Teens with both Autism and Epilepsy Prone to Light Sensitivity

Absence or "petit mal" seizures can present as staring spells or lapses in awareness. If in doubt, as a specialist about how to evaluate your child for epilepsy. JR

Teens with both Autism and Epilepsy
Prone to Light Sensitivity

By Kim | Published: December 15, 2011

A recent study from the Children’s Hospital Boston found that nearly one-third of older teens with autism spectrum disorders and comorbid epilepsy were affected by photosensitivity or light sensitivity.

“Our study found a high overall incidence of photosensitivity in 25 percent of children over 15 years of age with autism spectrum disorder, and an even higher rate of 29.4 percent in that age group of children who had both epilepsy and autism,” study author Jill Miller-Horn said in a news release from the American Epilepsy Society. “This finding has not been previously reported.”

The numbers also show that as a child grows into their teenage years they are increasingly likely to be affected by brain wave patterns associated with seizure-related light sensitivity.

The study involved 206 children with autism; of these, 118 also had epilepsy. A photoparoxysmal response (PPR) was most common among teens older than 15 years, occurring in 30% of those with comorbid autism and epilepsy. Among children aged 10-15 years, 10% of those with both disorders had a PPR. The response was present in 7% of children aged 6-9 years and 8% of those aged 0-5 years who had both disorders.

About half of the group (7 of 13) also displayed a behavior, common among children with autism, that could be associated with flickering light, including eyelid flutter, hand flapping, prolonged blink and eye closure, and eyelid fluttering. The association could possibly point to environmental factors, such as exposure to television or video programs, computer screens, or even the classic hand-flapping behavior of autism that can mimic a flickering light, Dr. Miller-Horn said.

Children with the photosensitive response might be more apt to have a seizure when exposed to any of these factors, or a rapidly shifting light and shadow.

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Pediatricians Offer Tips to Avoid Holiday Hazards

Pediatricians Offer Tips to Avoid Holiday Hazards

Check this list from the American Academy of Pediatrics twice to make sure holiday is nice

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

Saturday, December 17, 2011

SATURDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- From buying a Christmas tree to stringing up lights and wrapping gifts, there are a number of health and safety issues parents and guardians should consider during the holidays, according to child health experts.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers the following tips to help keep children and the whole family safe:

Christmas trees

• Make sure, if you select an artificial tree, that it is flame-resistant.
• When selecting a live tree, find one that is fresh. Being green, having a sticky trunk and having needles that don't bend, fall off or break easily are signs that a tree is fresh and less likely to pose a fire hazard.
• Trim a few inches off the bottom of the trunk to help it absorb more water and refill the tree stand with water regularly.
• Trees should not be set up in high-traffic areas or near fireplaces, radiators or portable heaters.

Holiday lights

• When hanging tree lights, always make sure that each bulb works and there are no frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections.
• To avoid electrocution, electric lights should never be used on a metallic tree.
• When decorating with lights outside, check to make sure the lights have been certified for outdoor use.
• Hooks and insulated staples should be used to hold lights in place -- not nails or tacks.
• All lights should be plugged into circuits with ground fault circuit interrupters to avoid potential shocks.
• Never leave lights on when you are not home because a short circuit could cause a fire.
• When it's time to take lights down, don't pull or tug on them.

Decorations

• Only flame-resistant materials should be hung on a tree.
• Choose only plastic or nonleaded tinsel or artificial icicles.
• Open flames, such as lighted candles, should not be placed near a tree or in an area where children can touch them or knock them over.
• Avoid decorations that are sharp or breakable -- especially if there are small children in the home.
• Decorations with small parts or those that look like real candy or food should also not be used near small children, who could swallow or choke on them.
• Wear gloves and follow directions carefully when using spun glass, known as "angel hair," or fake snow sprays.

Wrappings

• All wrapping papers, bags, ribbons and bows should be removed from fireplace areas once gifts have been opened to avoid fire hazards.
• Quickly dispose of plastic bags and long ribbons, which can pose suffocation hazards to small children.

Toys

• Be sure to select age-appropriate toys to match the abilities, skills and interests of each child, and to avoid potential dangers such as choking on small parts or button batteries.
• Give children under the age of 10 years battery-operated toys rather than those that must be plugged in to an electrical outlet.
• Strings and ribbons should be removed from toys before they are given to young children to avoid strangulation, particularly cords that are more than 12 inches long.
• Toys should be kept in a designated location to keep youngsters from gaining access to older kids' toys.

Food

• Keep hot liquids and foods away from the edges of tables and counters where they could be easily reached by young kids or knocked over.
• Be sure young children do not have access to microwave ovens.
• Fully cook meats and poultry, and thoroughly wash raw vegetables and fruits to avoid harmful bacteria.
• Frequent hand washing and using separate utensils during food preparation will also help avoid bacterial infection.
• Thaw raw meat in the refrigerator and put cooked foods away within two hours of preparation.

Visiting

• Clean up immediately after a holiday party so that children do not face potentially dangerous situations in the morning, such as leftover spoiled food or alcoholic beverages.
• Remember that not all homes you visit will be child-proofed, so be aware of potential dangers, such as unlocked medicine or cleaning supply cabinets.
• Keep a laminated list of important phone numbers, such as the police, fire department and pediatrician, that can be accessed in the event of an emergency. The Poison Help Line is 1-800-222-1222.
• Traveling and holiday festivities can be stressful for children. Try to maintain children's sleep, nap and eating schedules to help them feel more comfortable.

Fireplaces

• Remove all greens and other decorations from fireplace area and be sure the flue is open before building a fire.
• Keep "fire salts," which produce colored flames, away from children. They contain heavy metals that can cause intense stomach and intestinal irritation and vomiting if swallowed.
• Do not burn wrapping paper in the fireplace.

SOURCE: American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, Nov. 29, 2011

Caring for Low Birth-Weight Baby Hard on Moms: Study The added stress takes its toll on health, researchers say

Caring for Low Birth-Weight Baby Hard on Moms: Study

The added stress takes its toll on health, researchers say

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

Thursday, December 22, 2011

THURSDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Women with low birth-weight babies -- those less than about 3.3 pounds -- are more likely to have health problems five years later than mothers of normal birth-weight children, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that addressing the stress these mothers face could help them avoid future health problems.

"We found that caring for a baby born very low birth weight can have negative downstream effects for maternal health," said the study's leader, Dr. Whitney Witt, an assistant professor of population health sciences at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, in a university news release. "This suggests that mothers of these babies and their families should get help and support both early on and as the child grows up, in order to keep the whole family healthy."

In conducting the study, researchers interviewed about 300 mothers of very low birth-weight babies and 300 mothers of normal-weight babies. They found the mothers of low birth-weight babies have more stress than other mothers, which could take a greater toll on their physical health.

Women whose low birth-weight babies had behavioral problems at age 2 also had worse mental health years later than other women. The researchers noted this also could be due to increased stress.

The study, published online Dec. 10 in the journal Quality of Life Research, also revealed that the longer the babies spent in the neonatal intensive care unit, the greater the negative effect on a mother's health.

"This study suggests that having a child born very low birth weight can have a lasting effect on mothers, and long-term or chronic stress may play a very important role," said Witt. "This is important information for pediatric and family medicine clinicians, so they can monitor, refer and treat these at-risk mothers as needed."

Hitting the snooze button may do more harm than good

Many people rely on the snooze button, while some hit the ground running, but slapping the snooze button may be doing more harm then help.

That alarming sound interrupts your calm sleep,which is also known as REM sleep or rapid eye movement. Even if you feel like you may have drifted for a few minutes, those couple extra minutes are fragmented. That often leads to that "groggy" feeling you may experience throughout the day. The more you quiet the clock, the longer that hangover effect may stick around.

If you are extremely tried when that first alarm sounds, you may be suffering from sleep depravation. That can affect your memory, reaction time, comprehension, attention, and result in increased irritability.

According to the Sleep Disorders Center, racking up sleep loss of four hours, is equivalent to being drunk with a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent. That is a scary situation to think lack of sleep can be so debilitating on your body. Sleep is important for your body to function in a healthy way, so hop up when the alarm goes off, and catch a cat nap later on in the day.

Read more: http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/292769/3/Hitting-the-snooze-button-may-do-more-harm-than-good

Brain Size May Predict Risk for Early Alzheimer's Disease

New research suggests that, in people who don't currently have memory problems, those with smaller regions of the brain's cortex may be more likely to develop symptoms consistent with very early Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in the December 21, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"The ability to identify people who are not showing memory problems and other symptoms but may be at a higher risk for cognitive decline is a very important step toward developing new ways for doctors to detect Alzheimer's disease," said Susan Resnick, PhD, with the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, who wrote an accompanying editorial.

For the study, researchers used brain scans to measure the thickness of regions of the brain's cortex in 159 people free of dementia with an average age of 76. The brain regions were chosen based on prior studies showing that they shrink in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Of the 159 people, 19 were classified as at high risk for having early Alzheimer's disease due to smaller size of particular regions known to be vulnerable to Alzheimer's in the brain's cortex, 116 were classified as average risk and 24 as low risk. At the beginning of the study and over the next three years, participants were also given tests that measured memory, problem solving and ability to plan and pay attention.

The study found that 21 percent of those at high risk experienced cognitive decline during three years of follow-up after the MRI scan, compared to seven percent of those at average risk and none of those at low risk.

"Further research is needed on how using MRI scans to measure the size of different brain regions in combination with other tests may help identify people at the greatest risk of developing early Alzheimer's as early as possible," said study author Bradford Dickerson, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study also found 60 percent of the group considered most at risk for early Alzheimer's disease had abnormal levels of proteins associated with the disease in cerebrospinal fluid, which is another marker for the disease, compared to 36 percent of those at average risk and 19 percent of those at low risk.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221211220

NFL steps up concussion detection

There will always be Colby Armstrongs – players who hide concussions or other injuries from club medical staff in order to keep playing or out of fear of losing their job.

But what happens when trainers and team physicians paid by professional clubs err in detecting concussions? When they let down their guard or vigilance is impaired because they’re attending to other tasks? The NFL isn’t taking any chances. Not any more.

Chris Mortenson of ESPN reported Wednesday morning that effective this week, an independently-certified trainer will be assigned to monitor all suspected concussion-related injuries at every NFL game.

The decision was made after the Cleveland Browns failed to test quarterback Colt McCoy for a concussion after an illegal helmet to facemask hit by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison in a nationally-televised game on Dec. 8. The Browns president, Mike Holmgren, claimed they did not test McCoy, who went back into the game after two plays, because trainers did not see the hit and because they were attending to other injured players.

McCoy, one of 11 Browns players to have sustained concussions this season. has not been cleared to return to the practice.

The NFL, and particularly commissioner Roger Goodell, deserves credit for seizing this opportunity. Goodell sent a medical team last week to meet with the Browns and chaired a four-hour conference call that involved the team and representative of the NFL Players Association. The NFLPA may still file a grievance on McCoy’s part, Mortenson reports.

This does not mean that we are seeing a move towards eliminating one of the biggest and longest-running conflicts of interest in professional sports: the role of trainers and physicians paid by the club. But maybe it is the next step.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/nfl-steps-up-concussion-detection/article2279052/

New Device for Rapid, Mobile Detection of Brain Injury

When accidents that involve traumatic brain injuries occur, a speedy diagnosis followed by the proper treatment can mean the difference between life and death. A research team, led by Jason D. Riley in the Section on Analytical and Functional Biophotonics at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has created a handheld device capable of quickly detecting brain injuries such as hematomas, which occur when blood vessels become damaged and blood seeps out into surrounding tissues where it can cause significant and dangerous swelling.

A paper describing the team's proof-of-concept prototype for the hematoma detection device appears in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express. The device is based on the concept of using instrumental motion as a signal in near-infrared imaging, according to the researchers, rather than treating it as noise. It relies on a simplified single-source configuration with a dual separation detector array and uses motion as a signal for detecting changes in blood volume in the tough, outermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord.

One of the primary applications for the finished device will be the rapid screening of traumatic brain injury patients before using more expensive and busy CT and MRI imaging techniques. In cases where CT and MRI imaging facilities aren't available, such as battlefields or on the scene of accidents, the team believes near-infrared imaging will help to determine the urgency of patient transport and treatment, as well as provide a means of monitoring known hematomas at the bedside or outpatient clinic.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220133713