Worth Noting Researchers Find Brain Maturity Normal But Delayed in ADHD In youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the brain matures in a normal pattern but there may be a delay of as much as three years in development of regions of the cortex that control thinking, planning, and attention, according to an imaging study published November 12 by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health. "Finding a pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, in children with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help to explain why so many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder," said Dr. Philip Shaw of NIMH's Child Psychiatry Branch, who led the research team. New imaging techniques now available allowed researchers to pinpoint the thickening and thinning of thousands of cortex sites in hundreds of children and teens, with and without ADHD. They found that among 223 youth with ADHD, half of 40,000 cortex sites attained peak thickness at an average age of 10.5 years, compared to age 7.5 years in a matched group of youth without the disorder. Shaw noted that brain imaging is not yet ready for use as a diagnostic tool for identifying ADHD in an individual child and said the diagnosis remains clinical, based on a history from the child, parents, and teachers. The study was reported during the week of November 12, 2007, in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. -------------------------------- State Legislatures Fail to Require HPV VaccinationOnly one state—Virginia—has adopted a mandate requiring vaccination of young girls against HPV (human papillomavirus infection) as a requirement for entry to school, and with most legislatures now adjourned for the year, it appears unlikely any more states will have such a requirement when school opens next fall. The newly developed HPV vaccine, which prevents infection that can lead to cervical cancer, had been expected to receive approval as a school-entry requirement for sixth-graders, in order to protect girls before they become sexually active. But the idea of compulsory vaccination was opposed by what the Guttmacher Institute describes as "an unlikely combination of parental rights supporters, vaccine opponents, drug company critics, communities of color, and some public health advocates," and most state legislatures adjourned without acting on the issue. Two states—Arizona and Texas—enacted measures explicitly prohibiting an HPV vaccination requirement. -------------------------------- Peanut Allergies Now Emerging Earlier The age at which children first show allergies to peanuts is getting younger and is now between 14 and 18 months, which may indicate that more infants are being exposed to allergy-producing substances early in life or may simply be the result of better identification of the causes of allergies, according to researchers who reviewed the medical charts of peanut-allergic patients in a prominent pediatric clinic."In the past decade, the ages of first peanut exposure have declined," the researchers said. Pediatricians in the U.S. and Europe now generally urge mothers of children with a first-degree allergic relative to avoid eating peanuts or peanut products during pregnancy and lactation, though it’s not know whether delayed introduction reduces the likelihood of allergy. The researchers noted that egg allergy is very common in peanut-allergic patients and suggested that sesame seeds should perhaps be considered one of the major food allergens. What causes the development of peanut allergy "remains open for debate," the researchers concluded. "It's likely a multifactorial issue, involving genetics and the complex immunological features of the gastrointestinal system." An article, "Clinical Characteristics of Peanut-Allergic Children: Recent Changes," appears in the December 2007 issue of the journal Pediatrics. -------------------------------- My Big Fat Greek Chicken Burger, and Other Prevention Ideas When it comes to health, an ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure, according to a 2007 National Health Promotion Summit convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington in November. Billed as "Creating a Culture of Wellness," the summit conference ranged from teen health promotion to detecting mental health comorbidities to improving cancer screening and stroke and cardiovascular disease awareness. There were awards for innovations in child health to schools and community organizations with pioneering health programs; and a Connecticut television network got attention for broadcasting a cooking series for teenagers that teaches teens how to make "family-friendly, healthful, and delicious dinners," including a hamburger alternative known as "My Big Fat Greek Chicken Burger." Goals of the summit, according to the Coordinating Center for Health Promotion in HHS, were to facilitate development of a shared public health agenda to guide the work of professionals in the field and to foster ways to put prevention policies into practice, including whether changes in health literacy, culture, communications, and technology are affecting how agencies and organizations can reach target audiences. (For the recipe for My Big Fat Greek Chicken Burger, contact Carol@RisingMoonMedia.com.) -------------------------------- The following information appeared during the month of November 2007 in the News Alerts section of the website of the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, at www.healthinschools.org. Senate Sends New SCHIP Bill to President The Senate yesterday passed a bill reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for five more years at total funding of $60 billion. The bill, H.R. 3963, which was passed by the House last week, now goes to President Bush for an expected veto. The new bill makes minor changes in an earlier bill that was vetoed by President Bush but does not address the President's major objections—that the funding of $35 billion over current levels is more than the administration wants for SCHIP, and that the money would come from an increase in the federal tax on cigarettes. New SCHIP legislation is expected to come up again in the session of Congress that convenes in January. Meanwhile, SCHIP is continuing at present levels under a continuing resolution passed by Congress last month. November 13, 2007 Tips for Teens with Diabetes Noting that 154,000 youths under the age of 20 have diabetes in the United States, and that rates of type 2 of the disease are soaring in young people, the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a joint project of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is releasing educational materials aimed at helping teens manage their illness. A new "Tips for Teens with Diabetes" series includes topics such as "What Is Diabetes? Be Active, Make Healthy Food Choices, Stay at a Healthy Weight, and Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes," plus an interactive on-line quiz based on information in the tip sheets. Information about the new materials, which are free of charge, is available from the NDEP at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org. November 14, 2007 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at All-Time Low A report in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates "striking" declines in illness and death from 13 vaccine-preventable diseases for which national immunization recommendations were issued in the years before 2005. Calling vaccines one of the greatest achievements of biomedical science and public health, the research report notes a 92 percent decline in cases and 99 percent decline in deaths for diphtheria, mumps, pertussis, and tetanus since vaccination for those diseases was recommended and points out that endemic transmission of poliovirus and measles rubella viruses has been eliminated in the United States and smallpox has been eradicated worldwide as the result of vaccination. The report summarizes the historical and current state of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, invasive HIB, acute hepatitis B, hepatitis A, varicella, S. pneumoniae, and smallpox. The report, "Historical Comparisons of Morbidity and Mortality for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States," is published in the November 14, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; the research was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the corresponding author can be contacted at sroush@cdc.gov. November 14, 2007 CDC Says Chlamydia, Syphilis Infections Increasing In a telephone interview with reporters yesterday, the head of the division on sexually transmitted diseases in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that while the number of cases of gonorrhea reported to federal authorities has declined in the last two years, there has been an alarming increase in reported cases of chlamydia and syphilis. With an estimated 2.8 million cases annually, chlamydia is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection of the three—gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis—that doctors are required to report. Other sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes, papillomavirus, and trichomonas—are not required to be reported and their national incidence is unknown. "Chlamydia is now the most common STD ever reported," said Dr. John Douglas, Jr., head of the sexually transmitted diseases division in the CDC. Some of the rise in chlamydia incidence may be due to more sensitive tests and requirements for annual testing of sexually active women under the age of 26, with chlamydia and gonorrhea testing often coupled in urine samples. The CDC also reported that the three reportable and curable diseases—gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis—affect African-Americans disproportionately, with black to white ratios 18 to 1 for gonorrhea, 6 to 1 for syphilis, and 8 to 1 for chlamydia. Dr. Douglas noted that health departments have faced increased demands for testing and treatment of STDs in recent years, at a time when their budgets are not increasing. November 15, 2007 States Urge Including Parents in SCHIP In a letter to leaders in the U.S. Senate who are working on new legislation to continue the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), senators from five states that currently cover parents of children enrolled in SCHIP have urged that the new bill should include an option for states "to provide health care to this specific population." Arguing that parent coverage is an important part of keeping families healthy, senators from Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin noted that their states have taken the lead in providing health care to parents and said they don’t want the new legislation to inhibit the ability of states to do that. Parent coverage is one of several issues now confronting House and Senate leaders who have been negotiating for a new SCHIP bill since President Bush vetoed an earlier measure October 18, with controversy also arising over whether immigrants should have to provide proof of citizenship before their children can be enrolled in SCHIP. The current SCHIP authorization expired October 31 and the program is currently operating under a resolution passed by Congress that continues expired programs at existing levels until new legislation is passed. |
