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Brain imaging findings and social/emotional problems in Israeli children with neurofibromatosis type 1

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Abstract

A potential association between brain MRI findings and social/emotional difficulties in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was examined. Twenty-eight children with NF1 filled in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and possible associations between their responses and findings in their brain MRI were sought. T2 bright foci were identified in MRI scans of 24 patients (85 %). There were no associations between the presence of the bright foci in any specific brain region and any of the SDQ scores for the emotional/behavioral measures. Male patients had significantly abnormal SDQ scores and peer problems. Patients with abnormal SDQ scores were younger than those with normal SDQ scores (mean 13.2 years vs 14.3 years, respectively; p = 0.23). A comparison of the scores obtained in ours and in another group of 11 children with NF1 yielded a significant difference between the groups. Conclusion: We believe that the lack of correlation between the MRI findings and the social/emotional parameters of the SDQ is another demonstration of the marked clinical variability characteristic of NF1.

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Abbreviations

NF1:

Neurofibromatosis type I

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

UBOs:

Unidentified bright objects

SDQ:

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

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Author contributions

A. Shuper, R. Cohen, and T. Steinberg created the study concept and design, A. Halevi helped with the acquisition of data and drafting the manuscript. A. Shuper approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval and parental consent were obtained for all the patients.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Center and Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Rony Cohen, Tamar Steinberg, Sharon Aharoni, Ayelet Halevy & Avinoam Shuper

  2. Pediatric Radiology, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Liora Kornreich & Sharon Aharoni

  3. Department of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Center, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tiqva, 49202, Israel

    Avinoam Shuper

Authors
  1. Rony Cohen
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  2. Tamar Steinberg
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  3. Liora Kornreich
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  4. Sharon Aharoni
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  5. Ayelet Halevy
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  6. Avinoam Shuper
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Avinoam Shuper.

Additional information

Communicated by Jaan Toelen

Rony Cohen and Tamar Steinberg contributed equally.

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Cohen, R., Steinberg, T., Kornreich, L. et al. Brain imaging findings and social/emotional problems in Israeli children with neurofibromatosis type 1. Eur J Pediatr 174, 199–203 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2366-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2366-7

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