Association between habitual snoring,middle ear disease,and speech problems in young children with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between habitual snoring (HS), middle ear disease (MED), and speech problems in children with cleft palate. This cross-sectional study included children aged 2.0–7.9 years with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies. Parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and a questionnaire about MED. Audiograms and speech assessment were also conducted. Ninety-five children were enrolled; 15.2% of families reported HS, 97.6% MED, and 17.1% speech problems. HS (37.5% vs 10.3%, P = 0.007) and early episodes of MED (92.3% vs 58.2%, P = 0.021) were more likely to be reported for children with isolated cleft palate when compared to those with cleft lip and palate. Children with cleft lip and palate had a higher frequency of MED with effusion compared to those with Robin sequence (86.4% vs 57.1%, P = 0.049). The odds ratio for HS in children with ≥1 episode of MED in the last year was 7.37 (95% confidence interval 1.55–35.15, P = 0.012). There was a trend for children with speech problems reported by parents to have HS (30.8% vs 11.5%, P= 0.076). Anatomical factors play a role in the frequency of upper airway symptoms in children with cleft palate. A recent history of at least one episode of MED was associated with an increased frequency of HS.     

Novel variants in aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency: Case report of sisters with mild phenotype

BackgroundAromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, caused by a pathogenic variant in the dopa decarboxylase (DDC) gene, is a rare neurometabolic disorder in which catecholamine and serotonin are not synthesized. From a large number of reports, it has been recognized that most affected patients show severe developmental delay in a bedridden state and are unable to speak. On the other hand, patients with a mild phenotype with AADC deficiency have been reported, but they number only a few cases. Therefore, the variation of phenotypes of the disease appears to be broad, and it may be challenging to diagnose an atypical phenotype as AADC deficiency.Case reportWe report novel compound heterozygous variants in DDC (c.202G > A and c.254C > T) in two sisters, whose main complaint was mild developmental delay, by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Additionally, we describe their clinical features and provide an image that shows the variants located at different sites responsible for the catalysis of AADC in a three-dimensional structure. The patients were prescribed a Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor after diagnosis.InterpretationOur cases indicate that a comprehensive genomic approach helps to diagnose AADC deficiency with atypical features, and underscore the significance of understanding the variations of this disorder for diagnosis and appropriate treatment.     

Association of regional socioeconomic deprivation and rurality with global developmental delay in early childhood: Data from mandatory school entry examinations in Germany

BackgroundFrom birth to young adulthood, health and development of young people are strongly linked to their living situation, including their family’s socioeconomic position (SEP) and living environment. The impact of regional characteristics on development in early childhood beyond family SEP has been rarely investigated. This study aimed to identify regional predictors of global developmental delay at school entry taking family SEP into consideration.MethodWe used representative, population-based data from mandatory school entry examinations of the German federal state of Brandenburg in 2018/2019 with n=22,801 preschool children. By applying binary multilevel models, we hierarchically analyzed the effect of regional deprivation defined by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD) and rurality operationalized as inverted population density of the children’s school district on global developmental delay (GDD) while adjusting for family SEP (low, medium and high).ResultsFamily SEP was significantly and strongly linked to GDD. Children with the highest family SEP showed a lower odds for GDD compared to a medium SEP (female: OR=4.26, male: OR=3.46) and low SEP (female: OR=16.58, male: OR=12.79). Furthermore, we discovered a smaller, but additional and independent effect of regional socioeconomic deprivation on GDD, with a higher odds for children from a more deprived school district (female: OR=1.35, male: OR=1.20). However, rurality did not show a significant link to GDD in preschool children beyond family SEP and regional deprivation.ConclusionFamily SEP and regional deprivation are risk factors for child development and of particular interest to promote health of children in early childhood and over the life course.     

Impact of vaccination delay on deaths averted by pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: Modeled effects in 8 country scenarios

Delay in vaccination from schedule has been frequently documented and varies by vaccine, dose, and setting. Vaccination delay may result in the failure to prevent deaths that would have been averted by on-schedule vaccination.We constructed a model to assess the impact of delay in vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) on under-five mortality. The model accounted for the week of age-specific risk of pneumococcal mortality, direct effect of vaccination, and herd protection. For each model run, a cohort of children were exposed to the risk of mortality and protective effect of PCV for each week of age from birth to age five. The model was run with and without vaccination delay and difference in number of deaths averted was calculated. We applied the model to eight country-specific vaccination scenarios, reflecting variations in observed vaccination delay, PCV coverage, herd effect, mortality risk, and vaccination schedule. As PCV is currently being scaled up in India, we additionally evaluated the impact of vaccination delay in India under various delay scenarios and coverage levels.We found deaths averted by PCV with and without delay to be comparable in all of the country scenarios when accounting for herd protection. In India, the greatest relative difference in deaths averted was observed at low coverage levels and greatest absolute difference was observed around 60% vaccination coverage. Under moderate delay scenarios, vaccination delay had modest impact on deaths averted by PCV in India across levels of coverage or vaccination schedule. Without accounting for herd protection, vaccination delay resulted in much greater failure to avert deaths.Our model suggests that realistic vaccination delay has a minimal impact on the number of deaths averted by PCV when accounting for herd effect. High population coverage can largely over-ride the deleterious effect of vaccination delay through herd protection.     

Timeliness of Treatment Initiation in Newly Diagnosed Patients With Breast Cancer

BackgroundEvidence-based timeliness benchmarks have been established to assess quality of breast cancer care, as delays in treatment are associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, few studies have evaluated how current breast cancer care meets these benchmarks and what factors may delay the timely initiation of treatment.Patients and MethodsDemographic and disease characteristics of 377 newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer who initiated treatment at Tufts Medical Center (2009-2015) were extracted from electronic medical records. Time from diagnosis to initial surgery and time from diagnosis to initiation of hormone therapy were estimated with Kaplan-Meier curves. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with treatment delays. Thematic analysis was performed to categorize reasons for delay.ResultsOf 319 patients who had surgery recommended as the first treatment, 248 (78%) met the 45-day benchmark (median, 28 days; 25th-75th %, 19-43). After adjusting for potential confounders, multivariable regression analysis revealed that negative hormone receptor status (odds ratio, 3.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-8.43) and mastectomy (odds ratio, 4.07; 95% confidence interval, 2.10-8.06) were significantly associated with delays in surgery. Delays were mostly owing to clinical complexity or logistical/financial reasons. Of 241 patients eligible for hormone therapy initiation, 232 (96%) met the 1-year benchmark (median, 147 days; 25th-75th %, 79-217).ConclusionMost patients met timeliness guidelines for surgery and initiation of hormone therapy, although risk factors for delay were identified. Knowledge of reasons for breast cancer treatment delay, including clinical complexity and logistical/financial issues, may allow targeting interventions for patients at greatest risk of care delays.     

Early-onset presentation of a new subtype of β-Propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) caused by a de novo WDR45 deletion in a 6 year-old female patient

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) comprises a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by progressive extrapyramidal and other neurological symptoms due to focal iron accumulation in the basal ganglia (Adidi et al., 2016). β-Propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) is the most recently identified subtype of NBIA caused by heterozygous variants in WDR45 (OMIM: *300526) at Xp11.23. We report the clinical neurophysiological and neuro-imaging findings of a new subtype of BPAN in a 6 year-old female patient, who was identified to have a large de novo WDR45 deletion who presented in the first year of life with early onset global developmental delay, severe cognitive impairment, generalized hypotonia and a corticosteroid responsive epileptic encephalopathy.