This is the second edition of the manual describing this popular and practical tool for the clinical neurological examination of the newborn. In addition to a number of developments on the original scheme in the light of clinical and research experience, the new manual also facilitates the recording and performance of the examination by providing clear information on its administration aided by illustrative diagrams. New sections include a simplified version of the examination suited to inexperienced staff, applicable both for screening and for use in developing countries; a revised proforma that may be used for the follow-up of infants beyond the neonatal period; and a new section describing clinical patterns in newborns with brain lesions and their correlation with imaging and neurological findings. Scoring tables are included in the back of the book.

The increasing prevalence of preterm birth in the United States is a complex public health problem that requires multifaceted solutions. Preterm birth is a cluster of problems with a set of overlapping factors of influence. Its causes may include individual-level behavioral and psychosocial factors, sociodemographic and neighborhood characteristics, environmental exposure, medical conditions, infertility treatments, and biological factors. Many of these factors co-occur, particularly in those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups. While advances in perinatal and neonatal care have improved survival for preterm infants, those infants who do survive have a greater risk than infants born at term for developmental disabilities, health problems, and poor growth. The birth of a preterm infant can also bring considerable emotional and economic costs to families and have implications for public-sector services, such as health insurance, educational, and other social support systems. Preterm Birth assesses the problem with respect to both its causes and outcomes. This book addresses the need for research involving clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science disciplines. By defining and addressing the health and economic consequences of premature birth, this book will be of particular interest to health care professionals, public health officials, policy makers, professional associations and clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science researchers.

A quick, non-invasive, non-intrusive and cost-effective method with high reliability and high validity is much in demand for the early detection of neurological anomalies which point to cerebral palsy and developmental deficits later on in life. Over his years as a distinguished developmental neurologist, Heinz Prechtl has devised such a method; a qualitative assessment of general movements (GMs) as a specific predictor for neurological impairments. His method is described in this book. GMs form part of a distinct pattern of movements in preterm babies, term newborns and young infants. They are complex, frequent, and usually of sufficient length. Changes in the normal quality of GMs are a reliable indicator of brain dysfunction. Includes a CD-ROM giving 15 cases selected from the book. Each is of about one minute in duration and demonstrates the different age-specific movement patterns.

Each year in the United States approximately 440,000 babies are born premature. These infants are at greater risk of death, and are more likely to suffer lifelong medical complications than full-term infants. Clinicians and researchers have made vast improvements in treating preterm birth; however, little success has been attained in understanding and preventing preterm birth. Understanding the complexity of interactions underlying preterm birth will be needed if further gains in outcomes are expected. The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine sponsored a workshop to understand the biological mechanism of normal labor and delivery, and how environmental influences, as broadly defined, can interact with the processes of normal pregnancy to result in preterm birth. This report is a summary of the main themes presented by the speakers and participants.

Clinics in Developmental Medicine No. 176 The book provides a review of the state of the art of neurological assessment in the first two years of life and identifies the most appropriate instruments for the follow-up of newborns who are at risk of developing neurological abnormalities. After a brief description of the neurophysiological basis of development in the first years, the book provides a comprehensive review of the various methods used for the neurological assessment in young infants describing how a combined approach of clinical and instrumental investigations can provide important diagnostic and prognostic information. The first part of the book describes the most used clinical neurological examinations and their applications in infants with neurological abnormalities, followed by a description of the value of neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques in normal preterm and full term infants in the first two years and the main types of abnormal MR findings of neurophysiological findings (EEG and evoked potentials) in relation to brain lesions. Other sections include chapters describing techniques assessing specific aspects of cognitive, perceptual and sensory abilities. Special attention is given to hearing, language and communication and to development of vision and visual attention both in normal infants and in those with neonatal brain lesions. The final chapters are devoted to intervention, describing how the identification of specific profiles of impairment can lead to the development of appropriate plans of early intervention.

An internationally recognised and widely used tool. This edition includes coverage of adaptations which will be of particular value to the clinical user. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.