Migraine is a common disorder in childhood and adolescence. Studies on adults show the effectiveness and tolerability of riboflavin in migraine prevention, while data on children are scarce. This retrospective study reports on our experience of using riboflavin for migraine prophylaxis in 41 pediatric and adolescent patients, who received 200 or 400 mg/day single oral dose of riboflavin for 3, 4 or 6 months. Attack frequency and intensity decreased (P < 0.01) during treatment, and these results were confirmed during the follow-up. A large number of patients (77.1%) reported that abortive drugs were effective for controlling ictal events. During the follow-up, 68.4% of cases had a 50% or greater reduction in frequency of attacks and 21.0% in intensity. Two patients had vomiting and increased appetite, respectively, most likely for causes unrelated to the use of riboflavin. In conclusion, riboflavin seems to be a well-tolerated, effective, and low-cost prophylactic treatment in children and adolescents suffering from migraine.

The clinical picture of children with autism spectrum disorder is characterized by deficits of social interaction and communication, as well as by repetitive interests and activities. Sensory abnormalities are a very frequent feature that often go unnoticed due to the communication difficulties of these patients. This narrative review summarizes the main features of sensory abnormalities and the respective implications for the interpretation of several signs and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, and therefore for its management. A search was performed in PubMed (United States National Library of Medicine) about the sensory abnormalities in subjects (particularly children) with autism spectrum disorder. Sensory symptoms are common and often disabling in children with autism spectrum disorder, but are not specific for autism, being a feature frequently described also in subjects with intellectual disability. Three main sensory patterns have been described in autism spectrum disorder: hypo-responsiveness, hyper-responsiveness, and sensory seeking; to these, some authors have added a fourth pattern: enhanced perception. Sensory abnormalities may negatively impact the life of these individuals and their families. An impairment not only of unisensory modalities but also of multisensory integration is hypothesized. Atypical sensory reactivity of subjects with autism spectrum disorder may be the key to understand many of their abnormal behaviors, and thus it is a relevant aspect to be taken into account in their daily management in all the contexts in which they live. A formal evaluation of sensory function should be always performed in these children.

Subcortical band heterotopia (SBH) and classical lissencephaly (LIS) result from deficient neuronal migration which causes mental retardation and epilepsy. A single LIS/SBH locus on Xq22.3–q24 was mapped by linkage analysis and physical mapping of the breakpoint in an X;2 translocation. A recently identified gene, doublecortin (DCX), is expressed in fetal brain and mutated in LIS/SBH patients. We have identified four novel missense mutations in the gene, one familial mutation with LIS in a male and SBH in the carrier females, one de novo mutation in an SBH female, and two mutations in sporadic SBH female patients. The DCX gene is found to be expressed exclusively at a very high level in the adult frontal lobe. We have also cloned the X-linked mouse doublecortin (DCX) gene. It encodes isoforms of a highly hydrophilic 40 kDa protein, homologous to its human counterpart and containing several potential phosphorylation sites. Both human and mouse DCX proteins are homologous to a CNS protein containing a Ca²⁺/calmodulin kinase domain, suggesting that the DCX protein may belong to a novel class of intracellular proteins involved in neuronal migration through Ca²⁺-dependent signaling.