Background: Major neurological handicaps and neuropsychological disturbances are more common in ex-preterm children than their counterparts born at term. Objective: To establish in a prospective study whether a characteristic neuropsychological profile exists in ex-preterm children who do not exhibit neurodevelopmental deficits on routine clinical examination. Methods: Thirty intellectually normal children born preterm (30-34 weeks gestation) without major neurological disabilities and a control group of term children matched for age, sex, and parental educational and occupational status were assessed at 3-4 years of age to obtain a complete neuropsychological profile. Intellectual ability, language comprehension and expression, perceptual and visual motor function, working memory, and attention and behavioural problems were investigated. Conclusions: Neuropsychological abnormalities can be detected early in childhood in apparently normal ex-preterm children and are consistent with a growing body of evidence that prematurity may be associated with long term neuropsychological morbidity in childhood and adolescence.

This review describes recent research in pediatric sleep disorders associated with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) and their treatment. NDDs affect more than 2% of the general population and represent more than 35% of the total cases of children referred to a neuropsychiatric center for sleep problems. Specific clinical and therapeutic aspects of sleep disorders associated with Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Prader?Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Rett syndrome, Smith?Magenis syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorders are described. Furthermore, the drugs commonly used for sleep disorders in children with NDDs are described. The review clearly highlighted that children with NDDs are often affected by sleep disorders that require appropriate clinical and therapeutic approach to improve quality of life in both patients and families.

AIM The aim of this study was to describe stress in the parents of children with cerebral palsy and investigate associations with very high stress.METHOD A cross-sectional survey was conducted of parents of 818 children aged 8 to 12 years from nine regions in Europe. Families were eligible to participate if they were living in one of the specified geographic areas. Parental stress was captured using the Parenting Stress Index Short Form, which has 36 items and takes 10 minutes to complete. Parents rate items on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating higher stress. The Short Form yields scores on three subscales and a Total Stress score. A trained research associate administered the questionnaire in the child's home and visits lasted 90 to 120 minutes. All data collected were reported by parents unless otherwise stated. RESULTSThe Total Stress score on the Parenting Stress Index was dichotomized into scores of less than 99 or 99 or more, the latter indicating 'very high' stress. Most respondents were mothers (94%), and 26% reported very high stress levels. The parents of children with communication impairment had higher odds for very high stress (odds ratio [OR] 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-3.0) than those whose child had no such impairment; the parents of children with moderate or severe pain had higher odds for very high stress (OR 1.7 [95% CI 1.1-2.4] and 2.5 [95% CI 1.5-4.3] respectively) than those whose child had no pain; and the parents of children with an intellectual impairment had higher odds for very high stress (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2-2.9) than those whose child had none. There was no association between very high stress and motor impairment. The subscales 'parent-child dysfunctional interaction' and 'difficult child' contributed most to the Total Stress score.

The aim of this study was to investigate attention and perceptual and spatial working memory abilities in preterm, low birth weight preschool children without evident brain disorders as determined by normal cerebral ultrasound findings and normal motor development. The authors evaluated 19 preterm and 19 typically developing children who were matched for IQ and chronological age. Results indicated that children born prematurely without major neurological deficits and with a normal cognitive level may have specific difficulty in sustained attention, visuospatial processing, and spatial working memory when evaluated at ages 3-4. This finding is relevant for understanding the qualitative aspects of cognitive development in preterm children and the neurobiological substrate underlying this development.

Williams syndrome (WS) is characterised by a defined genetic aetiology and a specific cognitive profile. It provides an opportunity to examine associations between neuroanatomy, behaviour, and genetics. High-resolution T1-weighted MRI of the brain of 12 patients with WS and 12 normal control subjects were used to estimate the shape and volume of the corpus callosum (CC), as well as the voxel intensity values as a measure its water content. The CC of patients with WS was more convex than that of normal control subjects and overall smaller in volume, particularly in the splenium and in the caudal part of the callosal body. In addition, there were higher ratio values of voxel intensity (i.e. less water content) in the mid-section of the body and the caudal part of the body of the CC. These combined features indicate an aberrant development of the CC in patients with WS and document some of the anatomical abnormalities that may underlie some of the cognitive impairments observed in subjects with WS.

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The environmental factors that cause concern to parents of children with CP are similar across Europe. A prototype environmental questionnaire has been developed based on these findings. The environmental questionnaire is in use in a study in nine European centres.