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Updated: Mar 29, 2026
Use of In vivo Imaging to Monitor the Progression of Experimental Mouse Cytomegalovirus Infection in Neonates
Published on: July 6, 2013
Early motor development of children with a congenital cytomegalovirus infection
Alexandra De Kegel1, Leen Maes2, Ingeborg Dhooge3
1Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
Background:
Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the most important etiology of non-hereditary childhood hearing loss and an important cause of neurodevelopmental delay. The current study aimed to investigate the early motor development of symptomatic and asymptomatic cCMV infected children with and without sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).
Methods:
Sixty-four children with a cCMV infection, without cerebral palsy, were compared to a control group of 107 normal hearing children. They were assessed around the ages of 6, 12, and 24 months with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2), Alberta Infant Motor Scales (AIMS), and Ghent Developmental Balance Test (GDBT). The cCMV infected children were subdivided into a symptomatic (n=26) and asymptomatic cCMV group (n=38) but also into a cCMV group with SNHL (n=19) and without SNHL (n=45).
Results:
Symptomatic cCMV infected children and cCMV infected children with SNHL performed significantly weaker for all gross motor outcome measures.
Conclusion:
A congenital CMV infection is a risk factor for a delay in the early motor development. Follow-up will be necessary to gain insight into the exact cause of this motor delay and to define the predictive value of early motor assessment of cCMV infected children.
