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Growing evidence suggests a possible relationship between migraine and thrombotic risk factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible relationship between migraine and acquired and genetic thrombophilia in a young population. We compared 16 migrainous adolescents, 12 children with tension-type headache, and controls in terms of frequencies of prothrombotic polymorphisms (factor V Leiden, C677T mutation of 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, G20210A mutation of prothrombin), platelet aggregability, anticoagulant antibodies, blood lipid pattern, serum folate and vitamin B12 levels, homocysteinemia, coagulation parameters, and family history for migraine and precocious thrombotic events. This study confirms the link between migraine and increased platelet responsiveness. Overall, 62.5% of migrainous patients carried at least three thrombophilic factors. Our preliminary data suggest that, in order to assess prevention strategies, it could be appropriate to perform a complete thrombophilia screening in young patients suffering from migraine and with a family history of thrombosis.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neuro-behavioralconditionthattypicallymanifestsinchildhoodandischarac-terized by a wide range of emotional, functional, and neurocognitiveimpairments that interfere with social and emotional quality of life.According to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the diagnosis is made by confirmingnumerous symptoms in the inattention domain or the hyperactivity–impulsivity domain or both.Stimulant medications have been demonstrated to be efficaciousand are considered the first-line pharmacological therapy for ADHD[1].BecauseoftheincreasingrecognitionofADHDasachronicdisorder,theuseofmedicationsforthetreatmentofthisdiseasehasconsiderablyexpanded over the last decade, becoming common also among adoles-cents and adults in addition to prepubertal children [2].Bothstimulantsandatomoxetinehavecardiovasculareffectswithin-crease in heart rate and blood pressure. It has been calculated that theseagents can increase systolic and diastolic blood pressures (on average1–4 mm Hg) and heart rate (on average 3 –8bpm)[3].Thesechangesare not usually clinically signi ficant in the short-term, but their possiblesignificance for the long-term deserves further investigation. Besides,while a causal link between therapeutic stimulant use and sudden car-diac death has not been established, there are concerns that treatment

Rolandic epilepsy (RE) is the most common childhood epilepsy syndrome with a good, long-term outcome. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that children with RE have more scholastic and neuropsychological problems than controls. The purpose of this study was to describe neuropsychological findings in a small group of Italian children with RE, focusing on dyslexia and dyscalculia. Possible correlations between these findings and the age-at-onset of seizures, duration of active epilepsy, frequency, type and localization of epileptic discharges were examined. Children affected by RE, aged nine to eleven years were selected from patients admitted to the outpatient service of our Clinic. They underwent cognitive evaluation, specific evaluation for dyslexia and dyscalculia, and awake and sleep EEG recordings. We found two patients out of the ten with dyscalculia, one of whom also had characteristics of dyslexia. This small study suggests that dyscalculia and dyslexia might be more frequent than expected in children with RE. No significant correlations between this finding and EEG, seizure-frequency or age-at-onset of epilepsy were found in our patients.

According to data from the Italian Registry for Childhood Thrombosis (R.I.T.I.), in about half cases diagnosis of pediatric stroke occurs after 24 h from clinical onset (Baggio et al., SINP2013). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of seizures at stroke onset and their correlation with time to diagnosis in the pediatric stroke patients in the R.I.T.I. We selected the R.I.T.I. children with first acute arterial (AIS) or venous (CSVT) cerebral infarction occurring between January 2007 and June 2012; we studied prevalence, characteristics and recurrence of epileptic seizures, focusing on diagnostic delay. At stroke onset, epileptic seizures occurred in 27.27% of the 63 AIS, and in 50% of the 14 CSVT. In the AIS patients with seizures at stroke onset, diagnosis occurred within 6 h in 30.77%, while in only 12.82% of the seizure-free patients. In the CSVT patients with seizures at stroke onset, diagnosis occurred within 6 h in 28.57%, while in only 14.28% of the seizure-free patients. At discharge, relapse of seizures occurred in 28.57% AIS and in 16.67% CSVT groups. Epileptic seizures are common at onset of stroke in childhood, and they correlate with a more timely diagnosis.