Length of sleep key in regulating kids' behaviours: study

From the CBC News
How long children sleep every night can affect their behavioural patterns and lead to changes in eating habits, a new study suggests.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Auckland, found that the less time a child slept, the more likely they were to have behavioural problems.

Children who slept for less than nine hours were also more likely to become overweight or obese, according to the study.

Another autism study

From today's NY TIMES The matter is far from settled based on these results.


Yet another study has found that a controversial vaccine preservative appears to be harmless. But the study is unlikely to end the increasingly charged debate about vaccine safety.

Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years (NEJM)The study examined whether thimerosal — a mercury-containing vaccine preservative that was almost entirely eliminated from childhood vaccines by 2002 — is associated with neurological or certain psychological problems in children ages 7 to 10.

Latest on ADHD: Studies Track Treatment Outcomes for Kids With ADHD

Studies Track Treatment Outcomes for Kids With ADHD
Meds plus behavior therapy work best, but symptoms can return
(HealthDay News) -- Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed sustained improvement but were still at increased risk of behavioral problems in the years after treatment, say researchers.
Four studies appearing in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry evaluated the outcomes of children who participated in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA), the first major randomized trial comparing different treatments of ADHD. The initial results of MTA were published in 1999.

Full story here

Pediatric Ritalin may affect young brains

NEW YORK -- (Press Release) -- U.S. medical researchers have discovered use of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Ritalin by young children might affect their brains.
The Weill Cornell Medical College animal study is among the first to investigate the effects of Ritalin (methylphenidate) on the neurochemistry of the developing brain.
Between 2 percent and 18 percent of U.S. children are thought to be affected by ADHD and Ritalin -- a stimulant similar to amphetamine and cocaine -- remains one of the most prescribed drugs for the behavioral disorder.
"The changes we saw in the brains of treated rats occurred in areas strongly linked to higher executive functioning, addiction and appetite, social relationships and stress, said Professor Teresa Milner, the study's lead author. "These alterations gradually disappeared over time once the rats no longer received the drug."
The scientists said their findings suggest physicians should be careful in their diagnosis of ADHD before prescribing Ritalin. That's because Ritalin might be helpful in battling the disorder but harmful if given to youngsters with healthy brain chemistry.

The research appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

UK: New health fears over big surge in autism

From Sunday's (July 8th 2007) UK Observer:

The number of children in Britain with autism is far higher than previously thought, according to dramatic new evidence by the country's leading experts in the field.
A study, as yet unpublished, shows that as many as one in 58 children may have some form of the condition, a lifelong disability that leads to many sufferers becoming isolated because they have trouble making friends and often display obsessional behaviour.

Seven academics at Cambridge University, six of them from its renowned Autism Research Centre, undertook the research by studying children at local primary schools. Two of the academics, leaders in their field, privately believe that the surprisingly high figure may be linked to the use of the controversial MMR vaccine. That view is rejected by the rest of the team, including its leader, the renowned autism expert, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.

Read just published article in its entirety here

Autism symptoms reversed in lab

BBC news story
Symptoms of mental retardation and autism have been reversed for the first time in laboratory mice.
US scientists created mice that showed symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome - a leading cause of mental retardation and autism in humans.

They then reversed symptoms of the condition by inhibiting the action of an enzyme in the brain.

The study, by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.