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MSU researcher helps develop computer game for Ugandan children recovering from cerebral malaria
October 24, 2007EAST LANSING, Mich. - The computer program Captain's Log - originally used with individuals diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain injuries or learning disabilities - is being adapted to rehabilitate Ugandan children who are survivors of cerebral malaria.
Michael Boivin, a Michigan State University associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology and of psychiatry, and Bruno Giordani, a University of Michigan associate professor of psychiatry, are leading the project.
"So far as we know, this will be the first attempt to implement a cognitive rehabilitation training program in Uganda with children in the aftermath of brain injury," Boivin said. "Such programs for children with special needs are readily available in America, and in other parts of the developed world, but not in Africa."
Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria - around 1 million every year, he said. Cerebral malaria is a severe form of malaria that affects the brain and is fatal in about 15 percent to 30 percent of the cases for hospitalized children.
"Our most recent follow-up evaluation of our cerebral malaria children indicates that 26 percent of them have persisting mild to moderate cognitive impairment, mostly in the area of attention and to some extent in visual-spatial working memory," Boivin said.
The computer game is a comprehensive set of computerized cognitive training programs consisting of five modules including developmental, visual motor skills, conceptual skills, numeric concepts with memory skills and attention skills.
The research team is hoping that this intervention can help cerebral malaria-affected school-age Ugandan children improve their cognitive skills, leading to improvements for both activities of daily living and school-related learning and skill development.
"The program attempts to do so with the use of 33 multilevel brain-training exercises designed to help develop and remediate attention, concentration, memory, eye-hand coordination, basic numeric concepts, problem solving-reasoning skills, self-esteem and self-control," Boivin said.
Originally developed in 1985, the program is used with children 6 years and older and adults and has been used in a variety of therapeutic, school and home settings in all 50 states, U.S. territories and 23 foreign countries. Also, the program has been adapted for use in a wide range of non-English speaking settings.
Boivin and Giordani have trained a Ugandan study team to help implement and evaluate the program.
"We trained our study team at Mulago Hospital in Uganda, and they helped us in testing the program," Boivin said. "The onsite project research manager, Paul Bangirana, can now program and set up Captain's Log on his own."
This pilot study is supported by a Global Health Research and Training grant from U-M and through Boivin's startup faculty funding.
In addition, the study will provide an opportunity to establish partnerships between the U-M Neuropsychology Section; MSU International Neurologic and Psychiatric Epidemiology Program; and the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University School of Medicine, Uganda.
Michigan State University
Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria - around 1 million every year, he said. Cerebral malaria is a severe form of malaria that affects the brain and is fatal in about 15 percent to 30 percent of the cases for hospitalized children.
"Our most recent follow-up evaluation of our cerebral malaria children indicates that 26 percent of them have persisting mild to moderate cognitive impairment, mostly in the area of attention and to some extent in visual-spatial working memory," Boivin said.
The computer game is a comprehensive set of computerized cognitive training programs consisting of five modules including developmental, visual motor skills, conceptual skills, numeric concepts with memory skills and attention skills.
The research team is hoping that this intervention can help cerebral malaria-affected school-age Ugandan children improve their cognitive skills, leading to improvements for both activities of daily living and school-related learning and skill development.
"The program attempts to do so with the use of 33 multilevel brain-training exercises designed to help develop and remediate attention, concentration, memory, eye-hand coordination, basic numeric concepts, problem solving-reasoning skills, self-esteem and self-control," Boivin said.
Originally developed in 1985, the program is used with children 6 years and older and adults and has been used in a variety of therapeutic, school and home settings in all 50 states, U.S. territories and 23 foreign countries. Also, the program has been adapted for use in a wide range of non-English speaking settings.
Boivin and Giordani have trained a Ugandan study team to help implement and evaluate the program.
"We trained our study team at Mulago Hospital in Uganda, and they helped us in testing the program," Boivin said. "The onsite project research manager, Paul Bangirana, can now program and set up Captain's Log on his own."
This pilot study is supported by a Global Health Research and Training grant from U-M and through Boivin's startup faculty funding.
In addition, the study will provide an opportunity to establish partnerships between the U-M Neuropsychology Section; MSU International Neurologic and Psychiatric Epidemiology Program; and the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University School of Medicine, Uganda.
Michigan State University
Malaria Current Events and Malaria News RSSPATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative shares strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines
Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Global challenges and opportunities in fighting HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases
Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs.
Media availability: The role of biomedical research in malaria eradication
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Ineffective monotherapies common in high-burden malarious countries
ACTwatch, a research project led by PSI, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, released evidence today that indicates that artemisinin combination therapy, the most effective medicines for treating malaria, continue to have a significantly low presence on the market among populations considered to be most at risk.
New tool promises more accurate antimalarial drug dosing
Scientists at LSTM have developed a tool to support the development of appropriate age-based dosing regimens for malaria drugs.
Cell phones become handheld tools for global development
Mobile phones are on the verge of becoming powerful tools to collect data on many issues, ranging from global health to the environment.
Exon-skipping drug prevents muscle wasting, maintains muscle function in dystrophin deficient mice
An exon skipping PPMO has demonstrated dramatic effects in the prevention and treatment of severely affected, dystrophin and utrophin-deficient mice, preventing severe deterioration of the treated animals and extending their lifespan.
UM School of Medicine researchers find extreme genetic variability in malaria parasite
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) have charted the extreme genetic differences that occur over time in the most dangerous malaria parasite in the world.
Outfoxing pox: Developing a new class of vaccine candidates
In the annals of medicine, Edward Jenner's 1796 vaccination of a young boy against smallpox, using fluid from cowpox blisters, remains a landmark case. In a new study, Kathryn Sykes, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and her colleagues have taken a fresh look at cowpox.
Ironing out the genetic cause of hemoglobin problems
A gene with a significant effect on regulating hemoglobin in the body has been identified as part of a genome-wide association study, which looked at the link between genes and hemoglobin level in 16,000 people.
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