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Biomedical subjects

G Stores

Publications and source records attributed to G Stores.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Sleep disorders and their relationship to psychological disturbance in children with epilepsy.

By means of parental questionnaires, sleep disturbances were assessed in 79 schoolchildren with epilepsy (mean age 10.12, range 5-16 years) for comparisons with 73 healthy control children matched for gender and to within a maximum of 6 months of age. The daytime behaviour of the children with epilepsy was also assessed by questionnaire. The children with epilepsy were considered representative of such children under general paediatric care. Sleep disturbance was classified into five basic types (poor quality sleep, anxieties about sleep, disturbances during sleep, symptoms of disordered breathing during sleep and short duration sleep) and the behaviour questionnaire provided scores on five factors (conduct problems, hyperactivity, attention problems, anxiety and physical complaints). Compared with normal controls children with epilepsy showed much higher rates of sleep disorders, particularly poor quality sleep and anxieties about sleep. In children aged 5-11 years associations were found between disturbed daytime behaviour and sleep problems, particularly poor quality sleep. There was also a significant association between seizure frequency and anxieties about sleeping. This study highlights the potentially serious psychological and other developmental implications of persistent sleep disturbance to children with epilepsy, and the need for further research on specific types of epilepsy with careful identification of the nature of both sleep disturbance and related psychological dysfunction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in children with Down's syndrome, their siblings, and non-intellectually disabled and other intellectually disabled peers.

The present study investigates the occurrence of daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in a group of children with Down's syndrome (DS) compared with a group of their non-intellectually disabled siblings, a group of non-intellectually disabled children from the general population and a group of children with an intellectual disability other than Down's syndrome. The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and the Malaise Inventory were completed by the mothers. Associations between daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress were also explored. Overall, the children with DS and the children with other intellectual disabilities showed significantly higher rates of behavioural disturbance on all five of the ABC subscales (Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypies, Hyperactivity and Inappropriate Speech) and on the Total ABC score. However, the children with other intellectual disabilities also showed significantly higher scores than the children with DS on four of the ABC subscales: Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypies and Hyperactivity, as well as the Total ABC score. The siblings and children from the general population showed very similar behaviour scores. A number of significant age and sex differences were found in the occurrence of daytime behaviour problems. Maternal stress was significantly higher in the group with other forms of intellectual disability than the other three groups, and a number of significant associations were found between parental ratings of daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in all four samples. The implications of the findings are discussed, including the need for early assessment to minimize adverse effects on the child's development and on family life.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Behavioural treatment for sleep problems in children with severe learning disabilities and challenging daytime behaviour: effect on sleep patterns of mother and child.

Children with sleep problems present serious management problems to their parents. Such children are also more likely to have additional problems, behavioural disturbance being particularly common. This randomized controlled trial of behavioural interventions for the children's sleep problems was conducted to explore the efficacy and mechanisms of treatment in children with the most extreme forms of problems: severe learning disabilities, severe sleep problems and severe daytime challenging behaviour. Fifteen index families received behavioural advice for the child's sleep problem and compared with 15 matched controls who received no such advice. Repeat assessments of the children's and mothers' sleep were made by parental report as well as actometry. Objective changes in the children's sleep quality and quantity were not seen after treatment. However, mothers in the treatment group reported improvements in the children's sleep problems and had an increased sleeping time themselves following treatment. The results indicate that sleep problems can be successfully treated in this group of children, although the mechanisms of treatment may not be as direct as supposed. This has implications for understanding of sleep problems in children with learning disabilities and also for clinical practice, when considering ways of offering help to these highly 'challenged' families.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1998

Sleep and psychological disturbance in nocturnal asthma.

Subjective and objective sleep disturbance was studied in children with nocturnal asthma. Relations between such disturbance and daytime psychological function were also explored, including possible changes in learning and behaviour associated with improvements in nocturnal asthma and sleep. Assessments included home polysomnography, parental questionnaires concerning sleep disturbance, behaviour, and mood and cognitive testing. Compared with matched controls, children with asthma had significantly more disturbed sleep, tended to have more psychological problems, and they performed less well on some tests of memory and concentration. In general, improvement of nocturnal asthma symptoms by changes in treatment was followed by improvement in sleep and psychological function in subsequent weeks. The effects of asthma on sleep and the possible psychological consequences are important aspects of overall care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Clinical services for sleep disorders.

Children's sleep disorders are common and often harmful to development and well being. The clinical services available to affected children and their families need to be improved. At present, professional interest and expertise in sleep disorders medicine is severely limited by the paucity of appropriate teaching and training. The work of a mainly tertiary sleep disorders clinic was reviewed, which showed that accurate diagnosis of a wide range of sleep disorders is possible, and that treatment needs can be specified. Although families appreciated such assessment, the outcome was unsatisfactory in many cases, often because treatment recommendations were not implemented by referrers. Reasons for this appear to include poor communication between referrers and families, and unavailability of treatment resources. A three tier system of service provision is proposed to improve this situation, which rests essentially on better professional training in the sleep disorders field.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Home polysomnography norms for children.

Home polysomnography (PSG) by means of ambulatory monitoring systems has distinct advantages over sleep laboratory recordings, especially for children. However, normative data have been lacking. Norms for conventional PSG variables were compiled for 60 children age 5-16 years using the Oxford Medilog ambulatory monitoring system. Recordings were confined to a single night in view of previous demonstrations that the sleep on the first night is not significantly affected by the recording procedure. The results are presented in 5 age subgroups. Broad comparisons with published laboratory PSG norms for children of the same ages suggest that in home recordings sleep duration is longer, and slow wave sleep is much more pronounced with a commensurate reduction in stage 2 NREM sleep. That is, sleep quality and quantity appears better at home even when adaptation to the laboratory situation has been promoted. These new normative data are considered valuable for both clinical and research purposes where physiological sleep studies in children are required.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis presenting with psychosis and possible sexual abuse.

A previously healthy 8-year-old girl began to experience nightmares, soon followed by sleeplessness and perceptual abnormalities including visual hallucinations. She also complained that she had been attacked and possibly assaulted sexually. Physical investigations were considered to have provided no relevant abnormality and psychiatric enquiries were begun directed towards possible sexual abuse. However, the child's mental and physical state continued to deteriorate and evidence of a progressive organic process was then obtained from past school reports, review of the initial EEG findings and further EEG investigations. The latter in particular indicated a diagnosis of SSPE which was confirmed immunologically. Treatment was ineffective and the child died 7 months after the onset of the illness. The details of the psychological changes at the onset of SSPE are ill-defined. This case illustrates that they can include psychotic phenomena but also that the basic nature of the disorder may be misconstrued as psychological depending on the circumstances.

Child↗
PubMed1996

Severe sleep disturbance and daytime challenging behaviour in children with severe learning disabilities.

Sleep problems are common in children with severe learning difficulties. Children with sleep problems are reported to have more behaviour problems, but daytime challenging behaviour has not been examined specifically. The current study was concerned with associations between sleep problems and challenging behaviour, as well as describing other clinical features of the childrens' sleep, as reported by parents. All children in the series showed some form of sleep disturbance, with settling problems, night waking and early waking in 44% of the sample. Children with sleep problems showed significantly more types of challenging behaviour and challenging behaviour of a greater severity than children without sleep problems, resulting in management difficulties for carers throughout the 24-h period. Reasons for this association and suggestions for intervention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Practitioner review: assessment and treatment of sleep disorders in children and adolescents.

Sleep disorders in children are diverse in type, common, often serious in their effects yet neglected in professional education. They complicate many psychiatric disorders and can cause various cognitive and behavioural problems as well as more widespread difficulties in the family as a whole. Accurate assessment allows an appropriate choice from the various types of treatments that are now available but often under used. Diagnostic points and treatment approaches are outlined for the three main categories of childhood sleep disorder: sleeplessness; excessive sleepiness; and episodic disturbances related to sleep (parasomnias). The need for more widespread awareness of and provision for sleep disorders is emphasized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Non-convulsive status epilepticus.

The clinical, electrographic and reported neuropsychological features of 50 children with non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) were reviewed and the children's progress followed for one to five years. NCSE occurred in a variety of epilepsies, especially the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Clinical manifestations ranged from obvious mental deterioration to subtle changes. The condition had often been overlooked or misinterpreted and many children had experienced repeated episodes over long periods. Following diagnosis, immediate treatment was often not attempted or was not successful. Further episodes of NCSE occurred in the majority of children during the follow up period. Failure to recognise NCSE and to treat episodes promptly, and the high rate of recurrence, is of particular concern in view of fears that repeated exposure to this condition might be brain damaging. At least 28 children in the present series showed evidence of intellectual or educational deterioration over the period during which NCSE had occurred, although the exact cause was difficult to determine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Sleep disorder and epilepsy in children with tuberous sclerosis: a questionnaire-based study.

Sleep disorders were investigated in 40 children with tuberous sclerosis (TS) and compared with those found in non-disabled children and those reported in a mixed group with learning disabilities. Significantly higher levels of sleep disturbance were found in the TS group compared with both other groups. Within the TS group, current epilepsy and a high level of daytime behavioural disturbance were significantly associated with sleep disturbance, but pervasive developmental delay and high parental stress levels were not. Detailed study of the relationship between seizure activity and sleep disturbance in tuberous sclerosis is needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Kleine-Levin syndrome: a cause of diagnostic confusion.

The case is described of a boy with the Kleine-Levin syndrome in whom prominent behavioural disturbances and the initial absence of a clear cyclical pattern obscured the diagnosis. Treatment with lithium was effective.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Psychological effects of sodium valproate and carbamazepine in epilepsy.

Information from standardised tests of intelligence, school attainments, attention, memory and visuomotor function, together with parent and teacher questionnaire information about various aspects of behaviour, was obtained for 63 schoolchildren with newly diagnosed epilepsy before treatment with sodium valproate or carbamazepine, and again at intervals for a total period of 12 months. The same information was collected on 47 matched controls. The children with epilepsy represented those under non-specialised paediatric care. The result showed that both drugs were effective in most cases at modest dosage without causing notable psychological effects 12 months into treatment. Modest and temporary adverse cognitive effects seen earlier in treatment could have been the result of uncontrolled seizure discharge. Improved function was the same in children with epilepsy and controls. Some psychological abnormalities in the children with epilepsy were evident before treatment suggesting early unwanted effects of the epileptic process itself.

Carbamazepine↗
PubMed1992

Sleep problems.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Frontal lobe complex partial seizures in children: a form of epilepsy at particular risk of misdiagnosis.

The clinical and EEG findings are described of six children considered to have complex partial seizures of frontal lobe origin. The findings correspond generally with those reported for adult patients. Video-recordings of attacks in some cases and ictal cassette EEG recordings provided important diagnostic information. A definite frontal abnormality on neuro-imaging was seen in only one case. The seizures were closely associated with sleep, and anti-epileptic drug treatment was usually of limited value. The considerable diagnostic confusion surrounding seizures of this type, including their misdiagnosis as pseudoseizures or primary sleep disorder, is partly the result of the clinical peculiarities of this type of seizure, but also of clinicians' limited awareness of the condition.

Adolescent↗