home
RSS
Boys with ADHD may become obese adults
May 20th, 2013
11:48 AM ET

Boys with ADHD may become obese adults

Boys with ADHD may be at risk for obesity later in life, according to a new study - which, if confirmed in larger studies, may have implications for the more than 4 million kids in the United States living with the disorder.

Researchers at NYU's Langone Medical Center have been following more than 200 kids for four decades. They found those who had ADHD in their early years were twice as likely to be obese at age 41. FULL POST


5 things we learned about kids' health this week
May 6th, 2013
05:40 PM ET

5 things we learned about kids' health this week

From cyber-bullying that could threaten your teen’s self-esteem, to dangerous distractions that could cause you to crash while driving your kids, here’s a look at five important studies about the health of children being presented this week at a large pediatric conference in Washington.

1. Moms and dads are distracted while driving kids

Researchers asked 600 parents what distractions they encountered while driving their most precious cargo: Their children. Among the interruptions: Talking on the phone, texting, surfing the Internet, checking a navigation system, and changing a CD or DVD.

Almost 90% of parents admitted to doing at least one of these technology-based distractions.
FULL POST


Violence in the home, ADHD may be linked
April 3rd, 2013
10:50 AM ET

Violence in the home, ADHD may be linked

Exposure to intimate partner violence and maternal depression before the age of 3 may increase a child's risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine looked a population of more than 2,000 children, and found that those whose parents had reported depression or intimate partner violence were significantly more likely to suffer from ADHD as they grew older.

"It wasn't surprising, from the lens of me being a behavioral pediatrician," said Dr. Nerissa Bauer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and the lead study author. "I routinely encounter mental health and behavioral problems in children, and this supports my initial hunch that I was seeing an increase in that." FULL POST


Cold sores linked to cognitive decline
March 26th, 2013
10:04 AM ET

Cold sores linked to cognitive decline

The virus causing your cold sore may put you at risk for something more insidious: Lower cognitive abilities.

In a study of 1,625 people, researchers at Columbia University measured specific antibodies to common infectious agents in each person's blood, and using this information, created an "infectious burden index." Participants higher on the infectious burden index were more likely to have worse cognition, or cognitive abilities.

The study, published Monday in the journal Neurology, further suggests a link between cognitive decline and herpesviridae viral infections in particular, which previous studies have also linked to Alzheimer's disease and risk of stroke, an accompanying editorial notes. Herpesviridae is a family of viruses including HSV-1 or herpes simplex virus-1, which causes cold sores and can cause genital herpes, and HSV-2, which commonly causes genital herpes.
FULL POST


ADHD reaches beyond childhood
March 4th, 2013
01:47 PM ET

ADHD reaches beyond childhood

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is often considered something children outgrow. But researchers say the disorder can carry over into adulthood.

A new study published in this week's Pediatrics journal finds that about a third of those diagnosed as children continue to have ADHD as adults, and more than half of those adults have another psychiatric disorder as well.

Suicide rates were nearly five times higher in adults who had childhood ADHD compared to those who did not, according to the study. Researchers aren't exactly sure why; they speculate that problems associated with childhood ADHD, such as lower academic achievement and social isolation, make people more prone to life issues as adults.
FULL POST


Antioxidants in coffee, tea may not help prevent dementia, stroke
February 20th, 2013
05:04 PM ET

Antioxidants in coffee, tea may not help prevent dementia, stroke

Drinking coffee and tea rich in antioxidants may not lower your risk of dementia or having a stroke, according to a new study published Wednesday in the online journal Neurology.

The study may call into question other research suggesting a diet high in antioxidants helps reduce the risk of dementia and stroke.

Researchers followed approximately 5,400 people aged 55 years and older for nearly 14 years. The participants had no signs of dementia when they began the study and most had never had a stroke. They were questioned about how often they ate 170 foods over the course of the past year and they were divided into three groups based on the levels of antioxidants in their diet - low, moderate or high.

FULL POST


The real reason Mary Ingalls went blind
Melissa Sue Anderson, right, portrayed Mary Ingalls in the 1970s NBC TV show "Little House on the Prairie."
February 4th, 2013
10:47 AM ET

The real reason Mary Ingalls went blind

If you watched "Little House on the Prairie," chances are you remember the story of Mary Ingalls.

The television show and popular book series drew on the real-life experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Mary, Laura's sister, went blind as a teenager after contracting scarlet fever, according to the story. Now a team of medical researchers are raising questions about whether that's true.

Dr. Beth Tarini, one of the co-authors of the paper, became intrigued by the question as a medical student.

"I was in my pediatrics rotation. We were talking about scarlet fever, and I said, 'Oh, scarlet fever makes you go blind. Mary Ingalls went blind from it,'" recalls Tarini, who is now an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan. My supervisor said, "I don't think so."

Tarini started doing research. Over the course of 10 years, she and her team of researchers, pored over old papers and letters written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, local newspaper accounts of Mary's illness and epidemiological data on blindness and infectious disease in the late 19th century. What they found was intriguing.

FULL POST


Hearing loss may push decline in memory, thinking
January 22nd, 2013
11:03 AM ET

Hearing loss may push decline in memory, thinking

Older Americans who have hearing loss have an accelerated decline in thinking and memory abilities, compared to those with normal hearing, according to a study published in JAMA Archives of Internal Medicine.

Those with hearing loss experience a 30% to 40% greater decline in thinking abilities compared to their counterparts without hearing loss, according to the findings published Monday.

Hearing loss is common among old older adults, affecting about two-thirds of adults 70 and older, and about one-third of adults younger than 60, according to lead study author Dr. Frank R. Lin of Johns Hopkins University.  A large number of people with hearing loss are untreated, Lin explained, because they associate hearing loss with the stigma of getting older.

FULL POST


California data shows ADHD cases rising
January 21st, 2013
04:39 PM ET

California data shows ADHD cases rising

In 10 years, diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased 24% in southern California, according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Doctors reviewed anonymized medical records for children treated at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California physicians group between 2001 and 2010 - 842,830 children in all, according to the research.

Overall, in 2001, 2.5% of children aged 5 to 11 were diagnosed with ADHD, but that number crept up to 3.1% by 2010. FULL POST


Lifelong bilinguals may have more efficient brains
January 8th, 2013
05:01 PM ET

Lifelong bilinguals may have more efficient brains

Neuroscientists have been discovering mounting evidence that being fluent in more than one language protects against age-related cognitive declines.  But there's still the major question: Why?

Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to get a closer look at the brains of both bilinguals and monolinguals, comparing how their activity differs during specific tasks.  This new study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience,  expands upon previous ideas that bilinguals tend to show superior task-switching abilities compared to monolinguals. The study was led by Brian Gold of the University of Kentucky in Lexington. FULL POST


   older posts »
Advertisement
About this blog

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.

Advertisement
Advertisement