Absence Of Hydrocephalus Research Articles

Physical Hand Function of the Child with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele

Hand dysfunction has been reported to be present in myelomeningocele children, yet the type, extent, and cause of such dysfunction have remained unclear. This study was undertaken to discover whether motor dysfunction was present in the upper limbs of children with the diagnosis spina bifida myelomeningocele with lesions below the spinal level T4. Tests of manual muscle strength and grip strength indicated that spina bifida children have inferior motor function when compared with a control group of individually matched normal children. When the spina bifida group was divided on the basis of presence or absence of hydrocephalus it was apparent that the hydrocephalic children had poorer muscle power. The non-hydrocephalic children, however, did not have normal motor function. Thus the level of the lesion, and the presence of hydrocephalus, could not be identified as the prime cause of hand dysfunction discovered in the sample studied.

Apraxic Tendencies in Children with Meningomyelocele

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of an apraxic condition in children with meningomyelocele. Subjects were grouped according to the presence or absence of hydrocephalus as diagnosed by a computerized tomography scan. Subjects performed tasks of simple movements and motor sequences first to verbal command and then to imitation. For simple movements there was a significant Group by Cue interaction. The hydrocephalic group, significantly inferior on the verbal cue, were noticeably better on imitation. For those subjects without hydrocephalus, such was unlikely due to a ceiling effect to the verbal cue. For motor sequences, there was a significant Cue and Group effect. Both groups improved to the visual cue with the nonhydrocephalus group being consistently superior. The results are discussed in terms of patterns of response, and a cognitive or brainstem/cerebellar-based disorder.

Absence of hydrocephalus despite disproportionately increasing head size after the neonatal period in preterm infants with known intraventricular hemorrhage.

Of a group of 20 infants weighing less than 1,250 g at birth and surviving with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) documented by computed tomography, 6 exhibited excessive head growth between 6 and 14 weeks after birth with no evidence of neurologic deterioration. Repeat computed tomography was normal in all 6 infants. Rapid head growth after the immediate neonatal period can be expected in some infants with a history of lesser degrees of IVH and is not in itself indicative of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus.

Real-time sonography: ventricular and vascular anatomy of the fetal brain in utero.

Detailed fetal intracranial anatomy can be examined in utero using real-time sonography. The ability to demonstrate motion makes it possible to visualize important vascular landmarks which are helpful in identifying adjacent structures and in recognizing appropriate planes of section. The lateral ventricular system can be demonstrated and the lateral ventricular ratio can be determined in cases beyond 27 weeks gestation if the head is in an occiput transverse position. A lateral ventricular ratio greater than 0.45 (bodies) or greater than 0.65 (atrium) should raise the question of hydrocephalus and close follow-up measurements of the biparietal diameter, the head circumference/abdominal circumference ratio, and the lateral ventricular system should be made to evaluate this possibility. The fetal third ventricle is not routinely visualized before 34 weeks gestation in the absence of hydrocephalus; alternative anatomic explantations for the structure commonly referred to in the literature as the fetal third ventricle are discussed.

Performance of children with spina bifida manifesta on the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception.

Children with spina bifida manifesta have been described as having a higher than average probability of visual-perceptual impairment. However, documentation with standardized test instruments of visual-perceptual functioning observed for this group has been meagre. In the present study, approximately 60% of Ss examined failed to show age-appropriate performance on the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. Performance on the Frostig test was analyzed for these Ss in relation to level of spinal cord lesion, presence or absence of hydrocephalus, age, IQ. Possible causal bases for visual-perceptual impairment in these children and implication for training are discussed.