Neuropsychological outcomes of children with Optic Pathway Glioma

Pitchford, Nicola J.; Papini, Chiara; Thomas, Shery; Dineen, Robert A.; Walker, David A

Abstract

Optic Pathway Glioma (OPG) is a relatively common brain tumour in childhood; however, there is scarce understanding of neuropsychological sequelae in these survivors. In this study, 12 children with diagnosis of OPG before 6 years of age received a comprehensive standardised assessment of visual perception, general intelligence and academic achievement, using adjustments to visual materials of the tests, to examine the extent of concurrent impairment in these functional domains. Information about vision, clinical and sociodemographic factors were extracted from medical records to assess the associations of neuropsychological outcomes with clinical and socio-demographic factors. Children with OPG exhibited high within-patient variability and moderate group-level impairment compared to test norms. Visual perception was the most impaired domain, while scholastic progression was age-appropriate overall. For cognition, core verbal and visuo-spatial reasoning skills were intact, whereas deficits were found in working memory and processing speed. Visual function was associated with tasks that rely on visual input. Children with OPG are at moderate risk of neuropsychological impairment, especially for visual perception and cognitive proficiency. Future research should elucidate further the relative contribution of vision loss and neurofibromatosis type 1 co-diagnosis within a large sample.

Citation

Pitchford, N. J., Papini, C., Thomas, S., Dineen, R. A., & Walker, D. A. (2020). Neuropsychological outcomes of children with Optic Pathway Glioma. Scientific Reports, 10(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59896-2

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 3, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Feb 24, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Deposit Date: Feb 7, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2020
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Print ISSN: 2045-2322
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 3344
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59896-2
• Keywords: Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3916823
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59896-2
• Additional Information: Received: 13 June 2019; Accepted: 3 February 2020; First Online: 24 February 2020; : The authors declare no competing interests.