New Method Teaches Kids To Remain Still During MRIs

New Method Teaches Kids To Remain Still During MRIs31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;



A recent report by Jude Children's Research Hospital and published in Pediatric Radiology says that experts have developed a new method for teaching children to stay still while they are having an MRI done, which makes the scan safer.

MRI scans on children are usually tough because naturally, children don't like to stay still. These scans make it necessary for kids to remain in one place for a long period of time. However, a new technique will help children as young as the age of 5 to have MRIs without being put to sleep.

The children involved the intervention were sickle cell disease patients. They often have to have MRIs performed to analyze their livers and brains to make sure they do not have complications in terms of their medication or disease. The problem here is that sickle cell disease makes anesthesia unsafe for some patients, and therefore, doctors try to use other methods when MRIs are required.

The study, which involved 71 sickle cell disease patients aged between 5 and 12, determined that the intervention given by experts to the children was extremely effective. The patients were 8 times more likely to make it through the entire scan without undergoing anesthesia than those who were not involved in the intervention. 91% of the kids (30 out of 33) who participated in the classes before their MRIs had successful scans without anesthesia. On the other hand, only 71% of the children (27 out of 33) who did not go through the program made it through the scan successfully.

The method, run by the Child Life Program at St. Jude, teaches the children and their parents what they can expect to happen when they are receiving an MRI, as well as giving the children things to think about during their scans, and working to decide onthe most effective way for the children to stay still, as all children are different.

Katherine Cejda, a specialist at St. Jude Life and the lead author of the study commented:

"Some patients chose to listen to music or to squeeze a ball to help them remember not to move. Some patients had the option of watching movies or having parents or other adults in the room with them during the test."

This is the first trial of its kind to focus on kids suffering from sickle cell disease and to determine whether this is an effective way to get them to remain still. Cejda notes that there are other programs available all over the U.S. that help kids get ready for MRIs and other procedures they may have to sit through.

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month and St. Jude is working hard to boost the quality of life factors for kids and teens living with sickle cell disease.

Jane Hankins, M.D., an associate member of the St. Jude Department of Hematology and the study's senior author, highlighted the importance of avoiding anesthesia when possible, due to the fact that it is risky for sickle cell disease patients to be sedated.

Sickle cell disease, which is inherited, occurs when a gene for assembling hemoglobin is mutated. Hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen through the body. When a person has sickle cell disease, their red blood cells are weaker than normal, sometimes causing the patient severe pain and damaged organs.

Anesthesia often leads to lower body temperature, dehydration, and a drop in blood oxygen levels. Dehydration is dangerous for sickle cell patients, as it can make sickled cells build up, causing harsh pain. This may result in pneumonia-like illness, which causes more pain or acute chest syndrome, leaving the patients hospitalized.

Hankins says that if a sickle cell patient is going to be sedated, it is important that they spend the night before in the hospital to ensure they have adequate amounts of fluids, and in some cases, a blood transfusion.

The new program may also lead to a cut in costs for the hospital. Cost-control is important to St. Jude, regardless of the fact that no family is held responsible for paying for their child's healthcare. It would be beneficial to all health care facilities to start interventions such as this one, and it is now offered to every patient receiving an MRI at St. Jude. Hankins says: "This preparation program offers a real advantage to patients."

Written by Christine Kearney
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


A recent study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry may have parents and doctors wondering when a temper tantrum their child has may be something more. Could it be an early sign of a serious mental health problem? Researchers from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine have decided to look into when parents and pediatricians should worry about temper tantrums or unusual behavior.

A survey developed by experts can help parents determine whether their child is acting like a normal kid or if their outlandish behavior is the result of something more worrying.

With this survey, it will be easier to catch a mental health disorder early on, therefore making treatment options available to the kids when they are young, hopefully avoiding a serious mental break later in the children's lives.

The new method will also help with the misdiagnosis and treatment of normal misbehavior for something more serious.

Temper Tantrums Not As Common As People Believe


Researchers were surprised to find that temper tantrums do not occur among kids as often as many think. Preschoolers are apt throw fits, however, under 10% of young children have a tantrum every day. These results were the same for white, Hispanic, African-American, poor, non-poor, and children of either sex.

Lauren Wakschlag, lead author of the study, a professor and vice chair in the department of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine commented:

"That's an 'aha moment. It gives a measurable indicator to tell us when tantrums are frequent enough that a child may be struggling. Perhaps for the first time, we have a tangible way to help parents, doctors and teachers know when the frequency and type of tantrums may be an indication of a deeper problem."

Prior to this study, there were no diagnostic tools to determine behavior problems, other than ones focused on adolescents and teens who displayed more disruptive traits. Now, researchers are focusing on children of the preschool age.

The questionnaire, named the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschool Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), was given to 1,500 3 to 5 year old preschooler's parents. The adults answered questions about how often their child had tantrums, how intense the tantrums are and how they managed their anger in the last month.

The findings helped the experts to determine if the preschoolers' behavior was normal or if it was something to be concerned about. This knowledge will make it easier for physicians to tackle the problem before it gets worse, and if the child is somewhere in the middle - parents and doctors can keep a close eye on their behavior to report it if it continues to seem like a problem. The researchers note that the earlier a problem is detected, the more effective treatment is.

Wakschlag continued: "We have defined the small facets of temper tantrums as they are expressed in early childhood. This is key to our ability to tell the difference between a typical temper tantrum and one that is problematic."

The trail found that if a child threw a tantrum when they were tired, for example, at bedtime, this was normal behavior. However, if they threw the tantrum out of nowhere, or it was harsh enough that it made the child exhausted, this may not be normal tantrum behavior.

The authors note that all children may display signs of out-of-the-norm tantrums here and there, but it is when they happen often that parents should be concerned.

The new method differs from the well-known Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), because unlike the DSM, the new method is age-specific. In DSM, one of the symptoms of problematic behavior is that the patient "often loses temper".

Wakschlag said: "The definition of 'often' may vary substantially for younger and older children and depend on family stress levels and other mitigating factors. Since most preschool children tantrum, this vague criteria make it exceptionally difficult for providers to determine when behavior is of clinical significance in early childhood.

"There's been a real danger of preschool children with normal misbehavior being mislabeled and over-treated with medication. On the other hand, pediatricians are hampered by the lack of standardized methods for determining when misbehavior reflects deeper problems and so may miss behaviors that are concerning. This is why it's so crucial to have tools that precisely identify when worry is warranted in this age group."

To understand how important their findings were, Wakschlag, along with Margaret Briggs-Gowan from the University of Connecticut Health Center and their team are looking into how the tantrum behaviors are associated with the mental health of the children, how they are getting along in school with other children, with their families, and how they act in social situations. Now, the experts are working with Northwestern neuroscientist Joel Voss to being using brain-imaging as a way to find correlations between problematic behaviors in early childhood and brain patterns.

The questionnaire has grown to 118 questions since the experts started using the tool, and 2,200 children have been evaluated. The goal is to eventually have the questionnaire available in waiting rooms at pediatricians' offices for parents to fill out on a computer while they are visiting the doctor with their children.

Written by Christine Kearney
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

The shape of the glass may influence how rapidly we consume an alcoholic drink, researchers from the University of Bristol reported in the journal PLoS ONE. The authors believe that their findings could help towards reducing the prevalence of drunkenness which has become a progressively bigger problem in society today.

Dr Angela Attwood and team gathered and analyzed data on 160 social drinkers. None of them had any history of alcoholism; they were aged from 18 to 40 years and were asked to attend two experimental sessions.

Session 1 - the participants were given drinks in either:

Straight-sided glasses - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Curved "beer flutes" - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks


Alcoholic drink consumption was nearly twice as fast in the curved glass session, compared to the straight glass session. However, drinking speeds of non-alcoholic beverages were the same, regardless of what type of glass was used.



An example of a "beer flute" glass. Drinkers find it harder to know when it is half full.


Possibly, because it is much harder to know when you are half-way through your drink in a curved glass compared to a straight one, people drink more rapidly from curved glasses, the authors suggested. However, why there was no difference in soft-drink consumption rates could not be explained.

Session 2 - the researchers wanted to determine how accurate people's perceptions of how much had been consumed so far was, without actually drinking any alcohol when they guess. The participants were asked to look at computer images of alcoholic drinks in straight and curved glasses with different volumes of liquid inside them. They were asked a simple question in each picture "Is the glass less or more than half full?" It would then be possible to gauge their visual accuracy more carefully.

They found that people were considerably more inaccurate when looking at drinks in curved glasses.

There was also an association between the degree of error and speed of drinking when using the curved glass. Those who made the greatest mistakes tended to be the ones who drank the fastest from the curved glasses.

People's speed of drinking will influence how rapidly they get drunk, as well as how many alcoholic beverages they consume in one drinking session. Therefore, if drinking rates can be slowed down, there may be significant benefits for individuals and society as a whole, the authors wrote.

Dr Attwood wrote:

"Due to the personal and societal harms associated with heavy bouts of drinking, there has been a lot of recent interest in alcohol control strategies. While many people drink alcohol responsibly, it is not difficult to have 'one too many' and become intoxicated. Because of the negative effects alcohol has on decision making and control of behavior, this opens us up to a number of risks.

People often talk of 'pacing themselves' when drinking alcohol as a means of controlling levels of drunkenness, and I think the important point to take from our research is that the ability to pace effectively may be compromised when drinking from certain types of glasses."

The more cynical among us may wonder whether the drinks industry might use this data to replace straight glasses with curved ones in order to achieve greater sales.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE1

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE131 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


An intellectual disability is present in 2 to 3% of babies at birth, possibly by a genetic defect, but scientists have been unsure exactly what genes are responsible in 80% of these cases. According to VIB researchers at KU Leuven, the cause in some patients is an increased production of the HUEW1 protein.

Guy Froyen (VIB/KU Leuven) said:

"The fact that HUWE1 regulates the dose of several other proteins in the brains, has an important impact on the quest for new therapies. It would then be possible to intervene in these different proteins. Research into the role of HUWE1 has already started in the lab."

X-Linked 'Intellectual Disability'

External factors, such as defects in the genetic material or lack of oxygen at birth, can cause intellectual disability. The precise recognition of the defect is essential for the medical supervision of the patient in hereditary causes, or to approximate the risk when having kids.

Approximately 15% of patients have a defect lying on the X-chromosome called the X-linked 'intellectual disability' (XLID). Even after several studies, the responsible gene has not yet been identified in half of XLID-patients.
HUWE1 Found Guilty

In order to discover new genes that may be responsible for XLID, Froyen and his team (VIB- KU Leuven) are furthering their studies.

In their previous research, they found evidence that the duplication of a fragment of the X-chromosome results in a too high concentration of the proteins HSD17B10 and HUWE1.

Froyen explained:
"We knew then that these two proteins could play an important role in the (development of) the memory center in the brains, but we did not yet know which gene was the cause for the increased dose of XLID. Through additional research, including the DNA of 6 additional families from Europe, Australia and South Africa, we now know that HUWE1 is the crucial factor, and that a concentration increase of HUWE1 leads to intellectual disability."
Effects of Identifying - Treating XLMR

This research is important because it offers new insights for the identification and treatment of XLID, allowing tests to be created with with the duplication of and errors in HUWE1 are searched.

Scientists concluded that further exploration is required in order to develop a new treatment for XLID. A better understanding is needed of the role of HUWE1 in the body, they explained, more specifically in the brains.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


While prior research has suggested that signs of an increased risk of addiction are personality traits, such as impulsivity or compulsiveness, there is new evidence from the University of Cambridge suggesting that these characteristics are also associated with a traumatic childhood background.

The goal of the research, which was published in the journal American Journal Pschiatry and led by Karen Ersche, was to discover the risk factors that make a person susceptible to developing drug dependence.

Fifty adults with cocaine dependence, along with their biological siblings who never abused drugs, participated in the study by undergoing broad assessments of their personalities, including their ways of feeling and thinking.

Subjects were also asked questions regarding any negative experiences they had during their upbringing, for example, any emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

Dr Ersche, of the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) at the University of Cambridge, explained:

"It has long been known that abusive experiences during childhood have long-lasting effects on behavior in adulthood and this was confirmed by our results. The siblings had more troubled childhoods compared to healthy peers in the community, and we also found a direct relationship between traumatic childhoods and their personalities."

What makes this relationship unusual, she continued, is that these impulsive personality traits are known to heighten the chance of becoming drug addicted, but that does not mean it excuses people for drug-taking.

The team found that the brothers and sisters of the cocaine-addicted individuals had a traumatic childhood as well, exhibiting higher-than-average levels of impulsive and compulsive behaviors. However, they did not become addicted to any drugs.

Learning how the drug-free siblings coped with their traumatic background and there highly impulsive and compulsive personalities is next on the scientists' agenda.

They believe that by having a better understanding of the reason the siblings are resilient against drug abuse, they can help develop more beneficial therapeutic interventions for people fighting their addictions.

Dr Ersche concluded:

"Not all individuals with these personality traits would have had a traumatic upbringing. Nor does everyone with these traits develop an addiction. However, our findings show that some people are particularly at risk and their upbringing may have contributed to it."

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

Linzess (linaclotide), for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. The approval is for adult patients only. "Idiopathic" means "of unknown cause".

Chronic constipation affects approximately 63 million Americans, says the NIH (National Institutes of Health). If a patient continues suffering from persistent constipation after receiving standard treatment for the condition, doctors generally diagnose it as "chronic idiopathic constipation".

The active ingredient of Linzess is linaclotide, a first-class GC-C (guanylate cyclase) agonist that acts locally in the gut with negligible systemic exposure.

Health authorities in the USA estimate that over 15 million people in the country are affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A subtype of IBS, called IBS-C (irritable bower syndrome with constipation) is characterized by hard and/or lumpy stools and abdominal pain.

Linzess (linaclotide) is an oral medication; the capsule should be taken on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before the first meal of the day. Linzess makes the bowels move more frequently. Studies have shown that Linzess may also relieve the symptoms of abdominal pain.

Victoria Kusiak, M.D., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said:

"No one medication works for all patients suffering from these gastrointestinal disorders. With the availability of new therapies, patients and their doctors can select the most appropriate treatment for their condition."

FDA investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of Linzess for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in two double-blind human studies involving 1,604 patients. The patients were randomly selected to receive either a placebo (dummy drug) or 290 micrograms of Linzess - the treatment period lasted 12 weeks.

Both studies demonstrated Linzess' clear superiority over placebo in relieving abdominal pain and facilitating more frequent complete spontaneous bowel movements.

Another two double-blind clinical trials involving 1,272 patients were also assessed for efficacy and safety by the FDA. The patients were randomly selected to receive Linzess at doses of 145 mcg or 290 mcg, they were compared to patients in a placebo group. This trial also had a treatment-period of 12 weeks. Linzess was shown to be significantly superior to placebo in facilitating more frequent complete bowel movements, as well as reducing abdominal pain symptoms. The 145 mcg dose was approved, but not 290 mcg, because it was found to be no better than the lower dosage.

William D. Chey, M.D., professor of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Health System, who was involved in the clinical trials, said:

"The symptoms experienced by patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation can have a significant impact on affected individuals. The approval of Linzess provides physicians with a new, evidence-based, effective treatment option for their adult patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation."

Linzess Boxed Warning

A Boxed Warning warns that Linzess cannot be used with patients aged under 18 years. Trial results showed that the most common side effect was diarrhea.
Linzess was a joint venture

Linzess was developed jointly by two pharmaceutical companies - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.). According to an FDA communiqué today, the drug will also be co-marketed by both companies.

Howard Solomon, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest Laboratories, said:


"The approval of Linzess validates Forest and Ironwood's commitment to bringing forth an effective treatment in disease categories that previously had limited treatment options. We look forward to making this treatment available to the millions of adults with IBS-C and CIC in the
United States. This achievement is the result of our close working relationship with Ironwood over the past five years in the development of this exciting product."


Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation


Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, or IBS-C is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder. IBS-C can sometimes undermine a patient's ability to carry out daily living activities. Typically, symptoms include abdominal pain/discomfort, at least one-quarter of all bowel movements have hard or lumpy stools, and less than one-quarter of all bowel movements have soft or water stools.


There are very few therapies available to effectively treat IBS-C.

Chronic Idiopathic Constipation
Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), also known as functional constipation, is one that does not appear to have a physiological or physical cause. Experts suspect the cause is probably psychological, neurological or psychosomatic.

People with chronic idiopathic constipation are generally healthy, but have problems with their bowel movements.

Patients with CIC defecate (empty their bowels) fewer than three times per week for a period of at least three months. Many, even when they empty their bowels, feel that the evacuation was incomplete. According to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, up to 35 million people in the USA probably suffer from CIC-type signs and symptoms.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

New Method Teaches Kids To Remain Still During MRIs

New Method Teaches Kids To Remain Still During MRIs31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;



A recent report by Jude Children's Research Hospital and published in Pediatric Radiology says that experts have developed a new method for teaching children to stay still while they are having an MRI done, which makes the scan safer.

MRI scans on children are usually tough because naturally, children don't like to stay still. These scans make it necessary for kids to remain in one place for a long period of time. However, a new technique will help children as young as the age of 5 to have MRIs without being put to sleep.

The children involved the intervention were sickle cell disease patients. They often have to have MRIs performed to analyze their livers and brains to make sure they do not have complications in terms of their medication or disease. The problem here is that sickle cell disease makes anesthesia unsafe for some patients, and therefore, doctors try to use other methods when MRIs are required.

The study, which involved 71 sickle cell disease patients aged between 5 and 12, determined that the intervention given by experts to the children was extremely effective. The patients were 8 times more likely to make it through the entire scan without undergoing anesthesia than those who were not involved in the intervention. 91% of the kids (30 out of 33) who participated in the classes before their MRIs had successful scans without anesthesia. On the other hand, only 71% of the children (27 out of 33) who did not go through the program made it through the scan successfully.

The method, run by the Child Life Program at St. Jude, teaches the children and their parents what they can expect to happen when they are receiving an MRI, as well as giving the children things to think about during their scans, and working to decide onthe most effective way for the children to stay still, as all children are different.

Katherine Cejda, a specialist at St. Jude Life and the lead author of the study commented:

"Some patients chose to listen to music or to squeeze a ball to help them remember not to move. Some patients had the option of watching movies or having parents or other adults in the room with them during the test."

This is the first trial of its kind to focus on kids suffering from sickle cell disease and to determine whether this is an effective way to get them to remain still. Cejda notes that there are other programs available all over the U.S. that help kids get ready for MRIs and other procedures they may have to sit through.

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month and St. Jude is working hard to boost the quality of life factors for kids and teens living with sickle cell disease.

Jane Hankins, M.D., an associate member of the St. Jude Department of Hematology and the study's senior author, highlighted the importance of avoiding anesthesia when possible, due to the fact that it is risky for sickle cell disease patients to be sedated.

Sickle cell disease, which is inherited, occurs when a gene for assembling hemoglobin is mutated. Hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen through the body. When a person has sickle cell disease, their red blood cells are weaker than normal, sometimes causing the patient severe pain and damaged organs.

Anesthesia often leads to lower body temperature, dehydration, and a drop in blood oxygen levels. Dehydration is dangerous for sickle cell patients, as it can make sickled cells build up, causing harsh pain. This may result in pneumonia-like illness, which causes more pain or acute chest syndrome, leaving the patients hospitalized.

Hankins says that if a sickle cell patient is going to be sedated, it is important that they spend the night before in the hospital to ensure they have adequate amounts of fluids, and in some cases, a blood transfusion.

The new program may also lead to a cut in costs for the hospital. Cost-control is important to St. Jude, regardless of the fact that no family is held responsible for paying for their child's healthcare. It would be beneficial to all health care facilities to start interventions such as this one, and it is now offered to every patient receiving an MRI at St. Jude. Hankins says: "This preparation program offers a real advantage to patients."

Written by Christine Kearney
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


A recent study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry may have parents and doctors wondering when a temper tantrum their child has may be something more. Could it be an early sign of a serious mental health problem? Researchers from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine have decided to look into when parents and pediatricians should worry about temper tantrums or unusual behavior.

A survey developed by experts can help parents determine whether their child is acting like a normal kid or if their outlandish behavior is the result of something more worrying.

With this survey, it will be easier to catch a mental health disorder early on, therefore making treatment options available to the kids when they are young, hopefully avoiding a serious mental break later in the children's lives.

The new method will also help with the misdiagnosis and treatment of normal misbehavior for something more serious.

Temper Tantrums Not As Common As People Believe


Researchers were surprised to find that temper tantrums do not occur among kids as often as many think. Preschoolers are apt throw fits, however, under 10% of young children have a tantrum every day. These results were the same for white, Hispanic, African-American, poor, non-poor, and children of either sex.

Lauren Wakschlag, lead author of the study, a professor and vice chair in the department of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine commented:

"That's an 'aha moment. It gives a measurable indicator to tell us when tantrums are frequent enough that a child may be struggling. Perhaps for the first time, we have a tangible way to help parents, doctors and teachers know when the frequency and type of tantrums may be an indication of a deeper problem."

Prior to this study, there were no diagnostic tools to determine behavior problems, other than ones focused on adolescents and teens who displayed more disruptive traits. Now, researchers are focusing on children of the preschool age.

The questionnaire, named the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschool Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), was given to 1,500 3 to 5 year old preschooler's parents. The adults answered questions about how often their child had tantrums, how intense the tantrums are and how they managed their anger in the last month.

The findings helped the experts to determine if the preschoolers' behavior was normal or if it was something to be concerned about. This knowledge will make it easier for physicians to tackle the problem before it gets worse, and if the child is somewhere in the middle - parents and doctors can keep a close eye on their behavior to report it if it continues to seem like a problem. The researchers note that the earlier a problem is detected, the more effective treatment is.

Wakschlag continued: "We have defined the small facets of temper tantrums as they are expressed in early childhood. This is key to our ability to tell the difference between a typical temper tantrum and one that is problematic."

The trail found that if a child threw a tantrum when they were tired, for example, at bedtime, this was normal behavior. However, if they threw the tantrum out of nowhere, or it was harsh enough that it made the child exhausted, this may not be normal tantrum behavior.

The authors note that all children may display signs of out-of-the-norm tantrums here and there, but it is when they happen often that parents should be concerned.

The new method differs from the well-known Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), because unlike the DSM, the new method is age-specific. In DSM, one of the symptoms of problematic behavior is that the patient "often loses temper".

Wakschlag said: "The definition of 'often' may vary substantially for younger and older children and depend on family stress levels and other mitigating factors. Since most preschool children tantrum, this vague criteria make it exceptionally difficult for providers to determine when behavior is of clinical significance in early childhood.

"There's been a real danger of preschool children with normal misbehavior being mislabeled and over-treated with medication. On the other hand, pediatricians are hampered by the lack of standardized methods for determining when misbehavior reflects deeper problems and so may miss behaviors that are concerning. This is why it's so crucial to have tools that precisely identify when worry is warranted in this age group."

To understand how important their findings were, Wakschlag, along with Margaret Briggs-Gowan from the University of Connecticut Health Center and their team are looking into how the tantrum behaviors are associated with the mental health of the children, how they are getting along in school with other children, with their families, and how they act in social situations. Now, the experts are working with Northwestern neuroscientist Joel Voss to being using brain-imaging as a way to find correlations between problematic behaviors in early childhood and brain patterns.

The questionnaire has grown to 118 questions since the experts started using the tool, and 2,200 children have been evaluated. The goal is to eventually have the questionnaire available in waiting rooms at pediatricians' offices for parents to fill out on a computer while they are visiting the doctor with their children.

Written by Christine Kearney
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

The shape of the glass may influence how rapidly we consume an alcoholic drink, researchers from the University of Bristol reported in the journal PLoS ONE. The authors believe that their findings could help towards reducing the prevalence of drunkenness which has become a progressively bigger problem in society today.

Dr Angela Attwood and team gathered and analyzed data on 160 social drinkers. None of them had any history of alcoholism; they were aged from 18 to 40 years and were asked to attend two experimental sessions.

Session 1 - the participants were given drinks in either:

Straight-sided glasses - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Curved "beer flutes" - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks


Alcoholic drink consumption was nearly twice as fast in the curved glass session, compared to the straight glass session. However, drinking speeds of non-alcoholic beverages were the same, regardless of what type of glass was used.



An example of a "beer flute" glass. Drinkers find it harder to know when it is half full.


Possibly, because it is much harder to know when you are half-way through your drink in a curved glass compared to a straight one, people drink more rapidly from curved glasses, the authors suggested. However, why there was no difference in soft-drink consumption rates could not be explained.

Session 2 - the researchers wanted to determine how accurate people's perceptions of how much had been consumed so far was, without actually drinking any alcohol when they guess. The participants were asked to look at computer images of alcoholic drinks in straight and curved glasses with different volumes of liquid inside them. They were asked a simple question in each picture "Is the glass less or more than half full?" It would then be possible to gauge their visual accuracy more carefully.

They found that people were considerably more inaccurate when looking at drinks in curved glasses.

There was also an association between the degree of error and speed of drinking when using the curved glass. Those who made the greatest mistakes tended to be the ones who drank the fastest from the curved glasses.

People's speed of drinking will influence how rapidly they get drunk, as well as how many alcoholic beverages they consume in one drinking session. Therefore, if drinking rates can be slowed down, there may be significant benefits for individuals and society as a whole, the authors wrote.

Dr Attwood wrote:

"Due to the personal and societal harms associated with heavy bouts of drinking, there has been a lot of recent interest in alcohol control strategies. While many people drink alcohol responsibly, it is not difficult to have 'one too many' and become intoxicated. Because of the negative effects alcohol has on decision making and control of behavior, this opens us up to a number of risks.

People often talk of 'pacing themselves' when drinking alcohol as a means of controlling levels of drunkenness, and I think the important point to take from our research is that the ability to pace effectively may be compromised when drinking from certain types of glasses."

The more cynical among us may wonder whether the drinks industry might use this data to replace straight glasses with curved ones in order to achieve greater sales.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE1

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE131 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


An intellectual disability is present in 2 to 3% of babies at birth, possibly by a genetic defect, but scientists have been unsure exactly what genes are responsible in 80% of these cases. According to VIB researchers at KU Leuven, the cause in some patients is an increased production of the HUEW1 protein.

Guy Froyen (VIB/KU Leuven) said:

"The fact that HUWE1 regulates the dose of several other proteins in the brains, has an important impact on the quest for new therapies. It would then be possible to intervene in these different proteins. Research into the role of HUWE1 has already started in the lab."

X-Linked 'Intellectual Disability'

External factors, such as defects in the genetic material or lack of oxygen at birth, can cause intellectual disability. The precise recognition of the defect is essential for the medical supervision of the patient in hereditary causes, or to approximate the risk when having kids.

Approximately 15% of patients have a defect lying on the X-chromosome called the X-linked 'intellectual disability' (XLID). Even after several studies, the responsible gene has not yet been identified in half of XLID-patients.
HUWE1 Found Guilty

In order to discover new genes that may be responsible for XLID, Froyen and his team (VIB- KU Leuven) are furthering their studies.

In their previous research, they found evidence that the duplication of a fragment of the X-chromosome results in a too high concentration of the proteins HSD17B10 and HUWE1.

Froyen explained:
"We knew then that these two proteins could play an important role in the (development of) the memory center in the brains, but we did not yet know which gene was the cause for the increased dose of XLID. Through additional research, including the DNA of 6 additional families from Europe, Australia and South Africa, we now know that HUWE1 is the crucial factor, and that a concentration increase of HUWE1 leads to intellectual disability."
Effects of Identifying - Treating XLMR

This research is important because it offers new insights for the identification and treatment of XLID, allowing tests to be created with with the duplication of and errors in HUWE1 are searched.

Scientists concluded that further exploration is required in order to develop a new treatment for XLID. A better understanding is needed of the role of HUWE1 in the body, they explained, more specifically in the brains.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


While prior research has suggested that signs of an increased risk of addiction are personality traits, such as impulsivity or compulsiveness, there is new evidence from the University of Cambridge suggesting that these characteristics are also associated with a traumatic childhood background.

The goal of the research, which was published in the journal American Journal Pschiatry and led by Karen Ersche, was to discover the risk factors that make a person susceptible to developing drug dependence.

Fifty adults with cocaine dependence, along with their biological siblings who never abused drugs, participated in the study by undergoing broad assessments of their personalities, including their ways of feeling and thinking.

Subjects were also asked questions regarding any negative experiences they had during their upbringing, for example, any emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

Dr Ersche, of the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) at the University of Cambridge, explained:

"It has long been known that abusive experiences during childhood have long-lasting effects on behavior in adulthood and this was confirmed by our results. The siblings had more troubled childhoods compared to healthy peers in the community, and we also found a direct relationship between traumatic childhoods and their personalities."

What makes this relationship unusual, she continued, is that these impulsive personality traits are known to heighten the chance of becoming drug addicted, but that does not mean it excuses people for drug-taking.

The team found that the brothers and sisters of the cocaine-addicted individuals had a traumatic childhood as well, exhibiting higher-than-average levels of impulsive and compulsive behaviors. However, they did not become addicted to any drugs.

Learning how the drug-free siblings coped with their traumatic background and there highly impulsive and compulsive personalities is next on the scientists' agenda.

They believe that by having a better understanding of the reason the siblings are resilient against drug abuse, they can help develop more beneficial therapeutic interventions for people fighting their addictions.

Dr Ersche concluded:

"Not all individuals with these personality traits would have had a traumatic upbringing. Nor does everyone with these traits develop an addiction. However, our findings show that some people are particularly at risk and their upbringing may have contributed to it."

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

Linzess (linaclotide), for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. The approval is for adult patients only. "Idiopathic" means "of unknown cause".

Chronic constipation affects approximately 63 million Americans, says the NIH (National Institutes of Health). If a patient continues suffering from persistent constipation after receiving standard treatment for the condition, doctors generally diagnose it as "chronic idiopathic constipation".

The active ingredient of Linzess is linaclotide, a first-class GC-C (guanylate cyclase) agonist that acts locally in the gut with negligible systemic exposure.

Health authorities in the USA estimate that over 15 million people in the country are affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A subtype of IBS, called IBS-C (irritable bower syndrome with constipation) is characterized by hard and/or lumpy stools and abdominal pain.

Linzess (linaclotide) is an oral medication; the capsule should be taken on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before the first meal of the day. Linzess makes the bowels move more frequently. Studies have shown that Linzess may also relieve the symptoms of abdominal pain.

Victoria Kusiak, M.D., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said:

"No one medication works for all patients suffering from these gastrointestinal disorders. With the availability of new therapies, patients and their doctors can select the most appropriate treatment for their condition."

FDA investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of Linzess for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in two double-blind human studies involving 1,604 patients. The patients were randomly selected to receive either a placebo (dummy drug) or 290 micrograms of Linzess - the treatment period lasted 12 weeks.

Both studies demonstrated Linzess' clear superiority over placebo in relieving abdominal pain and facilitating more frequent complete spontaneous bowel movements.

Another two double-blind clinical trials involving 1,272 patients were also assessed for efficacy and safety by the FDA. The patients were randomly selected to receive Linzess at doses of 145 mcg or 290 mcg, they were compared to patients in a placebo group. This trial also had a treatment-period of 12 weeks. Linzess was shown to be significantly superior to placebo in facilitating more frequent complete bowel movements, as well as reducing abdominal pain symptoms. The 145 mcg dose was approved, but not 290 mcg, because it was found to be no better than the lower dosage.

William D. Chey, M.D., professor of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Health System, who was involved in the clinical trials, said:

"The symptoms experienced by patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation can have a significant impact on affected individuals. The approval of Linzess provides physicians with a new, evidence-based, effective treatment option for their adult patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation."

Linzess Boxed Warning

A Boxed Warning warns that Linzess cannot be used with patients aged under 18 years. Trial results showed that the most common side effect was diarrhea.
Linzess was a joint venture

Linzess was developed jointly by two pharmaceutical companies - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.). According to an FDA communiqué today, the drug will also be co-marketed by both companies.

Howard Solomon, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest Laboratories, said:


"The approval of Linzess validates Forest and Ironwood's commitment to bringing forth an effective treatment in disease categories that previously had limited treatment options. We look forward to making this treatment available to the millions of adults with IBS-C and CIC in the
United States. This achievement is the result of our close working relationship with Ironwood over the past five years in the development of this exciting product."


Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation


Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, or IBS-C is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder. IBS-C can sometimes undermine a patient's ability to carry out daily living activities. Typically, symptoms include abdominal pain/discomfort, at least one-quarter of all bowel movements have hard or lumpy stools, and less than one-quarter of all bowel movements have soft or water stools.


There are very few therapies available to effectively treat IBS-C.

Chronic Idiopathic Constipation
Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), also known as functional constipation, is one that does not appear to have a physiological or physical cause. Experts suspect the cause is probably psychological, neurological or psychosomatic.

People with chronic idiopathic constipation are generally healthy, but have problems with their bowel movements.

Patients with CIC defecate (empty their bowels) fewer than three times per week for a period of at least three months. Many, even when they empty their bowels, feel that the evacuation was incomplete. According to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, up to 35 million people in the USA probably suffer from CIC-type signs and symptoms.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?

Temper Tantrums - Should Parents Be Concerned?31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


A recent study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry may have parents and doctors wondering when a temper tantrum their child has may be something more. Could it be an early sign of a serious mental health problem? Researchers from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine have decided to look into when parents and pediatricians should worry about temper tantrums or unusual behavior.

A survey developed by experts can help parents determine whether their child is acting like a normal kid or if their outlandish behavior is the result of something more worrying.

With this survey, it will be easier to catch a mental health disorder early on, therefore making treatment options available to the kids when they are young, hopefully avoiding a serious mental break later in the children's lives.

The new method will also help with the misdiagnosis and treatment of normal misbehavior for something more serious.

Temper Tantrums Not As Common As People Believe


Researchers were surprised to find that temper tantrums do not occur among kids as often as many think. Preschoolers are apt throw fits, however, under 10% of young children have a tantrum every day. These results were the same for white, Hispanic, African-American, poor, non-poor, and children of either sex.

Lauren Wakschlag, lead author of the study, a professor and vice chair in the department of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine commented:

"That's an 'aha moment. It gives a measurable indicator to tell us when tantrums are frequent enough that a child may be struggling. Perhaps for the first time, we have a tangible way to help parents, doctors and teachers know when the frequency and type of tantrums may be an indication of a deeper problem."

Prior to this study, there were no diagnostic tools to determine behavior problems, other than ones focused on adolescents and teens who displayed more disruptive traits. Now, researchers are focusing on children of the preschool age.

The questionnaire, named the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschool Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), was given to 1,500 3 to 5 year old preschooler's parents. The adults answered questions about how often their child had tantrums, how intense the tantrums are and how they managed their anger in the last month.

The findings helped the experts to determine if the preschoolers' behavior was normal or if it was something to be concerned about. This knowledge will make it easier for physicians to tackle the problem before it gets worse, and if the child is somewhere in the middle - parents and doctors can keep a close eye on their behavior to report it if it continues to seem like a problem. The researchers note that the earlier a problem is detected, the more effective treatment is.

Wakschlag continued: "We have defined the small facets of temper tantrums as they are expressed in early childhood. This is key to our ability to tell the difference between a typical temper tantrum and one that is problematic."

The trail found that if a child threw a tantrum when they were tired, for example, at bedtime, this was normal behavior. However, if they threw the tantrum out of nowhere, or it was harsh enough that it made the child exhausted, this may not be normal tantrum behavior.

The authors note that all children may display signs of out-of-the-norm tantrums here and there, but it is when they happen often that parents should be concerned.

The new method differs from the well-known Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), because unlike the DSM, the new method is age-specific. In DSM, one of the symptoms of problematic behavior is that the patient "often loses temper".

Wakschlag said: "The definition of 'often' may vary substantially for younger and older children and depend on family stress levels and other mitigating factors. Since most preschool children tantrum, this vague criteria make it exceptionally difficult for providers to determine when behavior is of clinical significance in early childhood.

"There's been a real danger of preschool children with normal misbehavior being mislabeled and over-treated with medication. On the other hand, pediatricians are hampered by the lack of standardized methods for determining when misbehavior reflects deeper problems and so may miss behaviors that are concerning. This is why it's so crucial to have tools that precisely identify when worry is warranted in this age group."

To understand how important their findings were, Wakschlag, along with Margaret Briggs-Gowan from the University of Connecticut Health Center and their team are looking into how the tantrum behaviors are associated with the mental health of the children, how they are getting along in school with other children, with their families, and how they act in social situations. Now, the experts are working with Northwestern neuroscientist Joel Voss to being using brain-imaging as a way to find correlations between problematic behaviors in early childhood and brain patterns.

The questionnaire has grown to 118 questions since the experts started using the tool, and 2,200 children have been evaluated. The goal is to eventually have the questionnaire available in waiting rooms at pediatricians' offices for parents to fill out on a computer while they are visiting the doctor with their children.

Written by Christine Kearney
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed

Beer Glass Shape Influences People's Drinking Speed31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

The shape of the glass may influence how rapidly we consume an alcoholic drink, researchers from the University of Bristol reported in the journal PLoS ONE. The authors believe that their findings could help towards reducing the prevalence of drunkenness which has become a progressively bigger problem in society today.

Dr Angela Attwood and team gathered and analyzed data on 160 social drinkers. None of them had any history of alcoholism; they were aged from 18 to 40 years and were asked to attend two experimental sessions.

Session 1 - the participants were given drinks in either:

Straight-sided glasses - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Curved "beer flutes" - with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks


Alcoholic drink consumption was nearly twice as fast in the curved glass session, compared to the straight glass session. However, drinking speeds of non-alcoholic beverages were the same, regardless of what type of glass was used.



An example of a "beer flute" glass. Drinkers find it harder to know when it is half full.


Possibly, because it is much harder to know when you are half-way through your drink in a curved glass compared to a straight one, people drink more rapidly from curved glasses, the authors suggested. However, why there was no difference in soft-drink consumption rates could not be explained.

Session 2 - the researchers wanted to determine how accurate people's perceptions of how much had been consumed so far was, without actually drinking any alcohol when they guess. The participants were asked to look at computer images of alcoholic drinks in straight and curved glasses with different volumes of liquid inside them. They were asked a simple question in each picture "Is the glass less or more than half full?" It would then be possible to gauge their visual accuracy more carefully.

They found that people were considerably more inaccurate when looking at drinks in curved glasses.

There was also an association between the degree of error and speed of drinking when using the curved glass. Those who made the greatest mistakes tended to be the ones who drank the fastest from the curved glasses.

People's speed of drinking will influence how rapidly they get drunk, as well as how many alcoholic beverages they consume in one drinking session. Therefore, if drinking rates can be slowed down, there may be significant benefits for individuals and society as a whole, the authors wrote.

Dr Attwood wrote:

"Due to the personal and societal harms associated with heavy bouts of drinking, there has been a lot of recent interest in alcohol control strategies. While many people drink alcohol responsibly, it is not difficult to have 'one too many' and become intoxicated. Because of the negative effects alcohol has on decision making and control of behavior, this opens us up to a number of risks.

People often talk of 'pacing themselves' when drinking alcohol as a means of controlling levels of drunkenness, and I think the important point to take from our research is that the ability to pace effectively may be compromised when drinking from certain types of glasses."

The more cynical among us may wonder whether the drinks industry might use this data to replace straight glasses with curved ones in order to achieve greater sales.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE1

Intellectual Disability May Be Caused By Too Much Protein HUWE131 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


An intellectual disability is present in 2 to 3% of babies at birth, possibly by a genetic defect, but scientists have been unsure exactly what genes are responsible in 80% of these cases. According to VIB researchers at KU Leuven, the cause in some patients is an increased production of the HUEW1 protein.

Guy Froyen (VIB/KU Leuven) said:

"The fact that HUWE1 regulates the dose of several other proteins in the brains, has an important impact on the quest for new therapies. It would then be possible to intervene in these different proteins. Research into the role of HUWE1 has already started in the lab."

X-Linked 'Intellectual Disability'

External factors, such as defects in the genetic material or lack of oxygen at birth, can cause intellectual disability. The precise recognition of the defect is essential for the medical supervision of the patient in hereditary causes, or to approximate the risk when having kids.

Approximately 15% of patients have a defect lying on the X-chromosome called the X-linked 'intellectual disability' (XLID). Even after several studies, the responsible gene has not yet been identified in half of XLID-patients.
HUWE1 Found Guilty

In order to discover new genes that may be responsible for XLID, Froyen and his team (VIB- KU Leuven) are furthering their studies.

In their previous research, they found evidence that the duplication of a fragment of the X-chromosome results in a too high concentration of the proteins HSD17B10 and HUWE1.

Froyen explained:
"We knew then that these two proteins could play an important role in the (development of) the memory center in the brains, but we did not yet know which gene was the cause for the increased dose of XLID. Through additional research, including the DNA of 6 additional families from Europe, Australia and South Africa, we now know that HUWE1 is the crucial factor, and that a concentration increase of HUWE1 leads to intellectual disability."
Effects of Identifying - Treating XLMR

This research is important because it offers new insights for the identification and treatment of XLID, allowing tests to be created with with the duplication of and errors in HUWE1 are searched.

Scientists concluded that further exploration is required in order to develop a new treatment for XLID. A better understanding is needed of the role of HUWE1 in the body, they explained, more specifically in the brains.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk

Trauma During Childhood Increases Drug Addiction Risk31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


While prior research has suggested that signs of an increased risk of addiction are personality traits, such as impulsivity or compulsiveness, there is new evidence from the University of Cambridge suggesting that these characteristics are also associated with a traumatic childhood background.

The goal of the research, which was published in the journal American Journal Pschiatry and led by Karen Ersche, was to discover the risk factors that make a person susceptible to developing drug dependence.

Fifty adults with cocaine dependence, along with their biological siblings who never abused drugs, participated in the study by undergoing broad assessments of their personalities, including their ways of feeling and thinking.

Subjects were also asked questions regarding any negative experiences they had during their upbringing, for example, any emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

Dr Ersche, of the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) at the University of Cambridge, explained:

"It has long been known that abusive experiences during childhood have long-lasting effects on behavior in adulthood and this was confirmed by our results. The siblings had more troubled childhoods compared to healthy peers in the community, and we also found a direct relationship between traumatic childhoods and their personalities."

What makes this relationship unusual, she continued, is that these impulsive personality traits are known to heighten the chance of becoming drug addicted, but that does not mean it excuses people for drug-taking.

The team found that the brothers and sisters of the cocaine-addicted individuals had a traumatic childhood as well, exhibiting higher-than-average levels of impulsive and compulsive behaviors. However, they did not become addicted to any drugs.

Learning how the drug-free siblings coped with their traumatic background and there highly impulsive and compulsive personalities is next on the scientists' agenda.

They believe that by having a better understanding of the reason the siblings are resilient against drug abuse, they can help develop more beneficial therapeutic interventions for people fighting their addictions.

Dr Ersche concluded:

"Not all individuals with these personality traits would have had a traumatic upbringing. Nor does everyone with these traits develop an addiction. However, our findings show that some people are particularly at risk and their upbringing may have contributed to it."

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation

Linzess (Linaclotide) Approved For IBS And Constipation, And Chronic Idiopathic Constipation31 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

Linzess (linaclotide), for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. The approval is for adult patients only. "Idiopathic" means "of unknown cause".

Chronic constipation affects approximately 63 million Americans, says the NIH (National Institutes of Health). If a patient continues suffering from persistent constipation after receiving standard treatment for the condition, doctors generally diagnose it as "chronic idiopathic constipation".

The active ingredient of Linzess is linaclotide, a first-class GC-C (guanylate cyclase) agonist that acts locally in the gut with negligible systemic exposure.

Health authorities in the USA estimate that over 15 million people in the country are affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A subtype of IBS, called IBS-C (irritable bower syndrome with constipation) is characterized by hard and/or lumpy stools and abdominal pain.

Linzess (linaclotide) is an oral medication; the capsule should be taken on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before the first meal of the day. Linzess makes the bowels move more frequently. Studies have shown that Linzess may also relieve the symptoms of abdominal pain.

Victoria Kusiak, M.D., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said:

"No one medication works for all patients suffering from these gastrointestinal disorders. With the availability of new therapies, patients and their doctors can select the most appropriate treatment for their condition."

FDA investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of Linzess for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in two double-blind human studies involving 1,604 patients. The patients were randomly selected to receive either a placebo (dummy drug) or 290 micrograms of Linzess - the treatment period lasted 12 weeks.

Both studies demonstrated Linzess' clear superiority over placebo in relieving abdominal pain and facilitating more frequent complete spontaneous bowel movements.

Another two double-blind clinical trials involving 1,272 patients were also assessed for efficacy and safety by the FDA. The patients were randomly selected to receive Linzess at doses of 145 mcg or 290 mcg, they were compared to patients in a placebo group. This trial also had a treatment-period of 12 weeks. Linzess was shown to be significantly superior to placebo in facilitating more frequent complete bowel movements, as well as reducing abdominal pain symptoms. The 145 mcg dose was approved, but not 290 mcg, because it was found to be no better than the lower dosage.

William D. Chey, M.D., professor of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Health System, who was involved in the clinical trials, said:

"The symptoms experienced by patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation can have a significant impact on affected individuals. The approval of Linzess provides physicians with a new, evidence-based, effective treatment option for their adult patients with IBS-C and chronic idiopathic constipation."

Linzess Boxed Warning

A Boxed Warning warns that Linzess cannot be used with patients aged under 18 years. Trial results showed that the most common side effect was diarrhea.
Linzess was a joint venture

Linzess was developed jointly by two pharmaceutical companies - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.). According to an FDA communiqué today, the drug will also be co-marketed by both companies.

Howard Solomon, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest Laboratories, said:


"The approval of Linzess validates Forest and Ironwood's commitment to bringing forth an effective treatment in disease categories that previously had limited treatment options. We look forward to making this treatment available to the millions of adults with IBS-C and CIC in the
United States. This achievement is the result of our close working relationship with Ironwood over the past five years in the development of this exciting product."


Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation


Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, or IBS-C is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder. IBS-C can sometimes undermine a patient's ability to carry out daily living activities. Typically, symptoms include abdominal pain/discomfort, at least one-quarter of all bowel movements have hard or lumpy stools, and less than one-quarter of all bowel movements have soft or water stools.


There are very few therapies available to effectively treat IBS-C.

Chronic Idiopathic Constipation
Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), also known as functional constipation, is one that does not appear to have a physiological or physical cause. Experts suspect the cause is probably psychological, neurological or psychosomatic.

People with chronic idiopathic constipation are generally healthy, but have problems with their bowel movements.

Patients with CIC defecate (empty their bowels) fewer than three times per week for a period of at least three months. Many, even when they empty their bowels, feel that the evacuation was incomplete. According to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, up to 35 million people in the USA probably suffer from CIC-type signs and symptoms.

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

New Cancer Drug Efficiently Targets Breast, Lung And Colon Cancer; Clinical Trials Could Start Within 2 Years

New Cancer Drug Efficiently Targets Breast, Lung And Colon Cancer; Clinical Trials Could Start Within 2 Years

Potential New Type Of Diagnostic Imaging Technology Using Collagen-Seeking Synthetic Protein Could Lead Doctors To Tumor Locations

Lifesaving ICDs Should Not Be Cut During Financial Crisis

Mystery Surrounding The Death Of Two Sisters Nearly 50 Years Ago Solved By Researchers

France, Germany, And The UK Outperform The US On Potentially Preventable Death Rates

Controlling Diabetes After Pancreas Removal

New Cancer Drug Efficiently Targets Breast, Lung And Colon Cancer; Clinical Trials Could Start Within 2 Years

Potential New Type Of Diagnostic Imaging Technology Using Collagen-Seeking Synthetic Protein Could Lead Doctors To Tumor Locations

Lifesaving ICDs Should Not Be Cut During Financial Crisis

Mystery Surrounding The Death Of Two Sisters Nearly 50 Years Ago Solved By Researchers

France, Germany, And The UK Outperform The US On Potentially Preventable Death Rates

Controlling Diabetes After Pancreas Removal

Exercise Can Help Cancer Patients, But Few Oncologists Suggest It

Metabolism In The Brain Fluctuates With Circadian Rhythm

Using FDA-Approved Test, Some Lung Cancer Patients Who Could Benefit From Crizotinib Slip Through The Net

Having To Make Quick Decisions Helps Witnesses Identify The Bad Guy In A Lineup

Researchers Set Record For Detecting Smallest Virus, Opening New Possibilities For Early Disease Detection

Multiple Abortions May Increase Risk Of Prematurity And Low Birth Weight In Future Pregnancies

Erectile Dysfunction Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Risk

Erectile Dysfunction Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Risk30 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;



According to a recent report by the Princeton Consensus (Expert Panel) Conference, men's sexual function should be evaluated and taken into account when they are being tested for risk factors of cardiovascular problems.

Lead author of the study Dr. Ajay Nehra, vice chairperson, professor and director of Men't Health in the Department of Urology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, worked with over 20 other experts to determine their findings.

The study explains that erectile dysfunction (ED) is a risk factor in men younger than 55 for eventual cardiovascular disease. In some men diagnosed with ED, a cardiovascular event may occur within 2 to 5 years.

Nehra explains:
"Any man with ED should be considered at a substantially higher increase cardiovascular risk until further testing can be done. Erectile dysfunction often occurs in the presence of silent, symptomatic cardiovascular disease; and hence this is an opportunity for cardiovascular risk reduction."

The researchers recommend that men over 30 who suffer from ED should be evaluated closely for cardiovascular disease, because they believe that any man over 30 who has ED has a large risk for CVD (cardiovascular disease).

The experts determined that men who experience ED are at twice the risk of having cardiovascular disease than men who do not have ED. The younger then men are, the higher the risk of CVD.

Recent trials have shown that low testosterone levels may be associated with ED, CVD and cardiovascular death. Therefore, the team says men should also be tested to determine their testosterone levels.

Trials of over 500 patients have shown that low levels of testosterone result in a higher risk of mortality. Nehra continues: "Testosterone levels should be routinely measured. Men with testosterone levels less than 230 have higher risk for all cause and cardiovascular mortality." These findings, along with advice for patients with ED and CVD were been published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in the August 2012 issue.

The goal of the Princeton III meeting, which updated data presented at Princeton I and Princeton II meetings in 2000 and 2005, was to discover a method for optimizing sexual function in men and improving cardiovascular health in patients who have CVD.

Nehra commented:
"The conference focused on the predictive value of vascular erectile dysfunction in assigning cardiovascular risk in men of all ages, the objective being development of a primary approach to cardiovascular risk assessment in younger men with erectile dysfunction and no cardiovascular disease."

The team's approach adds to the 2010 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association recommendation to screen asymptomatic adults at risk of cardiovascular disease. However, this did not involve men with ED. Other studies, including the Framingham Heart Study, only include minimum information about patients under the age of 40.

"Experts have been considering the connection between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease for a while. Recent data and publications about the connection have become more consistent in linking the two", said Nehra.

Evidence of ED being linked with CVD in men under the age of 40 is rapidly growing. One trial explained that men between the ages of 40 and 49 who had ED had a 50% higher likelihood of coronary artery disease than the men who did not have the disorder.

The team notes that it would be beneficial for the cardiovascular evaluations to involve looking at blood and urine tests and lifestyle habits, as well as history of family health to determine if risk factors are present in the patient. This will assist in deciding appropriate treatment.

Nehra said: "That means that doctors treating men for erectile dysfunction can play a critical role in helping monitor and start reducing a patient's cardiovascular risk, even when the patient has no symptoms."

The panel recommends evaluating whether men who have ED have cardiovascular health persistent with the physical action needed for sexual activity. This is more important for men who have a very high risk of developing CVD.

The report said: "Scientific evidence suggests that a comprehensive approach to cardiovascular risk reduction will improve overall vascular health, including sexual function."

The Princeton III team recommends that doctors ask patients, especially men older than 30, if they have any symptoms of ED.

They conclude: "Identification of ED, particularly in men younger than 60, represents an important first step toward CVD detection and reduction."

Written by Christine Kearney


Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Mothers Exposed To Chemical Found In Common Household Items Have Babies With Obesity Risk

Mothers Exposed To Chemical Found In Common Household Items Have Babies With Obesity Risk30 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;



A new study, conducted by researchers at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and published in Environmental Health Perspectives, reveals that babies born to mothers who have been exposed to PFCs (polyfluoroalkyl compounds) tend to be smaller than normal when they are born, and larger than normal by the time they reach 20 months old.

PFCs are environmental chemicals which are used when fluoropolymers are made. They can be found in common household items, such as clothes, furniture and non-stick pans. Humans are exposed to these compounds regularly and they are prevalent in the environment. Human sera, breast milk and cord blood have all shown traces of PFCs in certain patients.

This trial included 447 girls from the UK and their mothers who were involved in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which is a well-known health project that has been going on since the 90s.

The experts discovered that the girls who had been exposed to PFCs more were in the 43% range at birth, weighing less than normal. By the time they were 20 months old these babies were in the 58% range, weighing more than most 20 month olds, indicating that these children may be obese later in life.

Michele Marcus, MPH, PhD, lead author of the study, a professor of epidemiology in Emory's Rollins School of Public Health and the assistant program director at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research commented:

"Previous animal and human research suggests prenatal exposures to PFCs may have harmful effects on fetal and postnatal growth.

Our findings are consistent with these studies and emerging evidence that chemicals in our environment are contributing to obesity and diabetes and demonstrate that this trajectory is set very early in life for those exposed."

Marcus says that a study from Denmark revealed that women who had contact with PFCs while they were in the womb had an increased risk of being overweight by the time they were 20 years old.

Studies on mice have discovered that being exposed to PFCs in the womb results in higher insulin levels and an increased risk of obesity during adult years.

The team signaled in on the 3 most common types of PFCs:
perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
perfluorooctanoate (PFOA)
perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS)


Maternal serum concentrations of PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS were measured while the women were pregnant and the weight and length of the girls was measured when they were 2, 9 and 20 months old.

The researchers analyzed the link between prenatal exposure to PFC and weight changes throughout the period from birth to 20 months and determined that if exposed to PFCs, the babies did not grow normally - with low weight at birth, and extra weight at 20 months.

Written by Christine Kearney


Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Incentives Help Pregnant Women Who Are Addicted To Drugs Stay Clean

Incentives Help Pregnant Women Who Are Addicted To Drugs Stay Clean30 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


According to research in the September issue of Addictive Disorders - Their Treatment, the importance of drug abstinence among pregnant women with heroin or cocaine addiction can be promoted by a "contingency management" approach, which offers incentives for women when their drug tests come out negative.

The team discovered that contingency management (CM) works just as effectively whether the incentives remain the same or are increased over time.

To help females develop other healthy behaviors during pregnancy, such as quitting smoking, researchers believe that incentives are an effective strategy.

Hendrée E. Jones, PhD, and colleagues of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, explained in their study:

"These results further the scientific knowledge regarding CM treatment in opioid-dependent pregnant women by supporting the finding that the escalating and fixed CM schedules produce similar amounts of drug negatives urine samples early in treatment."


Both Fixed - Increasing Incentives Help Abstain From Drugs

The scientists observed two approaches to CM in pregnant women being treated for addiction to cocaine or opioids (such as heroin and other related drugs). Both mom and child can develop serious health issues if the mother abuses cocaine and/or heroin during pregnancy, especially when the mom is suffering in poverty or has mental health issues.

Ninety females being treated for their opioid addiction at the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy in Baltimore participated in the study. The CM approach was randomly assigned to two-thirds of the ladies, in which they received incentives in the form of vouchers as a "reward" for a negative urine test (meaning no drugs were in their system).

One group received fixed incentives, meaning they got the same prize for each negative urine test; and the other group received escalating incentives, which meant the rewards increased with each negative test.

Incentives can rapidly increase rates of targeted behavior in people with substance abuse problems, according to previous research.

The vouchers in the escalating group had a starting value of $7.50, but increased by one dollar each time they produced a negative test (tests were given mondays, wednesdays, and fridays). The fixed group received vouchers that were worth $25 each time. Participants could exchange their vouchers for merchandise or gift certificates.

Both groups were tested for thirteen weeks while receiving other standard counseling and treatment, such as methadone replacement therapy for those addicted to heroin.

The two CM groups had similar measurements of opioid and heroin dependence. After reviewing all of the 14 urine samples from each subject, scientists discovered that the average number of negative test results was 8.1 in the escalating incentive group and 7.4 in the fixed incentive group.

For those receiving escalating incentives, the investigators saw a tendency toward higher cocaine abstinence rates; however, there was no significant difference between the groups after 5 weeks.

The findings support previous research that suggest that offering incentives for remaining drug-free is a beneficial part of the treatment strategy for women with opioid dependency.

The authors recommend pregnant women with drug addiction use CM to quickly reduce drug exposure to the developing fetus, and to help the mother and her baby be drug-free at delivery.

There has been other research suggesting that smoking in pregnant women with substance use disorders can be greatly reduced with incentive programs.

Michelle Tuten, LCSW-C and co-author, said:

"One recent study found that voucher reinforcement for smoking reductions during pregnancy had a significant impact on the smoking reduction and abstinence rates in this vulnerable population. These interventions appear to have a clinically meaningful impact on birth outcomes as well, although larger studies are needed to more fully explore birth outcome differences."

More research is being conducted by Professor Tuten to further explore contingent management and how it can be used to reduce exposure to maternal smoking.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Water Pipe Smoking Is As Dangerous As Smoking Cigarettes

Water Pipe Smoking Is As Dangerous As Smoking Cigarettes30 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;


Water pipe smoking, such as hookah or bong smoking, has a negative impact on lung function and respiratory symptoms, similar to the effects of cigarette smoking, according to new research published in the journal Respirology.

Water pipe users and even physicians have believed that smoking through a water pipe filters out the toxic components of tobacco, making it less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

A water pipe, such as hookah, is an instrument for smoking flavored tobacco. However, before inhalation, the smoke is passed through a water basin.

In order to compare lung function and respiratory symptoms among water pipe smokers, deep or normal inhalation cigarette smokers, and non-smokers, Mohammad Hossein Boskabady, MD, PhD, of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and his colleagues evaluated these three different groups of smokers.

The research consisted of 57 water pipe smokers, 30 deep inhalation cigarette smokers (S-DI), and 51 normal inhalation cigarette smokers (S-NI). Forty-four non-smokers were also observed as a control group.

A questionnaire was given to subjects to evaluate the prevalence and severity of respiratory symptoms, while lung function tests were performed on smokers and control subjects by using a spirometer.

Among both water pipe smokers and cigarette smokers, results showed an increased prevalence and severity of respiratory symptoms.

Water pipe smoking and deep inhalation cigarette smoking were shown to have similar effects on respiratory status.

Analysis showed that wheezing was found in:
23% of water pipe smokers
30% in S-DI
21.6% in S-NI
9.1% in non-smokers


Chest tightness was found in:
36.8% of water pipe smokers
40% in S-DI
29.4% in S-NI
13.3% in non-smokers


Cough was found in:
21% of water pipe smokers
36.7% of S-DI
19.6% of S-NI
6.8% in non-smokers


Boskabady concluded:
"Our study is the first report regarding the importance of the method of cigarette smoke inhalation with respect to effects on the respiratory system. Our findings reveal that there were profound effects of water pipe smoking on lung function values, which were similar to the effects observed in deep inhalation cigarette smokers."

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Leg Compressions May Limit Stroke Damage

Leg Compressions May Limit Stroke Damage30 Aug 2012-nbsp;-nbsp;-nbsp;

Compressing then releasing the legs several times with a five-minute break in between, while administering a clot-busting drug, may be a way to limit brain damage following a stroke.

This is the main finding of a US study published online in the journal Stroke on 21 August, whose senior author David Hess, is a stroke specialist and

chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Neurology at Georgia Health Sciences University.

The study, was done on mice, so the technique now needs to be tested on humans.


Conditioning Body to Survive Stroke

Hess told the press this week that repeatedly compressing and releasing the leg in conjuction with giving the clot-busting drug tPA, could double the

effectiveness of the drug.

The reason, says Hess, could be because the technique, called "remote ischemic perconditioning", which induces small periods of reduced blood flow, triggers

natural mechanisms that have a protective effect:

"Much like preparation to run a marathon, you are getting yourself ready, you are conditioning your body to survive a stroke," he explains.

Hess says the technique is a potentially "very cheap, usable and safe" therapy for stroke, that involves only temporary discomfort. It could be used in an

ambulance or at a small, rural hospital.

Tools for Dealing with Stroke Are Limited

There aren't many tools for dealing effectively with strokes, which occur when the blood supply to the brain becomes restricted, such as from a blood clot. The

loss of blood supply leaves an area of surrounding tissue starved of oxygen and vital nutrients, and if not restored quickly, the tissue dies off, causing loss of

brain function.

90% of strokes are due to blood clots, for which the clot-busting drug tPA, short for tissue plasminogen activator, is currently the only stroke therapy approved

by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Also, tPA is only safe and effective if given within a small time window of a few hours from the start of the stroke (the window is even smaller in older

patients).

While some new tools for improving stroke outcomes are being tested, for instance The Lancet recently reported a new generation tool that mechanically removes clots from blocked blood vessels, these

tend to be sophisticated and can only be used by surgeons.

But emergency health professionals could apply remote ischemic perconditioning with a blood pressure cuff while the patient is being prepared to receive tPA,

say the researchers.


Mouse Study: Leg Compressions and Clot-Buster Reduced Stroke Size by 50%


For their study, Hess and colleagues bred mice that developed a clot in the internal carotid artery, the most common cause of stroke in humans.

They found that applying remote ischemic perconditioning without tPA reduced stroke size in the mice by 25.7%, which is slightly better than tPA.

When they applied both together, the compressions and the clot-buster, the combination reduced stroke size by 50%.

Not only this, but applying

compressions soon after stroke also extended the window during which tPA is safe and effective.

Human Trials

The researchers now want to look for biomarkers that will allow easy measurement of how effective the technique could be in humans.

One marker of technique effectiveness could be increased blood flow to the brain, something Hess and colleagues noticed in the mice.

Other markers might be found by analyzing the blood of healthy people before and after experiencing leg compressions.

Another option is to run more mouse trials to see whether applying leg compressions after tPA also works, or maybe works even better.

The team suggests the first human trial could involve applying a blood pressure cuff to the legs of a small group of stroke patients to see how well that

works.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and is also a common cause of long-term disability.


Funds from the National Institutes of Health and Georgia Health Sciences University helped pay for the study.



Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Copyright: Medical News TodayNot to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today