November 2005
Low growth hormone linked to children's intelligence
Scientists have found a link between the growth hormone IGF-I and a child's IQ level, a breakthrough that could explain why some shorter children do worse at school than their taller classmates.
The team from the University of Bristol conducted a study of 547 youngsters and found that higher levels of IGF-I, which is linked with physical development, were associated with higher IQ scores.
Professor David Gunnell and his colleagues measured levels of Insulin Growth Factor IGF-I in the blood of the children, who also took an intelligence test at the age of eight.
The researchers said that circulating levels of insulin-like growth factors are influenced by factors such as diet.
They also control the effects of growth hormone on tissues and play a key role in physical growth and organ development during childhood.
At the moment scientists do not know what happens in the body to link poor growth and impaired development in the brain.
But one explanation could be that growth hormones also affect brain development.
When the researchers compared IGF-I levels in the youngsters in the study, they found a significant link between the growth hormone and intelligence.
For every 100 nanograms per millilitre increase in IGF-I levels, the IQ increased by three points.
Professor Gunnell said it was already well known that babies with a low birthweight were slower to develop.
"Poor foetal and post-natal growth are associated with impaired neurodevelopment," he said.
"Similarly, short stature - a measure of poor post-natal growth and nutrition - is associated with low scores in tests of cognitive function and poor educational achievement."
Lyndsay Moss
30 November 2005
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=2326032005
Pre-school children 'suffering early mental health problems'
More than one in ten pre-school children may be experiencing early mental health problems that are likely to disrupt their lives, a new study suggests.
Scientists were shocked to discover large numbers of those under five meeting the criteria for mental and behavioural disorders seen in school-age children, adolescents and adults.
A conference at the Institute of Psychiatry in London heard yesterday that in more than 11 per cent of cases, the children suffered symptoms bad enough to affect their daily lives.
They included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), serious disruptive behaviour, depression and anxiety.
Psychiatrists in the United States rated 307 pre-school children by asking their parents to fill in questionnaires. The questions were carefully designed to spot tell-tale behavioural traits commonly associated with different kinds of mental illness and disability.
Many of the children were found to have a range of problems, often displaying symptoms of more than one kind of disorder. Anxiety showed itself in a number of ways, including generalised fear, phobias and terror at being separated from parents. Children with depression showed typical symptoms of sadness, irritability, disturbed sleep and lack of appetite.
Dr Adrian Angold, from Duke University in North Carolina, who led the research, said: "Already by the age of two to five you are seeing rates of a variety of psychiatric disorders which are very similar to rates you see at nine, 17 and in the 20s. These are kids that have psychiatric problems with symptoms that are impacting on their lives in a negative way ... they really are sick."
In 11.3 per cent of cases the problems encountered were classified as "serious emotional disorders" bad enough to disrupt daily life. Older children with similar difficulties were held back at school, socially isolated and unable to forge relationships.
"It turns out that the same thing applies to the pre-school group too, and that's kind of scary," said Dr Angold, adding that there may be a case for taking action to help children with psychiatric problems even at a very early age.
A separate study found many parents of hyperactive children are surviving on just a few hours of sleep a night, piling pressure on family relationships.
A survey found that almost six out of ten mothers and fathers of children with ADHD had six hours of sleep a night or less.
John Innes
29 November 2005
http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=2319612005
Heavy teen girls risk metabolic syndrome
Adolescent girls who carry excess weight around
the middle and who have high levels of harmful triglycerides are at
increased risk of developing the so-called metabolic syndrome -- a
cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors such as excess body
weight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol
levels.
Transient preadolescent central adiposity, by contrast, is not
associated with metabolic syndrome later in life, researchers report in
the November issue of Pediatrics.
The results suggest that "early interventions aimed at managing preteen
obesity could reduce the risk of developing the syndrome," lead author
Dr. John A. Morrison, from Children's Hospital Medical Center in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and colleagues note.
The findings are based on a longitudinal study of more than 1000 girls
who were followed for 10 years starting at ages 9 and 10. The study
focused on the five components of the metabolic syndrome: high waist
circumference, high glucose, high triglycerides, low "good" HDL
cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
At 9 and 10 years of age, just one girl of each race (0.2 percent) had
three or more components of the metabolic syndrome. Ten years later,
however, 20 black girls (3.5 percent) and 12 white girls (2.3 percent)
had at least three components.
On multivariate analysis, increased waist circumference and high
triglyceride level emerged as significant predictors of metabolic
syndrome during follow-up, the investigators report.
"The development of abnormal levels of the individual elements
constituting the metabolic syndrome can have its origins and onset in
adolescence and develop through adulthood," the authors note. "Thus,
taking action in adolescence could provide major health benefits," they
conclude.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, November 2005.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-11-26T030138Z_01_ARM610862_RTRUKOC_0_US-HEAVY-TEEN-GIRLS-RISK.xml
Cocaine use increases across Europe - report
Cocaine use among young adults in Britain and Spain is almost as prevalent as in the United States and consumption of the drug is rising across Europe, a report published on Thursday showed.
About 9 million people in the European Union, 3 percent of all adults, have tried cocaine, while up to 3.5 million are likely to have to have used it in the last year and 1.5 million took the drug in the past month, the report found.
"Historically, cocaine was a fairly rare drug in Europe," said Paul Griffiths, scientific coordinator for the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, which published the survey.
"Then in Britain, the Netherlands and Spain it became increasingly available in big cities and now it is very visible in national statistics in these countries and our concern is there could be further diffusion in Europe," he said.
In Britain and Spain, more than 4 percent of 15-34 year-olds consumed cocaine in the past 12 months, close to the level in the United States, where cocaine has been a problem for longer than in Europe, the report said.
In those two countries, the number of young adults taking cocaine, often described as a trendy recreational drug, exceeded those using ecstasy and amphetamines.
Despite the rising trend in Britain, the growth in cocaine use there appears to be stabilizing at historic high levels while other EU members such as France show signs of catching up, Griffiths said.
The impact of increasing cocaine use is also showing up in health statistics.
Although deaths attributed to cocaine use alone are rare, the drug played a role in 10 percent of all drug-related deaths, meaning there could be several hundred deaths per year linked to cocaine in the 25-nation bloc, the report said.
Long-term effects in 'bonding hormones' seen in children neglected early on
Adopted orphans who suffered serious emotional and physical neglect early in life show hormone deficiencies long afterward.
Researchers studied 18 children raised in orphanages in Russia and Romania. At such facilities, one adult typically cares for up to 40 children, who may miss out on the emotional and physical contact.
The children left the orphanages two or three years before the study, and they now all live in stable, wealthy homes in the U.S. The children were all healthy and 4.5 years old on average.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison measured levels of two "social bonding" hormones in the adopted children compared to 21 children raised by their biological parents.
Psychology, psychiatry and pediatrics Prof. Seth Pollak and his colleagues measured levels of oxytocin and vasopressin in urine samples taken before and after the children played a computer game while sitting on the laps of their mothers.
The children were asked to interact with their mother while playing, such as by whispering or tickling her.
Before the game, both groups showed similar levels of oxytocin, a hormone linked to trust in humans. Only those who were nurtured early in life had their oxytocin levels spike after receiving Mom's attention. Also, oxytocin levels didn't change in either group when they played the games with an adult stranger.
Children who experienced early neglect showed much lower levels of vasopressin before the game compared to the non-adopted children in the control group.
Since vasopressin is thought to be important in recognizing people in a familiar social environment, the lower levels may help explain why the victims of early neglect have difficulty forming secure relationships, the researchers said.
"It's extremely important that people don't think this work implies that these children are somehow permanently delayed," Pollak said in a release.
"All we are saying is that in the case of some social problems, here is a window into understanding the biological basis for why they happen and how we might design treatments."
The results wouldn't apply to adopted children who are well cared for from birth.
The study appears in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
21 November 2005
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/11/21/adopt-trust051121.html
Spanking children fuels aggression, anxiety
Children who are spanked when they misbehave are more likely to be anxious and aggressive than children who are disciplined in nonphysical ways, research shows. This is true even if spanking is the "cultural norm."
Whether parents should spank their children or use other forms of physical discipline is controversial. Some experts argue that children should not be spanked when they act out citing evidence that it leads to more, rather than fewer, behavior problems and it could escalate into physical abuse. There are data to support this argument.
Other experts, however, argue that the effects of spanking and physical discipline might depend on the characteristics of the child and family and the circumstances in which it is used.
To investigate the latter theory, researchers from questioned 336 mothers and their children in China, India, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand about cultural norms surrounding use of physical discipline and how it affected their children's behavior.
Jennifer Lansford, a research scientist from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University spearheaded the survey. She told Reuters Health that "across the six countries studied, children who were physically disciplined more frequently were more aggressive and anxious than were children who were physically disciplined less frequently."
"However, in countries where the use of physical discipline was more common, being physically disciplined more frequently was not related as strongly to aggression and anxiety as it was in countries where physical discipline was less frequently used," she said.
Not surprisingly, in Thailand, a country where peace-promoting Buddhist teachings predominant, moms were least likely to spank their children or use other forms of physical discipline.
In Kenya, on the other hand, where use of physical discipline is common and considered normal for the most part, moms were most likely to spank or engage in similar disciplinary tactics. In a study conducted in Kenya in 2003, 57 percent of grandmothers reported caning, pinching, slapping, tying with a rope, hitting, beating, and kicking as forms of discipline they had used on their grandchildren.
One question the findings raise, according to Lansford, is whether being physically disciplined more frequently causes an increase in aggression and anxiety or whether children who are already aggressive and anxious are simply physically disciplined more often. "On the basis of other work conducted in the United States, the answer is probably some of each," Lansford said.
"Another question is whether physical discipline is appropriate in this day and age, regardless of how accepted it may be," she added.
SOURCE: Child Development, November/December 2005.
Megan Rauscher
21 November 2005
Scientists Move Forward Understanding Of Schizophrenia
A Scots-led medical research team has identified a new gene linked to major mental illness that links back to a previously discovered gene known to increase the risk of schizophrenia and depression. Scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, together with scientists from the pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp & Dohme Limited, report the discovery of the second gene, phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) in the prestigious journal Science today (17 November). Their discoveries could lead to the eventual development of new drugs to treat mental health problems.
In 2000, researchers at the University of Edinburgh identified a gene they called Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), which was found to increase the chances of people developing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression) and major clinical depression.
Now, new research by the two Universities and by scientists from the pharmaceutical company Merck Sharpe and Dohme reveals that damage to the gene PDE4B is also seen to increase the risk of developing mental illness. PDE4B was already known to play an important role in how the brain thinks and builds memories, but had not previously been linked to mental disorder. In addition, researchers have discovered that DISC1 acts as a regulator for PDE4B, creating a 'pathway' between the two genes.
Professor David Porteous at the University of Edinburgh said: "This is another important breakthrough in our still limited understanding of major mental illness. It is the result of a long term research commitment to use the tools of genetics to better understand the root causes of mental disorder.
"This has been a fantastic combined effort. The collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh and of Glasgow, jointly with our research colleagues at Merck Sharpe and Dohme has really made this happen.
"It is now clear that the DISC1 gene plays an important role in the risk of developing schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder. The new genetic link we have made to PDE4B and how that links back to DISC1 sheds much needed light on these debilitating disorders. It also suggests a new way of thinking about developing better and effective medicines."
Professor Miles Houslay of the University of Glasgow said: "Over the past few years we've been working hard to help in the development of medicines for treating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by inhibiting very similar enzymes to PDE4B. It has been so exciting to work together with the Edinburgh and Merck groups in finding this new link between the gene coding for PDE4B and schizophrenia. This new research has the potential for developing novel ways of diagnosing and treating this debilitating disease."
Peter Hutson, the Neuroscience Research Centre, Merck Sharp & Dohme, said: "Mental illness remains a scourge of society. Our insights into the important role that the proteins PDE4B and DISC1 may play in the mis-function of the brain that leads to schizophrenia will lead our thinking in the development of new treatments for this disorder"
Source: University of Edinburgh 18 November 2005
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051118161101.htm
New Study Finds Malaria Could Play Key Role In Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Pregnancy
Malaria infections boost production of a substance that might significantly increase HIV replication in the placenta. This interaction could explain why mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in Yaoundé increases following a rainy season, according to new findings presented at this week's Fourth Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Malaria Conference.
Laboratory tests have revealed that biological substances known as "proinflammatory cytokines", such as TNF-alpha, which is found in high levels in placentas infected with malaria, could stimulate HIV replication in the placenta.
"Our research highlights the fact that placental malaria, through the placental cytokine network, could play an important role in mother-to-child HIV transmission in utero that has been underestimated so far," said Anfumbom Kfutwah of the Pasteur Center's virology laboratory. (Thursday, 3:10 p.m., Ebony Hall, Parallel Session 26, Presentation 169)
He said scientists have been investigating a possible link between malaria and in utero HIV infections since a study conducted in Yaoundé, Cameroon found that MTCTs peaked three months after the rains peaked. Seasonal rains are known to bring an increase in malaria infections by providing the ideal breeding environment for mosquitoes that carry the disease.
Kfutwah will be discussing a study currently ongoing by scientists at Cameroon's Pasteur Center in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, on placentas collected from women who were HIV positive and HIV negative, and with and without malaria. This study is investigating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in relation to both pathogens.
Kfutwah said that further research needs to be done to better understand how the malaria parasite induces the inflammatory response that appears to interfere with the placenta's normal action to protect the fetus from infections.
However, according to Kfutwah, solid evidence of a connection between malaria and risk of fetal infection with HIV could prompt health authorities to consider routinely testing pregnant women in Cameroon and other African countries for both HIV and malaria. Malaria treatment could then be initiated during pregnancy as a way to reduce the risks of infecting the fetus with HIV.
The study by Kfutwah and his colleagues is one of several presentations at the MIM conference that focus on the many challenges arising in a region where co-infections with both HIV, which affects an estimated 29.4 million Africans, and malaria, which sickens 500 million, are unfortunately quite common.
"Each disease by itself is a major problem both for the individuals affected and the health care system," said Andreas Heddini, the MIM Secretariat coordinator. "But the fact that they frequently occur together is a major complicating factor, and we need more research to clarify how the two infections interact and how to best treat co-infection. When you look at the many discussions at MIM, it's clear that African scientists are aware that we cannot look at HIV and malaria in isolation. We must investigate any interactions between what are arguably the two biggest health threats facing the continent today."
Press release Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
(Dakar)
17 November 2005
Musically trained children process language better
People who learned to play musical instruments as children process spoken language faster and more accurately than their non-musical counterparts as adults, according to a Stanford University study. Researchers hope the findings, presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C., will help children with reading problems, such as dyslexia.
The study, based on research performed in 2004 at Stanford, shows that musical training can help the brain differentiate between rapidly changing sounds, an ability that is key to understanding and using language effectively, researchers said.
"What this study shows, that's novel, is that there's a specific aspect of language ... that's changed in the minds and brains of people with musical training," said John Gabrieli, a former Stanford psychology professor now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Researchers used adults ranging in age from 28 to 40 and divided them into groups of musicians and non-musicians, then matched them by age, sex, intelligence and general language ability.
The musicians were required to have started playing an instrument before they turned 7 years old and to never have stopped.
Researchers played tones of different pitches in rapid succession and asked participants to distinguish between them. Scans showed that the musicians' brain activity was more focused and efficient than their non-musical counterparts.
Participants were also asked to rapidly differentiate between similar word syllables, which the musicians did with more accuracy and speed than those without musical training.
Gabrieli said many children who become poor readers have trouble making auditory distinctions.
Some education observers caution against reading too much into the findings until it is proven that music training actually improves reading ability in children.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2005-11-17-music-training-language_x.htm
Antidepressant Use for Kids
Antidepressant Use for Kids Doubled Before FDA Warnings Despite guidelines, use of psychotherapy declined during the same time, a Stanford University study finds. Even as concerns about teen suicide and antidepressant use surfaced during the last decade, prescriptions for the mood-altering drugs increased dramatically as therapy sessions declined, new research shows. And, while guidelines call for initially treating childhood depression with psychotherapy — and medication plus psychotherapy only in the most serious cases — many teens received only medication, including drugs not approved for use by children, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers said.
Although only Prozac was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use with children, the majority of antidepressant prescriptions issued in the years covered by the study — 1995 through 2002 — were for newer, non-approved medications.
Up until two years before the FDA mandated black-box warnings on antidepressants warning of potential dangers to kids, the research found that:
- Doctor visits for pediatric depression more than doubled from 1995 to 2002. In 1995, there were 1.44 million visits for depression; by 2002, that figure had risen to 3.22 million.
- At the same time, the number of visits in which antidepressants were prescribed rose from 47 percent in 1995 to 52 percent in 2002. And psychotherapy or mental-health counseling declined from 83 percent to 68 percent.
"We were interested in tracking the use of antidepressants in the pediatric population," said lead researcher Dr. Randall S. Stafford, an associate professor of medicine at the university, "because of the recent concern about using antidepressants in this group."
In their study, Stafford and his colleagues used data from two national ambulatory-care surveys, focusing on teens who visited doctors between 1995 and 2002. "The use of antidepressants rose dramatically over that time," Stafford said. "We found that not only had there been an increase in the use of antidepressants, but the likelihood that these children would be receiving psychotherapy or mental-health counseling had declined."
The findings appear in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
In 1995, Prozac was the primary medication used, Stafford said. "As new drugs have entered the market, there has been diffusion of those drugs to the adolescent population. The likelihood of a child being on an antidepressant that was FDA-approved for the pediatric population has decreased," he added.
Stafford said he's concerned that these newer drugs have not been extensively tested for use with children and adolescents. "I think there is an issue in exposing this population to a set of drugs which don't have the usual data behind them that we typically associate with a drug used in adults," he said.
One expert noted that the data used for the study do not reflect recent FDA warnings about the use of antidepressants in children. In October 2004, the agency required that all manufacturers of antidepressants revise the labeling for their products to include a black-box warning that alerts health-care providers to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or actions among children.
"The potential silver lining in this otherwise overcast tale is its vintage," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "The more recent data analyzed are now nearing four years old. The black box warning on SSRIs was mandated by the FDA in 2004, well after the trends reported in this paper," he added.
Katz said he hoped that the trends reported in the study have not persisted in more recent years as the understanding of the potential hazards of SSRI antidepressant use in children and adolescents has increased. "More recent data should be examined at the first opportunity to put such hope to the test," he said.
"Whatever the more recent trends in SSRI use and psychotherapy, the high and apparently rising rate of youth depression is a matter of grave societal concern," Katz added. "An examination of what factors in the lives of our children make them vulnerable to depression should be among the nation's public health priorities," he said. "We must identify these factors, and devote any necessary resources to their minimization. Even the best and safest treatment for youth depression is not as good as preventing that depression in the first place."
Steven Reinberg
16 November 2005
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=1320459
New cigarette flavors include mint, chocolate and
citrus – youth market targeted
New research from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that cigarette makers are targeting young smokers with candy and liqueur-flavored new brands that mask the harsh and toxic properties found in tobacco smoke, and in one case, embedding a hidden flavor pellet within the filter. Despite assurances from cigarette makers that they no longer target the youth market, the researchers found that new brands are being marketed to young smokers and racial/ethnic groups using colorful and stylish packaging and exploiting adolescents' attraction to candy flavors. The study appears in the November/December issue of the journal, Health Affairs.
The researchers sifted through a database of more than 7 million internal tobacco industry documents spanning more than 30 years for information on alternative flavors and flavor technology used in the development of products targeting new and younger smokers. Carrie Carpenter, lead author of the study and a research analyst at HSPH stated, "Flavored cigarettes can promote youth smoking initiation and help young occasional smokers to become daily smokers by reducing or masking the natural harshness and taste of tobacco smoke and increasing the acceptability of a toxic product." A 1993 internal document stated, "Growing interest in new flavor sensations (i.e. soft drinks, snack foods) among younger adult consumers may indicate new opportunities for enhanced-flavor tobacco products that could leverage [a brand's] current strength among younger adult smokers."
Internal research by the tobacco industry showed manufacturers that they could capitalize on youths' attraction to candy flavors. They used innovative product technology, such as a flavor pellet imbedded in one company's cigarette filters, to deliver fruit and liqueur flavors. Some of the flavored cigarettes the companies have developed include; Mandarin Mint, Mocha Taboo, Mintrigue, Kauai Kolada, Margarita Mixer and others. Fruit and candy flavors were also added to smokeless tobacco products, cigars and cigarette rolling papers.
Gregory Connolly, senior author of the study and a professor of the practice of public health at HSPH noted, "Tobacco companies are using candy-like flavors and high tech delivery devices to turn a blowtorch into a flavored popsicle, misleading millions of youngsters to try a deadly product. Adding candy flavors to a toxic product (cigarettes) isn't any different than adding sugar to contaminated meat a century ago. The only difference is that today one is regulated by the FDA and the other is not."
Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, a funder of the study, commented, "The public should recognize these products for what they are - a tool to lure younger smokers to their brands, and then potentially to a lifetime of tobacco addiction."
The study; "New Cigarette Brands with Flavors That Appeal to Youth: Tobacco Marketing Strategies; Health Affairs, November/December 2005, Volume 24, number 6, was funded by the American Legacy Foundation and the National Cancer Institute.
Harvard School of Public Health is dedicated to advancing the public's health through learning, discovery, and communication. More than 300 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 900-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world. Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children's health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights. For more information on the school visit: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu.
Kevin C. Myron
Harvard School of Public Health
16 November 2005
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=33445
Psychological distress tied to bullying
Elementary school children who are psychologically distressed -- they feel sad most days and feel as if they do not belong at school -- are more likely to be involved in some form of bullying, investigators have found
Such children are prone to be a victim of bullying, a bully themselves, or a bully-victim -- someone who is both victimized and bullied others.
Children who struggle academically are also more likely to be victims or bully-victims, according to results of the survey of more than 3,500 third, fourth, and fifth graders attending an urban public school in one West Coast US city. The results of the survey appear in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine this month.
"The association between low achievement in school and bullying is concerning," Dr. Gwen M. Glew, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and leader of the study, told Reuters Health. "The primary mission of schools is to educate children. It is possible that bullying is getting in the way of that goal," she explained.
"However, this study does not allow us to say this for sure, given that it was cross-sectional," Glew emphasized. "Further, we don't know which came first: the bullying or the low achievement. Still, the association is concerning and suggests further work in this area is called for."
The fact that elementary school children involved in bullying feel sad most days is also worrisome for obvious reasons, Glew said. "Sadness is the key depression symptom. Bullying-involvement is associated with the key symptom of depression in this young population."
For the survey, investigators classified the children as victims, bullies, bully-victims, bystanders (children who did not bully others and were not bullied by others) and nonresponders.
Nearly one quarter of children surveyed (22 percent) reported being involved in bullying, either as a victim or bully, or both. Six percent said they were "always" bullied, 14 percent said they bullied others, and two percent said they bullied and were bullied. All of the children who were involved in bullying either as victim, bully or both were much more likely than bystanders to report feeling unsafe at school.
Among children who felt they didn't belong at school, their odds of being bullied were more than 4-fold higher than those who felt they belonged at school and their odds of being a bully themselves was 3-fold higher than those who felt a sense of belonging at school.
Boys were much more likely than girls to be bullies and bully-victims.
These data support anti-bullying curricula and other interventions in the elementary school grades, Glew and colleagues conclude.
SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, November 2005.
Abused girls 'higher anorexia risk'
Sexually-abused girls are more likely to develop eating disorders in later life - even when pregnant, according to research. Out of 10,000 women, 18% said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact before the age of 16 and were twice as likely to show symptoms of an eating disorder.
And the research into the causes of bulimia, anorexia and related symptoms, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, suggested it could affect the health of their children.
The report, from the Children of the 90s project at the University of Bristol, was designed to explore which early experiences - recalled during pregnancy - were associated with eating disorders.
It found: "Pregnancy itself has an inevitable impact on attitudes to weight and shape and on eating disorder symptoms.
"There is evidence from a number of studies that pregnant women are generally accepting of their larger body size and make few attempts to control it.
"However, in samples of women with eating disorders, many expressed negative feelings about the weight gain and changes in body shape during pregnancy."
The research showed there are significant links with a number of disruptive childhood experiences, but sexual abuse was a "significant independent predictor of lifetime eating disorder symptoms and atypical concern about shape and weight".
The study found 79% of the women recalled a happy childhood and they were less likely to worry about their shape or weight, or to show other symptoms.
Of those who reported sexual abuse, 15% showed symptoms of an eating disorder and 30% showed "marked concern" about their shape during pregnancy.
Pupils given pedometers to tackle obesity
Thousands of children across England have been given pedometers in efforts to tackle the nation's obesity epidemic. The devices, which count the number of steps taken, have been handed out in 50 schools as part of the Schools on the Move pilot scheme. Almost 9,000 pedometers have been issued to pupils aged nine to 14, with funding from the Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills.
The scheme is part of efforts outlined in the Public Health White Paper last year to tackle childhood obesity and increase physical activity.
Launching the scheme, Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said: "Childhood obesity is a serious issue which the Government is determined to tackle on a number of fronts including increasing levels of physical activity. "Pedometers are effective in motivating people to become more active.
"Schools on the Move takes this further by incorporating the information children gain from pedometers into lessons like maths, science, art and geography, making the distance they walk and the number of steps they take relevant across the school curriculum not just in PE and school sports."
Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, added: "Taking the physical activity message into the classroom and day-to-day school life is a major step forward in encouraging all young people to be more active on a daily basis."
Minister for Schools Andrew Adonis said: "Keeping children active both in school and after school is extremely important. That is why we are investing over £1.5 billion from 2003-08 to encourage children to take part in sports and ensure that we hit our target of all pupils receiving two hours of PE and sport a day by 2010. This is on top of the facilities and staffing that is also being put in place to give young people the chance to take part in a further two to three hours of sport outside school hours."
7 November 2005
Hyperactivity drug may help autism
A drug commonly given to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can help some autistic children with similar symptoms, researchers said on Monday. Methylphenidate, sold as Ritalin by Novartis AG, dominates the $2.2 billion market for drugs treating the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder such as an inability to concentrate and impulsive behavior.
Autism affects between 3 percent and 7 percent of children, usually showing up between the ages of 3 and 5.
The Autism Society of America says about one out of every 250 babies born in the United States has the disability, which permanently impairs development of parts of the brain that control verbal and nonverbal communication as well as social interaction.
The stimulant, which has a calming effect on children with attention deficit disorder, was given in varying doses to 72 autistic children aged 5 to 14.
Roughly one out of six of the children developed intolerable side effects to varying dosages of the drug within between one and five weeks of treatment. But of the 58 who completed the 13-week trial, 44 responded well to the drug and were less distracted, hyperactive and impulsive, study author Dr. David Posey of Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis said.
"At present, methylphenidate is a reasonable choice to target hyperactivity (in autistic children) with a response rate that approaches 50 percent," Posey wrote in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. "However, caregivers should be cautioned about the strong possibility of adverse effects."
7 November 2005
US OKs generic AIDS drug for children's use abroad
U.S. health regulators approved a generic liquid version of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) AIDS drug Epivir for use under the nation's program to help fight the disease in other countries, officials said on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said the generic drug called lamivudine, made by India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (ARBN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), will not be available in the United States because of existing patents. The drug is the latest in a string of tentative AIDS drug approvals this year for the U.S. program to fight the deadly disease. Lamivudine is a solution for use in children between 3 months and 16 years. It is type of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, a class of drugs that helps keep the AIDS virus from reproducing, and is supposed to be used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nN04396240
ILLINOIS
No half steps to real juvenile prison reform
Illinois taxpayers spend about $65,000 per inmate annually to imprison teenage criminals, nearly half of whom are back in confinement within three years after release. Not surprisingly, the winds of juvenile corrections reform are astir. But will they bring the sweeping change vital to reclaiming lives, enhancing public safety and assuring intelligent use of state dollars? On that question, the jury is out.
Policymakers have been considering a proposal to establish an agency distinct from the Department of Corrections to put juvenile offenders on the right track and keep them there. Proponents argue efforts to rehabilitate almost 3,600 young violators — 1,460 in facilities and 2,130 on parole — suffer in a department straining to manage more than 40,000 adult felons. They persuasively contend a separate entity would create the focus and the spotlight to enhance performance and accountability.
However, reorganization without resources and resolve will bring disappointment. Even with an improved structure, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the General Assembly must be prepared to invest sufficient funds and demand effectiveness.
Many juvenile lawbreakers are illiterate. As many as nine in 10 have mental health disorders. The vast majority are substance abusers.
Without the necessary education, without vocational skills, without the ability to cope with the stress and peer pressure, the at-risk adolescent will commit new crimes, prey on additional victims and earn re-incarceration in outrageously expensive public housing.
Comprehensive reform cannot be done haphazardly and on the cheap.
A department dedicated to juveniles makes sense as a means of stimulating and facilitating much broader change. Reorganization skeptics, including state leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have understandable concerns given this administration’s cavalier attitude toward adequate staffing levels and sound day-to-day management of state agencies. But the governor has signaled he is serious about slashing the number of older repeat offenders, and he should enhance his legacy by enacting and implementing true juvenile justice reform.
Mike Lawrence
4 November 2005
Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University
Smokers' misperceptions make quitting hard
Many smokers think that nicotine causes cancer, and they are therefore very reluctant to use nicotine replacement in the form of patches or gum to help them quit smoking, according to surprise findings of a survey reported here at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.
The survey consisted of 1,139 people -- 482 men and 657 women -- enrolled in a smoking cessation program at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, New York. The participants were questioned about the their beliefs regarding smoking and the risk of developing cancer, and nicotine's part in that cancer risk.
Lead investigator Dr. Virginia Reichert said that the majority of smokers -- 72 percent of women and 59 percent of men -- believed that nicotine causes cancer. In addition, 72 percent of women and 63 percent of men smoked "light" cigarettes, thinking this would lower their intake of nicotine and thus lower their risk of cancer.
"Just the opposite is true," Reichert told Reuters Health. "Nicotine does not cause cancer, but that is why patients are reluctant to use patches to help them quit ... It's the cigarette smoke that contains carcinogens, neurotoxins and other toxins."
More women expressed fear, guilt and worry about the risks they were taking with smoking (77 percent versus 62 percent of men), and they were also more afraid of failure in their attempts to quit than men (17 percent versus 11 percent). However, quit rates at 30 days were essentially the same for women and men -- 59 percent versus 55 percent.
"Nicotine is the drug that smokers crave. That's why the patches are a good alternative for those who want to quit," Reichert said.
"Smokers need a comprehensive care program that includes (drug therapy) using nicotine patches," she added. "The programs are very much the same as other addiction treatment programs, but they need to go a step further," she said.
Complete abstinence is not used, because going "cold turkey" has a very high failure rate, Reichert said. "A program that involves behavior modification, guided imagery and support systems are helpful," she concluded, "and patches are a very useful tool in the program."
Martha Kerr
1 November 2005
Gene behind dyslexia in children identified
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine claimed to have found the gene behind dyslexia, a reading disability affecting millions of children and adults, according to a new study published in a special issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers have identified the gene on human chromosome 6 called DCDC2. A genetic alteration in the gene leads to a disruption in the formation of brain circuits that make it possible to read. This genetic alteration is transmitted within families.
"These promising results now have the potential to lead to improved diagnostic methods to identify dyslexia and deepens understanding of how the reading process works on a molecular level," said lead researcher Jeffrey R Gruen.
The researchers used a statistical approach to study and compare specific DNA markers in 153 dyslexic families.
"We now have strong statistical evidence that a large number of dyslexic cases--perhaps as many as 20 percent are due to the DCDC2 gene. The genetic alteration on this chromosome is a large deletion of a regulatory region. The gene itself is expressed in reading centers of the brain where it modulates migration of neurons. This very architecture of the brain circuitry is necessary for normal reading," said Gruen.
To facilitate reading, brain circuits need to communicate with each other. In reading disabilities, these circuits are disrupted. In people with dyslexia, compensatory brain circuits are inefficient and they have a hard time learning to read. Locating this gene provided researchers with part of the reason why dyslexia occurs.
Gruen said discovery of the gene and its function will lead to early and more accurate diagnoses and more effective educational programs to address the unique needs and special talents of people with dyslexia.
"We can't continue the cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all schooling anymore. People with dyslexia are not less intelligent than others, they just learn in different ways. Tailoring programs to fit the needs of these children will enhance their success in school and be more cost effective," said Gruen.
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences
29 October 2005
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1533029,001100020006.htm
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