Adverse effect of pre- and postnatal exposure to carbamate and pyrethroid pesticides on cognition in children at 4 and 6 years of age: A prospective study

Objective@#To determine the adverse effect of pre- and postnatal exposure to carbamate (propoxur) and pyrethroid pesticides on children's cognitive functions at 4 and 6 years of age. @*Method@#As part of a prospective cohort study among children with known pre- and postnatal exposure to propoxur and pyrethroids, children were examined at time points, 4 and 6 years, to determine the adverse effect of pesticide exposure on neurocognitive function, i.e., intelligence (IQ) using the WPPSI-III test. Pre- and postnatal pesticide exposures were measured by meconium and hair analysis, respectively, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS).@*Results@#Seven hundred twenty-four (724) maternal/children dyads were seen at four years and 717 at six years of age. Their mean (SD) full-scale IQ was low on average: 83.9 (10.2) at four years and 83.6 (8.6) at six years. Prenatal but not postnatal exposure to propoxur (-0.139, p=0.01) and pyrethroids (-0.097, p=0.05) were significantly correlated (negative) with full-scale IQ at four years but not at six years. The confounders that were significantly correlated to full-scale IQ at four and/or six years of age were maternal IQ, child’s weight, height, head circumference, socio-economic status, child environment, and stimulation at home (HOME) violence or abuse at home. Regression analysis of pesticides and confounders showed similar results, except for weight and head circumference.@*Conclusion@#We conclude that prenatal exposure to propoxur and pyrethroids had a negative effect on the children’s IQ at four years but no longer at six years. Thus, the ability of the child’s IQ to recover from the adverse effect of intrauterine pesticide insult may be attributable to the neuronal plasticity of its brain. Similarly, confounders to these outcome measures are multiple and are essential to address when evaluating the effect of pesticides on neuro-cognitive development in children.

Evaluation of sleep slow wave activity in children′s neurocognitive development / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Childhood is an important period of the development of attention, memory, intelligence and other neurocognitive functions in life.A normal neurocognitive development can have a positive impact on children′s long-term learning and life.Therefore, it is very important to concern the development process of neurocognition in children, which is challenging to be objectively assessed without an accurate and efficient index.Sleep slow wave activity, as a kind of electroencephalogram measurement index, is of great significance to the evaluation of brain structure and function in children, and it is also a high-quality index to evaluate children′s neurocognitive development.This study mainly reviews the evaluation of sleep slow wave activity in children′s neurocognitive development, aiming to provide refe-rence for exploring the normal and abnormal process of children′s neurocognitive development.

Evaluation of physical and neurocognitive development of infants conceived from frozen embryo transfer / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective • To evaluate the physical and neurocognitive development of infants conceived from frozen embryo transfer (FET). Methods • Two hundred and forty-eight infants (1.5-4 years old) conceived from FET and natural conception (NC) were recruited as the follow-up cohort of FET offspring, and their physical and neurocognitive development were followed up and evaluated. Multiple Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the potential risk of cognitive retardation in FET offspring. Results • There was no significant difference in composition ratio of Z score for height, weight and body mass index between the FET group and the NC control group. Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the NC control group, the risk of neurocognitive development abnormalities and retardation was higher in the FET group, especially in fine motor (OR=3.01, 95%CI 1.48-6.11) and social development domains (OR=3.76, 95%CI 1.63-8.69); and in the FET group, the social development risk of female infants was higher than that of male infants. Conclusion • FET may exert a negative impact on the early neurocognitive development of infants.

Neurological Soft Signs and cognitive processes in Mexican schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 years / Sinais Neurológicos Sutis e processos cognitivos em crianças escolares mexicanas de 6 a 11 anos / Signos Neurológicos Blandos y procesos cognitivos en niños escolares mexicanos de 6-11 años

Abstract Neurological Soft Signs (NSS) are indicative of generalized disruptions in neurological networks of cortico-subcortical areas. Their presence leads to problems in children's cognitive development with future academic repercussions. The presence of NSS was assessed and compared in 144 children aged 6 to 11 years of low-medium socioeconomic status from Mexico City and the metropolitan area through the Infant Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire (CUMANIN, for its Spanish acronym) and the School Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire (CUMANES, for its Spanish acronym). Results indicate significant differences by sex. Girls showed better performance in word articulation. In groups by age, significant differences were found in leximetric-comprehension, visual perception and executive function-errors. Participants showed the presence of developmental NSS which include: language (articulation disorders, oral and written language disturbances, difficulty finding words), psychomotricity, visual perception and other cognitive functions. There are several factors related to those impairments such as age, socioeconomic context and critical stages in child's development. Identification and early diagnosis can reduce the risk of school failure.

Resumo Os Sinais Neurológico Sutis (SNS) são indicadores de interrupções generalizadas nas redes de trabalho neural de áreas córtico-subcorticais, cuja presença leva a problemas no desenvolvimento neurocognitivo da criança que representam repercussões acadêmicas negativas. Na presente pesquisa, foi avaliada e comparada a presença de SNS com os processos cognitivos de 144 participantes mexicanos de estrato socioeconómico médio-baixo com idades entre 6 e 11 anos, sem antecedentes neurológicos ou psiquiátricos, por meio dos Cuestionarios de Madurez Neuropsicológica (CUMANIN) e Madurez Neuropsicológica Escolar (CUMANES). Os resultados indicaram diferenças significativas por gênero, já que as meninas apresentaram melhor desempenho na articulação de palavras. Nos grupos por idade, as diferenças significativas foram encontradas na velocidade de leitura e compreensão, visuopercepção e função executiva e erros. Em geral, os participantes mostraram presença de SNS de desenvolvimento, que incluem interferências na linguagem (problemas articulatórios, alterações da linguagem oral e escrita, dificuldade para encontrar palavras), psicomotricidade, visuopercepção e outras funções cognitivas. Ao final, conclui-se que a identificação e o diagnóstico precoce dos SNS permite diminuir o risco de fracasso escolar.

Resumen Los Signos Neurológicos Blandos (SNB) son indicativos de interrupciones generalizadas en las redes de trabajo neuronal de áreas cortico-subcorticales, cuya presencia conlleva a problemas en el desarrollo neurocognitivo del niño que representan repercusiones académicas negativas. En la presente investigación se evaluó y comparó la presencia de SNB con los procesos cognitivos de 144 participantes mexicanos de estrato socioeconómico medio-bajo con edades entre los 6 y 11 años sin antecedentes neurológicos o psiquiátricos por medio de los Cuestionarios de Madurez Neuropsicológica (CUMANIN) y Madurez Neuropsicológica Escolar (CUMANES). Los resultados indicaron diferencias significativas por sexo, ya que las niñas presentaron mejor desempeño en la articulación de palabras. En los grupos por edad, las diferencias significativas se encontraron en leximetría-comprensión, visopercepción y función ejecutiva-errores; y, en general, los participantes mostraron presencia de SNB de desarrollo, que incluyen afectaciones en: lenguaje (problemas articulatorios, alteraciones del lenguaje oral y escrito, dificultad para encontrar palabras), psicomotricidad, visopercepción y otras funciones cognitivas. Al final, se concluye que la identificación y diagnóstico temprano de los SNB permite disminuir el riesgo de fracaso escolar.

Recognition of birth weight and its research development / 中国实用儿科杂志

Birth weight is an important index for assessing intrauterine nutritional environment and outcome of birth. There are more than 1 000 000 neonates born with low birth weight in China every year. Furthermore,the rate of macrosomia is increasing. A lot of researches on birth weight have found that low birth weight or macrosomia is not only associated with newborn or infant mortality and morbidity,but also related to poorer physical growth,neurodevelopment,and increasing risk of chronic metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. In this article,we reviewed the latest studies of epidemiological characteristics and pathogenesis of low birth weight and macrosomia,as well as its effects and mechanisms on neurocognitive development,metabolic disease and cardiovascular disease. It may be beneficial to the health and development of lifetime to have a proper recognition of birth weight,prevent the risk factors associated with inappropriate birth weight and monitor and optimize growth and development after birth.

Influence of intrauterine and extrauterine growth on neurodevelopmental outcome of monozygotic twins

There have been indications that intrauterine and early extrauterine growth can influence childhood mental and motor function. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of intrauterine growth restriction and early extrauterine head growth on the neurodevelopmental outcome of monozygotic twins. Thirty-six monozygous twin pairs were evaluated at the corrected age of 12 to 42 months. Intrauterine growth restriction was quantified using the fetal growth ratio. The effects of birth weight ratio, head circumference at birth and current head circumference on mental and motor outcomes were estimated using mixed-effect linear regression models. Separate estimates of the between (interpair) and within (intrapair) effects of each measure on development were thus obtained. Neurodevelopment was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition, by a psychologist blind to the exposure. A standardized neurological examination was performed by a neuropediatrician who was unaware of the exposures under investigation. After adjustment, birth weight ratio and head circumference at birth were not associated with motor or mental outcomes. Current head circumference was associated with mental but not with motor outcomes. Only the intrapair twin effect was significant. An increase of 1 cm in current head circumference of one twin compared with the other was associated with 3.2 points higher in Mental Developmental Index (95 percentCI = 1.06-5.32; P < 0.03). Thus, no effect of intrauterine growth was found on cognition and only postnatal head growth was associated with cognition. This effect was not shared by the co-twin.