title: Visuomotor function in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with chemotherapy only.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate visuomotor function in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The performance of 64 children, 1-7 years post-chemotherapy for ALL, was compared to that of their healthy peers (n = 56) on visuomotor integration (VMI) and motor coordination (MC) tasks. Children posttreatment for ALL displayed significantly reduced VMI, but not MC, performances as compared to controls. Children treated on chemotherapy-only ALL regimes are at heightened risk for visuomotor integration deficits. Monitoring of visuomotor skills and implementation of appropriate interventions targeting higher level visuomotor integration skills should form an important component of any ALL long-term effects program.
authors.affiliation: a Murdoch Childrens Research Institute , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Luca
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D017741:Survivors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents