For some children, sleep problems may result purely from poor sleep habits and inadequate sleep hygiene. However, for a small percentage of children, sleep problems might represent a pre-cursor or early symptom of a more serious emotional disorders, including anxiety and depression, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Flavia Giannotti, MD, of Center of Pediatric Sleep Disorders at the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy, was conducted on 122 children between seven and 11 years of age, who had a major depressive disorder. All patients underwent a systematic psychiatric, cognitive and sleep evaluation. All children were medication-free. Depressed children, as well as those presenting a comorbid anxious disorder, entered the study, and their results were compared to those of 200 healthy peers.
Tom Spears
CanwestTue, 10 Jun 2008 14:43 UTC
People in three southern U.S. states are facing a health threat no one can explain: an abnormally high risk of suffering a fatal stroke - even among tourists just visiting the region.
Residents and visitors alike in near-coastal areas of North and South Carolina and Georgia have a stroke risk at least 10 per cent higher than people in other U.S. states.
And when local people leave the area, even for a short trip, their risk of a fatal stroke drops.
A Manila hospital has closed its neonatal intensive care unit and an investigation ordered after 25 babies died of a blood infection, it was reported Saturday.
Local authorities ordered the Ospital ng Makati to close the unit after 45 babies contacted neonatal sepsis last month.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer said the Department of Health had launched an investigation while the city's mayor, Jejomar Binay, has asked for a report on the deaths by Monday.
The unit was being sterilised on Saturday and number of women giving birth in the public hospital restricted.
CANBERRA, June 10, 2008 (Reuters) - Next time you crank up the volume, beware: an Australian government report said young people risk developing permanent hearing problems if they go to noisy bars and listen to loud music through headphones.
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| ©REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
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| A woman wears headphones in Tokyo September 12, 2007.
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An article published in the June 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that men who have low levels of vitamin D are at a higher risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction).
It has been shown that deaths related to cardiovascular disease are more frequent in higher latitudes and during the winter months - when and where the sun rarely shines - and are less frequent at higher altitudes.
NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
The Earth TimesMon, 09 Jun 2008 07:27 UTC
Fluoride may damage bones of kidney patients
The National Kidney Foundation withdrew its support of water fluoridation citing the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) report indicating that kidney patients are more susceptible to fluoride's bone and teeth-damaging effects.
The kidney-impaired retain more fluoride and risk skeletal fluorosis (an arthritic-type bone disease), fractures and severe enamel fluorosis, which may increase the risk of dental decay, reports the NRC.
No one has done more to convince Americans that even small children can suffer the dangerous mood swings of bipolar disorder than Dr. Joseph Biederman of Massachusetts General Hospital.
From his perch as one of the world's most influential child psychiatrists, Biederman has spread far and wide his conviction that the emotional roller coaster of bipolar disorder can start "from the moment the child opened his eyes" at birth. Psychiatrists used to regard bipolar disorder as a disease that begins in young adulthood, but now some diagnose it in children scarcely out of diapers, treating them with powerful antipsychotic medications based on Biederman's work.
Gardiner Harris and Benedict Carey
NY TimesTue, 10 Jun 2008 05:26 UTC
A world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given Congressional investigators.
Craig Anderson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University, is well known for his research on the effects of media violence. His research on aggression, media violence, depression, and social judgment has had a profound influence on psychological theory and modern society. Karen Dill is Associate Professor of Psychology at Lenoir-Rhyne College, and has the honor of having a car named after her in Grand Theft Auto IV. Here, they talk about the effects of video game violence on children and adolescents.
Los Angeles - Foreclosures are increasing West Nile virus dangers because of stagnant swimming pools behind abandoned homes.
The foul pools are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can pass West Nile to humans and horses. The spike in mosquitoes comes earlier than the usual summertime appearance of the pest.
