Health-Related Quality Of Life In Intractable Paediatric Epilepsy: Using A New Measure To Improve Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$252,940.00
Summary
Until recently there was no adequate measure to assess the quality of life of children with epilepsy. Our Australian centre was the first to develop, validate and publish such an instrument; the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE). We now aim to collect more data using the QOLCE to gain further understanding of the effects of epilepsy and its treatment on the quality of life of children. We will determine if surgery in children stops seizures and improves quality of life. ....Until recently there was no adequate measure to assess the quality of life of children with epilepsy. Our Australian centre was the first to develop, validate and publish such an instrument; the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE). We now aim to collect more data using the QOLCE to gain further understanding of the effects of epilepsy and its treatment on the quality of life of children. We will determine if surgery in children stops seizures and improves quality of life. We also aim to find out if children with different types of epilepsies have unique quality of life issues. Finally, we aim to determine if the quality of a child's life depends on how well they are thinking and learning or how often they are having seizures. We will conduct this study in children with difficult epilepsy recruited from three major children's hospitals (Sydney Children's Hospital, the Children's Hospital, Westmead, Miami Children's Hospital, Florida USA) using a well designed methodology. Each child will have their particular type of epilepsy characterised using video and brain wave analysis. Each parent and older child will receive a quality of life package including the QOLCE to assess life function. In addition, all children will have an assessment of their thinking and learning by a child psychologist. At the completion of this project we will have established whether surgical treatment in children with epilepsy stops seizures and improves quality of life. This will allow clinicians and parents to better understand the effects of surgical treatment in this population. In addition, we will determine if problems in quality of life are associated with specific types of epilepsy. This information can be used to counsel families and tailor interventions and treatments. Finally, we will know whether a child's quality of life is determined by problems with thinking and learning and-or seizures.Read moreRead less
The Effect Of Adenotonsillectomy On Neurocognitive Functioning In Children With Upper Airway Obstruction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$185,850.00
Summary
Upper airway obstruction during sleep affects up to 3% of all children and is very frequently unrecognised. If severe it causes growth failure, developmental delay and heart failure. However, there is little information on the effects of less severe degrees of upper airway obstruction in children but recent work suggests that reduced academic performance may also be present in children with relatively mild degrees of upper airway obstruction. In particular, the areas most affected appear to be i ....Upper airway obstruction during sleep affects up to 3% of all children and is very frequently unrecognised. If severe it causes growth failure, developmental delay and heart failure. However, there is little information on the effects of less severe degrees of upper airway obstruction in children but recent work suggests that reduced academic performance may also be present in children with relatively mild degrees of upper airway obstruction. In particular, the areas most affected appear to be intelligence, memory, behaviour and attentional capacity . Currently it is unclear whether these deficits are due to sleep disruption or reduced nocturnal oxygen levels. The treatment of upper airway obstruction is the removal of adenoids and tonsils, however, it is unknown whether or not this improves the child's intellectual capacity. This study aims to be one of the first to critically evaluate the impact of upper airway obstruction during sleep on children's intelligence, memory, behaviour and attentional capacity, and the improvements wrought by the removal of the child's tonsils and adenoids.Read moreRead less
Evaluating Neonatal Intensive Care For Tiny Babies In The 2000s - Is It Still Effective, Efficient And Available?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$246,333.00
Summary
Most extremely tiny babies, those of birthweight less than 1000 g, need intensive care to survive. However some survivors have substantial problems with their long-term health. Since intensive care is costly we must be sure that it is money well spent. From the late 1970s until the late 1990s in the state of Victoria neonatal intensive care has been increasingly effective, with large increases in the long-term survival rate, from 25% in 1979-80, to 73% in 1997. Its efficiency has been relatively ....Most extremely tiny babies, those of birthweight less than 1000 g, need intensive care to survive. However some survivors have substantial problems with their long-term health. Since intensive care is costly we must be sure that it is money well spent. From the late 1970s until the late 1990s in the state of Victoria neonatal intensive care has been increasingly effective, with large increases in the long-term survival rate, from 25% in 1979-80, to 73% in 1997. Its efficiency has been relatively high and stable over time, comparing favorably with many other health care programmes, both intensive and non-intensive. It has been increasingly available, with fewer than 10% of ELBW infants born outside major hospitals with intensive care nurseries, and more tiny babies offered intensive care. We now need to know if these benefits have been maintained for tiny babies born in the 2000s. Hence we need to assess the long-term health of tiny babies born in Victoria in 2005.Read moreRead less
Impact Of Sleep Disordered Breathing On Cardiovascular, Behavioural And Neurocognitive Function In Preschool Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,703.00
Summary
Studies in school age children have shown that disruption to normal sleep patterns resulting from sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has severe consequences for both the cardiovascular system and neurocognition. To date there have been limited investigations of the effects of SDB in pre-school children despite the knowledge that disruptions to breathing during sleep are maximal at this age and the central nervous system which is immature and developing at this time, is most vulnerable to injury.
Cardiovascular, Neurophysiological And Neurocognitive Assessments To Define Sleep Disordered Breathing In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$324,008.00
Summary
Disruptions to breathing during sleep (snoring), known as sleep disordered breathing occurs in up to 27% of children and forms a continuum of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. It has previously been thought that only severe disruptions to breathing, as occurs in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), were of clinical significance requiring intervention, however recent studies have shown that even snoring with no currently used signs of altered blood oxygenation levels or sleep disruption can have a ....Disruptions to breathing during sleep (snoring), known as sleep disordered breathing occurs in up to 27% of children and forms a continuum of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. It has previously been thought that only severe disruptions to breathing, as occurs in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), were of clinical significance requiring intervention, however recent studies have shown that even snoring with no currently used signs of altered blood oxygenation levels or sleep disruption can have a significant impact on daytime functioning and school performance. It is also known that cardiovascular disease is a long-term consequence of untreated sleep disordered breathing in adults, however the long-term effects on the cardiovascular system in children are unknown. This study will examine both the neurocognitive and cardiovascular effects of a range of severities of sleep disordered breathing in children and will identify new more sensitive markers of sleep disruption in order to predict neurocognitive dysfunction. In order to address this most important issue, this project will combine the expertise of scientists and clinicians in the fields of paediatric sleep, cardiovascular control and neuropsychological assessment from Monash and Melbourne Universities, and the Monash Medical Centre and Royal Children's Hospital.Read moreRead less