Objective: To delineate the perinatal risk factors of neurodevelopmental disabilities in very preterm birth applying logistic regression analysis. Design: This prospective, geographically defined collaborative study was carried out in the Franche-Comté region of France. Subjects: From October 1, 1990 to September 30, 1992, perinatal and follow-up data were collected on 203 consecutive live-born singleton or twin non-malformed infants with strictly ascertained gestational ages of less than 33 weeks. Main Outcome Measure: The rate of cerebral palsy and/or severe mental retardation as diagnosed by a family physician or pediatrician with a screening-skill test performed at 2 years of age. Results: 167/171 (98%) survivors were evaluated. Twenty-two of the 167 examined infants (13%) showed signs of cerebral palsy, and 10 of these had severe cerebral palsy or mental retardation. Risk factors for disabilities were selected by a multivariate approach: premature rupture of membranes ≥48 h (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.6–11.8); monochorionic twin placentation (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.7–21.3), and respiratory distress syndrome (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1–7.1). Conclusion: This geographically defined prospective study gives epidemiological data and highly suggests that there is a link between prenatal events (premature rupture of membranes, monochorionic twin placentation), postnatal events (respiratory distress syndrome), and neurological disabilities in former preterm infants.

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The locked in syndrome seldom occurs in children, is rarely due to trauma and only in exceptional cases has a favourable outcome. The case reported below is unusual in all these respects, and its evolution might be an example of successful axonal regeneration in the central nervous system.

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