Pediatric epileptic surgery facts Pediatric epilepsy surgery can be used to treat a highly selected group of patients whose seizures are not controllable by standard means. The appropriate candidate for epilepsy surgery must meet several criteria. There are currently three major categories of epilepsy surgery: resective surgery, corpus callosotomy, and implantation of the vagus nerve...
Primary immunodeficiency disease definition and facts Share Your Story Primary immunodeficiency disease (PIDD) is a disease of the immune system itself, in contrast to secondary immunodeficiency with a weak immune system as a result of another condition, like HIV/AIDS. There are hundreds of different types of primary immunodeficiency disease. Most types of primary immunodeficiency disease...
What Is the Growth Plate? The growth plate, also known as the epiphyseal plate or physis, is the area of growing tissue near the end of the long bones in children and adolescents. Each long bone has at least two growth plates: one at each end. The growth plate determines the future length and shape...
What is Landau-Kleffner syndrome? Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a childhood disorder. A major feature of LKS is the gradual or sudden loss of the ability to understand and use spoken language. All children with LKS have abnormal electrical brain waves that can be documented by an electroencephalogram (EEG), a recording of the electric activity of...
What is Leigh’s Disease? Leigh’s disease is a rare inherited neurometabolic disorder that affects the central nervous system. This progressive disorder begins in infants between the ages of three months and two years. Rarely, it occurs in teenagers and adults. What causes Leigh’s disease? Leigh’s disease can be caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA or...
Introduction to pervasive developmental disorders The term "pervasive development disorders," also called PDDs, refers to a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate, and to use imagination. Children with these conditions often are confused in their thinking and generally...
What is methemoglobinemia, beta-globin type? Share Your Story Beta-globin type methemoglobinemia is an inherited blood disorder. It disrupts the function of hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. Methemoglobinemia is characterized by increased levels of an atypical form of hemoglobin that is unable to deliver oxygen efficiently....