Improved Visual Function in a Case of Ultra-low Vision following Ischemic Encephalopathy Using Transcranial Electrical Stimulation; A Brief Report

A Scoping Review of Intervention for Pediatric Cerebral Visual Impairment: Calling All Pediatric Occupational Therapists

Cerebral visual impairment is the leading cause of low vision in children, and functional gains can be achieved with intervention. To date there exists no evidence-based intervention protocol to guide rehabilitation therapists. This scoping review was conducted to synthesize the evidence currently available and explore current interventions in order to guide future research. This review identified five types of interventions for cerebral visual impairment; habilitation, visual stimulation, video game, color tent, and medical and also evidenced the need for standardized, objective measures of function for this population.

Interventions for children with cerebral visual impairment: A scoping review

AIM

To examine the nature and scope of the literature on interventions implemented for children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI).

METHOD

Using a scoping review methodology, a systematic search of the literature was conducted using four databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase. Titles and abstracts were screened and data were extracted and synthesized from full-text, eligible studies. Twenty-three articles were identified and evaluated using quality criteria.

RESULTS

Twenty-three of the 895 studies were included with children aged between 1 month and 17 years 6 months. Interventions were grouped into six categories including visual stimulation, task/environmental adaptations, vision training, acupuncture, stem cell transplantation, and transcranial electric stimulation. Outcome measures examined changes in visual function, functional vision, and visual processing.

INTERPRETATION

Intervention research for children with CVI is in its infancy. Interventions for children with CVI may be beneficial; however, comparing results is difficult due to inconsistency in outcome measures. Most of the intervention studies had lower-level evidence and included small sample sizes. High-quality studies with larger samples and comparison groups are needed to fully understand which evidence-based interventions are most effective for children with CVI. With the incidence of CVI increasing, further development and validation of intervention methods is imperative.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS

Intervention studies for children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI) are sparse. Most intervention studies for children with CVI have low-level evidence with low critical appraisal scores. High-quality, controlled intervention studies are needed to guide families and clinicians toward evidence-based practice.

A Proposed Brain-, Spine-, and Mental- Health Screening Methodology (NEUROSCREEN) for Healthcare Systems: Position of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated neurological, mental health disorders, and neurocognitive issues. However, there is a lack of inexpensive and efficient brain evaluation and screening systems. As a result, a considerable fraction of patients with neurocognitive or psychobehavioral predicaments either do not get timely diagnosed or fail to receive personalized treatment plans. This is especially true in the elderly populations, wherein only 16% of seniors say they receive regular cognitive evaluations. Therefore, there is a great need for development of an optimized clinical brain screening workflow methodology like what is already in existence for prostate and breast exams. Such a methodology should be designed to facilitate objective early detection and cost-effective treatment of such disorders. In this paper we have reviewed the existing clinical protocols, recent technological advances and suggested reliable clinical workflows for brain screening. Such protocols range from questionnaires and smartphone apps to multi-modality brain mapping and advanced imaging where applicable. To that end, the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) proposes the Brain, Spine and Mental Health Screening (NEUROSCREEN) as a multi-faceted approach. Beside other assessment tools, NEUROSCREEN employs smartphone guided cognitive assessments and quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) as well as potential genetic testing for cognitive decline risk as inexpensive and effective screening tools to facilitate objective diagnosis, monitor disease progression, and guide personalized treatment interventions. Operationalizing NEUROSCREEN is expected to result in reduced healthcare costs and improving quality of life at national and later, global scales.