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Purpose: This prologue serves to introduce a research forum composed of studies that address the topic of stuttering in school-age children and adolescents. Researchers are encouraged to continue to build the knowledge base that sustains evidence-based practice in this area. Method: The nature of stuttering as it evolves from early childhood into the school years is briefly described. Beyond the preschool years, children are unlikely to spontaneously recover from stuttering, and they often go on to suffer negative consequences, academically and socially, because of their disorder. If they are to overcome or manage their stuttering successfully, school-age children and adolescents require high-quality treatment. Three data-based studies that address the topic of stuttering in school-age children or adolescents are described, the ongoing need for empirical evidence regarding the management of stuttering is emphasized, and several issues relevant to future studies in this area are discussed. Conclusion: Progress has occurred in the management of stuttering in school-age children and adolescents. Nevertheless, important questions remain unanswered concerning the most effective techniques and strategies to use in helping students who stutter achieve more fluent and natural-sounding speech in their quest to become more confident and effective communicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the modification of speech naturalness during stuttering treatment. It systematically replicated an earlier study (Ingham & Onslow, 1985) that demonstrated that unnatural-sounding stutter-free speech could be shaped into more natural-sounding stutter-free speech by using regular feedback of speech-naturalness ratings during speaking tasks. In the present study, the same procedure was used with three persons who stutter--2 adolescent girls and 1 adult man--during rhythmic stimulation conditions. The two adolescent participants spoke only English, but Spanish was the first and English the second language (ESL) of the adult participant. For the 2 adolescents, it was demonstrated that their unnatural-sounding rhythmic speech could be shaped to levels found among normally fluent speakers without losing the fluency-inducing benefits of rhythmic speech. The findings indicate that speech-naturalness feedback may be a powerful procedure for overcoming a problematic aspect of rhythmic speech treatments of stuttering. However, it was not possible to deliver reliable speech-naturalness feedback to the adult ESL speaker, who also displayed a strong dialect. The study highlights the need to find strategies to improve interjudge agreement when using speech-naturalness ratings with speakers who display a strong dialect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the report by Andrews and Craig in the August 1988 issue which claims to have identified three treatment goals that predict long-term success following stuttering therapy.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disease caused by loss of alpha galactosidase A (α-Gal A) activity and is characterized by progressive accumulation of globotriaosylceramide and its analogs in all cells and tissues. Although enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is considered standard of care, the long-term effects of ERT on renal and cardiac manifestations remain uncertain and thus novel therapies are desirable. We herein report preclinical studies evaluating systemic messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding human α-Gal A in wild-type (WT) mice, α-Gal A-deficient mice, and WT non-human primates (NHPs). The pharmacokinetics and distribution of h-α-Gal A mRNA encoded protein in WT mice demonstrated prolonged half-lives of α-Gal A in tissues and plasma. Single intravenous administration of h-α-Gal A mRNA to Gla -deficient mice showed dose-dependent protein activity and substrate reduction. Moreover, long duration (up to 6 weeks) of substrate reductions in tissues and plasma were observed after a single injection. Furthermore, repeat i.v. administration of h-α-Gal A mRNA showed a sustained pharmacodynamic response and efficacy in Fabry mice model. Lastly, multiple administrations to non-human primates confirmed safety and translatability. Taken together, these studies across species demonstrate preclinical proof-of-concept of systemic mRNA therapy for the treatment of Fabry disease and this approach may be useful for other lysosomal storage disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pompe disease, also known as glycogen storage disease (GSD) type II, is caused by deficiency of lysosomal acid α-glucosidase (GAA). The resulting glycogen accumulation causes a spectrum of disease severity ranging from a rapidly progressive course that is typically fatal by 1–2years of age to a more slowly progressive course that causes significant morbidity and early mortality in children and adults. Recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) improves clinical outcomes with variable results. Adjunct therapy that increases the effectiveness of rhGAA may benefit some Pompe patients. Co-administration of the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin with rhGAA in a GAA knockout mouse reduced muscle glycogen content more than rhGAA or rapamycin alone. These results suggest mTORC1 inhibition may benefit GSDs that involve glycogen accumulation in muscle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Techniques for late spontaneous recovery from stuttering clustered into six strategies. • The strategies reflect components of established treatments and naïve explanations. • Causal attributions of recovery clustered into three implicit theories about recovery. • Knowledge about strategies and implicit theories may help to improve treatment. (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components. 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions. A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained). Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions. The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]