Harry Bakwin

Emotional deprivation in infants

Summary 1. The failure of infants to thrive in institutions is due to emotional deprivation. 2. In young infants emotional reactions arise principally, if not entirely,in response to sensory stimuli. These stimuli set in motion processes that appear to be essential for the childs well-being. 3. To offset the adverse effects of residence in an institution, babies whorequire hospital care should receive manipulation, attention and affection. Whenever possible, the mother should be at the babys bedside during the greater part of the day. 4. There is no reason to believe that more handling of the baby and thepresence of the mother increase the incidence of infections; indeed, the evidence would indicate the reverse.

SLEEP-WALKING IN TWINS

Abstract To investigate the possibility of a hereditary predisposition to sleep-walking, the degree of concordance in monozygotic and dizygotic twins was compared. Monozygotic twins were concordant for the symptom six times as often as dizygotic twins (p=0·04)—a finding consistent with a genetic basis. The increased incidence of sleep-walking in the children when a parent had been a somnambulist also favours this view. Enuresis and persistent finger-sucking were commoner in the somnambulists than in the non-sleep-walkers; the prevalence of nail-biting was the same in these two groups.

Fragile bones and macrocranium

Summary A child is described with multiple fractures beginning in the first year of life, bowing of all four extremities, and a large head. Roentgen studies revealed greatly thickened frontal, parietal, and occipital bones with deepened diploic spaces, generalized osteoporosis, healing and healed fractures with bowing and angulation of all the long bones, and widening of the medullary cavities in the unfractured bones.

Tetany in newborn infants

Summary A physiologic hypoparathyroidism occurs in newborn infants analogous to physiologic dehydration and physiological jaundice. That the tetany of newborn infants results from hypoparathyroidism is indicated by (1) the abrupt fall in serum calcium within twenty-four hours after birth, (2) the low urinary phosphorus content, and (3) the marked response to phosphate ingestion. That tetany in the newborn is not related to vitamin D deficiency is indicated by (1) the failure of large doses of vitamin D to influence the fall in serum calcium following phosphate ingestion and (2) the prompt cure with calcium salts. A second mechanism leading to tetany of the newborn is phosphate either released endogenously during the physiologic starvation, or, what is probably more likely, ingested from without in cows milk.

The tonsil-adenoidectomy enigma.

Summary 1. Data from various parts of theUnited States and Britain indicate that tonsil-adenoidectomy is probably performed as frequently now as in former years. 2. Numerous studies reported in theliterature fail to demonstrate any benefit from the operation. 3. Ample data demonstrate a causal relation between tonsil-adenoidectomy and bulbar poliomyelitis. 4. The number of persons recordedas dying from the operation in the United States during the years 1950–1955 varied from 220 to 346 a year.

Growth and development of Negro infants. VIII. Comparison of the deciduous dentition in Negro and white infants; a preliminary study.

Summary The time of eruption of the firstdeciduous tooth and the number of teeth present at one year of age in Negro and white infants was compared and related to the race, socioeconomic level, and sex of the infant. From this study the following conclusionsare made: 1. The mean time of eruption of thefirst deciduous tooth in Negro male and female infants was 27.7 and 28.9 weeks, respectively. The white male and female infants erupted their first tooth at 29.1 and 31.6 weeks, respectively. This earlier eruption time in Negro infants is possibly due to a racial tendency toward accelerated tooth eruption in this group. 2. The Negro male and female infants had a mean of 6.0 and 5.9 teeth at the age of one year as compared to 6.9 and 6.4 teeth for white male and female infants, respectively. The larger number of teeth found in the white infants at one year of age may be attributed to nutritional advantages, since it was of statistical significance only when the white infants from a middle socioeconomic level (private practice) were compared with Negro infants from a lower socioeconomic level (clinic infants). 3. The influence of sex is demonstratedby the slight acceleration in dentition in the male infants in all groups studied.

Cerebral damage and behavior disorders in children

Summary 1. A disturbance in behavior may be the most prominent manifestation ofcerebral damage of varying etiology in children. 2. The clinical syndrome is fairly characteristic. 3. Subtle neurologic changes and the performance on psychometric tests are diagnostic aids. 4. In general, the outlook for improvement in behavior and ultimate recovery is good. 5. Treatment consists of giving the child added support at home and in school in the form of extra affection, attention, approval, encouragement, and praise.

Nail-biting in Twins

Nail‐biting was practised by almost a third of the children of 338 twin pairs in this series. It was one and a half times as frequent in girls as in boys. About two‐thirds of the monozygotic twin pairs were concordant for nail‐biting compared with about one‐third of the dizygotic pairs. Finger‐sucking after the third birthday was as frequent in twins who bite their nails as those who do not. The findings in twins point to a genetic basis for nail‐biting.

Body-weight Regulation in Twins

The mean differences in body‐weight between monozygotic twins and their co‐twins (3.90lb., 1.77kg) is much less than between dizygotic twins and their co‐twins (8.90lb., 4.0kg) in children between 6 and 12 years of age (p <.001). At birth dizygotic twins, on average, weigh slightly more than monozygotic twins. The differences between the birth‐weights of dizygotic twins (0.361kg) are greater than between monozygotic twins (0.288kg). The first‐born twin is more often heavier than the second‐born. The twin who is heavier at birth is likely to be heavier during childhood (6 to 12 years). The data show that genetic factors are important in the control of body‐weight in children.

Persistent Finger‐sucking in Twins

Persistent finger‐sucking was somewhat more frequent in girls than in boys and in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins. Monozygotic twins were concordant for persistent finger‐sucking more often than dizygotic twins but the difference was not statistically significant. A genetic basis for finger‐sucking persisting after the third birthday is unlikely.