Kids

In a recent study, a team of experts found that youngsters with a rare skull tumour instance can forego surgery.

Researchers from Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, University of Texas Southwestern, University of British Columbia, and McGovern Medical School conducted the study. The New England Journal of Medicine reported the study’s findings.

A series of diseases known as Langerhans-cell histiocytosis (LCH) are characterised by immune cells called Langerhans cells that overproliferate and damage or create lesions in the tissue.

Children appear with a painful skull mass when this, also known as solitary eosinophilic granuloma, affects the skull in an isolated manner. Neurosurgeons typically treat these tumours or lumps, which are not cancerous. Historically, these tumours have been removed surgically, and the affected area of the skull has been rebuilt. A multicenter prospective research was started because certain retrospective case studies suggested that these lesions could go away without surgery. The findings, which were detailed in a letter to the editor that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 30, indicated that the lesions spontaneously resolved in 88 percent of the individuals who were monitored.

28 kids with LCH were enrolled in the trial between September 2012 and January 2020 at eight hospitals by the researchers. The researchers decided that, as a precaution, patients in this group would be given surgery if their lesions expanded quickly or for more than two months, didn’t diminish within three months, or caused discomfort. While 11 children and their parents opted for surgical or other procedures, 17 patients and their parents preferred to take part in the study’s observation-only group. All 17 lesions in the observation-only group shrank or vanished after two months. According to the authors, 15 out of 17 patients had totally recovered from their lesions after a year.

Of the 11 patients who chose treatment, ten got surgery to remove their lesions, two received chemotherapy to help the lesions shrink, one had a glucocorticoid injection inside the lesion, and six underwent a second operation to fix the skull defect caused by the mass or surgery. According to the authors, after roughly two months had passed and the lesion on one kid who had initially been in the observation group had decreased but not entirely vanished, the child’s parents changed their minds and decided to have surgery.

For isolated LCH skull lesions, this pioneering prospective research supports a nonsurgical treatment strategy. The benefit of this strategy is that it avoids surgery and all related dangers with removal.

In 2019, UBC researchers reported that utilising an oral immunotherapy treatment, pre-schoolers may safely overcome peanut allergies. They now have evidence that the earlier pre-schoolers start therapy, the better.

The study’s findings were published in the ‘Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.’ In Practice focuses on infants under the age of 12 months and finds that not only is oral immunotherapy helpful against peanut allergies, but it is also safer for this age group than it is for toddlers and older preschoolers.

“This treatment is affordable, very safe and highly effective, particularly if we can get the treatment going before the infant is 12 months old,” said Dr Edmond Chan, the study’s senior author who is also a clinical professor and head of allergy and immunology in UBC’s department of paediatrics at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

The study focused on the outcomes of 69 newborns among a broader study sample of 452 children aged five and under.

Oral immunotherapy is a therapeutic regimen in which a patient takes tiny amounts of the allergic food—in this example, peanut flour—with the dose progressively increasing to a maximum quantity established. The goal is to desensitise the youngster to the point when they can consume a complete meal of peanut protein without experiencing a hazardous response. To maintain their immunity, the youngster must consume peanut products on a regular basis.

Children in this research attended a paediatric allergist in a community or hospital clinic every two weeks to obtain their peanut dosage. Between clinic sessions, parents administered the same daily dose at home. After eight to eleven clinic visits, the children had reached a “maintenance dosage” of 300 milligrammes of peanut protein, or around 1.3 grammes of peanuts.

Clinicians documented any signs or reactions and counselled parents on how to handle them at home. The build-up period and one year of maintenance dosage were completed by 42 babies. At the end of the programme, none of them had more than a minor response to a 4,000-gram dosage of peanut protein, compared to 7.7 percent of the children aged one to five who finished it.

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Along the way, seven babies died. Four others had more severe responses, but none required epinephrine injections. Another 20 people were not tested for peanut allergy towards the end, either by choice or due to extensive wait lists.

Even before beginning the treatment, infants were shown to be at less risk than toddlers and pre-schoolers. In initial testing, only 33.9 per cent of infants had a reaction beyond mild, in comparison to 53.7 per cent of one-to-five-year-olds.

“Despite infants showing the best safety, we were still very satisfied with the safety of this treatment for older pre-schoolers. The risk of a severe reaction is much lower than it is for school-age kids,” Dr Chan noted.

“Many of the interventions we use in medicine, such as medications or surgical procedures, carry a small amount of risk that is outweighed by the benefit. If this treatment is performed by well-trained allergists and clinicians then I’m really comfortable with the risk. It’s actually very safe.”

In terms of efficacy, the medication was equally beneficial for both age groups. After a year of eating one peanut per day, almost 80% of the youngsters had built a tolerance for 4,000 mg of peanut protein in one sitting—the equivalent of around 15 entire peanuts.

At about six months of age, the first step in attempting to avoid peanut allergies in at-risk children is to introduce them to age-appropriate peanut-containing foods such as peanut butter or peanut flour.

If the newborn develops a peanut allergy, Dr. Chan’s study implies that oral immunotherapy may be a viable option to avoiding allergens for the rest of one’s life. Attempting to avoid allergies entirely entails a number of dangers, including decreased quality of life, social isolation, and anxiety.

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In a big multinational research, 31.4 percent of teenagers in 13 European and Asian nations reported feeling unsafe at school.

The findings, which were published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, highlighted disparities in ensuring a safe educational environment for pupils in different nations. Between 2011 and 2017, 21,688 teenagers aged 13 to 15 from 13 countries completed self-administered questionnaires. Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, China, Singapore, Vietnam, and Russia participated in the study.

The percentage of females who felt uncomfortable ranged from 11.5 percent in Finland to 69.8 percent in Japan, whereas the percentage of boys who felt dangerous ranged from 7.7 percent in Norway to 68.2 percent in Japan. The survey also discovered that there were significant differences across schools in several nations, demonstrating educational inequality within the country.

The aim is to foster favourable peer connections while also fostering healthy student-teacher relationships.

Kids who believed their instructors cared about them were more likely to feel comfortable at school, implying that teachers play a crucial role in creating students’ emotional sense of safety. According to our prior analysis, fair, clear, and consistent school policies are critical in ensuring school safety. When kids are bullied, they have a poorer sense of safety, which is reflected in their grades.

The findings revealed that feeling uncomfortable at school was linked to mental health issues that might last a lifetime. The findings emphasise the need of anti-bullying measures and mental health promotion in schools.

Preventive measures such as psychoeducation and social-emotional learning programmes should be included in the treatments to improve children’s good interactions and lessen behavioural difficulties. According to researcher Yuko Mori of the University of Turku’s Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, the findings revealed a clear need for initiatives to offer educational environments where all kids may feel safe, regardless of their background.

Doctor Andre Sourander, Professor in Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku agrees: “Physically, cognitively and emotionally safe school environment is essential for the development and educational success of children and young people. All children have the right to attend schools where they can feel safe and protected without fear or anxiety of any danger. In the wake of recent school shootings, we must take steps to enhance safety in educational settings and protect students from all forms of violence and abuse.

Transgender and non-binary kids, according to recent study, have a significantly greater risk of suicide ideation and attempts than their cisgender peers.

The research has been published in the journal, “Canadian Medical Association Journal” Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years in Canada. Sexual minority youth — those attracted to the same gender or multiple genders or who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer — are also at increased risk of mental health issues, suicidal ideation (thoughts) and suicide attempts.

“The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a very stressful time for all young people, but particularly for gender and sexual minority teens. These findings, showing dramatic increases in suicide risk, should sound a clarion call that additional support is needed,” said Dr Ian Colman, a professor at the University of Ottawa and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway, with coauthors.

Researchers used data from the national 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Kids to enhance the knowledge base on the risk of suicide ideation and attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth. The study included 6800 teenagers aged 15 to 17, the majority of whom (99.4%) were cisgender (meaning they identify with the gender assigned at birth) and 0.6 percent were transgender (meaning they identify with a gender not assigned at birth). The majority of respondents (78.6%) were heterosexual, with 14.7 percent attracted to several genders, 4.3 percent undecided, 1.6 percent of girls attracted to females, and 0.8 percent of boys attracted to boys.

Overall, 14% of teens experienced suicidal ideation within the previous year, and 6.8% had previously attempted suicide. Transgender youth were 5 times more likely to think about suicide and 7.6 times more likely to have ever attempted suicide than cisgender youth.

“A really concerning finding is that more than half of all transgender youth reported seriously considering suicide in the previous 12 months. This is a crisis, and it shows just how much more needs to be done to support transgender young people,” says coauthor Fae Johnstone, executive director, Wisdom2Action, who is a trans woman herself.

The researchers also discovered that the percentage of teenagers who expressed some level of attraction to more than one gender was significantly greater than in prior studies. This might be due to the fact that this poll looked at attraction to other genders rather than self-reported sexual identity, or it could be due to a decrease in the stigma associated with bisexuality. This group was also more than twice as likely to have considered suicide.

Overall, 4.3 percent of teenagers said they were unsure about their sexual desire, which is referred to as “questioning.”

“Given that the exploration of romantic and sexual relationships is a major developmental task of adolescence, it is perhaps unsurprising that many begin to question sexual attraction and orientation during this time,” says lead author Dr Mila Kingsbury, University of Ottawa.

The association between suicidality and being a sexual or gender minority was partially explained by bullying or cyberbullying experienced by those teens.

The study’s findings are similar to those from the only other nationally representative study on the topic, which reported a fivefold increased risk of suicide attempts among transgender adolescents in New Zealand.

“Suicide prevention programs specifically targeted to transgender, nonbinary and sexual minority adolescents, as well as gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents, may help reduce the burden of suicidality among this group.

Given that these associations were partially mediated through the experience of bullying, systemic change in the form of primary prevention programs aimed at public awareness and promoting inclusivity may lead to a reduction of the experience of minority stress among sexual minority and transgender youth, reducing their risk of poor mental health and suicidality,” said Johnstone.

Virus infections during pregnancy have an effect on the mother’s brain and postpartum care behavior, according to a recent study from the Medical University of Vienna.

The researchers’ findings were reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. There is plenty of evidence from mice research that viral infections during pregnancy can impact the developing brain of the young in utero (in the womb), with long-term effects on brain function and behavior.

For the first time, a preclinical investigation has showed that a viral-like immune activation during pregnancy impacts the maternal brain and impairs mother care behavior after delivery. These findings were published by a study team led by behavioral biologist Daniela D. Pollak of MedUni Vienna’s Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, in collaboration with colleagues from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Brain Research and Columbia University (USA).

Evaluation of Dams’ maternal care behavior

The researchers utilized a chemical substance that triggers the same receptor pathways as viruses to stimulate the immune system of the mother during pregnancy in a way that mimicked the normal course of a viral infection in this preclinical trial. Following the birth of the young, the dams’ maternal care behavior was evaluated.

“Dams who had experienced a viral-like immune activation were less caring towards their young than animals in the control group,” said Daniela D. Pollak, describing the results. “The naturally strong drive to take care of one’s own offspring and to keep them safe from harm was much less pronounced corresponding to a significant decline in attachment behavior.”

Also Read: Rising symptoms of depression in pregnant women linked to kids’ behavioral issues: Study

Not only did the researchers see changes in the dams’ behavior, but they also discovered structural, chemical, and functional alterations in their brains, as well as some of the underlying causes.

Even while the findings from animal models cannot be directly applied to people, the research team believes they show that viral infections during pregnancy can alter mothers’ behavior toward their kids.

“Women who have had systemic viral illnesses during pregnancy may be at increased risk of impaired mother-infant bonding,” Pollak explained.

The researcher hopes that this will raise awareness so that women with a history of infection during pregnancy may be more prompted to seek medical or psychotherapeutic treatment if they experience indications of impaired bonding after birth, which may affect the well-being of the mother and child.

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According to a new study, youngsters who consume fruits and vegetables have less inattention.

The research findings were published in the journal ‘Nutritional Neuroscience.’ Researchers invited parents of 134 children with ADHD symptoms to fill out a thorough questionnaire on the typical foods their children ate during a 90-day period as part of a larger study.

Another survey asked parents to rank their children’s symptoms of inattention, a characteristic of ADHD, such as difficulties remaining focused, not following directions, forgetting things, and controlling emotions.

According to Irene Hatsu, co-author of the study and associate professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University, youngsters who ate more fruits and vegetables had fewer severe signs of inattention.

“Eating a healthy diet, including fruits and vegetables, maybe one way to reduce some of the symptoms of ADHD,” Hatsu said.

The data for this study came from the Micronutrients for ADHD in Youth (MADDY) Study, which looked at the effectiveness of a 36-ingredient vitamin and mineral supplement in treating symptoms of ADHD and poor emotional regulation in 134 children aged 6 to 12.

Children who took the micronutrients were three times more likely to exhibit substantial improvement in their ADHD and emotional dysregulation symptoms than those who took a placebo, according to the research that tested the supplement’s efficacy. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry last year.

Another study of the same children, published earlier this year in the journal Nutrients, found that children from families with higher levels of food insecurity were more likely than others to exhibit severe emotional dysregulation symptoms like chronic irritability, angry moods, and outbursts of anger.

The three studies all paint a similar picture, Hatsu said: A healthy diet that provides all the nutrients that children require can help reduce the symptoms of ADHD in children.

“What clinicians usually do when kids with ADHD start having more severe symptoms is increase the dose of their treatment medication, if they are on one, or put them on medication,” Hatsu said.

“Our studies suggest that it is worthwhile to check the children’s access to food as well as the quality of their diet to see if it may be contributing to their symptom severity,” he added.

Children in the MADDY study, all of whom met the criteria for ADHD, were recruited from three sites: Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; and Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The study took place between 2018 and 2020. Participants were either not taking medication or stopped using it two weeks before the study began.

The studies on fruit and vegetable intake and the role of food insecurity were based on data collected when the children were first enrolled in the study before they began taking the micronutrient supplement or placebo.

Why may diet be so important in ADHD?

Researchers believe that ADHD is related to low levels of some neurotransmitters in the brain — and vitamins and minerals play a key role as cofactors in helping the body make those important neurochemicals and in overall brain function, Hatsu said.

Food insecurity may play an additional role.

“Everyone tends to get irritated when they’re hungry and kids with ADHD are no exception. If they’re not getting enough food, it could make their symptoms worse,” she said.

Additionally, the worry of parents who are concerned about not being able to provide their children enough food can lead to family friction, which can exacerbate ADHD symptoms in children.

According to Hatsu, the MADDY research is one of the first to investigate the link between ADHD symptoms and food quality in children in the United States and Canada.

This is significant since Western diets, unlike many others, such as the Mediterranean diet, are more likely to be deficient in fruit and vegetable consumption, according to her.

Also Read: Smoking during pregnancy may not promote ADHD in children, study suggests

“We believe clinicians should assess the food security status of children with ADHD before creating or changing a treatment program,” Hatsu said.

“Some symptoms might be more manageable by helping families become more food secure and able to provide a healthier diet.”

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