Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Mutism”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls.

We compared social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in three groups: (1) 28 children with specific mutism (who did not speak to teachers but were more likely to speak to parents and peers at home and school); (2) 30 children with generalized mutism (whose speaking was restricted primarily to their homes); and (3) 52 community controls. Children with generalized mutism evidenced higher anxiety at school, and more separation anxiety, OCD, and depressive symptoms at home. Parents and teachers reported that the social phobia and anxiety scores of children in both the specific and generalized mutism subgroups were higher than controls. Children in both the specific and generalized mutism groups evidenced greater deficits in verbal and nonverbal social skills at home and school than controls. Teachers and parents did not report differences in nonverbal measures of social cooperation and conflict resolution and we found no evidence that selective mutism was linked to an increase in externalizing problems such as oppositional behavior or ADHD. Although children with specific mutism speak in a wider range of situations and appear less anxious to their teachers than children with generalized mutism, significant socially phobic behavior and social skills deficits are present in both groups.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1991

Mutism after removal of a vermian medulloblastoma: cerebellar mutism.

A case of mutism after removal of a vermian medulloblastoma from a 4-year-old girl is reported. Postoperatively, the patient was mute without disturbance of consciousness, language comprehension, or lower cranial nerve function. Computed tomography scans demonstrated no abnormal findings except for the surgical lesion in the posterior fossa. The mutism lasted for 78 days, followed by a period of dysarthria, but she gradually became fluent. The mechanism of "cerebellar mutism" is briefly discussed.

Cerebellar Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

[Hereditary unilateral deaf-mutism as a variable manifestation of bilateral deaf-mutism or hearing loss].

A total of 2,519 patients with bilateral severe congenital deafness (deaf-mutism) from Central Switzerland were recorded during the period between 1834 to 1979. More recently, 31 persons with unilateral severe deafness were examined. By constructing genealogical charts going back to the 17th century, at least ten of these unilaterally deaf persons were shown to be related to patients with bilateral deafness (pedigrees I-IV). Some of them exhibited a more or less marked Klein- Waardenburg syndrome. The unilateral deafness of those patients was inherited and not acquired. Congenital unilateral deafness may be understood to be the result of the broad variability of the expressivity of acoustic defects.

Deafness↗
PubMed1997

Cerebellar mutism in children: report of six cases and potential mechanisms.

Cerebellar mutism is a rare finding associated with resection of posterior fossa tumors or cerebellar hemorrhages. We reviewed the medical records of six children, aged 6 to 12 years, who developed cerebellar mutism after resection of a posterior fossa mass or as a result of posterior fossa trauma. From 1989 to 1994, 210 children underwent posterior fossa resection at our institution, and four developed mutism (an incidence of 1.6%). All four patients had primitive neuroectodermal tumors. The fifth patient experienced trauma, and another patient had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). In four children, hydrocephalus developed as a result of their tumor or AVM. Four developed cerebellar mutism 24 to 48 hours after surgery or trauma, and one developed cerebellar mutism 5 days after surgery, coincident with hydrocephalus. In one, mutism occurred after a second resection was performed for a recurrence of his posterior fossa tumor. Cerebellar mutism lasted 10 days in one patient and 2 to 8 weeks in the other four. Dysarthria was apparent in four patients during the recovery phase. We suggest trauma to the dentate nucleus and/or its outflow tract, the superior cerebellar peduncle, as a cause of reversible mutism. Because posterior fossa tumors are common in children, mutism should be recognized as an important side effect of surgery.

Brain Concussion↗
PubMed2002

Single photon emission tomography following posterior fossa surgery in patients with and without mutism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed a prospective study to investigate single photon emission tomography (SPECT) findings in patients with or without mutism who had undergone posterior fossa surgery. These patients had a (99m)Tc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime-SPECT scan postoperatively. SPECT was performed between the 1st and 2nd week after surgery. The patients with cerebellar mutism had a second SPECT scan after regaining their power of speech. The patients were evaluated in terms of age, gender, preoperative and postoperative neurological and radiological findings, tumor size and location, vermian incision and histopathology. RESULTS: Six girls and 5 boys, ranging in age from 3 to 11 years who had undergone posterior fossa tumor surgery were included in this study as controls. Their tumors were located in the vermis and fourth ventricle in 8 patients, in the cerebellar hemisphere in 1, fourth ventricle in 1, and 1 patient had a fourth ventricular tumor extending the cerebello-pontine angle. The histopathology of the tumors was as follows: astrocytoma in 5 patients, ependymoma in 3, medulloblastoma in 1, dermoid tumor in 1, and choroid plexus papilloma in 1 patient. Postoperative cerebellar mutism developed in 2 girls and 1 boy whose ages ranged from 2 to 5 years. Pathological examination revealed 2 medulloblastomas and 1 ependymoma. Mutism developed 2 to 4 days after surgery. All of the patients with cerebellar mutism showed either clinical or radiological signs and symptoms of brain stem involvement. SPECT findings were similar in the patients with cerebellar mutism and in those without. CONCLUSIONS: SPECT findings are not specific enough to explain how cerebellar mutism occurs. Clinical signs of brain stem involvement seem to be a significant risk factor in the development of cerebellar mutism.

Cerebellar Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Psychiatric characteristics of children with selective mutism: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain characteristics of children with selective mutism. METHOD: Subjects with selective mutism were evaluated by means of parent and teacher rating scales and structured diagnostic interviews. RESULTS: Thirty children were evaluated. Mutism severity varied markedly in different environmental settings. Ninety-seven percent of the subjects were diagnosed with social phobia or avoidant disorder of childhood or adolescence or both and 30% with simple phobia. No other psychiatric disorders were common. Parent and teacher rating scales showed high levels of anxiety symptoms, especially social anxiety, and low levels of all other psychiatric symptoms. Anxiety and social anxiety severity correlated with mutism severity. First-degree family history of social phobia and of selective mutism, obtained by family history method, was present in 70% and 37% of families, respectively. There was no evidence of a causal relationship between psychologically or physically traumatic experiences and development of selective mutism. CONCLUSIONS: Selective mutism may be a symptom of social anxiety, rather than a distinct diagnostic syndrome. Further study of the characteristics of children with selective mutism and their families is warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Cerebellar mutism: report of seven cases and review of the literature.

It is well known that degenerative disease, hemorrhage, infection, and neoplastic disease of the cerebellum can lead to speech disorder. Mutism after posterior cranial fossa surgery was first reported by Rekate et al. and Yonemasu in 1985. We review and analyze the cases of cerebellar mutism that are reported in the literature that is available in English. We found 39 reported cases that included details regarding mutism. We review and analyze a total of 46 cases, including those of our seven patients. The ages of the patient ranged from 2 to 61 years (mean, 10.4 yr). Ninety-one percent of the patients were children. The vermis was the site of the mass lesions in > 90% of the cases. The pathological findings of the lesions were as follows: 33 medulloblastomas, 7 astrocytomas, 4 ependymomas, 1 metastatic tumor, and 1 arteriovenous malformation. All mass lesions were considered to be large or very large. The latency for the development of mutism ranged from 0 to 6 days (mean, 1.7 d). The mutism lasted from 4 days to 4 months (mean, 6.8 wk). Dysarthric speech ensued after the mutism was resolved in 35 of 46 patients. Mutism was transient in all of the cases. Cerebellar mutism is a transient complication of posterior fossa surgery for midline mass lesions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Cerebellar mutism: report of two unusual cases and review of the literature.

Mutism is not a common condition following cerebellar damage. Mutism following posterior cranial fossa surgery was first reported by Rekate et al. and Yonemasu in 1985. Since then, many case reports of mutism have appeared in the English literature. Very few cases developed mutism following brain stem surgery. Although mutism has been described in patients with head injury, only one case of mutism caused by a cerebellar injury has been reported, to our knowledge. We report on two patients in which the cerebellar mutism following a radical excision of an exophytic brain stem glioma and cerebellar injury developed. We reviewed the relevant literature and discussed the mechanism of cerebellar mutism.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The evaluation and comparison of cerebellar mutism in children and adults after posterior fossa surgery: report of two adult cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Although there are some cases of cerebellar mutism in adults after posterior fossa surgery for cerebellar tumour it generally occurs in children. Reversible pathophsiology and the anatomical substrate of this syndrome still remain unclear. The predominance of cerebellar mutism in children is suggested to be related to the higher incidence of posterior fossa tumours in children. However, the question regarding the reason for the obvious difference in the incidence of this syndrome between the paediatric and adult population still remaining unanswered. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare children and adult groups separately to understand the incidence and the clinical characteristics better and to elucidate the pathophysiological basis and predictive factors for this syndrome. METHOD: We reviewed, analysed, and compared the cases of cerebellar mutism individually in children and in adults reported in the English literature. We found 106 reported cases in children and 11 cases in adults which were suitable for analysis. We added two adult cases to these. FINDINGS: The ages of the patients ranged from 2 to 16 (mean, 6.4 year) in children and from 17 to 74 (mean, 38.7 year) in adults. Although vermis was the main location in both groups, the incidence of vermis lesions was considered higher in the paediatric population (%91.5 versus %69.2). The rate of brain stem invasion was prominent in children (%31.1) when compared with adults (%7.6). The latency for the development of mutism and the duration of the mutism were similar in children and adults (mean, 1.4 d versus 2 d and mean, 5.07 wk versus 4.2 wk respectively). Mutism was transient in all the cases of both groups. INTERPRETATION: Recent concepts of cerebellar physiology disclose the importance of the cerebellum in learning, language, and mental and social functions. Pontine nuclei, the thalamus, motor and sensory areas and supplementary motor areas have been proven necessary for the initiation of speech. It can be hypothesized that uncompleted maturation of the reciprocal links in childhood connecting the cerebellum to these structure makes the children more vulnerable to have postoperative cerebellar mutism in comparison to the adult population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Elective mutism as a variant of social phobia.

To examine the relationship between the syndromes of elective mutism and social phobia, a case of elective mutism associated with social phobia in a 12-year-old girl is presented, and the clinical literature regarding the syndrome of elective mutism is reviewed. Elective mutism or reluctance to speak in unfamiliar social situations may be a symptom of social phobia. Social anxiety is a nearly universal characteristic of children manifesting the syndrome of elective mutism. Elective mutism may respond to treatment with medications that also are effective in the treatment of social phobia. Elective mutism may be a manifestation of social phobia rather than a separate diagnostic syndrome. Pharmacologic treatment may be effective.

Child↗
PubMed2003

Mutism after posterior fossa tumour resection in children: incomplete recovery on long-term follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Mutism after posterior fossa tumour resection is generally said to be transient. Our experience suggested that speech did not usually normalise, and that mutism was associated with neurologic deficits that did not recover fully. METHODS: Children with mutism after posterior fossa tumour resection, and alive more than 2 years post-operatively, were reviewed retrospectively. Charts were reviewed and parents contacted to ascertain details about mutism, associated neurologic deficits, and the most recent speech and neurologic status. RESULTS: There were 7 children, with follow-up ranging from 2.5 to 13.1 years (mean 6.8 years). Tumours were midline, with 4 astrocytomas and 3 medulloblastomas. Mutism was noted immediately after post-operative extubation in all patients. Speech reappeared 1-15 weeks post-operatively, except for 1 patient, who remained mute at 2.5 years. Speech returned to normal in only 1 patient. Mutism was always accompanied by new or worsened cerebellar ataxia, which resolved incompletely in the long term. Sixth nerve palsies occurred in 3 and recovered incompletely. Seventh nerve paresis occurred in 2 and recovered completely. CONCLUSION: Mutism after posterior fossa tumour resection is associated with other neurologic deficits, particularly ataxia. Whereas speech usually returns, contrary to general opinion, speech rarely normalises. Other associated deficits rarely resolve completely. These findings have significant implications for counselling of family and patients.

Adolescent↗