Childhood treatments related to gastrointestinal problems

 children who are treated successfully for cancer are more at risk of developing severe mild gastrointestinal problems on the road, a new study concludes.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the self-reported gastrointestinal (GI) problems of 14,358 patients surviving at least five years after the treatment of cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, tumors of the brain or bone tumours.

More than 40 per cent have experienced some type of problem of IM - including ulcers, the disease of the esophagus, indigestion, polyps, chronic diarrhea, colitis, gallstones and jaundice - in two decades of their treatment, researchers have discovered.

In addition, people with cancer at a later age and who had to undergo a more rigorous treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery) were more likely to experience problems IM long term, according to the study of the may issue of Gastroenterology.

About one in 500 young adults in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer, the study authors noted in a press release UCSF.

"While doctors continue to learn more about pediatric cancer and its treatment long term consequences, it is essential that we provide care of comprehensive follow-up that adequately addresses the complications can meet the cancer survivors.""," study lead author Dr. Robert Goldsby, specialist of pediatric cancer hospital for children of Benioff UCSF and Director of the UCSF Cancer of childhood survivors program, said in the press release.

"These are serious issues that can have a real impact on the quality of life of the person," added Goldsby.

Childhood treatments related to gastrointestinal problems (HealthDay)

 children who are treated successfully for cancer are more at risk of developing severe mild gastrointestinal problems on the road, a new study concludes.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the self-reported gastrointestinal (GI) problems of 14,358 patients surviving at least five years after the treatment of cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, tumors of the brain or bone tumours.

More than 40 per cent have experienced some type of problem of IM - including ulcers, the disease of the esophagus, indigestion, polyps, chronic diarrhea, colitis, gallstones and jaundice - in two decades of their treatment, researchers have discovered.

In addition, people with cancer at a later age and who had to undergo a more rigorous treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery) were more likely to experience problems IM long term, according to the study of the may issue of Gastroenterology.

About one in 500 young adults in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer, the study authors noted in a press release UCSF.

"While doctors continue to learn more about pediatric cancer and its treatment long term consequences, it is essential that we provide care of comprehensive follow-up that adequately addresses the complications can meet the cancer survivors.""," study lead author Dr. Robert Goldsby, specialist of pediatric cancer hospital for children of Benioff UCSF and Director of the UCSF Cancer of childhood survivors program, said in the press release.

"These are serious issues that can have a real impact on the quality of life of the person," added Goldsby.

Children taking ADHD medications at low risk of heart problems

kids taking drugs for controlling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more at risk of heart problems that children taking ADHD Drugs, a new study concludes.

"ADHD drugs can increase heart rate and blood pressure, which could increase the risk of cardiovascular outcomes," said principal investigator Sean Hennessy, Assistant Professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of medicine in Philadelphia.

But this study, comparing the ADHD drug users non-users, found no difference in the frequency of deaths between groups or cardiac problems, Hennessy said.

The findings should reassure parents that drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall are not related to an increased risk of cardiovascular events, said Hennessy. However, the study cannot put to rest all fears, said an expert.

Dr. Steven Lipshultz, Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of medicine, does not believe that this study has settled the debate because it fails to take children into account problems of existing heart.

"This in no way said that, in children with underlying disease, drugs are safe or unsafe," he said.

Concerns that ADHD Drugs could increase the risk of heart problems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2007 headed for ADHD drug manufacturers to produce a guide to drugs that would alert physicians and parents and patients at risk.

Hennessy said there were a few anecdotal reports of death, heart attack and stroke in children taking ADHD medications. "However, given the millions of children with these drugs, it is not surprising that some events would be reported," he said.

In the new study, "there is no validated cases of heart attack or stroke in children with ADHD medication," he said. "There is that a handful of cases of sudden death in children with ADHD Drugs and risks were not statistically higher than in the group not to take these drugs."

In a secondary analysis, other researchers and he reported "statistically high" associations between principal diagnosis, sudden death and ventricular arrhythmias on medical applications and the use of Atomoxetine (Strattera) methylphenidate (Ritalin, other) and "any medicine ADHD" in children and adolescents who have distributed to users.

However, due to the low rate of subjects that have been correctly diagnosed on the main assessment, researchers wrote that these results seem to be "not reliable in this age group."

About 9.5% of the children of the U.S. have parent-reported ADHD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The neuro condition is characterized by inattention and hyperactivity which begins in childhood and often interferes with school, family life and social relations.

The report is published online on May 16 in Pediatrics.

The study, the Hennessy team used two databases to collect data on 241,417 children aged 3 to 17 years taking an amphetamine like Adderall, Strattera, or methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) for ADHD.

In 2007, almost 5% of children aged 4 to 17 years one of these drugs, prescribed the CDC reported.

The researchers compared the incidence of sudden cardiac death, abnormal heart rhythm and death of all other causes among children with these events in 965,668 children rates do step ADHD medication.

After each case has been validated with the assistance of outside experts and some decided to be classified incorrectly, the researchers found no statistical difference for one of these events, including stroke, between two groups of children. In addition, none of the children on ADHD drugs proved have suffered a heart attack, and no features were related to the ADHD drug exposure.

The study was funded by pharmaceutical giant Irish County, which makes add/ADHD medication Vyvanse, Adderall XR and others.

Commenting on the findings, Lipshultz said, "I believe that this industry-sponsored study has the potential to be misunderstood".

"This study is able to look carefully at the where are the main concerns", he added.

The study does not specifically separate these children with heart disease other Lipshultz said, adding that the greatest concern of the FDA has been with the use of these drugs in patients with underlying disease. In fact, drugs may be contraindicated for these children, he said.

These drugs are a great benefit for children with ADHD, said Lipshultz. "However, he y still safety concerns regarding the use of therapy increasing in children, especially children with health disorders, underlying" he said.

The authors themselves wrote that, because it is so little of cardiovascular events occurred in the study group, it was not possible to permanently exclude an association between drugs for ADHD and an increase in the rate of heart problems.

Medicare less Patients hospitalized for heart problems

over a decade, the number of Medicare patients hospitalized for heart problems dropped, accounting for a smaller slice of the rate of hospitalization for 10 years as non-heart related issues, indicates new research.

The conclusion follows the largest effort launched in the last ten years (1998-2008) to measure the Medicare hospitalization patterns. Last year, Medicare hospitalizations totalled approximately 13 million patients, say the authors of the study.

The research is expected to be presented Thursday at the American Heart Association quality of care and research results in cardiovascular disease and stroke meeting, in Washington, D.C.

"We find that common heart disease of Accountants for a smaller proportion of hospitalizations in the United States," study lead author Amit h. Sachdev, a medical student fourth year at New York University School of Medicine, said in a press release of heart association. "We believe that this may reflect an improvement in the efforts of prevention and medical care and the provision of health care in the United States the last decade."

Sachdev and his colleagues found that while six of the eight leading causes of hospital admission have been on a downward trajectory these past ten years, heart disease hospitalization rates have fallen more rapidly than those attributed to other causes.

Among the issues of heart health, they found this artery coronary hospitalizations of illness in Medicare patients dropped the most (32%), followed by those motivated by heart attacks (in approximately 22% decrease). Heart failure hospitalizations also fell by 17%, consult the report.

Conversely, hospitalizations due to an irregular heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmias) bucked the trend, going back more than 10%.

The researchers also found that a number of non-related heart issues fell as causes for hospitalization of health insurance, including pneumonia, fluid and electrolyte disorders and fractures of the hip.

Researchers have speculated that a targeted effort of Government to tackle diseases of the heart can explain the observed decline related hospitalizations.

"Heart disease is the leading cause of hospitalization for the United States, see you a lot of money from Government focused on cardiac conditions", said Sachdev.

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a refereed journal.

Breastfeeding can suppress behaviour problems

breastfed children are less likely to have behavioural problems at the age of 5 years than those who received formula, a new study reports.

The conclusion comes from analysis data on 10,037 mother-child pairs, taking part in a study of white infants to United Kingdom in 2000 to 2001, including 9.525 carried to term and 512 children born prematurely. Babies fed children born at term, 29 per cent were within less than four months, and 21% of premature children.

Parents completed a questionnaire designed to identify the various types of behavioral problems including driving (fly and extended), emotional (cope, anxiety) and hyperactivity.

Approximately 6% of children who have been breastfed and 16 per cent of fed children had abnormal results on the questionnaire, an indication of potential behavioural problems, according to the study of.

Researchers suggest that the content of breast milk could be a reason for the differences. Breast milk contains large amounts of certain fatty acids, important growth factors and hormones in development and function of the brain and central nervous system, an infant, they explained.

Also, they noted, the interaction between mother and child which is the promotion of breastfeeding may influence the behavior of the child.

"Our results show that longer duration of breastfeeding (exclusively or in whole) is associated with having fewer problems behaviour parent prorated among children of the term," Maria Quigley, of the national unit of the University of Oxford-perinatal epidemiology and his colleagues concluded.

The study was published online on May 9 in the Archives of disease in childhood.