Nutrition

Neurodevelopmental effects of maternal nutritional status and exposure to methylmercury from eating fish during pregnancy.

June 11, 2008
BY: Davidson PW, Strain JJ, Myers GJ, Thurston SW, Bonham MP, Shamlaye CF, Stokes-Riner A, Wallace JM, Robson PJ, Duffy EM, Georger LA, Sloane-Reeves J, Cernichiari E, Canfield RL, Cox C, Huang LS, Janciuras J, Clarkson TW. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. Neurotoxicology. 2008 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print]

Fish contain nutrients that promote optimal brain growth and development but also contain methylmercury (MeHg) that can have toxic effects. The present study tested the hypothesis that the intake of selected nutrients in fish or measures of maternal nutritional status may represent important confounders when estimating the effects of prenatal methylmercury exposure on child development.… Read More »»

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Associations of maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, methyl mercury, and infant development in the Seychelles Child Development Nutrition Study.

June 11, 2008
BY: Strain JJ, Davidson PW, Bonham MP, Duffy EM, Stokes-Riner A, Thurston SW, Wallace JM, Robson PJ, Shamlaye CF, Georger LA, Sloane-Reeves J, Cernichiari E, Canfield RL, Cox C, Huang LS, Janciuras J, Myers GJ, Clarkson TW. University of Ulster, United Kingdom. Neurotoxicology. 2008 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print)

Fish consumption during gestation can provide the fetus with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) and other nutrients essential for growth and development of the brain. However, fish consumption also exposes the fetus to the neurotoxicant, methyl mercury (MeHg). We studied the association between these fetal exposures and early child development in the Seychelles Child Development… Read More »»

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Environmental Toxins Research: Mercury

June 11, 2008

Applying cost analyses to drive policy that protects children:  mercury as a case study. Trasande L, Schechter C, Haynes KA, Landrigan PJ.  Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. leo.trasande@mssm.edu  Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Sep;1076:911-23. Exposure in… Read More »»

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‘Hungry Eyes’: visual processing of food images in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome.

April 15, 2008
BY: Key AP, Dykens EM. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. sasha.key@vanderbilt.edu J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008 Jun;52(Pt 6):536-46. Epub 2008 Apr 15.

BACKGROUND: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disabilities, compulsivity, hyperphagia and increased risks of life-threatening obesity. Food preferences in people with PWS are well documented, but research has yet to focus on other properties of food in PWS, including composition and suitability for consumption. It is also unclear how food perceptions… Read More »»

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The impact of aging on eating, drinking, and swallowing function in people with Down’s syndrome.

March 1, 2008
BY: Lazenby T. NHS Lothian Primary and Community Division, Southwest Edinburgh Community Learning Disabilities Service, 86 Longstone Road, Edinburgh, EH14 2AS, UK. tracylazenby@hotmail.com Dysphagia. 2008 Mar;23(1):88-97.

Many people with Down’s syndrome (DS) experience eating, drinking, and swallowing (EDS) difficulties, which can potentially lead to life-threatening conditions such as malnutrition, dehydration, and aspiration pneumonia. As the life expectancy of people with DS continues to improve, there is an increasing need to examine how the aging process may further affect these conditions. Published… Read More »»

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Feeding difficulties in children and adolescents with chronic illness.

March 1, 2008
BY: Sullivan P. University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom. Georgian Med News. 2008 Mar;(156):55-60.

Good health demands good nutrition and in the child it is reflected in normal growth. Children who cannot or do not eat properly often become unwell and do not grow. This becomes a source of great concern and anxiety for their parents. Several chronic illnesses in children impair normal feeding; this article aims to describe… Read More »»

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Behavioral health in developmental disabilities: a comprehensive program of nutrition, exercise, and weight reduction.

January 1, 2008
BY: Fleming RK, Stokes EA, Curtin C, Bandini LG, Gleason J, Scampini R, Maslin MC, Hamad C. Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMASS, Medical School, Trapello Road, Waltham, MA. Int J Behav Consult Ther. 2008 Jan 1;4(3):287-296.

We review the literature on the prevalence and conditions resulting in overweight and obesity in people with intellectual disability (ID), followed by obesity treatment research with typically developing children and adaptations for children with ID. In addition to proposing directions for future research and practice, we report a comprehensive randomized control trial (RCT) of family-based… Read More »»

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Methylmercury toxicity and functional programming.

January 1, 2008
BY: Grandjean P. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 3-110E, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, USA. pgrandjean@health.sdu.dk Reprod Toxicol. 2007 Apr-May;23(3):414-20. Epub 2007 Mar 12. Comment in: Reprod Toxicol. 2008 Jan;25(1):133; author reply 134.

PURPOSE: Adverse health effects of developmental toxicants may induce abnormal functional programming that leads to lasting functional deficits. This notion is considered from epidemiological evidence using developmental methylmercury neurotoxicity as an example. MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS: Accumulating evidence indicates that adverse effects may occur even at low-level methylmercury exposures from seafood and freshwater fish. Neurobehavioral outcomes… Read More »»

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Growth and nutrition disorders in children with cerebral palsy.

January 1, 2008
BY: Kuperminc MN, Stevenson RD. Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2008;14(2):137-46.

Growth and nutrition disorders are common secondary health conditions in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Poor growth and malnutrition in CP merit study because of their impact on health, including psychological and physiological function, healthcare utilization, societal participation, motor function, and survival. Understanding the etiology of poor growth has led to a variety of interventions… Read More »»

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Weight loss and dietary improvements following the Healthy Lifestyle Change Program, a community-based intervention for adults with developmental disabilities

January 1, 2008
BY: Zeldin A, Shihady I, Garro N, Lehrer D, Eis J, Bazzano L, Bazzano A. Department of Neurosciences, UCSD/Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA; Westside Regional Center, Culver City, CA; Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA; UCLA School of Public Health - Health Services, Los Angeles, CA. The FASEB Journal. 2008;22:682-7.

OBJECTIVE: People with developmental disabilities (DD) are at high risk for obesity due to inactivity, poor diet and medication effects.Our goal was to evaluate the effect of an intervention designed for adults with DD on weight loss and dietary habits. METHODS: A pre-post test design was used to evaluate the Healthy Lifestyle Change Program (HLCP),… Read More »»

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