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Existing clinical tools that measure non-seizure outcomes lack the range and granularity needed to capture skills in developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE)-affected individuals who also fall in the severe to profound range of intellectual disability. This effectively excludes those with severe impairments from clinical trials, impeding the ability of sponsors to evaluate disease-modifying therapies.
Chronic pain assessment tools exist for children, but may not be valid, reliable, and feasible for populations with functional, cognitive or communication limitations, for example, cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to (i) identify chronic pain assessment tools used with children and young people and rate their measurement properties; (ii) develop a CP specific feasibility rating tool to assess the feasibility of tools in CP; and (iii) categorise tools according to reporting method.
Early childhood is foundational for optimal and inclusive lifelong learning, health and well-being. Young children with disabilities face substantial risks of sub-optimal early childhood development, requiring targeted support to ensure equitable access to lifelong learning opportunities, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
In 2022, an international conference was held focusing on 'participation'. We shared current evidence, identified knowledge gaps and worked together to understand what new knowledge and community and practice changes were needed. This brief communication is a summary of the conference delegates' discussions.
Aneuploidies, and in particular, trisomies represent the most common genetic aberrations observed in human genetics today. To explore the presence of trisomies in historic and prehistoric populations we screen nearly 10,000 ancient human individuals for the presence of three copies of any of the target autosomes. We find clear genetic evidence for six cases of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and one case of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), and all cases are present in infant or perinatal burials.
The CDKL5 Clinical Severity Assessment is a comprehensive, content-validated measurement tool capturing the diverse challenges of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 deficiency disorder, a genetically caused developmental epileptic encephalopathy. The CCSA is divided into clinician-reported and caregiver-reported assessments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factor structure of these measures through confirmatory factor analysis and evaluate their validity and reliability.
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition impacting motor skill acquisition and competence. While previous studies have identified adverse psychosocial outcomes in DCD, they are limited by small or population-screened, community-based samples.
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) are rare, often monogenic neurodevelopmental conditions. Most affected individuals have refractory seizures. All have multiple severe impairments which can be as life-limiting as or more limiting than the seizures themselves. Mechanism- and gene-targeted therapies for these individually rare, genetic conditions hold hope for treatment, amelioration of disease expression, and even cure.
Neuromuscular disorders can lead to nocturnal hypoventilation. Accurate diagnosis of hypoventilation is imperative to guide treatment decisions. This study determined interobserver agreement for a number of definitions of nocturnal hypoventilation in children and adolescents with neuromuscular disorders.
Intensive rehabilitation aims to improve and maintain functioning in young people who experience disability due to illness or injury. Day rehabilitation may have advantages for families and healthcare systems over inpatient models of rehabilitation.