Georgia pitts - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Hypoglycaemia is the most common metabolic problem in neonatal medicine, occurring during the fir... more Hypoglycaemia is the most common metabolic problem in neonatal medicine, occurring during the first days of life and usually resolving within the same time frame. However, some neonates and infants experience severe and recurrent episodes of hypoglycaemia, the most common aetiologies being congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and ketotic hypoglycaemia (KH). Children with CHI are at risk of lasting brain injury, while children with KH are considered to be protected from adverse sequelae owing to the presence of ketone bodies during hypoglycaemia. This thesis investigated the neuropsychological and neuroimaging profiles of these two patient groups in neurologically normal school-aged children. Thirty-one patients with CHI and twenty-one patients with KH participated in the study alongside a cohort of healthy controls. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests revealed specific impairments in attention and motor skills in both patient groups, with additional impairments observed ...
Cerebral Cortex, 2013
Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a... more Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a structure essential for memory, is particularly vulnerable to such insults. Hence, some neonates undergoing treatment for acute respiratory failure might sustain bilateral hippocampal pathology early in life and memory problems later in childhood. We investigated this possibility in a cohort of 40 children who had been treated neonatally for acute respiratory failure but were free of overt neurological impairment. The cohort had mean hippocampal volumes (HVs) significantly below normal control values, memory scores significantly below the standard population means, and memory quotients significantly below those predicted by their full scale IQs. Brain white matter volume also fell below the volume of the controls, but brain gray matter volumes and scores on nonmnemonic neuropsychological tests were within the normal range. Stepwise linear regression models revealed that the cohort's HVs were predictive of degree of memory impairment, and gestational age at treatment was predictive of HVs: the younger the age, the greater the atrophy. We conclude that many neonates treated for acute respiratory failure sustain significant hippocampal atrophy as a result of the associated hypoxia and, consequently, show deficient memory later in life.
Hypoglycaemia is the most common metabolic problem in neonatal medicine, occurring during the fir... more Hypoglycaemia is the most common metabolic problem in neonatal medicine, occurring during the first days of life and usually resolving within the same time frame. However, some neonates and infants experience severe and recurrent episodes of hypoglycaemia, the most common aetiologies being congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and ketotic hypoglycaemia (KH). Children with CHI are at risk of lasting brain injury, while children with KH are considered to be protected from adverse sequelae owing to the presence of ketone bodies during hypoglycaemia. This thesis investigated the neuropsychological and neuroimaging profiles of these two patient groups in neurologically normal school-aged children. Thirty-one patients with CHI and twenty-one patients with KH participated in the study alongside a cohort of healthy controls. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests revealed specific impairments in attention and motor skills in both patient groups, with additional impairments observed ...
Cerebral Cortex, 2013
Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a... more Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a structure essential for memory, is particularly vulnerable to such insults. Hence, some neonates undergoing treatment for acute respiratory failure might sustain bilateral hippocampal pathology early in life and memory problems later in childhood. We investigated this possibility in a cohort of 40 children who had been treated neonatally for acute respiratory failure but were free of overt neurological impairment. The cohort had mean hippocampal volumes (HVs) significantly below normal control values, memory scores significantly below the standard population means, and memory quotients significantly below those predicted by their full scale IQs. Brain white matter volume also fell below the volume of the controls, but brain gray matter volumes and scores on nonmnemonic neuropsychological tests were within the normal range. Stepwise linear regression models revealed that the cohort's HVs were predictive of degree of memory impairment, and gestational age at treatment was predictive of HVs: the younger the age, the greater the atrophy. We conclude that many neonates treated for acute respiratory failure sustain significant hippocampal atrophy as a result of the associated hypoxia and, consequently, show deficient memory later in life.