http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure used to treat spasticity in some children with spastic cerebral palsy. This procedure appears to be effective, but for how long? Researchers from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, set out to find the answer to this question by studying data from the McGill University Rhizotomy Database on 102 pediatric patients with long-term follow-up. The researchers found that, in the majority of children with spastic cerebral palsy, the benefits of SDR last throughout adolescence and into early adulthood. Details on the study findings are reported and discussed in "Long-term functional benefits of selective dorsal rhizotomy for spastic cerebral palsy. Clinical article," by Dr. Roy W. R. Dudley and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-long-term-benefits-dorsal-rhizotomy-children.html Neuroscience Tue, 28 May 2013 10:00:03 EST news288953024 A new study of patterns of brain communication in toddlers with autism shows evidence of aberrant neural communication even at this relatively early stage of brain development. The results are presented in an article in Brain Connectivity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-disruptions-brain-role-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:09:43 EST news283082974 (Medical Xpress)—A new study by Columbia Engineering researchers finds that the infant brain does not control its blood flow in the same way as the adult brain. The paper, which the scientists say could change the way researchers study brain development in infants and children, is published in the February 18 Early Online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-infant-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:00:08 EST news280415163 In a study to be presented on February 15 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in San Francisco, California, researchers from Tufts Medical Center will present findings showing the effects of maternal obesity on a fetus, specifically in the development of the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-abnormal-brain-fetuses-obese-women.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:20:01 EST news279801596 Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child's IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford using data from over 4,000 mothers and their children in the Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) and published today in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-moderate-pregnancy-affect-child-iq.html Health Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:10:22 EST news272130198 (HealthDay) -- One out of 11 school-aged children is diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and up to 40 percent of those kids may display symptoms in preschool, an expert says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-adhd-evident-preschool-expert.html Attention deficit disorders Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:10:01 EST news263057939 A new study shows significant differences in brain development in high-risk infants who develop autism starting as early as age 6 months. The findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reveal that this abnormal brain development may be detected before the appearance of autism symptoms in an infant's first year of life. Autism is typically diagnosed around the age of 2 or 3. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-brain-scans-early-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:38:44 EST news260030310 Being born prematurely may increase your risk of developing epilepsy as an adult, according to a new study published in the October 4, 2011, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-premature-birth-epilepsy-life.html Neuroscience Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:11:39 EST news236880689