Protocol for measuring mitochondrial respiratory capacity from buccal cell swabs.

Mitochondrial respirometry provides a detailed assessment of oxygen consumption within the electron transport system, yet methods detailing respiration from non-invasive samples remain limited. Here, we present a protocol for measuring mitochondrial respiration in cultured buccal cells. We outline procedures for buccal cell collection, primary cell culture, and respirometry calibration, followed by oxygen consumption measurements and cell count for data normalization.

Using machine learning to investigate the influence of the prenatal chemical exposome on neurodevelopment of young children.

Research investigating the prenatal chemical exposome and child neurodevelopment has typically focused on a limited number of chemical exposures and controlled for sociodemographic factors and maternal mental health. Emerging machine learning approaches may facilitate more comprehensive examinations of the contributions of chemical exposures, sociodemographic factors, and maternal mental health to child neurodevelopment. A machine learning pipeline that utilized feature selection and ranking was applied to investigate which common prenatal chemical exposures and sociodemographic factors best predict neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children.

Application of a localized morphometrics approach to imaging-derived brain phenotypes for genotype-phenotype associations in pediatric mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Introduction: Quantitative global or regional brain imaging measurements, known as imaging-specific or -derived phenotypes (IDPs), are commonly used in genotype-phenotype association studies to explore the genomic architecture of the brain and how it may be affected by neurological diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), mental health (e.

Improving patient-centred care in the emergency department: Implementation of a Sensory Toolkit for children with autism.

Emergency department (ED) visits for children with autism can present challenges due to the unique sensory needs of this population. This Quality Improvement (QI) project executed two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to create and implement a Sensory Toolkit in the ED for children with autism. Most caregivers (94%; n = 31/33) and healthcare providers (HCPs; 86%; n = 37/44) identified the need for sensory items in the ED.

Children with Congenital Heart Diseases Exhibit Altered Deep Gray Matter Structures.

Background And Objectives: Children with congenital heart diseases (CHDs) have an increased risk of developing neurologic deficits, even in the absence of apparent brain pathology. The aim of this work was to compare quantitative macro- and microstructural properties of subcortical gray matter structures of pediatric CHD patients with normal appearing brain magnetic resonance imaging to healthy controls.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed children with coarctation of the aorta (COA) and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) admitted to our hospital.

Factors predicting general health concerns and atypical behaviours in children with prenatal alcohol exposure and other adverse exposures.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can have significant negative consequences on the health outcomes of children. Children with PAE often experience other prenatal and postnatal adverse exposures. Increased rates of general health concerns and atypical behaviours are seen in both children with PAE as well as with other patterns of adverse exposures, although these have not been systematically described.

Early Onset Diffusion Abnormalities in Refractory Headache Disorders.

Objective: This study sought to determine if individuals with medically refractory migraine headache have volume or diffusion abnormalities on neuroimaging compared to neurotypical individuals.

Background: Neuroimaging biomarkers in headache medicine continue to be limited. Early prediction of medically refractory headache and migraine disorders could result in earlier administration of high efficacy therapeutics.

Machine learning for precision medicine.

Precision medicine is an emerging approach to clinical research and patient care that focuses on understanding and treating disease by integrating multi-modal or multi-omics data from an individual to make patient-tailored decisions. With the large and complex datasets generated using precision medicine diagnostic approaches, novel techniques to process and understand these complex data were needed. At the same time, computer science has progressed rapidly to develop techniques that enable the storage, processing, and analysis of these complex datasets, a feat that traditional statistics and early computing technologies could not accomplish.

Cerebral volume and diffusion MRI changes in children with sensorineural hearing loss.

Purpose: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the most prevalent congenital sensory deficit in children. Information regarding underlying brain microstructure could offer insight into neural development in deaf children and potentially guide therapies that optimize language development. We sought to quantitatively evaluate MRI-based cerebral volume and gray matter microstructure children with SNHL.

Association of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome With Microstructural Differences in Brain Regions Detected via Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Importance: Epidemiological studies indicate a link between obsessive-compulsive disorder and infections, particularly streptococcal pharyngitis. Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) manifests suddenly with obsessions, compulsions, and other behavioral disturbances, often after an infectious trigger. The current working model suggests a unifying inflammatory process involving the central nervous system, particularly the basal ganglia.

Children with epilepsy demonstrate macro- and microstructural changes in the thalamus, putamen, and amygdala.

Purpose: Despite evidence for macrostructural alteration in epilepsy patients later in life, little is known about the underlying pathological or compensatory mechanisms at younger ages causing these alterations. The aim of this work was to investigate the impact of pediatric epilepsy on the central nervous system, including gray matter volume, cerebral blood flow, and water diffusion, compared with neurologically normal children.

Methods: Inter-ictal magnetic resonance imaging data was obtained from 30 children with epilepsy ages 1-16 (73% F, 27% M).

Alterations in melatonin and 5-HT signalling in the colonic mucosa of mice with dextran-sodium sulfate-induced colitis.

Background And Purpose: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by pain, bleeding, cramping and altered gastrointestinal (GI) function. Changes in mucosal 5-HT (serotonin) signalling occur in animal models of colitis and in humans suffering from IBD. Melatonin is co-released with 5-HT from the mucosa and has a wide variety of actions in the GI tract.

Most Children With Epilepsy Experience Postictal Phenomena, Often Preventing a Return to Normal Activities of Childhood.

Background: After a seizure, individuals with epilepsy have reported diverse symptoms in the postictal period, especially motor and cognitive dysfunction. However, these phenomena have not been well characterized in children, and their impact on patient well-being is not understood. We hypothesized that in a subset of epilepsy patients, postictal symptoms would affect their ability to return to normal childhood activities.

Electrochemical fecal pellet sensor for simultaneous real-time ex vivo detection of colonic serotonin signalling and motility.

Various investigations have focused on understanding the relationship between mucosal serotonin (5-HT) and colonic motility, however contradictory studies have questioned the importance of this intestinal transmitter. Here we described the fabrication and use of a fecal pellet electrochemical sensor that can be used to simultaneously detect the release of luminal 5-HT and colonic motility. Fecal pellet sensor devices were fabricated using carbon nanotube composite electrodes that were housed in 3D printed components in order to generate a device that had shape and size that mimicked a natural fecal pellet.

Inhibiting Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Enteric Glia Restores Electrogenic Ion Transport in Mice With Colitis.

Background & Aims: Disturbances in the control of ion transport lead to epithelial barrier dysfunction in patients with colitis. Enteric glia regulate intestinal barrier function and colonic ion transport. However, it is not clear whether enteric glia are involved in epithelial hyporesponsiveness.

Activation of colonic mucosal 5-HT(4) receptors accelerates propulsive motility and inhibits visceral hypersensitivity.

Background & Aims: 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HT(4)R) agonists promote gastrointestinal motility and attenuate visceral pain, but concerns about adverse reactions have restricted their availability. We tested the hypotheses that 5-HT(4) receptors are expressed in the colonic epithelium and that 5-HT(4)R agonists can act intraluminally to increase motility and reduce visceral hypersensitivity.

Methods: Mucosal expression of the 5-HT(4)R was evaluated by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis of tissues from 5-HT(4)R(BAC)-enhanced green fluorescent protein mice.

Nitric oxide regulation of colonic epithelial ion transport: a novel role for enteric glia in the myenteric plexus.

Enteric glia are increasingly recognized as important in the regulation of a variety of gastrointestinal functions.Here we tested the hypothesis that nicotinic signalling in the myenteric plexus results in the release of nitric oxide (NO) from neurons and enteric glia to modulate epithelial ion transport. Ion transport was assessed using full-thickness or muscle-stripped segments of mouse colon mounted in Ussing chambers.