Biomedical subjects

Maria Flavia Frisone

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Flavia Frisone.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Visual function in infants with West syndrome: correlation with EEG patterns.

PURPOSE: Several studies have reported behavioral and electrophysiological evidence of visual impairment during the active stage of West syndrome. The underlying mechanisms are, however, poorly understood, and little has been reported about the correlation between visual impairment, EEG patterns, and brain lesions. The aim of the study was to assess visual function at the onset of spasm and 2 months thereafter and relate visual findings to brain lesions and EEG features. METHODS: Twenty-five infants with West syndrome were enrolled and studied with (a) a full clinical assessment including a battery of tests specifically designed to assess visual function, (b) a video-polygraphic study, and (c) brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Besides brain neuroimaging and EEG comparison with visual function, an intra-EEG analysis was performed to investigate the possible relation of EEG patterns to fluctuating visual behavior (fixation and following). RESULTS: Twenty-two children had at least one abnormal result on one or more of the tests assessing visual function at T0. Visual impairment at the spasm onset was related to the sleep disorganization rather than to the hypsarrhythmic pattern in awake EEG. After 2 months, both EEG features become significantly linked to visual function. Visual function improved in several cases after 2 months, in parallel with the seizure regression. No relation was found between EEG patterns and fluctuating visual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The study supplies new evidence of the involvement of visual function in West syndrome. The presence of abnormal visual findings in infants without lesions on brain MRI suggests that visual abnormalities are due not only to brain injury but also to epileptic disorder per se. New insight is also provided into the possible mechanisms underlying clinical and EEG abnormalities.

Brain↗

PubMed2002

Development of visual attention in West syndrome.

PURPOSE: To study prospectively the evolution of visual attention in children with West syndrome to evaluate its development before the onset of spasms, its possible deterioration as a consequence of epileptic disorders, and its outcome at the age of 2 years, and the possible relation between the impairment of visual attention and cognitive development. METHODS: Infants with symptomatic West syndrome were examined before the onset of spasms and until age 24 +/- 2 months. Visual attention study (through a clinical observation and the fixation-shift test), cognitive assessment, and complete clinical examination including brain magnetic resonance imaging were performed. RESULTS: A maturation defect of fixation shift skills was generally observed in infants with West syndrome. In some cases, the impaired visual-attention abilities paralleled a cognitive deterioration, even months before the onset of spasms. During the acute stage of West syndrome, infants lost the previously acquired visual and cognitive abilities, with a typical fluctuation of arousal. Usually at 2 years, there was a persistent defective visual attention detected with the fixation-shift test. CONCLUSIONS: The parallel defect of visual attention and of cognitive competencies is a constant finding in infants with West syndrome; these can precede the clinical onset of epileptic spasms. The severity and persistence of visual inattention might be explained by the age of visual maturation, corresponding to the usual onset of West syndrome.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed2002

Prognostic value of the neurologic optimality score at 9 and 18 months in preterm infants born before 31 weeks' gestation.

OBJECTIVE: The Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination was performed in a cohort of 74 preterm infants whose gestational age ranged between 24 and 30.5 weeks. The infants were examined between 9 and 18 months' chronologic age (6-15 months' corrected age) and scored with the optimality score system previously standardized in a cohort of low-risk term infants. The aim of the study was to establish the frequency distribution of the optimality scores in this cohort and to establish whether the scores can predict locomotor function at 2 years of age. RESULTS: The results showed that this standardized neurologic examination can be performed in preterm infants as early as 9 months' chronologic age to predict motor outcome at 2 years old. The scores showed no significant association with the degree of prematurity or the age of assessment. CONCLUSION: This examination should be particularly useful in very premature infants who are at high risk of severe neurologic and developmental disabilities and for whom the early prediction of motor function can be difficult.

Gestational Age↗