ABSTRACT
Assessing the impact of disease and treatment of the emotional state and temperament of preschool children has been limited by the lack of sensitive and objective measurement techniques. To construct such a measure for longitudinal use, a sample of 179 children with febrile seizures and 85 normal children were used to develop the Minnesota Preschool Affect Rating Scales (MN-PARS). Video-taped play sessions were a source of behaviorally anchored ratings on 12 scales. Factor analysis yielded three factors of Negative Affect, Positive Affect, and Self-regulation with additional individual scales of Dependency and Activity Level. These scales and factors yield reliable ratings, as measured by interrater agreement and split-half techniques, as well as initial evidence of concurrent validity. Although they were developed for measuring the behavioral effects of phenobarbital on children with febrile seizures, these scales provide an objective means of measuring emotional expression and self-regulation useful for other studies.
Subject(s)
Child, Preschool , Mood Disorders/diagnosis , Psychological Tests , Reproducibility of Results , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Mood Disorders/etiology , Observer Variation , Psychology, Child , Seizures, Febrile/psychology , Temperament , Videotape RecordingABSTRACT
Phenobarbital is widely used in the treatment of children with febrile seizures, although there is concern about possible behavioral and cognitive side effects. In 217 children between 8 and 36 months of age who had had at least one febrile seizure and were at heightened risk of further seizures, we compared the intelligence quotients (IQs) of a group randomly assigned to daily doses of phenobarbital (4 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) with the IQs of a group randomly assigned to placebo. After two years, the mean IQ was 7.03 [corrected] points lower in the group assigned to phenobarbital than in the placebo group (95 percent confidence interval, -11.52 to -2.5, P = 0.0068 [corrected]). Six months later, after the medication had been tapered and discontinued, the mean IQ was 5.2 points lower in the group assigned to phenobarbital (95 percent confidence interval, -10.5 to 0.04, P = 0.052). The proportion of children remaining free of subsequent seizures did not differ significantly between the treatment groups. We conclude that phenobarbital depresses cognitive performance in children treated for febrile seizures and that this disadvantage, which may outlast the administration of the drug by several months, is not offset by the benefit of seizure prevention.
Subject(s)
Intelligence/drug effects , Phenobarbital/adverse effects , Seizures, Febrile/drug therapy , Child, Preschool , Cognition/drug effects , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Phenobarbital/therapeutic use , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Recurrence , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The physical activity levels of 12 individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome were measured by actometers and pedometers at a 2-week summer camp. Similar measurements were made on 13 nonretarded children at another camp. A wide range of activity levels existed among the Prader-Willi syndrome persons that was greater than that found among the comparison group. Results indicated that it is not valid to stereotype Prader-Willi syndrome individuals when describing their activity levels. Some significant correlations were found between the activity levels of the Prader-Willi syndrome persons and weight loss when age and initial body weight were considered.
Subject(s)
Motor Activity , Prader-Willi Syndrome/physiopathology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Body Weight , Child , Exercise Therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Prader-Willi Syndrome/therapyABSTRACT
The relationship between changed or erratic behavior of nine Prader-Willi males and their ingestion of excess kcalories from sucrose was examined. The study was a double-blind design, with objective measures of behavioral change following ingestion of either a sucrose solution or a control preparation containing starch or saccharin. On each of the 3 test days, one of the three test solutions was given, along with a standard 210 kcalorie starch-based breakfast. Blood glucose values at 0.30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after feeding were compared to the percentage of errors made on paired-associate learning tasks (given eight times daily) and the gross-motor "movement" scores from a wrist monitor and a chair attached to an electrical counter. Results showed that out of 162 test correlations performed, only 8 were significant, exactly the number expected by chance. Possible reasons were suggested as to why no significant differences were found.
