Therapist Unlimited Blog

PREGNANT women if possible should avoid taking anti-epilepsy drugs since doing so could affect the intelligence quotient of their unborn child.
Recent research at the University of Liverpool suggest that children aged three years and younger, who are born to women taking the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate whilst pregnant, are likely to have an IQ of six to nine points lower than average.
The study looks into 300 three-year-olds in the UK and US, whose mothers took one of four anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs) while pregnant.
According to the initial findings those children exposed to the drug sodium valproate had lower IQ results than children exposed to other AEDs, regardless of the mother’s IQ.
The researchers also took dosage, duration of pregnancy and mother’s consumption of folic acid while pregnant.

A recent study has shown that an anti-epilepsy drug has harmful effects on IQ of unborn children.

Gus Baker, professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Liverpool explained their research looked at how exposure to sodium valproate and other AEDs in the womb affected children’s everyday life in particular their IQ, memory and language
abilities from one to six years of age.
Based on studies, some 5,000 women with epilepsy become pregnant every year in the UK and the majority of these, including those on AEDs, will experience uncomplicated pregnancies and births.
Earlier studies on the matter has already shown that children exposed to AEDs such as sodium valproate in the womb are more likely to suffer birth defects characterized by
heart malformations, dysmorphic features and minor limb deformities.
Baker said the answer is not as simple as to take women off AEDs altogether as the effects of suffering a seizure can also pose a risk for both mother and unborn child.
He said it is vital that the research is now used to educate women with epilepsy before they start to plan for a family.
Furthermore, Baker said women need to be aware of the risks so that they can make informed choices with the help and advice of experts.
Baker said it is also important that women do not stop taking AED treatment without taking advice from their medical practitioner.
He said it is important to stress that sodium valproate is used globally and it has a favorable safety profile for all adult patients who use it.
He added it has a range of pharmaceutical uses including bipolar disorder, migraine, epilepsy, and in adults sodium valproate is extremely effective.

Now it can be told.
A recent medical study has validated early observations that physical activities can make the children fall asleep early.
Based on the study it was also discovered that in every hour of the day children are inactive adds three minutes to the time it takes them to fall asleep.
According to the research those children who fall asleep faster also sleep for longer, although, it appears one is not the direct consequence of the other.
The study has also shown that an estimate 16 percent of parents of school aged children report that their child finds it difficult to get to sleep.

To keep your children fall asleep early allow them to undergo rigorous physical activities everyday.

Researchers also found out that there is a connection between poor sleeping patterns in children and inferior school performance.
It is also linked to an increased risk of overweight and obesity.
The researchers get the data they are seeking using an activity monitor (called an actigraph) worn for 24 hours.
The team then evaluated the daytime activity and sleep patterns of a representative sample of 591 seven year olds.
The researchers got hold of the full information on sleep patterns for 519 of the children.
They took an average of 26 minutes to fall asleep.
This is known as sleep latency, ranging from 13 to 42 minutes (interquartile range).
The parents reported that around one in ten of the children regularly found it difficult to fall asleep quickly.
These children took around 15.5 minutes longer to get to sleep.
Moreover, the researchers said those children, who were physically active during the day, fell asleep more rapidly than their more sedentary peers.
Researchers said the more vigorous activity they did, the faster they fell asleep.
In addition, the researchers said in every hour of the day spent in sedentary activity increased sleep latency by three minutes.
The team also discovered that shorter sleep latency was also associated to longer duration of sleep.
It fell by more than 11 minutes for each additional hour of sleep.
The researchers concluded that their study emphasizes the importance of physical activity for children, not only for fitness, cardiovascular health and weight control, but also for sleep.

Parents should do their best to keep their children away from air pollution and family problems to protect them from strong chances of suffering from asthma.
Recent studies have shown that children constantly exposed to air pollution and family stress makes them susceptible to asthma.
Based on the study conducted by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) it was learned that the risk of asthma associated with traffic-related pollution was significantly higher for children of parents reporting high levels of stress. Stress, as well as low parental education, was also associated with larger effects of
exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy.
Principal investigator Rob McConnell, M.D., professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Deputy Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at USC revealed they found out that it was the children who were exposed to the combination of air pollution and life in a stressful environment who were at highest risk of developing asthma.
It was learned that asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness in developed countries and has been linked to environmental factors.
The study drew upon data from the USC Children’s Health Study, a longitudinal study of respiratory health among children in 13 southern California communities.
To get the data, researchers followed 2,497 children with no history of respiratory problems over three years, tracking whether they developed asthma starting in kindergarten or first grade.
The researchers also measured parental stress and parental education as an indicator of socioeconomic status using a questionnaire, and collected information on exposure to traffic-related pollution and whether the children had been exposed to tobacco smoke in utero.

Children should keep away from air pollution and family stress to avoid getting inflicted with asthma.

It was learned in the study that the results showed that parental stress alone did not increase the risk that children would develop asthma.
However, when children had a combination of parents with stressful lives and also lived near high levels of traffic-related pollution, their risk of asthma increased compared with children only exposed to pollution.
McConnell explained air pollution can promote inflammatory responses in the airways of the lung, which is a central feature of asthma.
McConnell added stress may also have pro-inflammatory effects and this may help explain why the two exposures together were important.
Moreover, McConnell said children whose parents perceived their lives as unpredictable, uncontrollable, or overwhelming were susceptible to the effects of pollution.
He said stress associated with poverty may help explain why asthma rates are often higher in lower socioeconomic status communities.
He added childhood asthma is a complex disease that probably has many contributing causes.
The medical expert said further study of effects of exposure to air pollution in combination with stressful environments associated with poverty and other social factors could contribute to our understanding of why the disease develops.

According to a latest medical study, those children who are physically abused are most likely to end up having cancer when they reach adulthood.
Based on the research it is discovered that childhood physical abuse is associated with 49 per cent higher odds of cancer in adulthood.
Lead researcher Esme Fuller-Thomson, a faculty in Social Work and Department of Family and Community Medicine from the University of Toronto said few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath.
Thomson said from a public health perspective, it is extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer.
The lead researcher said through their study should provide important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship.

More care should be given to physically abuse children since they are prone to cancer.

Meanwhile, co-author Sarah Brennenstuhl, a doctoral student at Uof T, notes that various psychophysiological factors could help to explain the link between childhood physical abuse and cancer. Brennenstuhl revealed one important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production - the hormone that prepares us for ‘fight or flight’ as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship.
The researchers hoped that the result of their study would compel the parents and the government in general to care more for physically abused children so that they will not end up having cancer when they reaches adulthood.

Parents around the world need to be careful since a recent medical study revealed that some stimulant drugs used to treat  attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) resulted in a sudden cardiac death in healthy children.
In the data gathered by Dr. Madelyn S Gould of Columbia University, New York, New York, and colleagues, they found out that some 564 healthy children suddenly died after taking some stimulants such as methylphenidate (better known in the US under its brand name of Ritalin).
Gould and her team studied the children aged 7 to 19 from across the US who died suddenly and most likely due to sudden cardiac disturbance after taking stimulant drugs.
She said parents of children facing ADHD should always be careful in the use of stimulants as treatment since it could be deadly for their children.
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned parents who have children with ADHD to discuss concerns with the treatment of their children to the prescribing doctor to avoid any risk.
To dig deeper into the report, the FDA is already co-sponsoring another larger study that is looking at the link between increased risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems and use of stimulant medication by children, the results of which are expected to come out later this year.

Parents should be careful in using stimulant drugs used for ADHD treatment since it offers health risk to their children.

The federal agency also urged doctors to follow the current prescribing information that accompanies the product label, which recommends that young and adult patients being considered for ADHD treatment.
The FDA said parents of children facing ADHD should work with their health care professional to develop a treatment plan that includes a careful health history for cardiovascular disease in the child and his or her family.
The FDA added such preparation should include a physical exam that pays particular attention to the cardiovascular system, and should consider screening tests such as electrocardiogram and echocardiogram, depending on the patient’s history and whether it suggests possible risk factors for heart disease.

Children as early as seven years old who are obese are also most likely to suffer from heart disease and stroke later in their lives.
This was the result of a study, conducted by researchers at Nemours Children’s Clinic and Dr. Charles DelGiorno, an Endocrine trainee from the Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville, Fla., which demonstrates that the unhealthy consequences of excess body fat start very early.
Principal investigator and senior author Nelly Mauras, MD, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida explained obesity alone, the study shows, is linked to certain abnormalities in the blood that can predispose individuals to developing cardiovascular disease early in adulthood.
Mauras said their study finding suggests that there is a need for more aggressive interventions for weight control in obese children, even those who do not have the co-morbidities of the metabolic syndrome.
He said the metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that raise the risk of developing heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
He added it is increasingly being diagnosed in children as overweight becomes a greater problem.
The lead researcher said that although debate exists as to its exact definition, to receive a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, in general you must have at least three of the following: increased waist
circumference (abdominal fat), low HDL ("good") cholesterol, high triglycerides (fats in the blood), high blood pressure and high blood glucose (blood sugar).
To get the data they are looking for the team screened more than 300 individuals ages 7 to 18 years and included just those without features of the metabolic syndrome.
The researchers even included 202 subjects in the study: 115 obese children and 87 lean children as controls - half were prepubertal and half-in late puberty. Obese children had a body mass index (a measure of body fat) above the 95th percentile for their sex, age and height.
To be eligible to participate in the study, the children and adolescents had to have normal fasting blood sugar levels, normal blood pressure and normal cholesterol and triglycerides.
Lean controls also could not have a close relative with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or obesity.
The latter group proved very difficult to find.

 
Obese children need to careful since their condition could lead to a heart disease later in their lives.

All study participants underwent blood testing for known markers for predicting the development of cardiovascular disease.
These included elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, and abnormally high fibrinogen, a clotting factor, among others.
Obese children had a 10 fold higher CRP and significantly higher fibrinogen concentrations, compared with age- and sex-matched lean children, the authors reported.
These abnormalities occurred in obese children as young as 7-year-olds, long before the onset of puberty.
Moreover, based on their study, the lead researcher said the results were striking since the children were entirely healthy otherwise.
She said that although it is not yet known whether early therapeutic interventions can reverse high CRP and fibrinogen, she said it would be prudent for health care providers to advise more aggressive interventions to limit calories and increase activity in "healthy" overweight children, even before the onset of puberty.
 

A recent study has shown that parents who are suffering from distress could cause tooth decay among their children.
Based on the research conducted by a group of scientists from The Ohio State University it was discovered that the more stressed parents are, the more likely their children were to have decay
The researchers said they also found out that apparently having one’s child’s dental decay treated actually could decrease the stress of being a parent.
Furthermore, the researchers said through their study they found out that dental professionals need to be ready not only to repair childhood decay, but also to assist families in finding the help they need to decrease the stress of life.
The parents for its part should strive hard to avoid stress in their lives so that their children would not suffer from tooth decay.

Parents need to avoid stress to avoid possible tooth decay among their children.

According to a latest study mothers who are brave enough to admit they are formerly hooked on illegal drugs can achieve good results in their action.
Based on the research conducted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada some 3,530 Alberta youth Grades 7 to 12 revealed that teens were more likely to use drugs if they knew that their mothers had used drugs but did not pressure their kids to avoid the illegal practice.
Researcher Lori Harach, a professor of human ecology at the University of Alberta revealed the findings suggest that adolescents might benefit from parental talks about the dangers of drug use, especially when their mothers have experience with drugs.
Harach said factor might give extra credibility to the messaging in the eyes of the teen.
She said mothers who have previous illegal drugs experience should not hide their unfavourable past since opening it could their children valuable lesson to avoid using illegal drugs.
As the saying goes, the best testimony is your own experience.
Mothers around the world should keep in mind that their children would not scorn them if ever they admit using drugs since their children love them deadly.
Instead of being scorned, their children would love them more and will keep away from the things that put their mother in the bad light in the past.

To keep their children away from drug addiction, mothers should be bold enough to admit they are using drugs in the past.

Here is a piece of good news to parents around the world.
A latest study has revealed that children who have a great relationship with their parents have less chances of suffering from alcohol addiction.
In a research published at the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, and Drugs it was discovered that children who have close with their parents refrain themselves from the drinking habit and just drink alcohol in moderation when they are already adult.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Kuntsche, of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems in Lausanne, Switzerland and lead author of the study revealed most often those children who started drinking early have higher tendencies of becoming an alcohol addict than those who take up the drinking habit when they already adult.
Kuntsche said parents who have close ties with their children can also offer sound advices for them to keep away from drinking at a young age.
He said the finding was based on the study they conducted on 364 teenagers they have surveyed over two years.
The lead researcher explained those children who refrain from drinking at a young age positively gain from having great relationship with their parents since they were able to discuss their problems with them and that their parents respected their feelings.

Parents need to exert effort to forge a smooth relationship with their children to keep them away from alcohol addiction.

Kuntsche said the study has also clearly shown that having close relationship with their parents could lower the risk of alcohol problems.
The medical expert urged parents to exert efforts to have a great relationship with their children so that both can freely discuss whatever problems and keep away their children from alcohol and other vices.
He said the young generation is considered as the hope of this planet so parents should make sure these people achieve their full potential by keeping them away from vices through having a smooth relationship with their children.

Here is a piece of warning to all parents around the world.
According to a latest research, those children facing eating disorders are also at risk of being inflicted with life-threatening diseases in the years to come.
Based on the report gathered by the Medical Journal of Australia, it was also uncovered that that from 101 cases of eating disorders in children aged five to 13 years, 78% of them were hospitalised with an average length of stay of almost 25 days.
Leading child psychologist Dr Sloane Madden, from Westmead Children’s Hospital, who co-authored the study, explained the result has significantly shown that younger children with eating disorders are at higher risk of facing fatal diseases in the future.
Madden revealed their study yielded results that only 37% of inpatients in the study met the current diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, yet 61% had potentially life threatening complications of malnutrition and only 51 % met the weight criteria.
Furthermore, Madden said the research also showed possible missed diagnoses and a need for better education of health professionals.
Madden said should  serve as eye opener to parents to seek immediate cure for their children inflicted with eating disorders before their condition could get worse.
On the other hand, medical professionals should make sure they are properly equipped and educated on treating patients facing eating disorders to cure these people and not put their lives at risk.

Children with eating disorders need to be treated early before their medical condition could get worse.