CDC claims 1 in 10 children has ADHD

A new poll by the CDC shows that 1 in every 10 children has ADHD. This is higher than the last poll done in 2007 showing ADHD cases are rising.

One in every 10 U.S. children has been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the steady rise in cases has started to slow, a new government survey shows.

The 2011 poll of more than 95,000 parents showed that about 11 percent -- or about 6.4 million -- of children aged 4 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD. That's up from a 2007 survey that found that 9.5 percent of youngsters in that age group had an ADHD diagnoses.

Nearly one in every five high-school age boys, and about one in every 11 high school age girls, was reported by their parents as being diagnosed with having ADHD, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.

Numbers also varied widely between states, as well, with 15 percent of children in Arkansas and Kentucky reporting a history of ADHD treatment, compared to just 4 percent of those in Nevada.

The number of children placed on ADHD medications -- which include stimulants such as Ritalin or Concerta -- also rose by about 1 million between 2003-04 and 2011-12, the CDC said. That means that more than 3.5 million youngsters between the ages of 4 and 17 are now taking an ADHD drug.

The survey was published Nov. 22 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

According to the survey, half of children with ADHD are diagnosed with the disorder by the age of 6.

"This finding suggests that there are a large number of young children who could benefit from the early initiation of behavioral therapy, which is recommended as the first-line treatment for preschool children with ADHD," study author and CDC researcher Susanna Visser said in a journal news release.

Not every child with ADHD is getting proper treatment, the study found. According to the survey, 18 percent of kids with ADHD had not received either psychiatric counseling or drug therapy during 2011-2012.

"This finding raises concerns about whether these children and their families are receiving needed services," Dr. Michael Lu, senior administrator at the U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), said in the journal news release.

There was some good news from the survey, however. The CDC noted that ADHD diagnoses among American children were rising at a rate of about 6 percent a year in the mid-2000s, but that rate slowed to 4 percent a year from 2007 to 2011.

Visser told the Associated Press that this slower rate of diagnoses might reflect that doctors are closer to identifying most of the youngsters with the disorder.

ADHD makes it difficult for kids to pay attention and control impulsive behaviors. Treatments can include drugs, behavioral therapy or both.

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What are the NFL players being told about concussions by their own Players' Association?

I think its fascinating that the teams have physicians but that the Players' Association is advocating the use of IMPARTIAL specialists: neurologists. JR


What is a concussion?

A concussion is a type of brain injury. It occurs when the brain moves quickly enough to interrupt its function. Most concussions result in full recovery, but some can lead to more severe injuries if not recognized and treated properly.

The source of the injury is not always clear. It can come from a blow to the head or even from a blow to the body. It can come from one big hit  or from several smaller ones.

You may not always be aware that you are concussed. It is common that  concussed people do not know they are injured. Look out for the health of your teammates. Be aware of these signs and symptoms in yourself  and fellow players:
What is interesting is that the NFL plaers' association is teaming up with neurologists (the American Academy of Neurologists)


WHAT IS A CONCUSSION?

• Disorientation or confusion
• Memory loss
• Behavior or personality change
• Trouble concentrating
• Feeling sleepy or groggy
• Sensitive to light or sound
• Dizziness or nausea
• Headache

If you or a teammate have any of these symptoms, tell your medical staff immediately. Trying to play with a concussion puts  you at serious risk for further injury
.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT FROM MY TEAM?

IMMEDIATE EVALUATION OF A SUSPECTED CONCUSSION.
If a concussion is suspected (in either a game or practice), you should
be evaluated immediately. There is an NFL protocol for this evaluation
that can be done in under 10 minutes. If you think you may have a
concussion, report your symptoms and request this exam. DO NOT
TRY TO PLAY THROUGH THIS INJURY.


THOROUGH EVALUATION TO DETERMINE PRESENCE OF
CONCUSSION.

Not every hit that causes symptoms is a concussion and  only medical personnel can make the diagnosis. You should be evaluated  with a comprehensive neurological evaluation, ideally in a quiet, distractionfree place.

RETURN TO WORK. If you have a concussion, you should not participate  in a game or practice until you are (1) symptom free at rest and during physical exertion and (2) cleared by your team physician AND the team’s  independent neurological consultant.

 The return to work protocol should
involve several steps of increasing exertion – from a stationary bike, to
jogging, to agility work, to non-contact drills. With each step, a player must
be symptom free to move to the next step. You should never play football
after a concussion if you have not been evaluated appropriately or are still  experiencing symptoms.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

You have the right to a second opinion.

It is your health and your brain. If  you are unsure about your medical condition and/or your medical care,
do not hesitate to seek additional care. There are many experts in sports  concussion that can provide the care you need.

Don’t let any question go unasked. You and your family deserve the best  information. If you would like help getting a second opinion, or have a question, call

Protein Linked to Cognitive Deficits in Angelman Syndrome Discovered

Aug. 1, 2013 — A team of neuroscientists has identified a protein in laboratory mice linked to impairments similar to those afflicted with Angelman syndrome (AS) -- a condition associated with symptoms that include autism, intellectual disability, and motor abnormalities.

The findings appear in the journal Cell Reports.

"By isolating a protein that contributes to cognitive deficits in Angelman syndrome, these findings mark a step forward in not only addressing AS, but perhaps other developmental disorders as well," said Eric Klann, a professor in New York University's Center for Neural Science and one of the study's co-authors.

The study's researchers also included: Shelly Buffington and Matthew Rasband of the Baylor College of Medicine; Jerry Lingrel of the Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology at the University of Cincinnati; and Hanoch Kaphzan, Akila Ramaraj, and Emanuela Santini of NYU's Center for Neural Science.

Previous research has shown that AS model mice display brain dysfunctions that match neurological abnormalities observed in humans, including cognitive deficits such as long-term memory. A previous study by Klann and his colleagues pointed to a potential cause for the condition -- overexpression of a subunit of a protein termed Na/K-ATPase in AS model mice.

In the Cell Reports study, the authors hypothesized that if they could decrease expression of this subunit, they could improve cognitive function of AS model mice.

To do this, they ran different populations of mice through cognitive and memory tests -- including a water maze to examine spatial memory and a fear conditioning paradigm to examine associative memory. They examined behaviors of the following types of mice: normal mice, AS model mice, mice that had reduced levels of the Na/K-ATPase, and AS model mice in which expression of the subunit of Na/K-ATPase was reduced.

In the water maze test, the mice needed to elevate themselves onto a platform in a specific location to get out of the water. The AS mice took longer to learn this task, but AS mice with reduced levels of the Na/K-ATPase subunit learned the task as fast as normal mice. In the second test, the researchers removed the maze's platform and measured how long the mice searched for the platform in this part of the maze in order to measure their memory of the platform location. The normal mice and the AS model mice with diminished expression of the Na/K-ATPase subunit searched the correct area of the maze in the same amount of time. However, other AS model mice had no memory of the platform location....

Science Daily summary Here

Full article here