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Journal Article

Citation

Champion JA, Rose KJ, Payne JM, Burns J, North KN. Dev. Med. Child Neurol. 2014; 56(5): 468-474.

Affiliation

Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Mac Keith Press, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/dmcn.12361

PMID

24387687

Abstract

AIM: Motor skill impairment and cognitive dysfunction are commonly reported features of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). We characterized and determined the relationship between motor impairment, gait variables, and cognitive function in children and adolescents with NF1.

METHOD: Motor function, gait, and neurocognitive abilities were assessed in 46 children and adolescents with NF1 (26 males, 20 females; age range 7-17y; mean age 11y 1mo, SD 3y 2mo). Tests to establish correlations between neurocognitive, motor, and gait variables were performed.

RESULTS: Compared with normative data, 28/39 of our NF1 cohort demonstrated impaired performance for balance and upper limb coordination and 16/38 for running speed and agility. Gait data revealed a strategy to preserve balance at the expense of velocity, with the unexpected exception of a tendency for reduced base of support. Neurocognitive testing confirmed mean IQ in the low average range (86.0) and deficits in spatial working memory and strategy generation. Significant correlations between a number of neurocognitive measures and motor abilities and gait were identified. The largest associations were between gait width and spatial working memory (r=0.594) and running speed and agility with strategy generation (r=0.549).

INTERPRETATION: We have identified a relationship between balance, running speed and agility, gait, and cognition in children with NF1. Findings suggest a shared abnormal neurodevelopmental process underlying some cognitive and motor abilities in NF1. Results are discussed within the context of evidence highlighting abnormal dopamine-mediated corticostriatal circuitry in NF1.


Language: en

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