July 25, 2007, 5:04 AM CT

Autism: Women Carry the Disorder and Age is a Risk Factor

A new model for understanding how autism is acquired has been developed by a team of scientists led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Autism is a developmental disorder, characterized by language impairments, social deficits, and repetitive behaviors. The scientists analyzed data on autism incidence and found a previously unrecognized pattern. The pattern can be explained by assuming that spontaneous germ-line mutation is a significant cause of the disorder. Parents, particularly women, who acquire the mutation - but do not exhibit severe symptoms of the disorder - have a 50% chance of passing the mutation on to their children. Sons often show the most severe symptoms.

Spontaneous mutations are changes in a chromosome that alter genes. Germ-line mutations are newly acquired in a germ cell of a parent, and sometimes are transmitted to offspring at conception. Men and women are equally as likely to acquire a spontaneous mutation that can cause autism, but autism is three times more likely in men, making women the more likely carriers of new mutations. "The fact that germ-line mutations increase with age places older parents at a higher risk of having children with autism, explaining a pattern that has been recently observed," said CSHL co-author of the study Michael Wigler, Ph.D......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

July 19, 2007, 10:30 PM CT

Self-injury in high-school students

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury the deliberate, direct destruction of body tissue without conscious suicidal intent is a relatively common occurrence for adolescents in high school, a new study suggests. Led by scientists at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, nearly half of the teens studied endorsed some form of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in the past year, most frequently biting self, cutting/carving skin, hitting self on purpose, and burning skin.

The research is reported in the August 2007 issue of Psychological Medicine.

The findings are important because it suggests that NSSI is more prevalent among adolescents in the general population than previously thought, says lead author Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, PhD, a psychology expert at The Miriam Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

If this is the case - its essentially a wake-up call to take better notice of these behaviors in the community and learn how to help teens manage stress without harming themselves, adds Lloyd-Richardson.

Scientists decided to explore the frequency and breadth of NSSI engaged in by teens in the community because little is known about self-harming behavior in this particular population......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

July 18, 2007, 9:34 PM CT

Very young babies vulnerable to sudden death

Very young babies are vulnerable to sudden death, when seated, warns a study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Babies less than a month old are most at risk, the research indicates.

The scientists base their findings on an analysis of all sudden unexpected deaths occurring among babies up to 12 months of age in the Canadian Province of Quebec between 1991 and 2000.

In all, 534 babies died during this period, but the cause of death was fully investigated in only 508.

In 99 cases, the cause of death came to light after further investigation, but in 409 cause of death remained unexplained.

Seventeen (3.3%) of the 508 deaths had occurred in babies who were seated, predominantly, but not exclusively, in car seats. Ten of these were unexplained.

Premature babies were not at greater risk. But those aged under a month, were almost four times as likely to die suddenly while seated as were older babies.

And babies under one month old in the group of unexplained deaths were more than seven times as likely to die while seated.

The authors point out that their research indicates that the rate of deaths among seated babies is relatively small at just over 3%. And there are no questions about the necessity or safety of car seats......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

July 15, 2007, 9:18 PM CT

Mechanism To Emergence Of Deadly Strep Bacteria

The occurence rate of serious strep infections has risen dramatically in the last three decades, and this increase is largely attributed to the spread around the globe of a single strain of strep known as the invasive M1T1 clone. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the University of Wollongong in Australia have discovered that, 30 years ago, a virus infected the strep bacteria creating a deadly strain of flesh-eating bacteria that has evolved to produce serious human infections worldwide.

Just like a computer virus might come in and reprogram your hard drive, this virus reprogrammed the genetic machinery of the M1T1 strep into a more virulent form, said senior author Victor Nizet, M.D., UCSD Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacy. The consequences of this event on human health are still being felt three decades later.

The research, published in the July 15 advance online publication of the journal Nature Medicine, focuses on the major human pathogen group A Streptococcus (strep.) Among the most important of all human infectious disease agents, strep is responsible for a wide range of diseases, ranging from simple throat and skin infections to life-threatening invasive conditions such as necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) and toxic shock syndrome. Strep is estimated to cause over 700 million infections each year; over 650,000 of these are dangerous invasive forms......... Posted by: Mark      Read more         Source

July 12, 2007, 5:51 AM CT

Tumor Blood Flow Can Improve Chemotherapy

A therapy for neuroblastoma that lands a one-two punch works best when the second punch is timed to take maximum advantage of the first one, as per results of studies at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Neuroblastoma is a pediatric solid tumor that arises from cells in the peripheral nervous system.

The finding holds promise for improving neuroblastoma therapy by using the drug bevacizumab to block VEGF, a protein that stimulates blood vessel growth in tumors and then following with the chemotherapy drug topotecan, which depends on blood vessels to penetrate the tumor and kill the cancer cells. A report on this work appears in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Results of the current study are particularly important because drugs such as bevacizumab are being reviewed in clinical trials for children with neuroblastoma. However, there are no standard guidelines for how much of the drug to give or when to give it. Such guidelines would be particularly helpful for developing combination treatment with both bevacizumab and chemotherapy drugs, not only for neuroblastoma, but also for other tumors.

The results of our study are a significant step toward establishing such guidelines, said Andrew Davidoff, M.D., director of surgical research at St. Jude, and the reports senior author......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

July 11, 2007, 5:22 AM CT

Nearly 90 percent of babies receive recommended newborn screening tests

Nearly 90 percent of all babies born in the United States more than double the percentage in 2005 live in states that require screening for at least 21 life-threatening disorders, as per the latest March of Dimes Newborn Screening Report Card.

The March of Dimes endorsed the 2004 report of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) that calls for every baby born in the U.S. to be screened for 29 genetic or functional disorders. If diagnosed early, all of these devastating conditions can be successfully managed or treated to prevent severe consequences.

Two years ago, only 38 percent of infants were born in states that mandatory screening for at least 21 of these 29 core conditions. As a result of four years of intensive advocacy efforts by March of Dimes chapters and their partners, that percentage has increased to 87.5, or about 3.6 million babies.

While this important expansion of newborn screening is very good news for families, the lives of 500,000 newborns who still arent tested hang in the balance, said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. Despite the pleas of parents, clinicians and advocacy groups the United States still lacks consistent federal guidelines for newborn screening. Babies must be screened, to receive immediate therapy necessary to survive and lead healthy lives. The lack of federal guidelines makes it difficult for states to get support for needed legislation......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

July 11, 2007, 5:03 AM CT

Prophylactic Antibiotic Treatment For Children With UTI Not Effective

The use of prophylactic antibiotics, which involves daily administration of antibiotics to children after an initial urinary tract infection, is not linked to reduced risk of recurrent urinary tract infections, but is linked to an increased risk of resistant infections, as per a research studyin the July 11 issue of JAMA.

Estimates of cumulative occurence rate of UTI in children younger than 6 years (3 percent - 7 percent in girls, 1 percent - 2 percent in boys) suggest that 70,000 to 180,000 of the annual U.S. birth cohort will have experienced a UTI by age 6, as per background information in the article. Practice guidelines for after the first UTI in children recommend an imaging study to evaluate for the presence and degree (grade) of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR; a backflow of urine from the bladder into the ureter), a condition present in approximately 30 percent to 40 percent of children with UTI. If the child has VUR, daily antibiotic (destroying or suppressing the growth of microorganisms) therapy is recommended in an attempt to prevent recurrent UTIs. Evidence is limited regarding risk factors for recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) and the risks and benefits of antibiotic therapy.

Patrick H. Conway, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Pennsylvania Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Philadelphia, and his colleagues conducted a study to identify risk factors for recurrent UTI and estimate the effectiveness and possibility of resistance of antimicrobials in preventing recurrent UTI. Patients in the study were from a Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia supported network of 27 primary care pediatric practices in urban, suburban, and semi-rural areas spanning three states, with children ages birth through 6 years, who were diagnosed with first UTI between July 2001 and May 2006......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

July 10, 2007, 4:48 AM CT

Risks, Benefits Of Folic Acid Fortification

Since the institution of nationwide folic acid fortification of enriched grains in the mid 1990s, the number of infants born in the United States and Canada with neural tube defects has declined by 20 percent to 50 percent. Concurrent with the institution of fortification, however, the rate at which new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in men and women increased, report scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition.

Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. Joel Mason, MD, director of the USDA HNRCAs Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory, and his colleagues analyze the temporal association between folic acid fortification and the rise in colorectal cancer rates, and present their resulting hypothesis in an article in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

Nationwide fortification of enriched grains is generally considered one of the greatest advances in public health policy, says Mason, who is also an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts. But since the time that the food supply in North America was fortified with folic acid, we have been experiencing four to six additional cases of colorectal cancer for every 100,000 individuals each year in comparison to the trends that existed before fortification......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

June 27, 2007, 6:40 PM CT

Second-hand Smoke Causes Psychological Problems For Kids

Children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were pregnant have more symptoms of serious psychological problems compared to the offspring of women who had no prenatal exposure to smoke, according to a new University of Washington study.

Writing in the current issue of Child Psychiatry and Human Development, UW psychologists Lisa Gatzke-Kopp and Theodore Beauchaine provide the first evidence linking mothers second-hand smoke exposure while pregnant to their childrens attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder. Psychologists call these behaviors externalizing psychopathology and their symptoms include aggressive behavior, ADHD, defiance and conduct disorder, which encompasses truancy, fighting, school failure, breaking rules, substance use, stealing and destruction of property.

The research also supports a 2006 report by the U.S. Surgeon General that found passive smoke exposure poses a substantial risk to the general health of those who breathe the smoke, as well as to the fetuses of pregnant women.

Gatzke-Kopp and Beauchaine compared patterns psychopathology among three groups of 7- to 15-year-old children, all of whom had significant behavioral and/or emotional problems. One group experienced no prenatal smoke exposure. The second was made up of children whose mothers smoked during the final two trimesters of pregnancy. The third consisted of children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke at work or in the home in the last two trimesters during pregnancy. A total of 171 children, primarily boys, and 133 women participated in the project......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

June 27, 2007, 6:29 PM CT

Outdoor alcohol ads boost kids' urge to drink

In the world depicted in an alcohol billboard, bikini-clad babes clutch icy bottles, frothy beer flows over frosty mugs and the slogan reads, Life is good. Ads like these may target adults, but children are getting the message too, a University of Florida and University of Minnesota study shows.

Adolescents attending schools in neighborhoods where alcohol ads litter the landscape tend to want to drink more and, compared with other children, have more positive views of alcohol, scientists report in this months issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

UF and UM scientists counted the number of alcohol ads within a two-block radius of 63 Chicago schools and compared students opinions on drinking when they were in sixth grade and again two years later. The result" The more ads for alcohol there were in a neighborhood, the more students were interested in drinking alcohol, the findings show.

Most of the ads scientists found were beer signs in storefronts, eventhough they also counted billboards, bus stop signs and other types of ads. In total, there were about 931 ads for alcohol around the schools. On average, there were about 28 ads in each neighborhood, after excluding 22 schools where there were no ads. One school had more than 100.

The majority of the ads were just brand information only, said UF epidemiologist Kelli A. Komro, Ph.D., who studied these more subtle logo-only signs as well as more elaborate, image-laden billboards. Sometimes we believe that those as are not so powerful, but the majority of the ads we found were those kinds of ads and still we found the association with increased intentions to use alcohol......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source