February 2006
Child anxiety link to ecstasy use
Children who are anxious or depressed are more likely to use ecstasy when they are older, a study has suggested. Dutch scientists studied 1,500 children with an average age of nine, in 1983. When they went back 14 years later, those who had shown signs of anxiety or depression as children were found to be at an increased risk of using the drug. The research, published in the British Medical Journal, said depressed people may take the drug to feel better, but warns it is likely to make them worse.
For some time, scientists have been aware that using ecstasy is associated with emotional health problems, such as depression, psychotic symptoms, and anxiety disorders. But it was not clear whether emotional problems were caused by using ecstasy, or if they led to ecstasy use.
The team of researchers from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam looked at the 1,580 children as part of a long-term population study. All were aged between four and 17 when they were first assessed in 1983 - before ecstasy began to be used as a recreational drug in the Netherlands.
Euphoric effect
The researchers used scientific checklists to assess if the children had any of 120 emotional or behaviour problems, such as being withdrawn, having attention problems or being aggressive.
The study participants were followed up in 1997, when they were aged between 18 to 33. It was found that individuals who had shown signs of anxiety and depression as children in 1983 showed an increased risk of starting to use ecstasy. People with these conditions may be particularly susceptible to ecstasy's effects including enhanced feelings of bonding with other people, euphoria, or relaxation, hoping they can alleviate their symptoms, the researchers say. But they add that long-term use of the drug has previously been found to lead to an increased risk of depressive symptoms. So people who are trying to make themselves feel better may, in the long-run, end up feeling worse.
Focusing
The Erasmus researchers say there were factors they did not take into account such as the individual's social environment, their desire for novel experiences, substance use by their parents or the effects of using other drugs - which was common among those who used ecstasy. However, the team led by Professor Anja Huizink, of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Erasmus, said their findings did show a link between childhood anxiety and later ecstasy use.
They said: "Focusing on these vulnerable individuals in future studies will increase our insight into the potential harmful effects of ecstasy." Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope said: "The suggestion that young people with emotional health problems may use ecstasy to feel better is not surprising, particularly as the drug creates feelings of euphoria and emotional closeness to others.
"This is an important contribution towards understanding why vulnerable young people, and indeed adults, are more susceptible to drug use and misuse.
"The research does raise a question as to whether ecstasy use can cause longer-term mental
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4743146.stm
Autism surrounded by misunderstanding: experts
People with autism are more intelligent and able to function better than previously believed, but mistrust of doctors, biased tests and the Internet have bred myths about the condition, experts said on Sunday.
At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers presented reports showing that even autistics who do not speak can have above-average intelligence. They also offered additional studies disputing claims that vaccines can cause autism.
"The current figures are that 75 percent of autistic people are mentally retarded, with the mute the most ... impaired," said Dr. Laurent Mottron, an autism researcher at Montreal's Hopital Riviere des Prairies.
But Mottron believes the wrong intelligence tests are used to assess autistic children. Many are tested using the Wechsler scale, a common IQ test that includes questions about words and concepts learned in school. The Raven's Progressive Matrices test measures abstract reasoning and consistently gives autistic children higher scores, Mottron said. The average boost in score is 30 points, Mottron said, enough to put someone previously considered mentally retarded into the normal range and the average to gifted status.
Mottron was so impressed by the abilities of one autistic student, Michelle Dawson, that he made her a co-author of some of his papers.
Autism is a term used to describe a broad range of symptoms, from an inability to use language normally, to exhibiting deeply disturbed and repetitive behaviors. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it affects anywhere between one in 500 and one in 166 children.
Morton Gernsbacher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison questioned a common idea among autism researchers that autistic people lack a "theory of mind," which, among other things, gives an ability to empathize with others. Again, she said, the wrong tests are used to assess this ability.
NO AUTISM EPIDEMIC? Dr. Judith Grether, a California epidemiologist, said she questions the idea that there is a new autism epidemic. She said it is impossible to find out how many cases of autism there were in the past, because many people with autism were often diagnosed as retarded, or never diagnosed. Without that information, it is impossible to say if the number of cases has grown, she said.
"We have to do the studies to find the answers," she said.
Grether said researchers in California have begun taking prenatal blood samples from pregnant women and will look for clues when and if some of their children are diagnosed with autism. They are examining hormones, heavy metals, immune system proteins and other factors. The studies found no link with vaccines, said Dr. Irving Gottesman, a psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota, but said the CDC has initiated four new studies "to tie up the loose ends."
New studies are focusing on genetic susceptibilities. Gottesman said the studies may help ease the fears of parents that a vaccine-autism link has been covered up. But he said scientists are battling a plethora of Internet Web sites devoted to the idea that mercury causes autism like http://www.safeminds.org/.
Gernsbacher, the mother of a child with autism, said some parents may join these lobbying groups over the advice of doctors because they get "pat answers" to initial concerns about their children. Many may have been told that boys develop later than girls, for instance.
"The mistrust (of government-funded studies and of their pediatricians) may have arisen from those kind of experiences," she said.
Maggie Fox
21 February 2006
Young Girls Smoking More, Study Shows
According to a recent study, young girls are smoking more than ever before. But the number of boys and girls between the ages of 13 to 15 who were current cigarette smokers was much smaller than expected.
The Global Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control's Charles Warren, PhD, showed that 10.5% of young boys were current smokers and 6.7% of young girls were current smokers.
Dr. Warren said that the number of young boys and girls who smoke was less but researchers were alarmed that the gap between young boys and girls who smoked showed more young girls were current smokers than expected.
The study was published in the latest issue of the Lancet and showed that if the number of young boys and girls who are current smokers continue to smoke as they grow older, the health implications on the global burden of chronic health disease is enormous.
The researchers called for a redoubling of efforts to prevent or stop young people from using tobacco products, saying the findings of the study were very troubling.
The Global Youth Tobacco Survey was conducted at 395 sites in 131 countries. The surveys were tailored to each country, translated into local languages, and given out anonymously at schools.
Topics included current cigarette smoking and use of other tobacco products including snuff, chewing tobacco, cigars, pipes, and cigarillos. Among the findings:
- Nearly 9 percent of students were current smokers.
- More than one in 10 students used tobacco products other than cigarettes.
Regional results include:
- The Americas and Europe had the highest percentage of current smokers (nearly 18 percent of students in each region)
- Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region had the highest percentage of students using tobacco products other than cigarettes (about 13 percent of students in each region).
- The Americas had the highest rate of current use of any tobacco product, including cigarettes (22 percent of students)
Countries that haven't completed the study include Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and most of western Europe, the researchers note.
Dr. Warren noted that 30 percent of the students had been exposed to second-hand smoke within the last week. "More than 30 percent of students in every region of the world were exposed to secondhand smoke at home, and more than 45 percent in every region were exposed to secondhand smoke in public places," said Dr. Warren.
European students were most likely to have been exposed to secondhand smoke, at home and in public. Exposure to secondhand smoke was common among teenaged smokers.
Among students who currently smoked, more than 60 percent in all regions were exposed to smoke at home and more than 70 percent in all regions were exposed to smoke in public, the researchers noted in their report.
Many people start smoking at a young age. The surveys tried to identify nonsmoking students who might start smoking in the next year.
First, students were asked, "If one of your best friends offered you a cigarette, would you smoke it?" Those who said, "No," were then asked, "At any time in the next 12 months do you think you will smoke a cigarette?"
Nearly one in five students (18 percent) who had never smoked cigarettes reported being susceptible to smoking during the coming year, the researchers write. That vulnerability was stronger in boys than girls and strongest in Europe and the Americas, the study shows.
Dave Porter
19 February 2002
http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=8244
Study links bad asthma with bad behavior
Preschoolers with persistent asthma symptoms may be more likely to get into fights with their peers or otherwise have more behavior problems than children with less severe asthma, a study finds.
"These findings suggest a clear need for an early biopsychosocial approach to care for vulnerable children with asthma," according to study author Dr. Jill S. Halterman, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, New York, and colleagues.
"The combined burden of asthma and behavior difficulties could have a significant impact on children and their families," Halterman told Reuters Health.
The findings are based on an analysis of surveys completed by parents of children in an urban school district who were entering kindergarten. The surveys included questions about the children's medical history, including whether the child had asthma and whether the symptoms were persistent or intermittent, and about the children's behavior.
Fifteen percent of the 1,619 children included in the study experienced asthma symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath, and 8 percent had persistent symptoms, which woke them from sleep more than one night a month or required a visit to the emergency department on more than three occasions during the previous year.
Overall, children with persistent asthma symptoms earned the highest, meaning the worst, scores in negative peer social skills, such as hurting others, bothering other children, or fighting with other children, Halterman and her team report in the journal Pediatrics.
These children also scored worse than those with intermittent asthma symptoms -- or those with no asthma symptoms at all -- in a measurement of their task orientation, such as their level of concentration, and in a measurement of their shy/anxious behavior, the report indicates.
The reason for the association between persistent asthma symptoms and worse behavior is unclear.
"The stress related to having asthma might contribute to behavioral problems because the family's focus on the medical issue may make managing behavior more difficult," according to Halterman. "On the other hand," she speculated, "behavior problems may make managing asthma symptoms more difficult."
It's also unclear whether the persistent asthma symptoms preceded or followed the children's worsened behavior.
Regardless of which comes first, Halterman advises parents and teachers of children with asthma to "watch for problems in their child's behavior."
"Sure, kids are going to get into little tiffs once in a while, but if behavior problems become commonplace, parents should set appropriate limits and possibly ask for help from school counselors, teachers or their pediatrician," she told Reuters Health.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2006.
Charnicia Huggins
16 February 2006
American Academy Of Pediatrics Policy Statement Says Pediatricians Should Advocate For Needle Exchanges
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released a policy statement in the journal Pediatrics that says pediatricians should voice support for needle exchange programs to curb the spread of HIV among injection drug users, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. The group's previous policy, which was adopted in 1994, said needle-exchange programs should be "encouraged and expanded." The new policy statement, titled "Reducing the Risk of HIV Infection Associated With Illicit Drug Use," says that physicians should discuss HIV prevention with adolescent patients "with a nonjudgmental approach" and offer confidential support if laws allow it. Congress has banned federal funding for needle-exchange programs, but 36 states and the District of Columbia have such programs, according to the North American Syringe Exchange Network (AP/Houston Chronicle, 2/5). The policy statement also says that:
- Pediatricians should assess "risk behaviors" related to HIV as part of every visit with patients;
- Doctors should consider the risks and benefits of prescribing antiretroviral drugs to adolescents who were exposed to HIV within 72 hours of their visit and accompany any postexposure prophylaxis treatment with "risk-reduction counseling and referral to appropriate substance-abuse treatment";
- Pediatricians should advocate for "seamless access" to reproductive health services for youths;
- Pediatricians should advocate for services such as mobile vans and drop-in clinics that aim to reach youths who might not regularly visit a physician;
- Parents should be given information about ways to talk about substance use and sexual activity; and
- Pediatricians should advocate for "youth-friendly" substance-abuse treatment facilities (Henry-Reid et al., Pediatrics, February 2006).
15 February 2006
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=37356
Scientific mind, autism linked
Parents with certain intellectual tendencies may be more likely to have children with autism and similar disorders, according to a recent study in Archives of Disease in Childhood (ADC), a British Medical Journal publication.
"The parents of children with autism [are more likely to] have a very precise, exact mind [to] focus on details," said study author Simon Baron-Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge.
"Sometimes, this is expressed in a talent for 'systemizing.' When such adults have children together, this [tendency] might increase the risk of their child having autism," he said.
However, Baron-Cohen stressed that these findings are preliminary and do not constitute the final answer regarding the causes of autism. Science-minded couples should not be concerned.
"At present, we don't know how much higher the risks are of having a child with autism in such couples compared to other kinds of couples," he said. "We are testing this at present, but since it is undoubtedly the case that many 'highly analytical' couples have children who do not have autism, this may turn out to simply be one of several risk factors, and by no means inevitably leading to autism."
Baron-Cohen proposed in the ADC article that two overlapping issues in parents may increase the risk of autism in children. The first, called "hypersystemizing," is a style of thinking that is characterized as being highly analytical and systematic; this is the type of thinking required in determining the answers to mathematical problems.
The other issue, which he called "assortative mating," is the tendency of people to be attracted to those with similar interests. Baron-Cohen pointed to other research showing that mathematicians are more likely to have Asperger's syndrome than the general population. Asperger's syndrome has similar features to autism, but is less severe.
Baron-Cohen also noted that other research has shown that students majoring in scientific fields are more likely to have relatives with autism.
Although Baron-Cohen's theory may guide research that furthers the understanding of autism's causes, no conclusions can be drawn yet, cautioned Russell J. Ricci, M.D., a practicing psychiatrist and chair of the Mental Health Channel for Revolution Health Group's Medical Advisory Board.
"Increasingly, autism is being widely known and seen as a spectrum of disease or behavior," Ricci said. "We are only beginning to understand its genetic and environmental roots. It would be premature to read too much into small initial studies."
He noted that "just as college graduate men used to commonly marry their secretaries and doctors their nurses," now people with advanced degrees are likely to marry those with similar educational backgrounds. It's not unusual that people with mathematical or scientific interests would marry each other, he said.
Archives of Disease in Childhood (BMJ)
13 February 2006
http://www.mydna.com/genes/genetics/news/news_20060213_autism_genetics.html
Shire says wants more study on ADHD side effects
Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc said on Friday it wanted further study to determine if there were possible adverse effects from its drug for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after a U.S. advisory panel said such drugs should carry strong warnings.
The committee narrowly voted on Thursday to recommend the warning even though members agreed it was unclear if the drugs contributed to sudden deaths, heart attacks and other complications.
ADHD drugs include Novartis AG's Ritalin and Shire's Adderall.
"While we fully support full disclosure and adequate warning, Shire believes that the interests of physicians and patients would be better served by further study to determine whether there is, in fact, a relationship between these medicines and cardiovascular events," Shire said in a statement.
"Obtaining this information is crucial prior to taking what would be an unprecedented action to include something in a black box that has not been supported by sufficient data."
The Food and Drug Administration will consider the panel's recommendation for a warning highlighted by a black box, the most serious type for prescription drugs. The committee voted 8-7 in favor of the warning, with one abstention.
Each month doctors write about 1 million prescriptions for ADHD drugs for adults and 2 million for children, FDA reviewers said.
Several panel members said there was reason to worry because the ADHD drugs are amphetamines or chemically similar drugs. Amphetamines are known to raise blood pressure, often a precursor to severe heart problems.
Shire said its Adderall already carries a black box saying misuse of amphetamines may lead to sudden death or serious cardiovascular events and it believes that further action is unwarranted.
10 February 2006
More girls than boy trying drugs for first time in US
More girls than boys are becoming first-time users of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana, reversing previous trends, the U.S. drug czar said in a report released on Thursday.
"Girls have become users at rates that exceed boys or equal boys now, which never used to be the case," John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a telephone interview.
The report found 1.5 million U.S. girls 18 or under started using alcohol in 2004, compared with 1.2 million boys. It found that 730,000 girls started smoking cigarettes, compared with 565,000 boys, and 675,000 girls started using marijuana, compared with 577,000 boys.
The report was published on the Internet at http://www.mediacampaign.org/pdf/girls_and_drugs.pdf.
Walters said there were several reasons why girls might turn more to drugs and alcohol than boys.
"They are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure, even when they have been told and accepted that these behaviors are risky for them," Walters said.
"They are twice as likely to be victims of depression. They report that when they use, that they do that to improve their moods."
The report, based on government surveys, found that 1.6 million girls reported having at least one major depressive episode in 2004. "That's more than twice as many as boys," the report reads.
Walters said girls often used drugs and cigarettes to try to stay slim.
He said parents should talk to children before they were at risk of drug use.
"It is not going to be a stranger or some sinister person who offers it," Walters said. "It is going to be your best friend. We have to be sure to prepare them for how they are going to say no to their best friend."
9 February 2006
FDA reports 51 deaths of attention drug patients
Deaths of 51 U.S. patients who took widely prescribed drugs to treat attention deficit disorder prompted regulators to start watching for heart attacks, high blood pressure and other problems in 2004, a report released on Wednesday said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff did not say the drugs were responsible for the fatalities, but they urged close monitoring for "the rare occurrence of pediatric sudden death during stimulant therapy."
"These reports themselves do not establish a causal relationship between these medications and cardiovascular adverse events," wrote Dr. Gerald Dal Pan, director of the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, in a separate notice on the agency Web site.
The information was released one day ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on how best to study potential risks from the drugs, which include Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc's Adderall and Novartis AG's Ritalin. FDA staff scientists and experts will provide updated information at the meeting about serious health problems that have been reported, the agency said.
Use of drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, was controversial before the cardiac issue emerged, with many doctors and parents arguing the medicines are overprescribed. The FDA said it decided to seek input from an advisory panel after reports of sudden death, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes among some of the millions of adults and children who have taken the medicines.
Through 2003, 24 deaths were reported from 1999 through 2003 among U.S. patients who took Adderall for ADHD, the FDA staff report said. The agency excluded cases that appeared linked to intoxication from multiple drugs or other causes. Another 16 deaths were reported through 2003 in U.S. patients who took Ritalin or other ADHD drugs known as methylphenidates, the report said. Eleven deaths were reported among other drugs besides Adderall in the amphetamine class, it said.
"Conclusions about the relative safety of these two stimulant therapies cannot be made on the basis of this analysis," the FDA staff said.
Thirty additional deaths of methylphenidate patients were recorded but they were either non-U.S. cases or occurred outside the review period, the report said.
Shire spokesman Matthew Cabrey said data have not shown any correlation between Adderall and the sudden deaths reported among children. He said the company supports the FDA's review of the matter.
Health Canada temporarily suspended Adderall sales last year after 20 reports of sudden death in people who took it. The agency allowed Adderall back on the market after concluding it could not prove the drug was more risky than other therapies. Novartis said its own review found no increased risk of cardiovascular problems in patients who took methylphenidates compared with the general population.
The FDA also has been studying if ADHD drugs may be related to psychiatric problems. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley charged the FDA had taken a "disjointed" approach to the drugs over the past year. In a letter to the agency, the Iowa Republican suggested a "comprehensive" review of all ADHD medicines.
Shares of British firm Shire fell 3.2 percent to 890.2 pence in London trading. Novartis shares gained 5 cents to close at $54.70 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Lisa Richwine
8 February 2006
Teasing makes some kids turn to unhealthy dieting
Children who are teased about their weight may try to shed pounds in any number of unhealthy ways, a study published Monday shows.
The study, which followed a group of U.S. middle school and high school students for five years, found that those who'd been teased about their weight were more likely to try fasting, skipping meals, vomiting, or using diet pills or laxatives. They were also at greater risk of binge eating -- a problem that is linked to depression, which may explain its connection to teasing in this study, the researchers speculate.
The findings are published in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"People need to be aware of the consequences of weight teasing," said study co-author Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Though such teasing is often intended as a harmless joke, she noted in an interview, "people should recognize that 'maybe what I'm saying is hurtful.'"
The study included more than 2,500 middle school and high school students who were surveyed twice, five years apart, about issues surrounding diet and weight. At the initial survey, 23 percent of girls and 21 percent of boys said they'd been teased about their weight "at least a few times a year."
Among girls, those who were teased were 80 percent more likely to report frequent dieting five years later -- even with factors like age, race and actual weight considered. When the researchers looked specifically at unhealthy methods of weight loss, however, the relationship to teasing was strong only among boys.
Though on the surface that finding may seem surprising, Neumark-Sztainer pointed out, girls are confronted with many influences that affect how they feel about their bodies -- like media images of impossibly thin women. So it's possible, she said, that a single factor, like teasing from other kids, does not have as great an impact on girls as it does on boys. Teasing did appear to affect the risk of binge eating among both male and female students, though the relationship was again stronger for boys.
"The bottom line," Neumark-Sztainer said, "is that weight teasing predicts negative outcomes." If more kids and adults alike become aware of the harm such words can cause, she said, they may think twice before they speak. And kids who don't tease but would normally stand silently by might be moved to stick up for their peers.
For their part, Neumark-Sztainer said, schools could also establish "explicit policies" against teasing about weight, similar to rules some have against racial slurs and bullying.
But along with trying to stop the teasers, she added, adults can do more to help children deal with being teased. Often, she noted, the targets of the joke will laugh or brush it off even if they feel hurt, when instead they could be truthful about how the remark made them feel.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2006.
Amy Norton
6 February 2006
Early puberty ups kids' risk of victimization
Youngsters who hit puberty earlier than their peers may have a higher risk of later being victimized, including being involved in physical fights or getting shot or stabbed, new study findings suggest.
"There is something unique about early maturity (relative to one's peers) that opens opportunities for victimization experiences," the study's authors write. "It's not puberty that is what ultimately causes kids to get victimized," study co-author Dr. Alex Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Florida, told Reuters Health. "Early puberty seems to open up a different set of doors and social experiences to kids," he said, explaining that early maturing youngsters may start socializing with the opposite sex and with older, bigger, and stronger youth earlier than those who do not experience puberty early.
"Just like when people date," he said, "it opens up a world of different sets of people that they've never interacted with."
It is well known that young people who experience puberty early have a higher risk of depression, substance use, disruptive behaviors and various other conditions, yet researchers had not before investigated whether these youth were also more susceptible to victimization.
The current findings are based on data from nearly 7,000, 11- to 15-year-olds from 132 schools across the country. Piquero and co-author Dr. Dana L. Haynie, of the Ohio State University, first identified students who had reached puberty in 1995 and then investigated their experiences of victimization during the following year.
Overall, teens who experienced puberty early -- who perceived themselves as looking older than most of their peers -- had a much greater risk of being involved in a physical fight, having a knife or gun pulled on them, being jumped or otherwise being victimized than did other teens, Piquero and Haynie report. This was particularly true for boys, they write in this month's Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.
Yet, among boys who matured early, those with a higher proportion of female friends appeared to be less likely to experience subsequent victimization. A similar association was not found among early-maturing girls, however. "(It) seems to be a lot like marriage -- females are really good for men," Piquero said. "Women seem to help curtail men's bad experiences."
Girls who hit puberty early, in contrast, tended to have more older friends than did boys who matured early. Socializing with older people "places these kids in difficult situations that they may not be cognitively able to handle," Piquero said, explaining that, although a 13-year-old may start hanging out with a 16-year-old, he or she "may not be at the 16-year-old level yet."
Lower levels of victimization were reported among teens from two-parent families -- as were 74 percent of the study participants -- those with more highly educated parents, and those who reported having higher levels of attachment with their parents. White teens also reported lower levels of victimization than did teens of other races, study findings indicate.
In light of the findings, Piquero said parents should "be aware of possible negative consequences" of early puberty. Although they may have no control over when their child experiences puberty, they should instill in their early-maturing child some "worldly knowledge," and inform them about the potential consequences of befriending older people, or people of the opposite sex, he said.
Parents should discuss potential scenarios their child may encounter due to their advanced development "rather than just pretending that (those situations are) not going to occur," Piquero said.
SOURCE: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, February 2006
Charnicia E. Huggins
6 February 2006
Clean Needle Programs encouraged To expand
Chicago Pediatricians should speak out in support of needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV among injection drug users, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a toughened policy statement.
Doctors also should discuss HIV risk with their teenage patients "with a nonjudgmental approach" and offer confidential help if local laws allow, the group says in the statement appearing Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
"If we can help young people avoid a chronic illness that we have no cure for, I would hope people would embrace that idea," said the lead author, Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid of Chicago's John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital.
The previous version of the group's policy, dated 1994, said clean needle programs should be "encouraged and expanded."
Half of new HIV infections in the United States are among people younger than 25, Henry-Reid said.
Unprotected sex is the most common way young people become infected, but sharing dirty needles or having sex with an injection drug user accounts for about 13 percent of youth AIDS cases.
The policy drew criticism from Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, the group that last year blasted the pediatricians' academy for its support of over-the-counter emergency contraception.
"The recommendation will not rescue patients and neither does it promote healthy behavior," Wright said. "Instead, they have been promoting programs that encourage riskier activities."
The new policy statement says of needle exchange programs, which let addicts trade dirty syringes for clean ones: "Pediatricians should advocate for unencumbered access to sterile syringes and improved knowledge about decontamination of injection equipment."
The beefed-up wording is based on research showing the programs reduce HIV infection, said Dr. Peter Havens of the Medical College of Wisconsin, a member of the committee that wrote the policy.
Needle exchange programs can include counseling to further reduce risky behavior, but opponents say they work against efforts to fight drug abuse.
Congress has banned federal funding of needle exchange programs, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they can reduce the spread of disease without increasing drug use.
The District of Columbia and 36 states have needle exchange programs, according to the nonprofit North American Syringe Exchange Network.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_036154147.html
Cannabis link to aggression in teens
Teenagers who smoke cannabis are at an increased risk of delinquent and aggressive behaviour, the results of a new study indicate.
However the study also found that these teens are no more likely to become withdrawn or depressed, compared to any other teenagers.
A team of Dutch researchers looked at 5,551 young people, aged 12 - 16. Of these almost one in five had used cannabis in the previous year.
The team found that cannabis use was linked to 'externalising problems', in other words, delinquent and aggressive behaviour. However use of the drug was not linked to 'internalising problems', such as withdrawn behaviour, internal body complaints and depression.
According to the researchers, the more frequently cannabis was used, the stronger the link with aggressive behaviour.
"Cannabis use is associated with aggression and delinquency, but is not associated with internalising problems. Alcohol use and regular smoking were strong confounding factors", the team said.
Details of these findings are published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=8926
Report Shows More People in Treatment Started Using Drugs at an Earlier Age
Over 160,000 people admitted for drug addiction treatment in 2003 started using drugs before the age of 13.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released a report from ongoing monitoring of the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) showing an increase in the number of people in treatment for drug addiction who started at an earlier age.
The report tracked treatment admissions from 1993 to 2003 and the percentage of people in treatment who started using drugs before the age of 13 had increased from 12 percent to 14 percent during that time span. The total number of people jumped from about 114,000 to more than 162,000.
In a SAMHSA release, Administrator Charles Curie exclaimed, “Age at first use is an important predictor of the potential for serious substance abuse problems later in life. The increase in the proportion of the admissions for drug use before age 13 should be a wake-up call to parents to speak with their children early and often about the dangers of drug use.”
Education and prevention efforts must start at earlier ages, and must start at home. Our children need to know everything about drugs and the damage they cause and this can be done without building their curiosity or using scare tactics. Simple communication with the truth is what works.
Narconon Arrowhead’s drug education and prevention program works with kids, parents, ministers, counselors, teachers and anyone else in an effort to create and maintain drug-free youth. While the program includes a very successful rehabilitation program based on the research and developments of American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, the professionals working in the treatment center would much rather not have to see those kids in the future going through treatment.
Take the time to speak to your kids about drug and alcohol abuse, and let’s make a better society for all.
PRWEB
1 February 2006
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/2/prweb340513.htm
Anti-euthanasia group wants care, not killing
Campaigners opposed to moves to legalise euthanasia said on Tuesday that Britain should be giving terminally ill patients better palliative care instead of considering how to kill them.
The newly formed Care Not Killing Alliance said it would fight a euthanasia bill currently in the House of Lords and any other attempts to legalise doctor-assisted suicide.
Human rights lawyer Lord Joffe has introduced a private bill that would give seriously ill patients the option of asking for help in ending their lives.
The alliance brings together 18 medical, ethical and religious groups including the British Council of Disabled People and the Christian Medical Fellowship.
John Wiles, chairman of the Association of Palliative Medicine, said the alliance would unite the currently fragmented opposition to euthanasia. "There is an urgent need both to campaign for more and better palliative care whilst opposing any change in the law," he said. Baroness Finlay, a chronic pain consultant and member of the House of Lords, told BBC radio that ill patients who sought to end their lives were often suffering because of poor care and were frightened of the future. She said the alliance would campaign for better access to palliative care, which the NHS is not obliged to offer and is generally provided by charities.
"Until we know that everybody who's facing they are dying can access high-quality specialist palliative care across the UK, we should not be having this debate. This is not time to change the law, so that killing people becomes a therapeutic option."
Last week British doctor Anne Turner, suffering an incurable degenerative condition, travelled to Zurich to die by assisted suicide with the support of Swiss charity Dignitas, the day before her 67th birthday. Before her death she had campaigned to legalise assisted suicide in Britain.
___
Top
__