Semilongitudinal cephalometric study of craniofacial growth in untreated Class III malocclusion.

INTRODUCTION: Class III growth in white subjects is poorly characterized because of the low prevalence of the disharmony and the clinical tendency to treat this condition early. The purpose of this study was to investigate craniofacial growth changes by using longitudinal cephalometric records of white subjects with untreated Class III malocclusions to provide comparison data for studies of Class III treatment outcomes. METHODS: Longitudinal records of 103 subjects were analyzed. Annual incremental growth changes in craniofacial variables from early childhood to late adolescence were examined for each sex. Inferential statistics were applied to changes in mandibular length, midfacial length, and lower anterior facial height of each sex (Wilcoxon tests) and between sexes (Mann-Whitney U tests). RESULTS: In the girls, the adolescent spurt in mandibular growth occurred between the ages of 10 and 12 years. In the boys, the adolescent mandibular growth spurt was between 12 and 15 years. Statistically significant growth changes in the average increments of growth of these linear measurements occurred in both sexes between 12 and 15 years. Adolescent peaks in midfacial growth were at prepubertal ages in both sexes. During childhood (5-7 years), much craniofacial growth occurred. Moreover, there was considerable mandibular growth relative to the maxilla in Class III subjects after the adolescent growth spurt. CONCLUSIONS: White Class III subjects showed definite worsening of the relative mandibular prognathism and sagittal skeletal discrepancy between the jaws with growth. The growth pattern of 3 fundamental cephalometric measurements (lower anterior face height, midfacial length, and mandibular length) exhibited differences between Class III male and female subjects in both the timing and the size of average growth increments in the adolescent growth spurt.

Adaptive functioning in children with seizures: impact of maternal anxiety about epilepsy.

This study evaluated the impact of maternal anxiety about a child's epilepsy on parental overprotection and the child's adaptive functioning. Specific maternal and family characteristics that contribute to elevated maternal anxiety about epilepsy were also studied over a year's time in a group of 56 mothers with children recently diagnosed with epilepsy. Overall, the primary predictor of maternal anxiety about epilepsy was the mother's level of coping resources, although family stress aggravated anxiety at the initial time point. Maternal anxiety about epilepsy was associated with overprotective and overly directive parenting styles, but it was the anxiety level itself that was most strongly related to the child's adaptive functioning. Maternal anxiety about epilepsy decreased over time, as did the relationship of maternal anxiety to the child's adaptive functioning. Nonetheless, after a year had elapsed, maternal anxiety was still associated with poorer adaptive skills.

Current status of treatments for dyslexia: critical review.

The acquisition of reading is a complex neurobiologic process. Identifying the most effective instruction and remedial intervention methods for children at risk of developing reading problems and for those who are already struggling is equally complex. This article aims to provide the clinician with a review of more current findings on the prevention and remediation of reading problems in children, along with an approach to considering the diagnosis and treatment of a child with dyslexia. The first part of the review describes interventions targeted at preventing reading difficulties in the at-risk younger child. The second part of the review discusses the efficacy of approaches to treat the older, reading-disabled child ("intervention studies"). Factors that impact the response to treatment are also discussed, as are neuroimaging studies that offer insight into how the brain responds to treatment interventions. With appropriate instruction, at-risk readers can become both accurate and fluent readers. In contrast, although intensive, evidence-based remedial interventions can markedly improve reading accuracy in older, reading-disabled children, they have been significantly less effective in closing the fluency gap. Owing to the dynamic course of language development and the changes in language demands over time, even after a child has demonstrated a substantial response to treatment interventions, his or her subsequent progress should be carefully tracked to ensure optimal progress toward the development of functional reading and written language skills.