Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts

Premature Infants May Be More Likely to Develop ADHD, Autism

Babies born prematurely showed brain patterns that might predict future developmental problems.

By Penny Williams

Science hasn’t isolated the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Genetics, pesticides, pollution, diet, and smoking or drinking during pregnancy have all been implicated. A new study at the Washington University Neonatal Development Research Lab indicates that babies born prematurely may be at particular risk.

Doctors studying babies born full-term and babies born 10 weeks or more premature have discovered some early signals in preemies who could have developmental or psychological disorders. Usually these disorders have no symptoms until the child is 3 to 5 years old.

The researchers studied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of 58 babies born full-term and 76 infants born 10 weeks or more premature. Each full-term baby was scanned within a couple days of birth while the premature infants were scanned within a few days of what would have been their full-term due date.

Read more about the study at Healthline

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/premature-infants-may-be-more-likely-to-develop-adhd-autism-103015
ADHD

ADHD: Psychiatric Epidemic or Hype?

By Dr. Marcel de Roos
For teachers the perfect class is a concentrated, quiet and obedient one. Nowadays, when children stand out by what used to be called naughty, rebellious and boisterous behavior, it is much easier than before for teachers to have these children drugged with for example Ritalin or Concerta (psycho-stimulant medications). For psychiatrists, jotting down abbreviations like ADHD, PDD-NOS and ODD and subsequently prescribing drugs has become routine.
Is there a psychiatric epidemic or is there something else going on? Leading American psychiatrists (for example Dr. Allen Frances) think that ADHD (supposedly an attention and hyperactivity disorder) is severely over-diagnosed; it’s a false epidemic. Before 2000, only very serious cases were labeled with this diagnosis and only people who really needed it, were allowed to receive medication. As a consequence of the less stringent definition after 2000, the diagnosis of ADHD has increased spectacularly. Everybody now knows somebody with ADHD.
Another reason might be that qualities that used to be attributed typically to boys such as an urge for noisiness, action and forcefulness were formerly accepted, but are now regarded as a problem, especially at schools. It appears that not the boys, but the educators have changed. Boys are in essence the same as before, but the school system has become more feminine and looks upon their abundance of physical energy and enthusiasm as being an issue.
For concentration problems without hyperactivity, a separate category was devised called ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Therefore, many girls and women were included into the diagnostic criteria. PDD-NOS (Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) was brought in as a kind of residual category for people who don’t quite fit into other more specific categories...
For the full story, head over to CCHR International.
http://www.cchrint.org/2015/07/03/adhd-psychiatric-epidemic-or-hype/
ADHD

These 5 Diseases Respond Better to Cannabis Than Prescription Drugs

The reason cannabis is so effective medicinally is directly related to its ability to interact with receptors in the body which inhibit inflammation and prevent disease. 

Cannabis does this so well, that few drugs can compete with its level of potency which come essentially with no side effects. These are just 5 diseases that are proven to respond better to cannabis than to drugs, however, there are many studies currently being conducted that may prove dozens more.

Many researchers have noted that there was "inadequate" data for decaded to determine whether smoked marijuana was safe or effective in treating symptoms of pain and preventing disese.



The primary reason for the s lack of data had to do with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, which was the only source of cannabis for research and they were blocking the most meaningful studies due to close ties with pharmaceutical companies.

This view was supported by Dr. David Bearman, the executive vice president for the Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine/Society of Cannabis Clinicians.  

"Part of the problem in the United States is that the NIDA has blocked almost all meaningful studies on cannabis," Bearman said.
Bearman argues that while synthetic cannabis pills do offer pain relief, marijuana is cheaper, has fewer side effects and can be more effective.

Now decades of propaganda is being reversed as scientists and the public are being exposed to the true potential of cannabis and its ability to both heal and prevent disease.

Excellent cannabis strains which treat various medical conditions include Charlotte's Web, Harlequin, Sour Tsunami and Cannatonic.

Noting cannabis' vastly superior side effect profile DEA Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, after a two-year hearing to reschedule cannabis in 1998 said:
"Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality... In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume... Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."
5 DISEASES PROVEN TO RESPOND BETTER TO CANNABIS THAN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

1. Cancer

Cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth and also kill cancer cells. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent (or cannabinoid) of the cannabis plant, targets cannabinoid receptors similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors.

Researchers have now found that cannabidiol has the ability to 'switch off' the gene responsible for metastasis in an aggressive form of cancer. Importantly, this substance does not produce the psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant.

A Spanish team, led by Dr Manuel Guzmon, wanted to see whether they could prevent a form of cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) from growing by cutting off its blood supply. 

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most difficult cancers to treat - it seldom responds to any medical intervention, especially conventional methods which poisoning and primatively destroy cells such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery.

Genes associated with blood vessel growth in tumors through the production of a chemical called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have their activity reduced when exposed to cannabinoids.

Cannabinoids halt VEGF production by producing Ceramide. Ceramide controls cell death.

Dr Manuel Guzmon tested a cannabinoid solution of patients had glioblastoma multiforme and had not responded to chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. The scientists took samples from them before and after treating them with a cannabinoids solution - this was administered directly into the tumor.

Amazingly, both patients experienced reduced VEGF levels in the tumor as a result of treatment with cannabinoids.

A study published in the July 2002 edition of the medical journal Blood, which found that THC and some other cannabinoids produced "programmed cell death" in different varieties of human leukemia and lymphoma cell lines, thereby destroying the cancerous cells but leaving other cells unharmed.

A study published in a 1975 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which showed that THC slowed the growth of lung cancer, breast cancer and virus-induced leukemia in rats.

Titled Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids, this study was funded by the US National Institute of Health, and performed by researchers at the Medical College of Virginia. Despite the promising results, no further research was made, and the study has essentially disappeared from the scientific literature.

A 1994 study, which documented that THC may protect against malignant cancers, and which was buried by the US government. The $2 million study, funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, sought to show that large doses of THC produced cancer in rats. 

Instead, researchers found that massive doses of THC had a positive effect, actually slowing the growth of stomach cancers. The rats given THC lived longer than their non-exposed counterparts.

he study was unpublished and the results hidden for almost three years, until it was finally leaked to the media in 1997. (CC#17, THC for tumors).

 Read the full article at Humans Are Free

 http://humansarefree.com/2014/05/these-5-diseases-respond-better-to.html
SPORK! Similar Picks:

> Top Five Marijuana Strains For PMS
ADHD

I THOUGHT BEING MISERABLE WAS JUST PART OF BEING CHINESE AMERICAN

By:  - May 15, 2014 
I was a funny person. I laughed a lot. I was just unhappy a lot of the time.
image
Doing the Wong show.
When I told my white friend about how my grandmother’s TV remote control is mummified in plastic wrap and that she’s superstitious about food passing through certain doors in the house, he asked, “Does she have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?”  
I laughed, “Haha! No way! She’s just Chinese!”
I’m a third generation Chinese American. In my 20s, I was tested for Attention Deficit Disorder. Some of the criteria indicating that I was a candidate for ADD made me immediately suspicious of how any mental illness is gauged and how culturally competent the test makers are.
Does crying for weeks on end that I didn’t get into UC Berkeley make me prone to depression or was I just a high school drama queen? Does being a disorganized overachiever constitute Attention Deficit Disorder or was I just somebody with a lot of goals? Does screaming at my guests to take their shoes off in my house mean I have OCD or that I’m just Chinese?  
I believed for many years, and even now, that the misery of my life was not a diagnosable medical disorder, but was just about being a Chinese American navigating life in the Western World whilst being held to unrealistically high expectations (bilingual concert pianist brain surgeon anyone?).  
image
I was never raised to be happy as much as I was raised to be successful. And that success usually came in specific quantifiable terms like having a well-paying job, a medical degree from a reputable school, or marrying a Chinese bilingual doctor husband.  It was inferred that once I had all those successes, I’d be secure in life, and that security was going to make me happy.       
I won’t lie. Getting good grades, winning trophies, and stacking a long list of accomplishments on my college application made me feel good because it meant I had avoided my parents’ idea of a failure. But most of the time, the road to the seemingly unattainable, chasing a dream that wasn't really mine, felt so totally miserable and pointless.
I also believed life was supposed to be miserable -- because hard work is miserable. Had my parents and immigrant grandparents not worked through their misery, I wouldn’t have the opportunities that I do today. Passing that legacy of misery onto your kids -- that guilt we carry is what makes us work harder. Bucking up and moving forward through that misery without complaining -- this is the Chinese way. Isn’t it?
 Read the full article at XOJane 
http://www.xojane.com/issues/i-thought-being-miserable-was-just-part-of-being-chinese-american
SPORK! Similar Picks:

> Mental Health in the African American Community
ADHD

Deathbed Confessions Are Highly overrated! - ADHD Confession


What’s in a translation? A lot apparently. There has been a rash of hoax “news” reports stating that the “Inventor” of ADHD confessed on his deathbed that it is made up. I don’t even know where to begin with this, unless maybe to say … No!

The great thing about stories like this is that they sound really good, don’t they? But I like to ask questions when I read things. Questions like “Where’s the interview?” “Who did the interview?” “Can I please read the actual interview?”

Anyone up for a read?

The answer to “Can I read the interview?” is no. Well, it’s not literally no. It turns out that the answer is “You can read the article that was written from the interview, here it is. How’s your German?”


Well, my answer to that is “Not great, but I have google translate, so stand back!”

Oops, that didn’t work so good …

… from Der Spiegel: “Ein großer, hagerer Mann mit Brille und Hosenträgern öffnete 2009 die Tür zu seiner Wohnung am Harvard Square, lud an den Küchentisch und schenkte Kaffee aus. Niemals hätte er gedacht, erzählte er, dass seine Erfindung einmal derart populär würde. “ADHS ist ein Paradebeispiel für eine fabrizierte Erkrankung”, sagte Eisenberg. “Die genetische Veranlagung für ADHS wird vollkommen überschätzt.””

Uh, okay, all I got from that was “Kaffee.” Have at it, google!!!

… from google translate: “A tall, thin man with glasses and suspenders opened in 2009, the door to his apartment in Harvard Square, invited at the kitchen table and poured coffee from. He never would have thought, he said that his invention would be so popular once. “ADHD is a prime example of a fabricated disease,” Eisenberg said. “The genetic predisposition for ADHD is completely overrated.””

Read the full article at Psych Central 

(http://blogs.psychcentral.com/adhd-man/2013/12/deathbed-confessions-highly-overrated/)

SPORK! Similar Picks:

> ADHD reaches beyond childhood
ADHD

Doctors Urged To Screen For ADHD In Addicts

ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity) disorder is a childhood behavioral disorder that sometimes produces problems well into adulthood. Current evidence indicates that people affected by ADHD have unusually high risks for developing a substance use disorder; however, the estimates of the overlap between ADHD and substance use disorders vary to an extreme degree. In a multinational study published in January 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers from the U.S. and nine European countries sought to explain this uncommonly high level of variability.

ADHD Basics

People affected by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder develop one of three basic symptom sets: difficulty controlling impulsive behaviors and unusually active (i.e., hyperactive) body movements and verbal utterances, difficulty staying focused or maintaining attention, or a combination of attention problems and hyperactivity/impulsivity problems. The condition typically appears in early childhood and its symptoms must remain in effect for at least half a year before an official diagnosis can be made. Underlying contributing causes to the onset of ADHD likely include a fairly complex combination of inherited factors and environmental influences.
Read the full article at Drug Addict Treatment 
(http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com/types-of-addiction/prescription-drug-addiction/doctors-urged-to-screen-for-adhd-in-addicts/)
addiction

You Probably Don't Have Bipolar Disorder (Or One Of These 7 Other Conditions)

Posted:   |  Updated: 01/03/2014 5:58 pm EST
ADHD

Bipolar Disorder or ADHD


Bipolar disorder and ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are two conditions that are increasingly being diagnosed in American children and teens, often together. And interestingly, in children and teens, there are some similarities in the symptoms of the two conditions. But how can a doctor know for sure if the child has bipolar disorder or ADHD? Also, how does the treatment for these two conditions differ?
Medical science is learning more about bipolar disorder in children and teens. But the condition is still difficult to diagnose. That's especially true for teenagers in whom irritability and moodiness commonly co-exist as part of a normal adolescence. A preteen or teenager with mood swings may be going through a difficult but normal developmental stage. Or he or she may be suffering from bipolar disorder with periodic mood changes that shift from depression to mania.
In addition, symptoms of ADHD often mimic symptoms of bipolar disorder. With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior. Children or teens with bipolar disorder often have similar behaviors.
Read the full article at WebMd
(http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar_disorder_or_adhd)
ADHD

Why I Keep My Bipolar Disorder Secret at Work



(Fillmore Photography/flickr)



Last winter, I was declined by five health insurance companies. I am 26, do my preventative screenings like clockwork, and have no physical health problems. As my boss told me when I started working at a small start-up a few months ago that has no group health plan: “You’re young and healthy, I assume you’ll have no problems finding a new plan.” I smiled and weakly said, “of course.”

Five applications and four declines later, I anxiously awaited my last and final letter. The verdict came: Declined. Reason: Bipolar II/ADHD.

So there is my secret: Like millions of other Americans, I have a mental illness.

But my illness is a huge part of my daily life. Just shopping for the perfect mix of medications is a full time job, with side effects from drugs tried and failed ranging from the merely awkward (flushed cheeks) to annoying (dry mouth) to incapacitating (flu-like symptoms that last for weeks). To keep my illness secret and managed, I go to therapy every week (for a while I did phone therapy at 6 a.m. so I could get to work on time), sneak to the kitchen or bathroom to take my morning and afternoon medications while at work, and make sure I go to my psychiatrist once a month during my lunch hour—often rescheduling and putting it off a week because a meeting or conference call comes up.

Read the full article at the Atlantic 

(http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/why-i-keep-my-bipolar-disorder-secret-at-work/278931/)
ADHD

Drawing cartoons empowers teen with mental disorders


Zack Hix, 18, is the creator of the Good Boy Roy cartoon characters. Zack was diagnosed with a range of mental disorders, and his family believes his drawings provide an important outlet. Zack Hix, 18, is the creator of the Good Boy Roy cartoon characters. Zack was diagnosed with a range of mental disorders, and his family believes his drawings provide an important outlet.
HIDE CAPTION
Drawing helps boy with mental disorders
<<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
>
>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Zack Hix is the creator of the cartoon characters in Good Boy Roy
  • He is diagnosed with a laundry list of mental health disorders
  • Art has always been his avenue for self-expression
  • His family wants to turn his artwork into a career so he can support himself

By Matthew Casey, Special to CNN
updated 8:51 AM EDT, Mon August 19, 2013

Editor's note: This story is part of CNN's American Journey series, showing how people are turning passions into jobs. Share your story with CNN iReport, and you could be featured in a CNN story.
(CNN) -- On the surface, Zack Hix is like many 18-year-olds.
The Simpsonville, South Carolina, teen's favorite foods are cheeseburgers and pizza. He listens to rock and punk music. He loves to race mountain bikes, play video games, watch Georgia Bulldogs football with his dad and -- perhaps most importantly -- draw.
But Zack also suffers from a laundry list of mental health issues, including both intermittent explosive- and obsessive-compulsive disorders, which make him different from other kids his age and threaten to inhibit his ability to function as an independent adult.
Zack is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, in addition to the IED and OCD. He also has Tourette syndrome and tics that are the result of a Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection in the fifth grade.
Read the full article at CNN
ADHD
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)