Your Health Guru

Nutrition for Cancer Patients

2013-06-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, a balanced and healthy diet is of utmost importance for someone undergoing treatment for cancer. This is a time when there is a lot of demand on the body. There are two main nutritional objectives for individuals living with cancer. They are:

1. To maintain a healthy weight.
2. To select and eat healthy foods that supplies the body with energy and nutrients for repair and healing.

When the body is battling cancer, behaviors and eating habits often change and the way the body uses nutrients change as well. The side effects of the cancer treatment can cause loss of appitite and cause food to taste bland. It is at these difficult times, when it is difficult to cope with changes in your eating habit, that the body can benefit from good, wholesome liquid nutrition.

Studies done by the American Institute of Cancer Research shows that it is not uncommon to experience changes in the way your body handles sugar or in your blood sugar level. You may experience hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). It is less likely you will experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). If you encounter this, adietitian can advise you on ways to control your blood sugar through diet.

Consult the food guide pyramid for the recommended daily servings of the different food group. But if you are having trouble getting the nutrition that your body so desperately need at this difficult time, consider liquid nutrition, it could be the answer for keeping your body healthy.

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Awesome Acai Berries!

2013-06-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

Acai Berries are hailed as an antioxidant superfood and continues to be one of the natural wonders of the world. Found in the Amazon, this exotic fruit is said to hold the keys to the fountain of youth. One of the benefits that has put Acai Berries on the map is its ability to aid in weight loss. However, Acai Berries is beginning to show tremendous potential in protecting the heart and cardio vascular vascular system, helping to lower cholesterol and is powerful in helping to slow the aging process.

The benefits of Acai Berries are endless and include Natural Energy, Antioxidants, Polyphenols, Omegas (3,6,9), Essential Amino Acids, Trace Minierals, and Vitamins. Acai Berries are also antiviral and antiallergenic. Its applications are also endless and only limited by your imagination. Use it in snacks, smoothies, with yogurt, shakes, deserts or just enjoy a cool refreshing drink.

For optimal health and wellbeing, include Acai Berries in your diet as a supplement. Now, I am not suggesting that it is a magic potion. It is important for you to recognize the value of eating a healthy well balanced diet including fresh organic fruits and vegetables. I say organic because the conventional produced is so heavily inundated with all sorts of harmful chemicals that hurt our bodies. But if you can’t eat organic, at least try to eat healthier.

Acai is such a popular source of high quality antioxidants and so revered that many companies include it in their Nutritional Supplement Products. For the health concious and active individual and more importantly for everyone who desires good health, adding an Acai supplement to your diet can go a long way.

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Rest and Water as a Remedy

2013-06-06T02:25:00.000-07:00

Some of us make ourselves sick by overwork. The remedy? Rest, Freedom from care, and a healthy diet are essential to restoration of health. In sickness and in health, pure water is one of nature’s greatest blessings. Drink pleanty of water it promotes health. A suffient supply of water to the body is necessary to assist nature in resisting disease.

Water makes up 70-75% of the body weight of the average human being. While a person can survive for up to 4 weeks without food they cannot survive for more than 3 days without water. Water performs many different functions inside the body. It forms the bulk of blood and tissue fluid and is therfore essential for tansporting nutrients, hormones and wasteproducts around the body. Water helps control the delicate balances of concentrations within the cells.

?To keep the tissues in the mouth, eyes and nose moist.
?To regulate your body tempreture
?Protects the tissues and organs of the body
?To lubricate your joints
?Help prevent constipation
?Lessen the burden on the kidneys and liver by flushing out waste and toxins
?It forms the bulk of blood and tissue fluid and is essential for transporting nutrients, hormones and wasteproducts around the body
?Help dissolve minerals and nutrients and make them readily available to the body
?Carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells and controls the delicate balances of concentrations within the cells

Water is the second most important requirement of living being after air. Water used externally is one of the easiest and most satisfactory ways of regulating the circulation of the blood. A cold or cool bath is an excellent tonic. Warm baths open the pores and aids in the elimination of impurities. Both warm and neutral baths soothe the nerves and equalize the circulation.

Hopefully you have just found a new appreciation for water!

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Cancer: Prevention is Better Than Cure

2013-06-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

Can Cancer be prevented?

According to the American Cancer Society, poor diet and inactivity are the two key factors that can increase a person’s cancer risk. In fact, a third of the deaths associated with cancer are related to poor diet and inactivity.

Let’s take a look at some of the known causes of cancer as identified by the American Cancer Society: genetic factors, lifestyle factors such as tobacco use, diet and physical activity, certain types of infections, and environmental expsoures to different types of chemicals and radiation.

From this information, it seems that most cancers are preventable by making healthy choices and controlling our environment. If this is the case, why then, is there such an emphasis on the cure rather than the prevention? Yes, I agree, that some types of cancer cannot be prevented but others can, yet the cure is all we ever hear about. What about doing more to educate the general public about preventing cancer in the first place?

There is big money in cancer research and cancer treatments and not so much in cancer prevention. You see cancer prevention requires a proper diet of fruits and vegetables coupled with exercise, really just better choices. Eating healthy and exercising does not cost very much when compared to cancer treatments. Plus, the drug companies have a vested interest in providing treatments rather than cures. If everyone made better choices or for that matter, the choices that would prevent certain cancers, the market for cancer treatments will be diminished. ” Things that make you go hmm!”

Don’t treat cancer as though it is a rite of passage. You don’t have to get cancer or any other disease for that matter. Our bodies were created with the ability to heal itself, that is why we have an immune system, and our food was created to assist our bodies with that process by providing the important vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. Try to eat organic as much as possible and when you can’t, be sure to wash your fruits and vegetables really well. You owe it to yourself, to make the decision to protect your body by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and controlling your weight.

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Acai Berry and Your Diet

2013-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

More and more people are including Acai Berries in their diet. Know as an antioxidant superfood, Acai has become a household name. It is said to have chocolaty flavor but not the best tasting fruit. But somehow, someone saw past the taste to reveal the true nutritional value of this fruit.

I recently read a blog about one fellow’s experience using Acai to lose weight. He was turned on to the product by a fellow doctor and has experienced amazing results. Not only did he lose weight, he reports experiencing anti-inflammatory benefits as well. Another positive attribute of the Acai berry is its ability to curb the appetite which allows those seeking to lose weight to control how much they eat.

More important than just dieting, it is important to understand that part of controlling your weight is making changes in the way you eat. Proper nutrition is one of the key ingredient in controlling your weight. In addition to Acai, you should incorporate other fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. No one source of antioxidants is the best. Nature intended fruits and vegetables to work together as a team to keep the body healthy.

So why is there so much ado about Acai and antioxidants? Because antioxidants builds up our body’s defenses and allow it to fight of diseases such as cancer and degenerative heart disease. The diseases like cancer start because of DNA oxidation and heart diseases because of oxidation and inflammation. Antioxidants are designed to control cell oxidation and relieve inflammation. Providing our bodies with all the antioxidants and trace minerals that it needs to keep our cells at optimal health will go a long way in preventing many diseases.

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Eat More Fruits And Vegetables Your Life Depends On It

2013-06-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

The experts recommend that we get 5-8 servings of organic fruits and vegetables daily. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants which help the body to maintain its balance so that you can live healthier.

You may not be able to see it but at this particular time in your life, the inside of your body is being brutally attacked by free radicals. Right now, as you sit there reading this post, they are busy at work damaging your cells. And this will happen over 10,000 times today.

Most of the damage will be repaired by your DNA repair enzymes but about one percent will escape the enzyme’s notice. What does this mean for you?

This un-repaired damage that’s been multiplying inside you is making your body a breeding ground for disease.

Research shows that at least 85% of chronic and degenerative disease results from the damage caused by these free radicals. These diseases include:

Cancer, Cataracts, Strokes, Arteriosclerosis, Degenerative Heart Failure, Emphysema, Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Ulcers, Crohn’s disease, Aging, Senility, and much, much more.

As you can see, it is vitally important that your body receives the proper nourishment to strengthen it against this army of destroyers that is ravishing your body.

I know that this is easier said than done. Eating 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables per day is quite a daunting task. However, If you want to lead a healthy life, you must find a convenient way to ensure that you are getting the proper nutrition. Your life depends on it.

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Anti-inflamatory Yerba Mate

2013-06-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yerba Maté was originally used by the Guaraní tribe of Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, and is usually consumed in the form of a tea which is brewed from the dired leaves and twigs of the tree. Because of yerba mate’s high antioxidant content, comparisons to green tea are common.

Many health benefits are associated with Yerba Mate such as, reduce weight gain in a high fat diet, lower cholesterol, is a good detoxifier, produces deeper sleep, boosts the immune system, relieves allergies, increases energy, possibly reduces the risk of diabetes and hypoglycemia, burns more calories, increases mental focus, improves mood, possibly increases the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the heart during exercise, decreases hunger cravings, possible prevention of some cancers, is beneficial to the digestive tract, possible reduction of heart attack and stroke and act as a powerful antioxidant.

I read an a very interesting article today citing Yerba Mate as a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the inflamation caused by cigarett smoke. In the article, the author examined the research article, published online ahead of print in the journal Experimental Lung Research, investigating supplementing Mate tea to cigarette smoke-exposed laboratory mice. The results were indeed eye opening. While a group of mice is hardly comparable to human the findings presents hope for those suffering with respiratory conditions.

We can now add Yerba Mate to our long list of Anti-inflamatory Antioxidants which includes Aloe Vera, Black Seed and Curcumin. If you are looking to improve your health, everything you need is found in the whole foods that nature has provided for us. Eating a healthy dieat of raw fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices is beneficial to your overal health.

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Lower High Blood Pressure Naturally

2013-06-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

The amazing Blueberry! These amazing little fruits called blueberries are one of the most potent sources of antioxidants. One of the gems that nature has so bountifully provided to keep our bodies healthy. We already know the benefits of antioxidants in our body and its ability to rid us of those pesky free radicals that threathen our health. As an antioxidant powerhouse, this little fruit continues to make headlines around the world.

Recent studies show that eating at least one serving of blueberries weekly could reduce your risk of high blood pressure of hypertension by 10%. This is truly an amazing finding! This finding as recorced in the Heart Health section on msnbc.com is as a result of 14 years of research.

Especially in wild species, Blueberries contain compounds known as anthocyanins, which are a type of flavonoid which can be found in dark chocolate, tea and red wine. The antioxidants in Blueberries are also linked to having a role in the reduction of some disease including inflamation and some cancers.

Now, did we really need this research to tell us that eating the food that nature has provided is the best remedy for good health? Life as we know it has become so hectic that we neglect to feed our bodies the type of food that will keep our bodies performing at its best. We are only as healthy as what we put into our bodies and we have to decided that we will make the changes necessary to restore our bodies to perfect health.

The bottom line here is that we must get back to eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables in order to maintain good health.

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From Herbal Remedies to Chemically Synthesized Medicines

2013-06-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

For thousands of years, ancient civilizations have used plants and plant extracts because they recognize their powerful healing properties. The ancient Egyptians for instance, used willow bark tea to reduce fevers and relieve headaches. With passing time, scientists made the discovery that the willow bark contains salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin.

• A Sumerian clay tablet, said to be about 4000 years old, recorded herbal remedies for a variety of illnesses and is the oldest known medical document.

• The 3500 year old, ancient Egyptian Ebers papyrus, lists hundreds of herbal remedies.

• The Pun-tsao which is attributed to Shen-nung, China’s legendary Emperor, who lived 4500 years ago, contains thousands of herbal cures .

• In India, herbal medicine dates back several thousand years to the Rig-Veda, the collection of Hindu sacred verses.

• The Badianus Manuscript is an illustrated document that reports the traditional medical knowledge of the Aztecs.

Greek physician Hippocrates is known as the father of western medicine and the greatest physician of his time. Hippocrates believed that disease had its roots in natural causes and as a result used a variety of herbal remedies in his treatments. He also believed in the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air and cleanliness.

Pedanius Dioscorides, another Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist, is the author of “De Materia Medica” or simply “The Dioscorides” — a 5-volume encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances, which was the basic textbook for all Western physicians for more than 1700 years. The distribution of this encyclopedia was said to be exceeded only by the Bible. It served as a manual, in which useful plants and remedies for each disease could be looked up.

Because of new innovation and developments in chemical science, coupled with the founding of pharmacology (the science of drugs), from the eighteenth century onwards, Doctors began to replace their plant-based remedies, according to The Dioscorides, with prescriptions based on chemical derivatives extracted from plants.

With the discovery and isolation of the active principles of plants, the substitution of the old plant-based prescriptions with them became a flourishing idea. Pure substances were more powerful, easier to prescribe, because they could be administered in the form of capsules or pills.

The success of chemical drugs caused natural remedies to almost be forgotten until recently. However, the excitement of chemical drug success would not last very long. Despite its seemingly early success, the more powerful antibiotics have failed to end infectious diseases. While, I agree that these substances have been able to save many lives, it is also true that allergies, resistance and many undesirable effects have increased.

In addition, due to the escalating cost of health-care and prescription drugs, and the very serious and often times life threatening side-effects of so many of the chemical drugs on the market, it is understandable why so many people are turning back to herbal remedies and what the “old folks” use to know.

In my next post, we will look at getting back to nature. STAY TUNED!

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Cholesterol Is Not Really a Bad Thing

2013-06-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

I read a great article on the Jamaica Gleaner today called “Cholesterol Craze.” The articles advice was timely as my doctor recently cautioned me to lower my cholesterol. But according to the American Heart Association, cholesterol itself is not bad. In fact cholesterol is naturally produced by your body and used to keep us healthy. You can also get cholesterol from the food you eat.

There are two types of cholesterol, good and bad and the trick to staying healthy is balancing both. Too much of one and not enough of the other is not healthy and can cause coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

Controlling your cholesterol levels can be as easy as changing your diet, exercising more often, and taking a good nutritional supplement. Many of the medicines on the market today are scary. You see those commercials on television advertising medicines to lower your cholesterol but the side effects are really bone chilling.

Too often we jump to medicine to solve our problems instantaneously rather than taking the healthy root of diet, proper nutrition and exercise. Once on the medication its almost impossible to get off them and you find yourself at risk of developing other health problems as is evident from the disclaimers in the commercials.

I would caution everyone to consider the risks of taking medication. Getting enough antioxidants in your body will help to balance your body allowing you to experience improvede health. Eating more fruits and vegetables or juicing your fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to get more antioxidants in your diet.

I am curious to find out what you think on this topic. So please leave me a comment on medicine vs natural alternatives.

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Antioxidant Test Review for Autoimmune

2013-06-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

When dealing with an autoimmune disease, you need to take many tests. One of them that helps your overall system are antioxidants. On a molecular level, they rid your body of free-radicals which promotes oxidative damage which leads to the deterioration of your body. But how can you measure your antioxidant levels? An increasingly popular scanner within the medical community measures this through the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner. Listed below are my various antioxidant test results:

Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner Results from 2008 – 2013

The average score is around 20,000 which is considered a low antioxidant level.

2/2/08 – On Enbrel (Autoimmune suppressor but relieved most of my symptoms before I started getting infections) with moderate diet. My score was 41,000.

10/6/2011 – On Enbrel but learned how to eat healthier and supplemented. At this point I was about to get off Enbrel as I was developing infections. My score was 65,000.

5/28/2013 – Off Enbrel for over a year, but still battling my Crohn’s Disease which leads to my autoimmune disorder. At this point I am eating very healthy without supplements that would affect my antioxidant levels. My score was 47,000.

Even with moderate diet & supplementation, you can have an above average antioxidant score while on Enbrel (since you’re not battling symptoms everyday). When you are off Enbrel and other medications while battling the root cause (Crohn’s / IBS / UC), absorption plays a huge role in your antioxidant levels. With Crohn’s, you can eat the best foods available but they don’t fully absorb within your system. Along with my other history of tests, these tests confirm that the body is healing itself, but there are components missing from getting back to the levels I want to be at. Until those are met, I will have poor absorption as this is the best I can do without supplementation.

I admit it, I’ve plateaued and know it’s time to start doing some serious testing again. In the next couple of months, I will be taking a lot of tests to determine the root problems I cannot currently see. From there, I will have a program of supplementation that will boost the levels I am lacking right now. It is my hope that this will be my last major push to get me to full remission.

Ranked by WebMD, here are the 20 common foods with the most antioxidants:

Total antioxidant capacity
per serving sizeYellow & Orange Antioxidants – Contains lots of vitamin A that boosts our immunity from bacteria. Cook carrots whole so nutrients cannot escape. Bananas ripened bring out more antioxidants.Green Antioxidants contain Isothiocyanates - act like soldiers and take away the free radicals. Prep broccoli by cutting them & waiting 5 minutes before lightly steaming them. Buy fresh parsley & when eating cabbage, enhance the iron in it by combining with Vitamin C products like OJ or strawberries.Purple Antioxidants contain Anthocyanins - prevent damage & heal the damage already done by the cells. The more deep the purple hue, the better. Cabernet wine (1/day women, 2/day men max), prunes, plums, and berries are all deep hues.Most important Antioxidant – Green Antioxidant – studies from cultures who use vegetables mainly in their diet were less likely to get cancer and have a healthier & longer life.

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Autoimmune Detox – The Benefits and Side Effects

2013-06-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

The essence of detoxification is to rid the body of poisonous substances. From chelation to dietary detox, there are many ways to detoxify your body and in Ayurvedic tradition, spring time is one of the best times to do this. My choice of autoimmune detox was to minimize any strenuous exercise and rely only on the essential supplements / medications for a month. Items crossed out below were removed during detox:
Swimming exercises 2-3X per weekWii Fit+ Yoga & strength exercises
As of 3/17 I stopped exercising & at 3/20 I’ve removed all supplements from my diet. 3/20-3/22 visited Sarasota (2 hours North of where I live) & had the longest sustainable day since I began the diet on 3/21 from 8:30am to 11:30pm. Back in Naples on 3/23 & crashed – 13 hours of sleep on 3/23 & 12 hours on 3/24. This confirms I am still anemic & am back on my iron supplement. Started feeling better and then had something that did not agree with me at Whole Foods on 3/30 (may have been tomato paste hidden) and flared up for the next 2-3 days. Normally this would only take 1 day, but detoxing makes me more susceptible to flare-ups and I got a cold (1st time since I started the diet) that everyone around me was getting (lethargic, scratch throat) from 4/1 – 4/14. Worst days were 4/5 & 4/6 as coughing prevented me from sleeping. On 4/5 at 2am and 4/6 10pm felt a chocking feeling and violent cough to remedy which made me sore all over from shoulders to bottom of ribs. Using an elevated pillow, Mucinex (Fast-Max severe congestion & cough), a sore throat spray, lots of chicken soup, and menthol cough drop while going to sleep improved my condition and allowed me to sleep. Cold started to go away on 4/8 but is still lingering around and did not leave the house for a week. The detox reduced weight slightly but the cold took my weight from 130 to 127lbs – my lowest since starting the diet. Average weight in so far in 2013 is 131 lbs. and fluctuates from 127 to 134lbs. Most days I average 8 hours of interrupted sleep (get up 2-3 times per night) and add 1 1/2 – 4 hours of sleep in the daytime.
Benefits
Helps identify which supplements are working and which are not.Allows the body to heal on it’s own terms.Lack of rigorous exercise made my body less sore in some areas, but exercise back in the pool will help other areas. Finding a balance of exercise intensity is key and may need to work with a rehab facility with a pool to find out.Less pills to take! Much less side effects from the medicine.
Side Effects
Longer lasting and more susceptible to flare-ups
More susceptible to colds / fluWeight loss since I’m underweightLess physical strength and endurance along with soreness in areas which may prevent from longer periods of sleep throughout the nightNeed to sleep more (but this might be the best thing for me)
While detoxing has it’s risks, you get to know the truth on what your body really needs and not what you think it needs. Now that the detox is almost over, I can introduce one supplement at a time to see if it’s helping along with slowly starting my swimming regimen again. In the next few months, I will start blood tests again to see how I’ve progressed without these supplements.

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Refined Salt Triggering Autoimmune Disease

2013-06-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Refined Salt Triggering Autoimmune Disease
On Wednesday, March 06, 2013, Yale researchers identified refined salt triggering autoimmune diseases. According to their study, “adding salt to the diet of mice induced production of a type of T cells previously associated with autoimmune diseases and that mice on salt diets developed a more severe form of an MS animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.”
Dr. David Hafler, the Gilbert H. Glaser Professor of Neurology, professor of immunobiology, chair of the Department of Neurology, and senior author of the Yale paper states “Humans were genetically selected for conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, where there was no salt. Today, Western diets all have high salt content and that has led to increase in hypertension and perhaps autoimmune disease as well.”
While I don’t believe that refined salt is the only problem with autoimmune diseases, it does make sense with my choosing calories over sodium prior to developing Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). For example, I used to eat Healthy Choice TV dinners at least 3-4 times a week prior to my diet change. Not only did it contain medium-high levels of sodium, but the list of additives and other ingredients helped trigger my autoimmune disease. Since the beginning of changing my food habits in early 2012, I’ve stopped table salt and switched to mineral-rich Himalayan Sea Salt when needed. More importantly, I prepare and eat most of my meals at home versus eating at restaurants which are notorious for foods with high levels of sodium.
If you want to kick AS or any autoimmune disease, learn to cook with healthy whole foods and switch refined salt to Himalayan sea salt.

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Stick Or Carrot - Research Could Aid In Diagnosing Neural Development Disorders Such As Autism, ADHD And Personality Disorders

2013-06-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: ADHD; Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 16 Mar 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Stick Or Carrot - Research Could Aid In Diagnosing Neural Development Disorders Such As Autism, ADHD And Personality Disorders

The stick can work just as well as the carrot in improving our performance, a team of academics at The University of Nottingham has found.

A study led by researchers from the University's School of Psychology, published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience, has shown that punishment can act as a performance enhancer in a similar way to monetary reward.

Dr Marios Philiastides, who led the work, said: "This work reveals important new information about how the brain functions that could lead to new methods of diagnosing neural development disorders such as autism, ADHD and personality disorders, where decision-making processes have been shown to be compromised."

The Nottingham study aimed at looking at how the efficiency with which we make decisions based on ambiguous sensory information - such as visual or auditory - is affected by the potential for, and severity of, anticipated punishment.

Imposing penalties

To investigate this, they asked participants in the study to perform a simple perceptual task - asking them to judge whether a blurred shape behind a rainy window is a person or something else.

They punished incorrect decisions by imposing monetary penalties. At the same time, they measured the participants' brain activity in response to different amounts of monetary punishment. Brain activity was recorded, non-invasively, using an EEG machine which detects and amplifies brain signals from the surface of the scalp through a set of small electrodes embedded in a swim-like cap fitted on the participants' head.

They found that participants' performance increased systematically as the amount of punishment increased, suggesting that punishment acts as a performance enhancer in a similar way to monetary reward.

At the neural level, the academics identified multiple and distinct brain activations induced by punishment and distributed throughout different areas of the brain. Crucially, the timing of these activations confirmed that the punishment does not influence the way in which the brain processes the sensory evidence but does have an impact on the brain's decision maker responsible for decoding sensory information at a later stage in the decision-making process.

Incentive-based motivation

Finally, they showed that those participants who showed the greatest improvements in performance also showed the biggest changes in brain activity. This is a key finding as it provides a potential route to study differences between individuals and their personality traits in order to characterise why some may respond better to reward and punishment than others.

A more thorough understanding of the influence of punishment on decision-making and how we make choices could lead to useful information on how to use incentive-based motivation to encourage certain behaviour.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our autism section for the latest news on this subject. The paper, Temporal Characteristics of the Influence of Punishment on Perceptual Decision Making in the Human Brain, is available online via the Journal of Neuroscience.
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Possible Link Between Childhood Obesity And ADHD, Learning Disabilities

2013-06-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

Main Category: ADHD
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience; Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 22 Feb 2013 - 0:00 PST Current ratings for:
Possible Link Between Childhood Obesity And ADHD, Learning Disabilities

A University of Illinois study has established a possible link between high-fat diets and such childhood brain-based conditions as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and memory-dependent learning disabilities.

"We found that a high-fat diet rapidly affected dopamine metabolism in the brains of juvenile mice, triggering anxious behaviors and learning deficiencies. Interestingly, when methylphenidate (Ritalin) was administered, the learning and memory problems went away," said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I College of Medicine and a member of the university's Division of Nutritional Sciences.

The research was published in Psychoneuroendocrinology and is available pre-publication online.*

Freund said that altered dopamine signaling in the brain is common to both ADHD and the overweight or obese state. "And an increase in the number of dopamine metabolites is associated with anxiety behaviors in children," he added.

Intrigued by the recent upsurge in both child obesity and adverse childhood psychological conditions, including impulsivity, depression, and ADHD, Freund's team examined the short-term effects of a high-fat (60% calories from fat) versus a low-fat (10% calories from fat) diet on the behavior of two groups of four-week-old mice. A typical Western diet contains from 35 to 45 percent fat, he said.

"After only one week of the high-fat diet, even before we were able to see any weight gain, the behavior of the mice in the first group began to change," he said.

Evidence of anxiety included increased burrowing and wheel running as well a reluctance to explore open spaces. The mice also developed learning and memory deficits, including decreased ability to negotiate a maze and impaired object recognition.

Switching mice from a high-fat to a low-fat diet restored memory in one week, he noted.

In mice that continued on the high-fat diet, impaired object recognition remained three weeks after the onset of symptoms. But Freund knows from other studies that brain biochemistry normalizes after 10 weeks as the body appears to compensate for the diet. At that point, brain dopamine has returned to normal, and mice have become obese and developed diabetes.

"Although the mice grow out of these anxious behaviors and learning deficiencies, the study suggests to me that a high-fat diet could trigger anxiety and memory disorders in a child who is genetically or environmentally susceptible to them," he said.

Because the animals adapt to the high-fat fare, the scientists also hypothesized that abruptly removing fat from the diet might negatively affect anxiety, learning, and memory.

The researchers had expected that the high-fat diet would stimulate inflammation, which is associated with obesity, but they saw no evidence of an inflammatory response in the brain after one or three weeks on the high-fat regimen.

Instead, they saw evidence that a high-fat diet initiates chemical responses that are similar to the ones seen in addiction, with dopamine, the chemical important to the addict's pleasurable experiences, increasing in the brain.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. * The research was published in Psychoneuroendocrinology and is available pre-publication online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.01.004.
Co-authors of Methylphenidate prevents high-fat diet (HFD)-induced learning/memory impairment in juvenile mice are Melissa M. Kaczmarczyk, Agnieszka S. Machaj, Gabriel S. Chiu, Marcus A. Lawson, Stephen J. Gainey, Jason M. York, Daryl D. Meling, Stephen A. Martin, Kristen A. Kwakwa, Andrew F. Newman, Jeffrey A. Woods, Keith W. Kelley, Yanyan Wang, Michael J. Miller, and Gregory G. Freund, all of the U of I.
Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health and a Kraft Human Nutrition Endowed Fellowship.
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posted by Brenda on 26 Feb 2013 at 6:20 am

Must be a lot of fat ADHD kids out there. Truth is my son and daughter who are both extreme ADHD are very slim and not after medication, before. In fact they've always been slim. I am extreme ADHD and do not nor have ever had a high fat diet. All my children have either ADD or ADHD. My grandchildren, three out of five are extreme ADHD. I can see it in the two young ones including my oldest who was tested and found to be ADHD. My whole family is very creative. My one son who is 16 is self taught computer builder. My other son is an inventor. Our brains are wired to take in everything at once and see beyond what is seen thus our creative vision. To link ADHD to a fatty diet is absurd. It is hereditary.

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Breastfeeding May Help Prevent ADHD In Children

2013-06-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: ADHD
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 16 May 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Breastfeeding May Help Prevent ADHD In Children

Breastfeeding may help prevent children from developing ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) later in life, according to a new study.

The research was conducted by a team of Israeli researchers and published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.

The scientists, led by Aviva Mimouni-Bloch, MD, of the Tel-Aviv University (TAU) Sackler Faculty of Medicine, wanted to determine whether the development of ADHD might be linked to a shorter duration of breastfeeding.

They compared breastfeeding history and other factors in children between the ages of 6 and 12 who were diagnosed with ADHD at Schneider's Children Medical Center in Israel with data from two control groups of kids of the same age without the disorder.

One of the control groups consisted of healthy children whose brother or sister had ADHD - this group was considered as having a similar genetic background and environment as the research group.

The other group was made up of kids who were consulted at the clinic and were not suspected of having the neurological disorder.

The mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire which sought information about their educational, psychosocial, medical status, pregnancy and perinatal details.

The researchers looked at whether the mother breastfed exclusively, whether she breastfed and gave formula, or whether she only gave formula when the child was 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year old.

Kids who had ADHD were less likely to have been breastfed at 3 and 6 months of age than the children without the disorder, according to the results.

Only 43% of ADHD kids were breastfed at three months of age and just 29% were breastfed when they were 6 months old, the researchers explained.

Results showed that 69% of the siblings group and 73% of the other control group were breastfed when they were 3 months old, and at six months of age, 50% of the siblings group and 57% of the other group were breastfed.

Ruth Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, said:

"Breastfeeding has been shown to have a positive impact on child development, good health, and protection against illness. Now, another possible benefit of breastfeeding for three months and especially six months or longer has been identified. This study opens another avenue of investigation in the prevention of ADHD."

The authors concluded:

"Whether the lesser exposure to breastfeeding in ADHD children is causally associated with ADHD or, on the contrary, a consequence of early abnormalities of feeding behavior at the breast cannot be determined from the current study.
We speculate that prevention, at least partial, of ADHD may be added to the list of the multiple biological advantages of human milk feeding."

A previous study found that ADHD often continues into adulthood, and kids with the disorder are also more likely to have other psychiatric conditions later in life.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. Breastfeeding May Protect from Developing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Aviva Mimouni-Bloch, Anna Kachevanskaya, Francis Benjamin Mimouni, Avinoam Shuper, Eyal Raveh, and Nehama Linder
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posted by Harold Rongey, Ph.D. on 17 May 2013 at 3:05 pm

A simple review of the USDA Nutrient Database to compare breast milk to alternate sources shows breasst milk to be the best with cow's milk 2nd best. When comparing the breast milk to healthy brain tissue one finds that several amino acids, tryptophan, lysine, methionine, cystine, tyrosine, and serine are likely to be low as well as the vitamin choline, and others. There will be an overall much better balance of all needed nutrients if solid foods are begun at three to four months of age with one or two egg yolks. This was the recommended practice for more than 35 years from 1946 throug 1974 or later---before problems of autism and ADHD became so common. (see Dr. Bennjamin Spock, "Baby and Child Care.") This data comparison confirms the need to supplement breast feeding and especially alternate milk sources for proper brain development.

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Do Not Prescribe ADHD Drugs To Mentally Healthy Children, Doctors Told

2013-06-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; ADHD
Article Date: 14 Mar 2013 - 11:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Do Not Prescribe ADHD Drugs To Mentally Healthy Children, Doctors Told

Is wrong for doctors to prescribe attention-boosting drugs for mentally healthy kids who misuse them as a means of achieving better grades at school, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) announced in a public statement.

It is a doctor's duty to promote a child's 'authentic' development. Children need protection from coercion from peers or parents, the AAN added.

Teens often use these "study drugs" (ADHD medications) when they don't actually meet the criteria for the disorders the medications are supposedly prescribed for.

Recently there has been a growing trend of parents asking doctors to prescribe ADHD medications for their mentally-healthy kids so they can achieve better results in their exams. The drugs work by improving cognitive functioning among those with disorders that can severely impair a person's ability to concentrate, learn and function properly.

Over the past few years, the AAN has been analyzing all the research available concerning the real extent of children - who don't need to use them - taking study drugs.

William Graf, MD, of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said:

"Doctors caring for children and teens have a professional obligation to always protect the best interests of the child, to protect vulnerable populations, and prevent the misuse of medication. The practice of prescribing these drugs, called neuroenhancements, for healthy students is not justifiable."

The statement is backed by research that highlights the ethical and legal reasons why prescribing mind-enhancing drugs (such as ADHD drugs) for people who don't need them is 'misguided'.

Don't prescribe drugs for treating ADHD to mentally healthy children, doctors told

Many people believe that the huge increase in ADHD drug prescriptions has led to more recreational use of such medications, which in turn results in more hospital emergency department visits. A study carried out by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) reported that the number of emergency department visits involving ADHD medications increased from 13,379 in 2005 to 31,244 in 2010 (a rise of more than 100%).

It is important to note that there is a difference when considering children and adolescents, as opposed to independent adults who make decisions for themselves. A child's parent(s) or guardian is usually the decision-maker on such matters.

Some of the reasons why it is wrong to prescribe neuroenhancement drugs among children who do not need them include:

Graf concluded:

"The physician should talk to the child about the request, as it may reflect other medical, social or psychological motivations such as anxiety, depression or insomnia. There are alternatives to neuroenhancements available, including maintaining good sleep, nutrition, study habits and exercise regimens."

Abuse of prescription stimulants is an ever-growing problem in the United States. The number of college students who illicitly use drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin is alarmingly high.

Close to 12 percent of children have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the USA. A previous study, "Adolescent Prescription ADHD Medication Abuse is Rising Along With Prescriptions for These Medications," found that abuse of ADHD medications is on the rise, and stresses the importance for pediatricians to understand that when more ADHD prescriptions are written, there is also more abuse.

Written by Joseph Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our psychology / psychiatry section for the latest news on this subject. "Pediatric neuroenhancement - Ethical, legal, social, and neurodevelopmental implications"

William D. Graf, MD, Saskia K. Nagel, PhD, Leon G. Epstein, MD, Geoffrey Miller, MD, Ruth Nass, MD and Dan Larriviere, MD, JD

Neurology

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posted by James Javorsky, Ph.D. on 15 Mar 2013 at 12:32 am

In my professional interactions with child/adult psychiatrists, the ones, which should be diagnosing and treating (with Developmental Pediatricians) and not your garden variety pediatrician. I was working as a director of educational services at a child/adolescent psychiatric hospital. Because we were also a training hospital, I was slotted to spend 30 mins total to address - cognitive impairments, learning/language disabilities, social skill deficits, Math and writing disorders, etc. You get the picture. I have also seen attempts by parents to 'buy' a diagnosis of ADHD in our out-patient clinic by bullying the staff. In the end the more a parent badger physician who is psychiatric disorders are not their field; the more likely kids who are healthy will be medicated. Just like the teachers giving in the parent to change a grade or to place a child in special education who does not meet criteria; we are a service community need to stand up and start supporting one-another and make the right referrals and swallow one's ego that he/she does not know all. For my latest ailment, I would receive subpar care for my kidney stone if i went to a ENT doctor or Dermatologist. Let common sense ring throughout the our professional communities
James Javorsky, Ph.D.
Diagnosis and Intervention for Youth with severe emotional and mental disorders.

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In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder

2013-06-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry; ADHD; Mental Health
Article Date: 19 May 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder

Nearly 20% of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number has been increasing for over a decade, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report covered the topic of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17 for the first time. The investigators found that childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five children and cost close to $247 billion per year in medical expenses, juvenile justice, and special education.

An earlier report from 2009 reported that the costs of treating mental illness reached $8.9 billion in 2006, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Childhood mental disorders are defined as serious changes in the ways children handle their emotions, learn, or behave. Symptoms generally begin in early childhood, but some may develop during adolescence.

Often diagnoses are made during school years or even earlier. Earlier research has suggested that children with mental disorders were three times more likely to be identified as bullies

Mental health is critical to overall health. Mental disorders are conditions that can last throughout an entire life. Without treatment and early diagnosis these conditions can lead to problems at school, home, and in developing friendships.

The current report was developed in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It outlines federal causes on monitoring mental disorders and provides estimates on the number of children with certain mental disorders.

The researchers examined data from several sources covering the period 2005-2011. The report also suggests a few indicators of mental health such as unhealthy days and suicide.

The report revealed that ADHD was the most prevalent current diagnosis among children aged 3 to 17 years. The number of kids with a mental disorder rose with age, except autism spectrum disorders - which were highest among 6 to 11 year old children.

Males were more likely than females to have ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, Tourette syndrome, cigarette dependence, behavioral or conduct problems, and anxiety. Boys aged 12 to 17 years were at a greater risk of dying by suicide than girls. Girls were more likely than boys to have depression or an alcohol misuse disorder.

Children ranging in age from 3 to 17 years had: ADHD (6.8%)Conduct or Behavioral Problems (3.5%)Anxiety (3.0%)Depression (2.1%)Autism spectrum disorders (1.1%)Tourette syndrome (0.2% among children 6-17 years old)Adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had: Illicit drug use disorder in the last year (4.7%)Alcohol use disorder in the last year (4.2%)Cigarette dependence in the last month (2.8%)These findings suggest that mental health is a significant component of public health. The goal now is to develop improved methods on how to document children who have mental disorders, better understand these disorders, and implement and recommend treatment and intervention strategies.

Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
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posted by Anna on 21 May 2013 at 10:15 am

I think what the article means is not 'In US, 20% of children have mental disorder', but instead, 'we have invented mental disorders with thresholds that implicate 20% of US children'. That is not to say that mental disorder is medically fabricated in totality, but it seems that biomedical opinions of mental health are given undue authority to label children (and adults) with mental conditions.

Surely it is evident that social impacts have a much greater influence in the development of what is considered a 'mental illness' as there is no convincing evidence of a biological cause for mental health problems. In regards to this, there remain pertinent questions as to medical approaches of labelling patients, particularly children and adolescents.

In this sense, the report is truly astounding. How can 'cigarette dependence' and 'alcohol use disorder' be considered a mental disorder?! The threshold for those perceived as 'mentally ill' has been lowered so considerably that we can surely all be considered mentally unstable.

This article should not considered credible, instead I'd suggest it to be considered as farcical.

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posted by td helder on 19 May 2013 at 1:45 pm

This report is full of crap. What most of these kids suffer from is a complete lack of parents who know/care what their doing. They sit there telling their little hellion to stop, and when the brat ignores them they say "Oh it's not my parenting, he has (insert problem here)"

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posted by John on 19 May 2013 at 7:00 am

'In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder' - and we're working overtime to invent conditions (and persuade others to vote them into being diseases!). Our goal is 120% with a disorder. Oh, sorry, that should be 100%. You know how precise us soft science people are.

Question: if you can vote a "condition" into being a disease, why can't you vote a disease into just being a (non-lethal) condition? For instance; heart failure, diabetes, gun shots wounds, old age.

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Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware

2013-06-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; ADHD
Article Date: 22 May 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware

Many teens across the country are using "study drugs" to give them an academic advantage and help them achieve better results in school.

The University of Michigan Mitt Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which was carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that only one percent of parents of teens between the age of 13 to 17 believe their children are using prescription stimulants or amphetamines.

However, national data from Monitoring the Future revealed that an overwhelming 10% of high school sophomores and 12% of high school seniors take these attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs without a prescription from their doctor.

It is important that children who are mentally healthy avoid taking attention-boosting drugs. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) announced in a public statement that it is wrong for doctors to prescribe ADHD drugs for mentally healthy kids who misuse them as a means of achieving better grades at school.

A study carried out by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) reported that the number of emergency department visits involving ADHD medications increased from 13,379 in 2005 to 31,244 in 2010 (a rise of more than 100%).

Study drugs include all medications that are prescribed to treat ADHD, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, and Vyvanse.

?? Students take ADHD medications without a prescription (either by taking someone else's medication or buying it illegally) to improve cognitive performance and achieve better results in their exams.

?? Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health said that it is imperative that people understand that study drugs have not been proven to improve students' grades and can be very dangerous to their health if abused.

??Davis said: "Taking these medications when they are not prescribed for you can lead to acute exhaustion, abnormal heart rhythms and even confusion and psychosis if the teens get addicted and go into withdrawal."

He added:

"What we found in this poll is a clear mismatch between what parents believe and what their kids are reporting. But even though parents may not be recognizing these behaviors in their own kids, this poll also showed that one-half of the parents say they are very concerned about this abuse in their communities."

The most concerned parents were white (54% were "very concerned") followed by black and Hispanic parents.

Although many parents expressed concern, only 27% of them had talked to their children about improper using prescription drugs such as Adderall.

??Davis added: "If we are going to make a dent in this problem, and truly reduce the abuse of these drugs, we need parents, educators, health care professionals and all who interact with teens to be more proactive about discussing the issue." ?

One third of parents supported school policies that focused on stopping the abuse of study drugs in school. 76% of parents said that schools should educate children about the dangers associated with abusing study drugs.

79% said they would support a policy that made students with a prescription for ADHD medications keep their medicines somewhere secure where other students can't have access to them.

One in ten teens using "study drugs," but parents aren't paying attention

?Davis concluded: "We know teens may be sharing drugs or spreading the word that these medications can give their grades a boost. But the bottom line is that these prescription medications are drugs, and teens who use them without a prescription are taking a serious risk with their health."

The long term health effects of taking ADHD drugs could result in health risks that aren't yet fully understood. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (June 2009 issue) revealed that stimulant drugs for ADHD treatment may increase the risk of sudden death in healthy children.

Written by Joseph Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our psychology / psychiatry section for the latest news on this subject. "The University of Michigan Mitt Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health"
Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, Sarah J. Clark, MPH, Dianne C. Singer, MPH, Gebremariam, MS, Regina Royan, MPH, Anna Daly Kauffman, BA
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posted by immediate care justice il on 22 May 2013 at 1:59 pm

It seems like there is always something new to worry about. While many parents talk to their kids about known party drugs, study drug usage is not well known or discussed. Michael Jackson's death created a lot of awareness about prescription drug abuse. Increased concentration isn't something that gets most parents worried enough to suspect something. It will take serious problems and media attention to raise awareness and get parents to start talking to their kids about this.

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Substance Abuse Rates Higher In Teenagers With ADHD: Large Study

2013-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: ADHD; Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 Feb 2013 - 1:00 PST Current ratings for:
Substance Abuse Rates Higher In Teenagers With ADHD: Large Study

A new study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry revealed a significantly higher prevalence of substance abuse and cigarette use by adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) histories than in those without ADHD. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC as well as six other health centers across the United States also found that, contrary to previous findings, current medications for ADHD do not counter the risk for substance abuse and substance use disorder (SUD) among teenagers.

This study is the first to examine teenage substance abuse and treatment for ADHD in a large multi-site sample. It also is the first to recognize that increased use of cigarettes in teenagers with ADHD histories commonly occurs with use of other substances such as alcohol and marijuana.

"This study underscores the significance of the substance abuse risk for both boys and girls with childhood ADHD," said Brooke Molina, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and lead author of the report. "These findings also are the strongest test to date of the association between medication for ADHD and teenage substance abuse."

Researchers studied nearly 600 children over an eight-year period from childhood through adolescence to test the hypothesis that children with ADHD have increased risk of substance use and abuse or dependence in adolescence. Molina and colleagues also examined substance abuse patterns, the effects of ADHD medications over time, and the relationship between medication and substance use.

The findings showed: When the adolescents were an average of 15 years old, 35 percent of those with ADHD histories reported using one or more substances, as compared to only 20 percent of teens without ADHD histories. Ten percent of the ADHD group met criteria for a substance abuse or dependence disorder, which means they experienced significant problems from their substance use, as compared to only 3 percent of the non-ADHD group. When the adolescents were an average of 17 years old, marijuana was particularly problematic with 13 percent versus 7 percent of the ADHD and non-ADHD groups, respectively, having marijuana abuse or dependence. Daily cigarette smoking was very high at 17 percent of the ADHD group, a significantly higher rate than national estimates for this age. The smoking rate of non-ADHD teens was only 8 percent. Alcohol use was high in both groups, highlighting its common occurrence for teenagers in general. Substance abuse rates were not different for children who were still being treated with ADHD medication compared to children who were not. The authors noted the important finding that substance abuse rates were the same in teenagers still taking medication and in those no longer on medication, even after considering multiple factors that might cause teenage medication use. They noted that these results suggest a need to identify alternative approaches to substance abuse prevention and treatment for boys and girls with ADHD.

"We are working hard to understand the reasons why children with ADHD have increased risk of drug abuse. Our hypotheses, partly supported by our research and that of others, is that impulsive decision making, poor school performance, and difficulty making healthy friendships all contribute," added Molina.

"Some of this is biologically driven because we know that ADHD runs in families. However, similar to managing high blood pressure or obesity, there are non-medical things we can do to decrease the risk of a bad outcome. As researchers and practitioners, we need to do a better job of helping parents and schools address these risk factors that are so common for children with ADHD."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our alcohol / addiction / illegal drugs section for the latest news on this subject. Collaborators on this study include Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley; Eugene Arnold, M.D., of Ohio State University; James M. Swanson, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine; William E. Pelham, Ph.D., Florida International University; Lily Hechtman, M.D., of McGill University; and others.
This research was supported by cooperative agreement grants and contracts from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Elvanse® (Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate) Receives UK Marketing Authorisation - New Option For The Treatment Of ADHD In Children And Adolescents

2013-06-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Main Category: ADHD
Article Date: 13 Feb 2013 - 5:00 PST Current ratings for:
Elvanse® (Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate) Receives UK Marketing Authorisation - New Option For The Treatment Of ADHD In Children And Adolescents

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) have announced that its single-daily dose long-acting prodrug stimulant, Elvanse, has been authorised by the MHRA for the treatment of ADHD in children aged 6 years and over when response to previous methylphenidate treatment is considered clinically inadequate.2

Elvanse is the first stimulant prodrug to be launched in Europe for the treatment of ADHD. It is ingested in an inactive form and subsequently activated within the body, meaning that the active part of Elvanse is gradually released over time.3 Elvanse provides a long duration of effect to help patients achieve control of their ADHD symptoms.2

ADHD is one of the most common behavioural psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, and is recognised by the World Health Organisation,4,5,6,7 yet treatment options to help manage the symptoms of ADHD remain limited in Europe. In the UK ADHD is thought to affect 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls aged between five and 15 years old.1

"Every person with ADHD is different and will vary in his or her response to the available treatments. A new treatment is welcomed as it will provide a broader range of options to help people with ADHD manage their individual needs effectively," said Dr Val Harpin, Consultant Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

Commenting on the authorisation, Dr David Williams, Medical Director at Shire UK said, "We are delighted that Elvanse is now licensed for use in children and adolescents with ADHD in the UK. Shire is committed to improving the understanding and treatment of ADHD and to ensuring that patients diagnosed with ADHD continue to benefit from these advances."

ADHD is a complex disorder and every patient has specific needs.8 While there is no cure for ADHD, treatment generally includes educational approaches, behavioural or other psychotherapies, and medication (depending on patient age and ADHD severity), or a combination of all of these.8

Treatments such as Elvanse are believed to work by enhancing the availability of two neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain), noradrenaline and dopamine, helping to correct a presumed chemical imbalance and reduce symptoms such as inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.2,9

Elvanse was accepted for review by the MHRA in January 2012, with the application based on two European Phase 3 safety and efficacy studies in children and adolescents with ADHD and further supported by clinical data from the USA.10,11,12,13,14,15 Elvanse has been available in the USA since 2007, Canada since 2010 (brand name Vyvanse®) and in Brazil since 2011 (brand name Venvanse®), where it has been used to treat over four million patients.16

Elvanse has been reviewed via the European Decentralised Procedure, in which the UK MHRA has acted as the Reference Member State. Elvanse is expected to be available in the UK in the first half of 2013. Product labelling has been agreed by the UK and the other seven countries participating in the procedure (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain and Sweden) who will issue their own local Marketing Authorisations.

About the data2

As described in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), the effects of Elvanse in the treatment of ADHD have been demonstrated in international controlled trials (including European patients) in children and adolescents (6 to 17 years).

Study 3252

As described in the SmPC, 336 patients aged 6-17 years were evaluated in the pivotal Phase 3 European Study SPD489-325. In this seven-week randomised double-blind, dose- titrated, placebo- and active-controlled study, Elvanse showed significantly greater efficacy than placebo. The placebo-adjusted mean reduction from baseline at endpoint in patients treated with Elvanse on the ADHD-RS-IV Total Score was 18.6 (p<0.001). In addition to a reduction in symptoms, clinical studies have demonstrated that Elvanse significantly improves functional outcomes, 75% of subjects on Elvanse showed Improvement (defined as "very much improved" or "much improved") on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) rating scale compared to 14.2% on placebo (p<0.001). Elvanse showed significant improvement in child achievement in academic performance, as measured by the Health Related Quality of life instrument, Parent Report Form of the Child Health and Illness Profile- Child Edition (CHIP-CE:PRF) Achievement Domain. Elvanse demonstrated a significant improvement from baseline compared to placebo (Elvanse: 9.4 versus Placebo: -1.1) with a mean difference between the two treatment groups of 10.5 (p<0.001).

Results of this study have recently been published in European Neuropsychopharmacology. Study 3262

Maintenance of effect was demonstrated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised withdrawal study conducted in children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 (n=157) who met the diagnosis of ADHD (DSM-IV criteria). Patients were optimised to open-label Elvanse for an extended period (at least 26 weeks) prior to entry into the 6-week randomised withdrawal period. Eligible patients were randomised to continue receiving their optimised dose of Elvanse or to switch to placebo. Patients were observed for relapse (treatment failure) during the 6-week double-blind phase. Treatment failure was defined as a =50% increase (worsening) in the ADHD-RS Total Score and a =2-point increase in the CGI-S score compared to scores at entry into the double-blind randomised withdrawal phase. Treatment failure was significantly lower (p<0.001) for the Elvanse subjects (15.8%) compared to placebo (67.5%). For the majority of subjects (70.3%) who were treatment failures regardless of treatment, ADHD symptoms worsened at or before the week 2 visit following randomisation.

Results from this study were presented on 13th October 2012 at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) congress in Vienna. Details of all clinical trials can be found at http://clinicaltrials.gov/.

Indication and Important Safety Information2

Elvanse is indicated as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for ADHD in children aged 6 years of age and over when response to previous methylphenidate treatment is considered clinically inadequate.

Elvanse is not indicated in all children with ADHD and the decision to use the drug must be based on a very thorough assessment of the severity and chronicity of the child's symptoms in relation to the child's age and potential for abuse, misuse or diversion.

Please consult the Elvanse SmPC before prescribing, particularly in relation to abuse and dependence, pre-treatment evaluation and ongoing monitoring, cardiovascular adverse events, psychiatric adverse events, tics, long-term suppression of growth (height and weight), seizures, visual disturbance, prescribing and dispensing, and use with other sympathomimetic drugs.

Adverse reactions observed with Elvanse treatment mainly reflect side effects commonly associated with stimulant use. Very common adverse reactions include decreased appetite, insomnia, dry mouth, headache, decreased weight and upper abdominal pain.

Misuse and abuse2

Stimulants including Elvanse have a potential for abuse, misuse, dependence or diversion for non-therapeutic uses that physicians should consider when prescribing this product. Stimulants should be prescribed cautiously to patients with a history of substance abuse or dependence.

About ADHD

ADHD is one of the most common behavioural psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents and is recognised by the World Health Organisation.4,5,6,7 In the UK, ADHD is thought to affect around 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls.1

While the exact causes of ADHD are not fully understood, it is thought to result from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors, with studies estimating that genetic factors explain 60 - 75% of the aetiology of ADHD.17,18

Environmental factors which may increase the risk of developing ADHD include low birth weight/prematurity, and maternal smoking during pregnancy.17

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. 1. Ford, T., Goodman, R. & Meltzer, H. (2003) The British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey 1999: the prevalence of DSM-IV disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 42 , 1203–1211.

2. Elvanse, UK Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) 2013.

3. Pennick M, Absorption Of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate And Its Enzymatic Conversion To D- Amphetamine. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2010;6:317-327.

4. Pliszka S and the AACAP Work Group on Quality Issues. Practice Parameter For The Assessment And Treatment Of Children And Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2007;46(7):894-921.

5. Bloom B, Cohen RA, Freeman G. Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2010. Vital Health Stat 10. 2011;(250):1-80.

6. McCarthy S, Wilton L, Murray ML, et al. The epidemiology of pharmacologically treated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents and adults in UK primary care. BMC Pediatr. 2012;12:78.

7. International Classification of Diseases, 10th ed., (ICD-10). World Health Organization 2007:Chapter 5,F90. Accessed August 2012 at: http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en#/F90-F98.

8. NICE guideline on diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults, National Clinical Practice Guideline Number 72 2009; 1 – 664.

9. Faraone S, Buitelaar J, Comparing the efficacy of stimulants for ADHD in children and adolescents using meta-analysis Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2009; 19(4):353-64.

10. Coghill D, Banaschewski T, Lecendreaux M et al. European, randomized, phase 3 study of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. European Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; Online publication: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2012.11.012.

11. Coghill D, Banaschewski T, Lecendreux M et al. Efficacy And Safety Of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate In Children And Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Parallel-Group, Placebo- And Active Controlled, Dose-Optimized Study In Europe. Joint Annual Meeting Of The American Academy Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) And The Canadian Academy Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatry, 2011.

12. Biederman J et al. Efficacy and tolerability of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (NRP-104) in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, forced-dose, parallel-group study. Clin Ther 2007;29:450-463.

13. Childress AC et al. Long-Term Safety and Effectiveness of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate in Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Poster presented at the 164th Annual Meeting of the APA, 14-18 May 2011, Honolulu, Hawaii.

14. Findling R, Childress A, Krishnan S et al. Long-Term Effectiveness And Safety Of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate In School-Aged Children With Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder. CNS Spectr 2008;13(7):614-20.

15. Findling R, Childress A, Cutler A et al. Efficacy And Safety Of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate In Adolescents With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2011;50(4):395-405.

16. Shire Data on File SPD489-016.

17. Cortese, S. The neurobiology of genetics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): What every clinician should know. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2012; 16)5):422-33.

18. Faraone S, Perlis R, Doyle A et al. Molecular Genetics Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2005; 57:1313-1323.

Shire

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Study Shows How We Refocus To Track Down A Person, Animal Or Thing

2013-06-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: ADHD
Article Date: 23 Apr 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Study Shows How We Refocus To Track Down A Person, Animal Or Thing

A contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.

That means that if we're looking for a youngster lost in a crowd, the brain areas usually dedicated to recognizing other objects, or even the areas attuned to abstract thought, shift their focus and join the search party. Thus, the brain rapidly switches into a highly focused child-finder, and redirects resources it uses for other mental tasks.

"Our results show that our brains are much more dynamic than previously thought, rapidly reallocating resources based on behavioral demands, and optimizing our performance by increasing the precision with which we can perform relevant tasks," said Tolga Cukur, a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at UC Berkeley and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

"As you plan your day at work, for example, more of the brain is devoted to processing time, tasks, goals and rewards, and as you search for your cat, more of the brain becomes involved in recognition of animals," he added.

The findings help explain why we find it difficult to concentrate on more than one task at a time. The results also shed light on how people are able to shift their attention to challenging tasks, and may provide greater insight into neurobehavioral and attention deficit disorders such as ADHD.

These results were obtained in studies that used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to record the brain activity of study participants as they searched for people or vehicles in movie clips. In one experiment, participants held down a button whenever a person appeared in the movie. In another, they did the same with vehicles.

The brain scans simultaneously measured neural activity via blood flow in thousands of locations across the brain. Researchers used regularized linear regression analysis, which finds correlations in data, to build models showing how each of the roughly 50,000 locations near the cortex responded to each of the 935 categories of objects and actions seen in the movie clips. Next, they compared how much of the cortex was devoted to detecting humans or vehicles depending on whether or not each of those categories was the search target.

They found that when participants searched for humans, relatively more of the cortex was devoted to humans, and when they searched for vehicles, more of the cortex was devoted to vehicles. For example, areas that were normally involved in recognizing specific visual categories such as plants or buildings switched to become tuned to humans or vehicles, vastly expanding the area of the brain engaged in the search.

"These changes occur across many brain regions, not only those devoted to vision. In fact, the largest changes are seen in the prefrontal cortex, which is usually thought to be involved in abstract thought, long-term planning and other complex mental tasks," Cukur said.

The findings build on an earlier UC Berkeley brain imaging study that showed how the brain organizes thousands of animate and inanimate objects into what researchers call a "continuous semantic space." Those findings challenged previous assumptions that every visual category is represented in a separate region of visual cortex. Instead, researchers found that categories are actually represented in highly organized, continuous maps.

The latest study goes further to show how the brain's semantic space is warped during visual search, depending on the search target.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our psychology / psychiatry section for the latest news on this subject. Researchers have posted their results in an interactive, online brain viewer. Other co-authors of the study are UC Berkeley neuroscientists Jack Gallant, Alexander Huth and Shinji Nishimoto.
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ADHD Incidence May Be Reduced In Breastfed Children

2013-06-04T04:13:00.000-07:00

Main Category: ADHD
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology; Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 16 May 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
ADHD Incidence May Be Reduced In Breastfed Children

Breastfeeding has a positive impact on the physical and mental development of infants. A new study suggests that breastfeeding may protect against the development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) later in childhood. The study is reported in Breastfeeding Medicine, the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Breastfeeding Medicine website.*

A team of Israeli researchers led by Aviva Mimouni-Bloch, MD compared breastfeeding history and other factors in a group of children 6-12 year of age diagnosed with ADHD to control groups of children who did not have ADHD. The results demonstrated that overall, the children with ADHD were less likely to have been breastfed at 3 and 6 months of age than the children without ADHD. This association between ADHD and lack of breastfeeding was statistically significant.

"Breastfeeding has been shown to have a positive impact on child development, good health, and protection against illness. Now, another possible benefit of breastfeeding for three months and especially six months or longer has been identified," says Ruth Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine. "This study opens another avenue of investigation in the prevention of ADHD."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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ADHD Often Continues Into Adulthood

2013-06-04T01:29:00.000-07:00

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: ADHD
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 04 Mar 2013 - 10:00 PST Current ratings for:
ADHD Often Continues Into Adulthood

ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) often continues into adulthood, and children with the disorder are also more likely to have other psychiatric conditions later in life, according to a new study.

The research was conducted by experts from Boston Children's Hospital and the Mayo Clinic, and was published in the journal Pediatrics.

Children with ADHD also have a higher probability of committing suicide and being put in prison as adults, according to the authors.

William Barbaresi, M.D., lead researcher from Boston Children's Hospital who started the report when he was at the Mayo Clinic, said:

"Only 37.5 percent of the children we contacted as adults were free of these really worrisome outcomes. That's a sobering statistic that speaks to the need to greatly improve the long-term treatment of children with ADHD and provide a mechanism for treating them as adults."

This is the first large, population-based study to follow kids with ADHD into adulthood, which is what makes it unique, explained Slavica Katusic, M.D., an epidemiologist and Mayo Clinic's lead investigator on the research.

ADHD is the most prevalent neuro-developmental disorder among children. Approximately 7% of all kids, and three times as many boys as girls, are affected by the disorder.

Most previous follow-up reports of ADHD have been small and centered on more serious cases, for example, boys taken to pediatric psychiatric treatment facilities, as opposed to a cross-section of both males and females with ADHD.

The current study followed all kids born in Rochester between 1976 and 1982 who were still living in the same place at age 5 and whose families permitted access to their medical records.

A total of 5,718 children were included in the investigation - 367 were diagnosed with ADHD. Of this group, 232 were involved in the follow-up report. An estimated 75% were treated for ADHD as kids.

Results showed that 29% of children with ADHD still had the disorder in adulthood.

Fifty-seven percent of kids with ADHD had at least one other psychiatric disorder as adults, versus 35% of those who did never had ADHD as a child.

The most common psychiatric disorders identified included:

Of the participants analyzed who still had ADHD in adulthood 81% had at least one other psychiatric disorder, versus 47% of those who were not affected by ADHD anymore, and 35% of those who did not have ADHD as a kid.

Seven of the 367 kids who had ADHD (1.9%) had died by the time the investigation started. Three of them had committed suicide.

Of the 4,946 boys and girls not affected by ADHD whose outcomes could be discovered, 37 died. Five of them committed suicide.

This suggests that mortality due to suicide was almost 5 times greater among childhood ADHD cases as opposed to the controls from the same age group, the authors said.

A report from 2010 indicated that kids with ADHD are more likely to develop depression and/or attempt suicide during their adolescent years, or 5 to 13 years after diagnosis.

Ten adults who had ADHD when they were young (2.7%) had been put in jail when the research began.

A prior study from 2012 demonstrated that people with ADHD have a significantly lower chance of engaging in criminal behavior when they are taking medication.

Dr. Barbaresi explained:

"We suffer from the misconception that ADHD is just an annoying childhood disorder that's overtreated. This couldn't be further from the truth. We need to have a chronic disease approach to ADHD as we do for diabetes. The system of care has to be designed for the long haul."

It is possible that the results of the study underestimate the negative consequences of childhood ADHD, according to Dr. Barbaresi. The majority of those analyzed where white and middle class, with good education and able to obtain health care.

"One can argue that this is potentially a best-case scenario," Dr. Barbaresi pointed out. "Outcomes could be worse in socioeconomically challenged populations."

He suggests that parents of kids with ADHD make sure that their children are receiving high-quality treatment and continue receiving treatment into their teenage years.

Children should be evaluated for learning disabilities and observed for conditions linked to ADHD, such as: depressionanxietysubstance useWritten by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. Mortality, ADHD, and Psychosocial Adversity in Adults With Childhood ADHD: A Prospective Study
William J. Barbaresi, Robert C. Colligan, Amy L. Weaver, Robert G. Voigt, Jill M. Killian, and Slavica K. Katusic
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posted by Dial on 8 Mar 2013 at 1:37 am

Yes, ADHD does continue into adulthood, just note the behavior of many of our famous and infamous people.

The best medicine is to do everything you can to enhance your child's self esteem, it worked for me.

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posted by Dr Billy on 5 Mar 2013 at 2:25 am

According to the article new research suggests ADHD may continue into adulthood. Interesting! I lectured on ADHD in adults in 1982 at a National Medical Practitioner's conference in Cape Town, South Africa, and was treating them with very good results before then. My concepts of right brain dominance and left brain immaturity as the basis for ADHD was agreed upon by U.C.L.A in 2009. My lecture was in 1982.

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Clinical Guidelines When Treating Preschoolers With ADHD Not Followed By 90 Percent Of Pediatric Specialists

2013-06-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

Main Category: ADHD
Article Date: 07 May 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Clinical Guidelines When Treating Preschoolers With ADHD Not Followed By 90 Percent Of Pediatric Specialists

A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined to what extent pediatric physicians adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guidelines regarding pharmacotherapy in treating young patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The results showed that more than 90 percent of medical specialists who diagnose and manage ADHD in preschoolers do not follow treatment guidelines recently published by the AAP.

"It is unclear why so many physicians who specialize in the management of ADHD -- child neurologists, psychiatrists and developmental pediatricians -- fail to comply with recently published treatment guidelines," said Andrew Adesman, MD, senior investigator and chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park. "With the AAP now extending its diagnosis and treatment guidelines down to preschoolers, it is likely that more young children will be diagnosed with ADHD even before entering kindergarten. Primary care physicians and pediatric specialists should recommend behavior therapy as the first line treatment."

Current clinical guidelines for pediatricians and child psychiatrists associated with the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) recommend that behavior therapy be the initial treatment approach for preschoolers with ADHD, and that treatment with medication should only be pursued when counseling in behavior management is not successful.

The study also found that more than one-in-five specialists who diagnose and manage ADHD in preschoolers recommend pharmacotherapy as a first-line treatment alone or in conjunction with behavior therapy. Although the AAP recommends that pediatricians prescribe methylphenidate when medication is indicated, more than one-third of specialists who prescribe medication for preschool ADHD said they 'often' or 'very often' choose a medication other than methylphenidate initially (19.4 percent amphetamines; 18.9 percent non-stimulants).

"Although the AAP's new ADHD guidelines were developed for primary care pediatricians, it is clear that many medical subspecialists who care for young children with ADHD fail to follow recently published guidelines," said Jaeah Chung, MD, the study's principal investigator who also practices at Cohen Children's. "At a time when there are public and professional concerns about over-medication of young children with ADHD, it seems that many medical specialists are recommending medication as part of their initial treatment plan for these children."

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Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. To view the abstract, "Medication Management of Preschool ADHD by Pediatric Sub-Specialists: Non-Compliance with AAP Clinical Guideline, go to http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS13L1_1365.5
This study was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies in Washington, D.C.
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posted by Harold Rongey, Ph.D. on 8 May 2013 at 2:47 pm

Apparently the 90 percent believe otherwise. As a first line of defense, I believe greater progress will be found by reviewing the person's diet to ensure adequacy. Those with autism have been shown to be low or lacking several nutrients including amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals as well as cholesterol.

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