Special Issue "Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics"

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Integrative Pediatrics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Panagiota Pervanidou
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Interests: neurodevelopment, stress, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, language disorders, neurodevelopmental Disorders, childhood obesity, child behavior, PTSD

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics constitutes a relatively new pediatric subspecialty and focuses on the understanding of functional changes in all domains of child and adolescent development, including language, movement, cognitive function, and social–emotional development. The field also focuses on the assessment of children with, or at risk of, neurodevelopmental and behavioral difficulties. As a group, developmental and behavioral problems and disorders affect one in six children, comprising one of the most prevalent pediatric conditions. Prematurity, fetal growth restriction, and prenatal influences, as well as genetic conditions, are directly related to neurodevelopmental outcomes. In addition, psychosocial aspects of health, adversity, and parenting contribute to and affect child development. Sleep, feeding, and sensory issues are also important factors that influence child behavior.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the importance of monitoring and supporting child development, especially during the critical periods of life, to raise awareness of the identification of high-risk conditions in developmental and behavioral pediatrics, as well as to enhance the understanding of neuropsychobiological aspects of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The content of this Special Issue covers pediatric developmental topics, including ADHD, Autism, Intellectual Disability, Depression, Behavioral Aspects of Chronic Illness, Psychosocial Determinants of Child Health, Stress and Adversity, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Parenting and Family Factors, Developmental Screening and Assessment, and Early intervention. All types of manuscripts, such as research papers and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Panagiota Pervanidou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • child development
  • child behavior
  • ADHD
  • ASD
  • intellectual disability
  • stress
  • neurodevelopmental disorders

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Increased Serum Concentrations of High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) Protein in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Children 2021, 8(6), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8060478 - 05 Jun 2021
Viewed by 763
Abstract
High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) has been suggested to be involved in the immune dysfunction and inflammation reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We aimed to assess HMGB1 serum concentrations (SCs) in high-functioning ASD children compared to typically developing (TD) controls [...] Read more.
High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) has been suggested to be involved in the immune dysfunction and inflammation reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We aimed to assess HMGB1 serum concentrations (SCs) in high-functioning ASD children compared to typically developing (TD) controls and to explore their associations with the autism spectrum quotient (AQ), the empathy quotient (EQ), and the systemizing quotient (SQ). The study involved 42 ASD children and 38 TD children, all-male, aged between 6.1 and 13.3 years old. HMGB1 SCs were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Groups were comparable regarding age, general IQ, birth weight, and maternal age at birth. ASD children showed significantly higher HMGB1 SCs compared to TD children (1.25 ± 0.84 ng/mL versus 1.13 ± 0.79 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.039). The Spearman’s rho revealed that HMGB1 SCs were positively correlated with the AQ attention to detail subscale (rs = 0.46, p = 0.045) and with the SQ total score (rs = 0.42, p = 0.04) in the ASD group. These results show that HMGB1 serum concentrations are altered in ASD children, and suggest that inflammatory processes mediated by HMGB1 may be associated with specific cognitive features observed in ASD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop