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Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a modern neurophysiological method to study brain activation after sensory stimulation. We aimed at determining the feasibility of MEG and somatosensory-evoked magnetic fields (SEFs) in assessing the lip area in speech-disordered children undergoing oral plate therapy (OPTH) to improve their articulation. Seven subjects (age range, 6-11 years) participated in the study. The speech was perceptually assessed, and the SEFs to tactile stimulation of the lip area were recorded before and after OPTH. Two patients did not attend the posttreatment MEG recording. Clinical perceptual analysis showed remarkable improvement of speech of the studied children after OPTH. Somatosensory-evoked magnetic fields were successfully recorded in 4 of these children, but no constant changes in the responses were found after the therapy.With this small number of patients, the possible modifications in the functioning of the cortical somatosensory area of the lip after OPTH remained undetected. The present method is, however, technically applicable in studying cortical responses to lip stimulation in speech-disordered children. Further studies using stimulation inside the mouth may provide more insight to the cortical effects of OPTH.

Speech in 83 children (in total) with sub-mucous cleft palate was evaluated at the age of 6 years. Velopharyngeal insufficiency was graded on the basis of perceptual assessment, taking into account the co-existence of various velopharyngeal insufficiency characteristics in speech. Out of 56 patients operated with a velopharyngeal flap to eliminate velo-pharyngeal insufficiency, 42 of them (75%) achieved normal velopharyngeal function in speech. Dento-alveolar misarticulations were found in 35% of the children. Misar-ticulations occurred independently of velopharyngeal insufficiency.

The purpose of the current study was to assess speech aerodynamics and nasal acoustic energy during a follow-up period of 12 months in patients having undergone microvascular free flap reconstruction after tumor ablation from the oral cavity or oropharynx, usually followed by radiotherapy. Velopharyngeal function was assessed in terms of velopharyngeal orifice size by a pressure-flow measurement technique as well as by determining the instrumental correlate of perceived nasality (i.e., nasalance) during speech production. Velopharyngeal closure and nasalance were estimated to be adequate before operation both in oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer patients. After the operation, at the group level, the oral cavity patients showed adequate velopharyngeal closure and nasalance. In contrast, the postoperative velopharynx orifice size was significantly bigger in the oropharyngeal cancer patients as compared with the oral cavity patients 6 months after operation. However, based on average aerodynamic as well as the nasalance data, the impairment of velopharyngeal function was not regarded clinically significant at the group level in either group of patients. The present treatment protocol served to maintain the prerequisites for normal or close to normal speech physiology.

The fatty acid profiles of serum lipids were examined in 53 ten-year-old cleft children. The children presented with different cleft types (cleft lip, cleft lip and palate, isolated cleft palate and submucuous cleft palate) and were recruited from the Finnish Cleft Center. We also studied associations between serum lipid fatty acids and early breast milk intake, cognitive development in terms of preschool language learning and school achievement. The fatty acid profiles of serum lipids did not differ between boys and girls. The proportion of myristic acid in serum cholesteryl esters (CE) was higher and proportion of nervonic acid in phospholipids (PL) lower in children with isolated palatal clefts than in those with submucuous clefts. Out of the present children, 30% and 60% received breast milk less than 1 or 3 months, respectively. The proportions of docosahexaenoic acid in CE and in PL were significantly higher in the children whose breast milk intake was longer than 3 months. The number of children requiring special education was higher among those who received breast milk less than 1 month than among those with longer breast milk intake. In conclusion, the fatty acid profiles of serum lipids seem to be comparable among children with different cleft types. Short breast milk intake was associated with poorer school performance.