Sleep Apnea and Snoring in Children Linked to Behavioural Problems

Children with night-time breathing problems such as snoring or sleep apnea are more likely to develop behavioural problems such as hyperactivity, anxiety or aggressiveness and have problems with peer relationships, according to a new study in Pediatrics.

Children with "sleep-disordered breathing" such as snoring and sleep apnea were 40 percent to 100 percent more likely to develop behavioural issues by age 7 than the children who breathed normally through the night, researchers found.

The study surveyed 11,000 children over six years and found nearly over half of the children, 6,000 in total, had breathing disorders during sleep.

"This is the strongest evidence to date that snoring, mouth breathing, and apnea can have serious behavioural and social-emotional consequences for children," Karen Bonuck, lead author and professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, said in a statement.

"Parents and pediatricians alike should be paying closer attention to sleep-disordered breathing in young children, perhaps as early as the first year of life," she said.

Sleep apnea and snoring decrease oxygen levels and increase carbon dioxide levels in the brain, according to the study.

The imbalanced brain chemistry interrupts the restorative process of sleep and leads to an inability to regulate emotion and impairs the ability to pay attention, plan ahead and organize, researchers said.

"We are sleeping to restore our brains, and sleep-disordered breathing interferes with that process," Bonuck reported. "For kids, these are critical periods in brain development."

Researchers saw symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing appear as early as 6 months in some children. Children who presented symptoms while very young, were between 40 and 50 percent more likely to experience behavioural problems.

"Although snoring and sleep apnea are relatively common in children, pediatricians and family physicians do not routinely check for sleep-disordered breathing," Bonuck said in a statement.

"In many cases, the doctor will simply ask parents, 'How is your child sleeping?' Instead, physicians need to specifically ask parents whether their children are experiencing one or more of the symptoms of SDB, i.e. snoring, mouth breathing or apnea." she said.

About one in 10 children snore regularly and 2 to 4 percent have sleep apnea, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

The journal Pediatrics published the study on Monday 5th March 2012.

People with sleep apnea take abnormally long pauses between breaths in their sleep. The pauses can last up to several minutes and may occur up to 30 times per hour, forcing them to wake up often during the night to take a breath, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Sleep apnea can cause frequent headaches and mood swings and if left untreated increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, according to the NHLBI. Enlarged tonsils, also commonly cause sleep-disordered breathing.

Being overweight is one of the largest risk factors for sleep apnea and snoring, according to the NHLBI. Losing weight helps to reduce the effects.

Other treatment for sleep-disordered breathing includes the use of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. A CPAP machine consists of a mask that fits over the user's mouth and/ or nose and blows air continuously into the throat, keeping the airway open and allowing the user to breathe easier.

Surgery is sometimes performed to remove excess tissue in the mouth and throat to reduce symptoms.

US Healthcare costs related to Sleep Apnea costs about $1,336 per year, for a total of $3 billion annually, according to a 1999 study published in the journal Sleep.

Antidepressants During Pregnancy: What Are the Risks?

What is a woman struggling with depression supposed to do when she becomes pregnant?

A study published on Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry tackles the tough decision of deciding to keep taking the medication, or risk harming the fetus.

Roughly six percent of pregnant women are taking antidepressants. The struggle to live with depression or risk your baby's health has plagued women for quite some time.

The latest study included 7,696 pregnant women. Five hundred and seventy of the women suffering from depression were not on medication, and 99 women with depression "were being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a common class of antidepressants."

What this study found is that women going untreated for depression gave birth to babies that had a reduction in total body growth.

This affected the fetal head growth as well. Those women taking prenatal SSRI also had babies that suffered from a reduced growth of the fetal head, but the overall growth of the body during pregnancy was not affected.

What are the risks for the fetus during pregnancy with antidepressants? Mothers taking antidepressants could have preterm babies, who face higher health risks like respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders.

Not only could these children be born preterm, but according to the authors of the study, reduced fetal head-growth can lead to behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders later on.

However, the risks for the mother may outweigh the risks of the pregnancy, if she discontinues antidepressant medication.

Dr. Sudeepta Varma, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone School of Medicine reported "If we are talking about a woman who can't take care of her health as a result of battling with moderate to severe depression, she faces risks to herself as well as the baby that are associated with untreated depression during pregnancy."

According to Varma, "if you don't take care of the mom, there may be no baby to speak of."

These findings however are inconclusive according to the authors of the study. "More long-term drug safety studies are needed before evidence-based recommendations can be derived," concluded the authors.

A tractography study in dyslexia: neuroanatomic correlates of orthographic, phonological and speech processing

Diffusion tensor imaging tractography is a structural magnetic resonance imaging technique allowing reconstruction and assessment of the integrity of three dimensional white matter tracts, as indexed by their fractional anisotropy.

It is assumed that the left arcuate fasciculus plays a crucial role for reading development, as it connects two regions of the reading network, the left temporoparietal region and the left inferior frontal gyrus, for which atypical functional activation and lower fractional anisotropy values have been reported in dyslexic readers.

In addition, we explored the potential role of the left inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus, which might connect a third region of the reading network, the left ventral occipitotemporal region with the left inferior frontal gyrus.

In the present study, 20 adults with dyslexia and 20 typical reading adults were scanned using diffusion tensor imaging, and the bilateral arcuate fasciculus and the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus were delineated.

Group comparisons show a significantly reduced fractional anisotropy in the left arcuate fasciculus of adults with dyslexia, in particular in the segment that directly connects posterior temporal and frontal areas.

This fractional anisotropy reduction might reflect a lower degree of myelination in the dyslexic sample, as it co-occurred with a group difference in radial diffusivity.

In contrast, no significant group differences in fractional anisotropy were found in the right arcuate fasciculus or in the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus.

Correlational analyses (controlled for reading status) demonstrated a specific relation between performance on phoneme awareness and speech perception and the integrity of left arcuate fasciculus as indexed by fractional anisotropy, and between orthographic processing and fractional anisotropy values in left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus.

The present study reveals structural anomalies in the left arcuate fasciculus in adults with dyslexia. This finding corroborates current hypotheses of dyslexia as a disorder of network connections.

In addition, our study demonstrates a correlational double dissociation, which might reflect neuro-anatomical correlates of the dual route reading model: the left arcuate fasciculus seems to sustain the dorsal phonological route underlying grapheme–phoneme decoding, while the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus seems to sustain the ventral orthographic route underlying reading by direct word access.

Access the Full Scientific Paper here at BRAIN: A journal of Neurology - A tractography study in dyslexia: neuroanatomic correlates of orthographic, phonological and speech processing

Warning that UK NHS Privatisation increases Risk of Cot deaths (SID)

Scottish Sudden Infant death charity for information and support on SIDS.

The number of babies dying from cot death will increase as austerity cuts force vulnerable families into unsuitable living conditions, the head of a Sudden Infant Death (SIDs) charity has warned.

The UK Government's healthcare privatisation will also put babies' lives at risk and vital services will be lost as the NHS is forced to restructure and make cost efficiency savings, according to Francine Bates, chief executive of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID).

She also described the cynical axing of a UK Department of Health leaflet, "Reduce the Risk of Cot death" that was previously sent to every new parent as "very disappointing". The leaflet set out the risks to babies and advised parents on how to minimise the dangers of cot deaths.

Ms Bates said: "If the socio-economic conditions worsen for these vulnerable families then more babies will be at risk. London's Metropolitan Police working in this area [sudden infant death] are saying that the housing conditions some people are living in with their very small babies is atrocious."

The "Back to Sleep" campaign launched in 1991 urged parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs, overturning previous advice from childcare experts. Within five years of the launch of the campaign, unexplained sudden infant deaths had dropped by 70 per cent.

Smoking is now the biggest risk for cot death so Ms Bates has organised the first seminar for researchers and smoking-cessation experts who will meet on Thursday, chaired by Anne Milton, the UK Public Health minister.

Ms Bates said: "Smoking has a massive impact on the health of an unborn baby. If all smokers stopped immediately it would reduce the number of cot deaths by up to 50 per cent."

Dyslexia: Scottish rugby star speaks up

Edinburgh City Libraries hosts a talk with rugby star, Kenny Logan, speaking about his passion for the sport and his own experiences of coping with Dyslexia at Drumbrae Library Hub.

The free event is open to all to attend tonight (Wednesday 22 February) from 18.00 - 19.00. There will be a wider display of resources available at the library on the key themes of the evening - dyslexia, rugby and Kenny Logan's career.

Kenny was contacted by the Edinburgh Reads programme after his personal story of living with dyslexia was included in a bold and eye-opening book Dyslexia and Us published by Edinburgh City Libraries, after being conceived and compiled by Dyslexia Scotland.

The event is just one of the many initiatives run by Edinburgh City Libraries, Edinburgh Reads Programme over the past two years to highlight the work of the charity and raise awareness of dyslexia.

Culture and Leisure Convener, Cllr Deidre Brock, said: "We're delighted to welcome Kenny, one of Scotland's true sporting greats to our brand new library hub. This talk promises to be an inspiring tale of the dedication needed to reach the highest levels of international sport, while dealing with the day-to-day challenges of dyslexia.

"Tonight's event will be one of many to come that will firmly establish Drumbrae Library Hub as a fantastic resource for local residents."

To book a place at the event please contact Drumbrae Library 0131 529 5244 or email drumbrae.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Drumbrae Library Hub was officially opened last week (Friday 17 February) by the Lord Provost. The new building boasts a striking, modern design and provides a 'one stop shop' for local residents to access a wide range of activities and brings together important local services.

The book Dyslexia and Us brings together stories from well-known public figures, to ordinary people to describe the powerful impact of dyslexia on individuals, families, relationships, and professionals and support staff.

Education and Dyslexia: The Unicorn School

In 2008 The Unicorn School moved to beautiful new premises in Abingdon. Over the years we have nurtured the development of hundreds of children and many keep in touch and tell us of their great achievements.

We measure our success by the children’s positive feedback and the excellent testimonials received from their parents. We have also had some excellent Ofsted and CReSteD reports; in February 2012 Ofsted stated that "The Unicorn School Provides an outstanding quality of education which fully meets its stated aim."

We believe our approach is the correct approach to bring results. Multi-sensory “hands-on” teaching, in very small classes, encourages our children to use all their senses to learn and makes learning fun along the way.

All the members of the school community – pupils, teachers, parents and governors - provide support for one another.

The family atmosphere enables the children to overcome their difficulties and explore their many talents.

They are encouraged to express themselves confidently and take an active role in decision making within the school.

US The Literate Nation Movie - YouTube

This shocking video gives startling facts about the rapid deterioration of America because it is neglecting to educate its young people with even a basic education—much less world class. EDUCATION: What are the FACTS?

With Dyslexia, Words Failed Me and Then Saved Me - Philip Schultz

Philip Schultz is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and the author of the forthcoming memoir “My Dyslexia.” 

I was well into middle age when one of my children, then in the second grade, was found to be dyslexic. I had never known the name for it, but I recognized immediately that the symptoms were also mine. When I was his age I’d already all but given up on myself.

Repeating third grade at a new school, after having been asked to leave my old one for hitting kids who made fun of my perceived stupidity, I was placed in the “dummy class.” There were three of us, separated from our classmates at a table in the corner of the room.

One day, the teacher, who seldom spoke to us since it was understood that most of what she taught was beyond the reach of our intelligence, placed books in our hands and whispered that we should sit there quietly “pretending to read.” The principal was coming.

It was not the most outlandish thing she might’ve said, given how little was known about learning disabilities in the early 1950s, and how little training a teacher in the poorest section of Rochester would have received. And her request seemed reasonable to me.

I couldn’t tie my shoes, tell time or left from right, or recreate musical notes or words. I not only couldn’t read but often couldn’t hear or understand what was being said to me — by the time I’d processed the beginning of a sentence, the teacher was well on her way through a second or third.

When I did have something to say I couldn’t find the words with which to say it, or if I could, forgot how to pronounce them.

My situation then seemed hopeless; I had no idea what a learning disability was, or that it had nothing to do with intelligence. Being asked to pretend I wasn’t as stupid as I feared made perfect sense. Only in recollection does the pain of such a moment make itself felt.

Read more of this article here: With Dyslexia, Words Failed Me and Then Saved Me

The SAGE Handbook of DYSLEXIA

Click on the Image to visit  Amazon.com and the Kindle version of the book.

Description

The SAGE Handbook of Dyslexia is a comprehensive overview of a complex field. It is a rich, critical assessment of past and present theory and current research, which also looks to the future. 

The editors have brought together key figures from the international academic world - both researchers and practitioners - to examine the relationships between theoretical paradigms, research and practice, and to map new areas of research.

Good Writing Techniques Find a Perfect Platform in Thompsons New Book

Writing is an important communication tool that has proven its might and power to make a difference in the world. Closely, it is a way to express peoples thoughts and feelings and a medium to give clarity to any information they want to convey.

But writing is so diverse that one should be careful not to present any detail erroneously or insufficiently. Good writing techniques have found a perfect place for everyone's access in between the covers of author Geneva Anderson Thompsons The Rite to Write Right about Wright.

This is an educational book that will walk readers through the fundamentals of writing providing a substantial amount of tips and techniques on how to develop their writing skill.

A good writer is highly prized; therefore, it is important to know what is good writing. This book clearly defines the essential elements of good writing.

Here, Thompson underscores how presentation, clarity and professionalism can affect the writer's brandits as if they were the work itself and how their work can influence the opportunities in this field.

The book plausibly presents the importance of writing and shares good writing techniques to supplement the readers knowledge and help boost their aptitude.

It discusses on the importance of a powerful title and how to make the introduction of one's piece, win the interest of the reader.

It underscores the key components of a compelling body, one that comprehensively binds almost all important information the readers surely are going to find.

Moreover, grammar, punctuations, transitional words and phrases, commonly used words, and additional expressions are also emphasized in this book to ensure compact and indispensable information are well supplemented.

Compelling, very informative, easy to understand and very feasible, The Rite to Write Right about Wright offers readers the road map to good writing. This book is the first step toward becoming a master of ones own craft, a practical way to learn a simple but prize-winning writing strategy.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to www.Xlibris.com.

About the Author
Geneva Anderson Thompson is originally from Jamaica, West Indies, where she taught students at High School and Community College, respectively. Currently, shes teaching at a middle school in South Florida. She has always had a passion for writing. Publishing this book has been her dream. Her philosophy in life is, Just Write.

The Rite to Write Right about Wright (Amazon.co.uk) * by Geneva Anderson Thompson

Good Writing Tips

Publication Date: January 17, 2012

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