Post-COVID Surge in Pediatric Emergency Department Accesses for Psychiatric Conditions: A Retrospective Analysis of Anxiety, Self-Injury Behaviors, and Psychomotor Agitation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on pediatric mental health, contributing to a global surge in psychiatric emergencies among children and adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate trends in pediatric emergency department (PED) visits for three key psychiatric conditions-anxiety disorders (ADs), self-injury behaviors (SIBs), and psychomotor agitation (PMA)-before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. : We conducted a retrospective observational study at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Italy, analyzing all psychiatric presentations to the PED from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2024.

Sleep architecture correlates with neurological and neurobehavioral short- and mid-term outcome in a sample of very preterm infants. A pilot study.

Newborns spend most of their time sleeping. This activity fosters neurodevelopment. Prematurity, defined by birth occurring prior the 37th week of gestation, disrupts normal brain in-utero programming, with long-lasting consequences that carry a high social burden.

Exploring resilience among hospital workers: a Bayesian approach.

Background And Importance: Healthcare professionals face significant workloads, as their roles are among the most demanding and stressful. Resilience serves as a crucial factor in helping them cope with the challenges encountered in their work environment and effectively manage stress. Assessing the level of resilience among healthcare workers and identifying potential variations across different groups is essential for effective public health management, preventing burnout, and ultimately enhancing patient care.

COVID-19 Pandemic School Disruptions and Acute Mental Health in Children and Adolescents.

Importance: There are suggestions that school pressure may be stressful and a factor in child and adolescent mental health disturbances, but data about this association are scarce and inconclusive.

Objective: To assess whether varying degrees of school interruption were associated with changes in emergency department (ED) psychiatric visits of children and adolescents before and after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at 9 urban university hospitals in Italy.

Early IGF-1 receptor inhibition in mice mimics preterm human brain disorders and reveals a therapeutic target.

Besides recent advances in neonatal care, preterm newborns still develop sex-biased behavioral alterations. Preterms fail to receive placental insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a major fetal growth hormone in utero, and low IGF-1 serum levels correlate with preterm poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Here, we mimicked IGF-1 deficiency of preterm newborns in mice by perinatal administration of an IGF-1 receptor antagonist.

The Possible Role of the Superior Sagittal Sinus in Regulating Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics among Preterm Infants: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature.

We report the case of a preterm of 27 weeks of gestation who developed posthemorrhagic ventricular dilatation associated to a complete thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus, for its peculiar interest in clarifying the physiology of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. The exact CSF volume that must be removed to improve cerebral hemodynamics and outcomes in infants with posthemorrhagic ventricular dilatation is unknown. According to Volpe's studies, a volume of 10 to 15 mL/kg/die of body weight is commonly chosen.

Influence of isolated low-grade intracranial haemorrhages on the neurodevelopmental outcome of infants born very low birthweight.

Aim: To determine whether isolated low-grade germinal matrix-intraventricular haemorrhages (LG-GMH-IVH) and low-grade punctate cerebellar haemorrhages (LG-CBH) contribute to the neurodevelopment of infants born preterm with very low birthweight (VLBW).

Method: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted on infants born with VLBW hospitalized from January 2012 to July 2017 who had undergone serial cranial ultrasounds since birth and magnetic resonance susceptibility-weighted imaging of the brain at term-corrected age. Only those with VLBW carrying isolated LG-GMH-IVH (grades 1 or 2) or isolated LG-CBH (punctate cerebellar haemorrhages ≤4 mm in diameter) or absence of lesions (no-lesion) were enrolled and followed up to 3 years.

Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 3 Years of Age in Very Low Birth Weight Infants According to Brain Development and Lesions.

Background: During the last decades, severe brain lesions affecting very low birth weight (<1500 gr, VLBW) infants were gradually substituted by milder lesions with debatable prognoses.

Objective: The objective of this study is to define type, frequency and 3 years of neurodevelopmental outcome of prematurity-related brain lesions in a modern cohort of VLBW infants.

Methods: VLBW infants admitted to our NICU in 5 years period with brain MRI at term-equivalent age were included.

Interstitial 2q24.2q24.3 Microdeletion: Two New Cases with Similar Clinical Features with the Exception of Profound Deafness.

Interstitial 2q24.2q24.3 microdeletions are rare cytogenetic aberrations associated with heterogeneous clinical features depending on the size of the deletion.

The pandemic seen through the eyes of the youngest people: evaluating psychological impact of the early COVID-19 related confinement on children and adolescents through the analysis of drawings and of an e-survey on their parents.

Background: COVID-19 is having a significant impact on long term children' and adolescents' psychological health. We aimed to evaluate the direct early psychological and behavioural signs related to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and related confinement on children and adolescents.

Methods: Children and adolescents' drawings were collected for a limited time window (16th March-10th April 2020) and analyzed.

Imaging characteristics and neurosurgical outcome in subjects with agenesis of the corpus callosum and interhemispheric cysts.

Purpose: To explore the relationships between clinical-radiological features and surgical outcomes in subjects with interhemispheric cysts (IHC) and corpus callosum anomalies.

Methods: We reviewed the clinico-radiological and neurosurgical data of 38 patients surgically treated with endoscopic fenestration, shunting, or combined approaches from 2000 to 2018 (24 males, median age 9 years). Pre- and postoperative changes in IHC volume were calculated.

Psychological Impact of the Very Early Beginning of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Healthcare Workers: A Bayesian Study on the Italian and Swiss Perspectives.

Background: We investigated the COVID19-related psychological impact on healthcare workers in Italy and in Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland, three weeks after its outbreak. All professional groups of public hospitals in Italy and Switzerland were asked to complete a 38 questions online survey investigating demographic, marital and working status, presence of stress symptoms and need for psychological support.

Results: Within 38 h a total of 3,038 responses were collected.

Stress symptoms and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a comparative study between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and typically developing children and adolescents.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related confinement severely impacted people wellbeing. Many studies focused on general population, although it is reasonable to expect that patients with neurodevelopmental disorders might have been at higher risk. Children/adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might be potentially more vulnerable, due to their intolerance to forced restrictions that limit stimulating experiences, to obligation to follow instructions and to acceptation of imposed rules.

Expanding the phenotype associated with interstitial 6p25.1p24.3 microdeletion: a new case and review of the literature.

Interstitial 6p25.1p24.3 microdeletions are rare events and a clear karyotype/phenotype correlation has not yet been determined.

CASK related disorder: Epilepsy and developmental outcome.

Objective: CASK pathogenic variants are associated with variable features, as intellectual disability, optic atrophy, brainstem/cerebellar hypoplasia, and epileptic encephalopathy. Few studies describe the electroclinical features of epilepsy in patients with CASK pathogenic variants and their relationship with developmental delay.

Methods: this national multicentre cohort included genetically confirmed patients with different CASK pathogenic variants.

Photoparoxysmal response in ADCK3 autosomal recessive ataxia: a case report and literature review.

Mutations in AarF domain-containing kinase 3 (ADCK3) are responsible for the most frequent form of hereditary coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiency (Q10 deficiency-4), which is mainly associated with autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia type 2 (ARCA2). Clinical presentation is characterized by a variable degree of cerebellar atrophy and a broad spectrum of associated symptoms, including muscular involvement, movement disorders, neurosensory loss, cognitive impairment, psychiatric symptoms and epilepsy. In this report, we describe, for the first time, a case of photoparoxysmal response in a female patient with a mutation in ADCK3.

Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and coping strategies related to the pandemic among families in Italy, by focusing on developmental ages from the caregivers' perspective, 3 weeks into quarantine.

Spontaneous movements in the newborns: a tool of quantitative video analysis of preterm babies.

Background And Objectives: The number of preterm babies is steadily growing world-wide and these neonates are at risk of neuro-motor-cognitive deficits. The observation of spontaneous movements in the first three months of age is known to predict such risk. However, the analysis by specifically trained physiotherapists is not suited for the clinical routine, motivating the development of simple computerized video analysis systems, integrated with a well-structured Biobank to make available for preterm babies a growing service with diagnostic, prognostic and epidemiological purposes.

1p31.1 microdeletion including only NEGR1 gene in two patients.

Neuronal growth regulator 1 (NEGR1), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecule subgroup IgLON, has been involved in neuronal growth and connectivity. Genetic variants, in or near the NEGR1 locus, have been associated with obesity and, more recently, with learning difficulties, intellectual disability, and psychiatric disorders. Here, we described the only second report of NEGR1 gene disruption in 1p31.

Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia, two new cases with peculiar EEG pattern.

Schimke Immuno-Osseous Dysplasia (SIOD) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the gene SMARCAL1. The clinical picture is characterized by spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia resulting in growth failure, nephropathy and T-cell deficiency. Neurologic manifestations include microcephaly, cognitive impairment, migraine-like headaches and cerebrovascular manifestations such as cerebral atherosclerotic vascular disease and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction.

Early Pain Exposure Influences Functional Brain Connectivity in Very Preterm Neonates.

Background: Early exposure to nociceptive events may cause brain structural alterations in preterm neonates, with long-lasting consequences on neurodevelopmental outcome. Little is known on the extent to which early pain may affect brain connectivity. We aim to evaluate brain functional connectivity changes in preterm neonate that underwent multiple invasive procedures during the postnatal period, and to correlate them with the neurodevelopmental outcome at 24 months.