Late effects of cranial irradiation on visual attention in children treated for hematologic illnesses
A cross-sectional design was employed to assess the effects of CNS therapy including cranial irradiation (CRT) on visual attention. Forty one children between the ages of 8 and 16 years, 24 with a history of CRT, were tested. The attentional measure was a set of 14 timed, age-normed visual cancellation tasks that permitted an assessment of task-relevant motor response speed in the measurement of attentional efficiency. CRT doses ranged from 1000 to 4800 rads, administered to whole brain between 1 and 12 years prior to testing. It was found that increasing doses of CRT were associated with slower motor responding. Motor speed accounted for a significant proportion of variance in attentional task performance: slowed motor responding must be controlled by covariation in the measurement of attentional abilities in CRT-treated children. No child receiving CRT before age 4 and more than 5 years prior to testing performed above the mean overall on the attentional task, compared to several children demonstrating above-average performance who received CRT less than 5 years prior to testing. Scores for the CRT group were highly correlated with IQ and achievement results. CRT variables (dose, age at earliest CRT, time since CRT) explained half the variance in attentional task performance. Children who received CRT performed significantly below the mean on subtests with the most complex, symbolic or sequential target stimuli, a pattern that has predicted poor academic achievement in non-medically ill children. It was concluded that children receiving CRT should continue to be evaluated more than five years after treatment to monitor potential late effects of neurotoxic treatment. Longitudinal, prospective, well-controlled dose-effect research using a developmentally sensitive, theoretically grounded battery of attentional measures is needed to best compare neurotoxicity of different treatment regima in children.
- Research Organization:
- Washington Univ., Seattle, WA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 6219380
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BRAIN
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
HEMIC DISEASES
RADIOTHERAPY
VISION
AGE DEPENDENCE
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
TIME DELAY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BODY
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
DISEASES
MEDICINE
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ORGANS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOLOGY
THERAPY
560151* - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man