Pediatrics
Prevent Dyslexia
February 21, 2012 | 
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Dyslexia could be detected even before children learn to read. According to a U.S. research team, their brain activity shows some differences easy to grasp by MRI and confirm this in an article published in ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’.
It was suspected that this type of learning problems reading and writing “certainly have neurobiological and functional alterations in the brain (temporal or frontal),” says Gustavo Lorenzo, child neurologist at the Hospital Ramon y Cajal in Madrid. The results of this research, conducted at Children’s Hospital of Boston, are a new support for this theory.
After doing MRI scans on 36 children (mean age five years) while they decided whether two words beginning with the same sound, the authors of this study found that those with family history of dyslexia showed less metabolic activity in some brain areas .
Specifically, the joints between the occipital and temporal lobes and the temporal and parietal lobes. This indicates, says the lead author of the research, Nora Raschle, is that “the brain’s ability to process speech sounds is poor, even before these children learn to read.” On the contrary, who had a high activation in this brain region, had better reading skills, such as rhyme, knowledge of letters and their sounds.
To Raschle, this finding is good news: “Early identification of children likely to develop dyslexia can help reduce the negative consequences they face from the standpoint of social and psychological.” Throughout the article points out that many studies have shown that those affected tend to have bad experiences at school, are labeled as lazy or unmotivated, and sometimes frustration leads to antisocial and impulsive behaviors, and a greater risk of Read the rest of this entry »
Prolonged childbirth
Delay delivery beyond 39 weeks of pregnancy in women gilts would be associated with an increased risk of maternal complications.
This arises from a secondary analysis of data from a study of fetal pulse oximetry in women without previous births and spontaneous labor or induced at 36 weeks gestation or more. Is usually considered the normal period of pregnancy is 40 weeks.
In American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, to Dr. Alan Thevenet N. Tita of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says that as gestational age increased from 39 weeks to 41 or more, so did significantly more risk arising from a maternal complication such as uterine atony, transfusion blood or infection in the peripartum.
Researchers say that “the risk of maternal morbidity and cesarean delivery, neonatal morbidity but not increased significantly from 39 weeks of gestation.” And they say that “improve maternal and perinatal outcomes when considering the delivery immediately after 39 weeks of gestation.”
However, argue that the practice should be modified only by this and other observational studies, “taking into account their limitations.” This and other results, “demonstrate the need for a randomized trial of elective delivery approach of the attainment of week 39 (of gestation) versus the traditional approach of expectant management until Week 41.”
“This study is important due to increased labor inductions in the U.S. and decreased 48 percent in 1990 to 33 percent in 2007 of women who give birth after 40 weeks.”
Posted in Medical News, Pediatrics | 
Tags: childbirth, pregnancy, Prolonged, Prolonged childbirth | 
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Hypertension in children
25% of adult visitors and 18% of children and adolescents blood pressure were monitored in the tents of the provincial Health Ministry installed on the Atlantic coast, had high blood pressure.
The controls are part of the 12 / 8 of the health portfolio, which seeks to inform, prevent and control hypertension, a disease is the leading cause strokes and major risk factors for disability and death from cardiovascular disease.
Since the beginning of the season seven tents 12 / 8 where a nurse takes the pressure for free, are installed in Mar del Plata (two in the center and a spa in Punta Mogotes 12), San Bernardo, Santa Teresita, Villa Gesell, Miramar and Necochea.
Of the 2493 adults who were monitored by 25% (624 visitors) had elevated blood pressure, while that of the 153 under 18 controlled, 18% (28 children) showed values above those considered normal, ie above 120 mm Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic, commonly named as 12 / 8.
“This year we add the control of hypertension in children and adolescents because, as in adults, the disease is usually asymptomatic, however, marks an increased cardiovascular risk in adulthood,” said provincial health minister, Alejandro Collia during a luncheon at the Club de Mar del Plata Motonáutica shared with Chief of Staff Alberto Perez, and journalists from national and regional media. Collia added that “early detection is key and monitored regularly by pediatricians.”
He clarified that “a control on the high values are detected does not mean the guy is hypertensive.” However, we must make further consultations with the doctor and was only able to make a diagnosis when the result repeat the anomaly about Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Cardiology, Medical News, Pediatrics | Tags: cardiovascular disease, Children, Hypertension, Hypertension in children, strokes | No Comments »
Effect of a crying baby
The sound of babies crying can make adults react quickly with a unique, British scientists said on Tuesday.
A study by researchers at Oxford University who used the classic game “whack-a-mole” (which used a hammer to turn on lights or characters that look) revealed that adults’ responses were faster when they heard babies crying, sounds compared with adults in trouble or birds chirping.
“The improvements in speed and skill reflect an evolutionary response that is activated when an immediate response is required to babies in trouble. It is not difficult to see how this could facilitate the conduct of care “for children, said Morten Kringelbach of Oxford Department of Psychiatry.
Kringelbach’s team compared the records of 40 volunteers who played “whack-a-mole” after listening to various sounds, including crying babies, adult problems and birds singing.
The findings, published in the journal Acta Paediatrica, suggest that the cries of babies receive special attention, Kringelbach said.
“Few sounds cause a reaction as visceral as the cry of a baby,” the author said in a statement. “For example, it is almost impossible to ignore crying babies on planes (…) despite all the other noises and distractions around,” he said.
The scientists said their work was not purely an academic exercise, it could help researchers studying women with postpartum depression who may suffer from some kind of disruption in this response to Read the rest of this entry »
Kids and Energy Drinks
A group of U.S. pediatricians urged children and adolescents to avoid consuming energy drinks and sports drinks only, but in limited quantity.
These recommendations come after a national debate on energy drinks, which many experts attribute their potential adverse effects.
“Children do not need energy drinks. They contain caffeine and other stimulants that are not nutritious, so unnecessary, “said Dr. Holly Benjamin, of the American Academy of Pediatrics and author of the new report.
In addition, children were more vulnerable than adults to the content of these beverages. “If they are consumed regularly, stress the body. And nobody wants to stress the body of a person who is growing, “she added.
In drafting the new guidelines published in the journal Pediatrics, the authors reviewed previous studies on energy drinks and sports. The latter do not contain stimulants.
The experts concluded that energy drinks contain a blend of ingredients, including vitamins and herbal extracts with potential adverse effects that are not always known. Although there are many documented cases of harm associated directly with drinks, Benjamin said that stimulants can alter the heart rate and, rarely, cause seizures.
Recently, the doctor at the hospital attended to a man of 15 years with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) who had seizures after drinking two bottles of 700 cubic centimeters of Mountain Dew, a caffeinated soda. The child was taking stimulants by their disease and the extra dose of caffeine would have taken to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Medical News, Pediatrics | Tags: Children, Energy Drinks, Kids, pediatrician | No Comments »