign bodies in the airway via flexible bronchoscopy using a retrieval basket at a tertiary hospital in Korea between February 2014 and October 2017. The medical records of the patients were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed...

Symmetry is a basic geometry property that affects people's aesthetic experience in common ways across cultures and historical periods, but the origins of the universal preference for symmetrical patterns is not clear. We assessed four-year-old children's and adults' reported aesthetic preferences between symmetrical and asymmetrical visual patterns, as well as their spontaneous attentional preferences between the patterns. We found a striking dissociation between these two measures in the children: Children looked longer at the symmetrical patterns, relative to otherwise similar but asymmetrical patterns, but they showed no explicit preference for those patterns...

Plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is known as an endocrine disruptor and a peroxisome proliferator. A currently epidemiological study has suggested that daily high di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) intake from phthalate-tainted foods in children may be a risk factor for renal dysfunction. DEHP can leach from medical devices such as blood storage bags and the tubing. Long-term exposure to DEHP is associated with nephropathy and exacerbates chronic kidney diseases (CKD) progression. However, the detailed effects and molecular mechanisms remain unclear...

In contrast to the concealed penis found in children, the adult buried penis (BP) is associated with obesity or found in patients after massive weight loss. Bariatric patients present with enormous prepubic fat masses into which the penile shaft retracts. As a consequence, urinating problems occur with wetting of the adjacent tissue. Many BP patients are circumcised with recurrence and worsening of the symptoms. In postbariatric patients, the penis is not engulfed into the prepubic tissue. In contrast to highly obese patients, the BP is covered underneath the cutaneous apron...

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of early treatment via fiber bronchoscope in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) complicated by airway mucus obstruction. METHODS: According to the time from admission to the treatment via fiber bronchoscope, the children with MPP who were found to have airway mucus obstruction under a fiber bronchoscope were randomly divided into early intervention group (≤3 days; n=40) and late intervention group (>3 days; n=56)...

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a rare autoinflammatory bone disorder of children and adolescents characterized by mono- or multi-focal inflammatory bone lesions that are culture-negative on biopsy, associated with periods of exacerbation and resolution that can last over several months to years. Although it is predominantly a disease of long bones and the spine, craniofacial involvement is not uncommon, affecting the mandible in up to a fifth of cases. Similarities with other etiologies of osteitis in clinical presentation and imaging, as well as the lack of specific symptoms or laboratory tests, make CRMO mainly a diagnosis of exclusion...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the aesthetics of nasolabial appearance and facial profile of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) submitted to 2-stage palate repair with vomerine flap. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Single center. PATIENTS: Forty patients with UCLP, mean age of 7.81 years of both sexes, rehabilitated at a single center by 1 plastic surgeon. INTERVENTIONS: Lip and anterior palate repair with nasal alar repositioning was performed at 3 to 6 months of age by Millard technique and vomer flap, respectively...

PURPOSE: Young children have a high risk of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Children often appear healthy soon after mTBI, but some have pervasive cognitive and/or motor impairments. Understanding underlying mechanisms recruited after concussion may help for return to play protocols and mitigating what might be lifelong impairments. METHODS: We investigated molecular and behavioral changes in a rat model of childhood concussion. Rats received an injury or sham procedure at an age approximately equivalent to the human period of early childhood...

Introduction Orofacial clefts are associated with middle ear diseases, but the magnitude of this problem is not generally well appreciated. The aim of this study was to describe the middle ear findings and audiological profile in children with orofacial clefts. Materials and methods Children with orofacial clefts attending plastic surgery and otorhinolaryngology departments of a tertiary hospital over one-year duration were included in this study. Ninety-six children with orofacial clefts were identified. They were categorized age-wise as zero to five years, more than five years to 10 years, and more than 10 years to 15 years...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) does not always have a benign cognitive outcome. We investigated the relationship between cognitive performance and altered functional connectivity (FC) in the resting-state brain networks of BECTS patients. METHODS: We studied 42 subjects, comprising 19 BECTS patients and 23 healthy controls. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, in addition to verbal and visuospatial memory tests and executive function tests...

This commentary highlights the recently published study by Jeon and Ha (Environ Health Prev Med 22:27, 2017) examining the effects of exercise intensity and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on memory in adolescents. This 12-week training study elicited increases in BDNF and improvements in working memory during moderate- and high-intensity exercise, which may have been achieved through improved brain tissue oxygenation, nutrient delivery, and BDNF mRNA expression. These improvements highlight the positive neuroendocrinological effects of BDNF and its role as a potential candidate molecule, as a mediator of synaptic plasticity...

INTRODUCTION: Outpatient management of patients undergoing elective surgical procedures has been associated with significantly decreased health care costs compared with inpatient management. This study investigates current practices in outpatient versus inpatient management of pediatric rhinoplasty patients. METHODS: A query was performed of the 2012 to 2014 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric data sets. Patients age 17 or younger undergoing rhinoplasty as the primary surgical procedure were included...

Prosthetic options for patients with proximal upper limb absence are limited. Current above elbow prostheses may restore basic motor functions for crucial activities, but they are cumbersome to operate, lack sensory feedback, and are often abandoned. Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) is a novel surgical procedure that enhances the ability of patients with above elbow amputations to intuitively control a myoelectric prosthesis. By transferring multiple severed peripheral nerves to a robust target muscle, TMR restores physiologic continuity and enables more intuitive prosthetic control...

The complexity of neurodevelopment, the rapidity of early neurogenesis, and over 100 years of research identifying environmental influences on neurodevelopment serve as backdrop to understanding factors that influence risk and severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This Keynote Lecture, delivered at the May 2016 annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research, describes concepts of causation, outlines the trajectory of research on nongenetic factors beginning in the 1960s, and briefly reviews the current state of this science...

OBJECTIVE: Impairment of speech repetition following injury to the dorsal language stream is feature of conduction aphasia - a well-described 'disconnection syndrome' in adults. The impact of similar lesions sustained in infancy has not been established. METHODS: We compared language outcomes in term-born individuals with confirmed neonatal stroke (n=30; age: 7-18 years, left-sided lesions in 21 cases) to matched controls (n=40). Injury to the dorsal and/or ventral language streams was assessed using T1 - and T2 -weighted MRI and diffusion tractography...

BACKGROUND: The neurochemistry of hepatic nerve fibers was investigated in large animal models after dietary exposure to the endocrine disrupting compound known as bisphenol A. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Antibodies against neuronal peptides were used to study changes in hepatic nerve fibers after exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) at varying concentrations using standard immunofluorescence techniques. The neuropeptides investigated were substance P (SP), galanin (GAL), pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), calcitonin gene regulated peptide (CGRP) and cocaine & amphetamine regulated transcript (CART)...

BACKGROUND: Non-syndromic craniosynostosis causes craniofacial asymmetry and may persist after cranioplasty. These postoperative asymmetries are primarily depressions. In some cases, patients may be subjected to pranks and harassment by their peers, affecting their psychosocial development. We propose lipoinjection enriched with adipose stem cells (ASCs) to treat the sequelae of craniosynostosis in the fronto-orbital and temporal complex in cranioplasty patients, with the goal of improving the appearance of the upper third of the face...

Cardiovascular training has been associated with neuroimaging correlates of executive control functions (ECF) in seniors and children/adolescents, while complementary studies in middle-aged populations are lacking. Ascribing a prominent role to cardiorespiratory fitness improvements, most studies concentrated on training-induced gains in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), although other fitness indices may provide complementary information. Here, we investigated the impact of long-term sub-maximal exercise training on interference control, considering individual training-induced shifts in blood lactate profile curves (BLC) and VO2 max...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mexican cleft surgeons provide multidisciplinary comprehensive cleft lip and palate care to children in Mexico. Many Mexican cleft surgeons have extensive experience with foreign, visiting surgeons. The purpose of this study was to characterize Mexican cleft surgeons' domestic and volunteer practice and to learn more about Mexican cleft surgeons' experience with visiting surgeons. METHODS: A cross-sectional validated e-mail survey tool was sent to Mexican cleft surgeons through 2 Mexican plastic surgery societies and the Asociación Mexicana de Labio y Paladar Hendido y Anomalías Craneofaciales, the national cleft palate society that includes plastic and maxillofacial surgeons who specialize in cleft surgery...

Abnormal patterns of sympathetic- and parasympathetic- linked cardiac activity and reactivity are observed among externalizing children, and mark deficiencies in central nervous system regulation of behavior and emotion. Although changes in these biomarkers have been observed following treatment, mechanisms remain unexplored. We used MEMORE-a new approach to analyzing intervening variable effects-to evaluate improvements in parenting as mediators of changes in SNS- and PNS-linked cardiac activity and reactivity among 99 preschoolers with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder who were treated using an empirically supported intervention...