title: Movements and postures of infants aged 3 to 5 months: to what extent is their optimality related to perinatal events and to the neurological outcome?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The quality of spontaneous general movements (GMs), assessed in the individual infant, has emerged as one of the most reliable and valid predictors especially of severe neurological impairments.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To implement a more detailed assessment of GMs and co-existing movements and postural patterns in a rehabilitation clinic, and to examine to what extend is the optimality of movements and postures of infants aged 3 to 5 months related to perinatal events and the neurological outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study of 41 infants (15 boys and 26 girls; 11 infants born preterm) admitted to the Department of Paediatric Neurology and Rehabilitation of the St. Joseph's Hospital in Kyoto (Japan).
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical, neurological and psychological status at age 5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Motor optimality at age 3 to 5 months correlated positively with neonatal optimality (r=0.48, p<0.01), especially regarding factors associated with hypoxic events. A non-optimal motor performance (lowest possible scores) predicted cerebral palsy with 100% accuracy. Other adverse outcomes such as developmental delays, developmental coordination disorders, pervasive developmental disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder turned out not to be associated with early motor performance. In 13% of cases absence of fidgety movements proved to be false positives, but their normal appearance along with a smooth concurrent motor performance was solely found in infants with a normal neurological development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessing the quality of motor performance at age 3 to 5 months considerably improves our ability to identify infants at risk for maldevelopment.
authors.affiliation: Kyoto Prefectural Chutan-Higasi Public Health Office, Maizuru, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuge
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Marschik
authors.forename: Yayohi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamori
authors.forename: Toyoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Haruyo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirota
authors.forename: Nahoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Einspieler
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric