Sleep-disorders are common in overweight children

Medindia.com - One-fourth of overweight children may have sleep problems that regular physical activity can largely resolve, researchers say.

Research published in the November issue of

Obesity shows a surprising 25 out of 100 overweight, inactive children tested positive for sleep-disordered breathing, including telltale snoring.

After about three months of vigorous after-school physical activity such as jumping rope, basketball and tag games and the number of children who tested positive for a

sleep disorder was cut in half, according to lead researcher, Dr. Catherine L. Davis. In children who exercised the longest, the number was reduced by 80 percent.

The children were among 100 black and white boys and girls ages 7 to 11 enrolled in a study looking at the effect of exercise on metabolism. For the purposes of that study, the children were divided into three groups: a control group as well as those who exercised 20 or 40 minutes daily.

In fact researchers found the average score for all children who exercised – even those who did not test positive for

sleep disorders – improved on the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire.

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Mild untreated hypertension in children could lead to enlargement of heart

United Press International - In children, even mild untreated high blood pressure can lead to a potentially dangerous enlargement of the heart, according to a U.S. study.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City say persistently elevated blood pressure is a well-known risk factor for left-ventricular hypertrophy, or LVH, a thickening or enlarging of the lower left chamber of the heart. Pediatric guidelines say that any elevation in pressure measured in children on three consecutive office visits is by definition evidence of hypertension.
"It's apparently not true for children, at least, that the higher the blood pressure the worse the strain on the heart, and that surprised us," says kidney specialist Dr. Tammy Brady, Johns Hopkins Children's Center. "In this study, children with minimally high, very high and severely high blood pressure had evidence of heart enlargement."
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Why obesity is a major health concern across the globe?

Watch this video made on the 'obesity problem' in US. You will realize why obesity is considered as a major health concern around the globe.

Scientists establish link between Alzheimer’s and heart diseases

BBC News- Scientists have discovered how heart disease or a stroke may trigger Alzheimer's disease.
Both conditions lead to a reduction of oxygen flow to the brain.
A University of British Columbia team, studying mice, found this stimulates increased development of the protein clumps thought to cause Alzheimer's.
The lack of oxygen increases activity in a gene controlling production of the key protein, found the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study.
This protein, beta amyloid, collects in knots in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, and is thought to cause damage to the brain cells.
The gene identified in the latest study, BACE1, is responsible for regulating the maturation of beta amyloid.
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Early intervention helps children with autism

ksl.com - The increasing number of children with autism is disturbing. One out of every 166 children may have some form of autism.
Utah has a high prevalence of autism, and there is also important research going on here.
There are several interesting studies about early diagnosis and brain imaging.
Autism is a complex developmental disability that usually appears during the first three years of life. It's called a spectrum disorder, meaning there can be a variety of symptoms and severity.Doctors don't know what causes it, but we do know it's difficult for families who have children with autism.
Four year old Savannah does not speak, although she signs a few words. Her lack of language is one symptom of autism. Another is that she seems to withdraw and does not relate to people.
Emilie Tanner, Mother: "She just wants to be left alone. She doesn't do a lot with eye contact. She doesn't play with other kids."
Emilie understood the symptoms because her 5-year-old son Ethan also has autism. She says special education and early invention has helped him. Emilie Tanner, Mother: "He's verbal. He's talking. He functions well, very social. It's a big step for him."
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HIV infections on decline in Africa

Washington Post - Seven African countries are experiencing a decline in the prevalence of HIV infection among young, urban adults, finally reaping the benefit of AIDS prevention and treatment, the United Nations said yesterday in its annual report on the global epidemic.

That good news was offset by troubling signs that the first African country to reverse the epidemic, Uganda, is experiencing a resurgence of infection, as is Thailand, another early success story.

Based on hundreds of national and regional surveys, the report stitches a patchwork of progress and setbacks: a successful national treatment program in Brazil and a new, aggressive response by the Chinese government, alongside a worsening HIV epidemic in the former Soviet bloc and a new outbreak among gay men in Europe.

But the pendulum swing underway in Uganda and Thailand appears to mark a new phase in the 25-year-old AIDS epidemic.

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Job stress and diabetes

CBS News – A new study shows that workers suffering from job burnout may be more likely to be diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.

The study, published in Psychosomatic Medicine, comes from Israeli researchers who included Samuel Melamed, Ph.D., of Tel Aviv University's medical school.

The researchers studied 677 employed men and women in Israel for three to five years. When the study started, participants were about 42 years old, on average. They were "apparently healthy," the researchers note.

The workers, who were employed by several companies, were split into five groups, based on job type:

• Senior management
• Middle management
• Professionals (including engineers, teachers, lab technicians, and computer workers)
• Non-professional workers
• Self-employed workers

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