MARCH 2005
Canadian Pullback of the Drug Adderall XR
By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) --
Canada's move to suspend sales of the drug was prompted by 20 sudden deaths, 14 of them in children, in those taking the recommended doses of Adderall XR. A dozen strokes, two in children, were also reported. All of the deaths, which go back to 1999, occurred in the United States.
The Canadian pullback of the drug Adderall XR will not prompt similar measures south of the border.
FDA says evidence of deaths, strokes doesn't indict hyperactivity drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was satisfied with the safety profile of the medication, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
There are 2 million children in the United States who have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Adderall XR is taken by about 700,000 people in this country, according to the Associated Press, while another 300,000 take the immediate-release form of the medication called Adderall.
complete article
'91 MEMO Warned of Mercury in Shots
By Myron Levin
Los Angeles Times
February 8, 2005
A memo from Merck & Co. shows that, nearly a decade before the first public disclosure, senior executives were concerned that infants were getting an elevated dose of mercury in vaccinations containing a widely used sterilizing agent.
The March 1991 memo, obtained by The Times, said that 6-month-old children who received their shots on schedule would get a mercury dose up to 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum daily consumption of mercury from fish.
"When viewed in this way, the mercury load appears rather large," said the memo from Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, an internationally renowned vaccinologist. It was written to the president of Merck's vaccine division.
The memo was prepared at a time when U.S. health authorities were aggressively expanding their immunization schedule by adding five new shots for children in their first six months. Many of these shots, as well as some previously included on the vaccine schedule, contained thimerosal, an antibacterial compound that is nearly 50% ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin.
complete article
Low-resolution electromagnetic tomography neurofeedback.
IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2004 Dec;12(4):387-97.
Congedo M, Lubar JF, Joffe D.
Department of Psychology of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Through continuous feedback of the electroencephalogram (EEG) humans can learn how to shape their brain electrical activity in a desired direction.
The technique is known as EEG biofeedback, or neurofeedback, and has been used since the late 1960s in research and clinical applications.
A major limitation of neurofeedback relates to the limited information provided by a single or small number of electrodes placed on the scalp. We establish a method for extracting and feeding back intracranial current density and we carry out an experimental study to ascertain the ability of the participants to drive their own EEG power in a desired direction.
To derive current density within the brain volume, we used the low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA).
Six undergraduate students (three males, three females) underwent tomographic neurofeedback (based on 19 electrodes placed according to the 10-20 system) to enhance the current density power ratio between the frequency bands beta (16-20 Hz) and alpha (8-10 Hz).
According to LORETA modeling, the region of interest corresponded to the Anterior Cingulate (cognitive division).
The protocol was designed to improve the performance of the subjects on the dimension of sustained attention.
Two hypotheses were tested: 1) that the beta/alpha current density power ratio increased over sessions and 2) that by the end of the training subjects acquired the ability of increasing that ratio at will. Both hypotheses received substantial experimental support in this study.
This is the first application of an EEG inverse solution to neurofeedback. Possible applications of the technique include the treatment of epileptic foci, the rehabilitation of specific brain regions damaged as a consequence of traumatic brain injury and, in general, the training of any spatial specific cortical electrical activity. These findings may also have relevant consequences for the development of brain-computer interfaces.
Autism link?
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2452 - 19 June 2004
DEBATE has flared up again in the US about the safety of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal used in some vaccines. Thimerosal has been blamed for triggering autism in children, but a recent report by the US Institute of Medicine concluded, based on several large studies, that there is no link. Now Mady Hornig's team at Columbia University in New York has reignited the controversy.
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Hippocampal gray matter reduction associates with memory deficits in adolescents with history of prematurity
The stereological analysis showed a correlation between verbal learning and the left posterior hippocampus.
Our results suggest that left hippocampal tissue loss may be responsible for memory impairment and is probably related to the learning disabilities that history of prematurity subjects present during schooling.
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ADHD and drug therapy: is it still a valid treatment?
J Child Health Care. 2004 Mar;8(1):69-81.
Doggett AM.
School of Education, Colorado State University, USA.
The purpose of this article is to discuss alternative treatments other than drug therapy for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) in educational settings.
There is an increasing body of knowledge that supports interventions for improving cognitive outcomes without the use of medication. The article explores the risks to ADHD children, shows the potential linkage between gifted children and ADHD, explores recent brain research, and examines various alternative treatment options.
Information is presented on alternative treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapies, educational interventions, electroencephalograph (EEG) neuro-feedback, and diet.
For more information on Crossroads Institute
www.crossroadsinstitute.orgDigestive, Metabolic Problems Abound In Patients with ADHD, Autism
By Erik L. Goldman
Editor in Chief
Holistic Primary Care - online article
PORTLAND, OR- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and autism are multifactorial biological disorders requiring a multimodal therapeutic approach that addresses the gastrointestinal, immunologic and metabolic problems usually associated with the behavioral abnormalities, said Jeff Bradstreet, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Holistic Medical Association.
"Conventional allopathic concepts define ADHD and autism as 'psychiatric' disorders. I think that's bunk. I look at ADHD and autism biologically," said Dr. Bradstreet, founder of the International Child Development Resource Center.
Dr. Bradstreet and his colleagues recently completed a case control study showing a statistically significant correlation between mercury exposure at an early age and autism. "It is not just vaccine mercury, but environmental mercury as well."
While there is still much room for debate about the connection between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders, there is a growing consensus that children with ADHD and autism typically have gastrointestinal problems, and that the two are related.
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Electroencephalogram biofeedback for reading disability and traumatic brain
injury.
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
2005 Jan;14(1):137-62, vii.
Thornton KE, Carmody DP.
Center for Health Psychology
The application of electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback with reading disability and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is relatively recent.
There are many studies regarding the effectiveness (improving attention and IQ scores) of EEG biofeedback in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, who are known to have a high rate of comorbidity for learning disabilities.
This suggests the possibility that EEG biofeedback specifically aimed at remediating reading disability and TBI would be effective. This article provides strong initial support for this idea and provides reason to believe that assessment and training under task conditions are likely to be fruitful.
Given the significance of these problems and the absence of very effective alternatives for remediation of these conditions, efforts to complete the needed research seem warranted. Clinical use of this intervention seems to be warranted with informed consent.
Neurofeedback Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: A Comparison with Methylphenidate
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
28 (1): 1-12, March 2003
abstract
Clinical trials have suggested that neurofeedback may be efficient in treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
We compared the effects of a 3-month electroencephalographic feedback program providing reinforcement contingent on the production of cortical sensorimotor rhythm (12-15 Hz) and beta1 activity (15-18 Hz) with stimulant medication.
Participants were N = 34 children aged 8-12 years, 22 of which were assigned to the neurofeedback group and 12 to the methylphenidate group according to their parents' preference.
Both neurofeedback and methylphenidate were associated with improvements on all subscales of the Test of Variables of Attention, and on the speed and accuracy measures of the d2 Attention Endurance Test.
Furthermore, behaviors related to the disorder were rated as significantly reduced in both groups by both teachers and parents on the IOWA-Conners Behavior Rating Scale.
These findings suggest that neurofeedback was efficient in improving some of the behavioral concomitants of ADHD in children whose parents favored a nonpharmacological treatment.
The effects of stimulant therapy, EEG biofeedback, and parenting style on the
primary symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2002 Dec;27(4):231-49.
Monastra VJ, Monastra DM, George S.
FPI Attention Disorders Clinic, Endicott, New York
One hundred children, ages 6-19, who were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), either inattentive or combined types, participated in a study examining the effects of Ritalin, EEG biofeedback, and parenting style on the primary symptoms of ADHD.
All of the patients participated in a 1-year, multimodal, outpatient program that included Ritalin, parent counseling, and academic support at school (either a 504 Plan or an IEP). Fifty-one of the participants also received EEG biofeedback therapy.
Posttreatment assessments were conducted both with and without stimulant therapy.
Significant improvement was noted on the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA; L. M. Greenberg, 1996) and the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale (ADDES; S. B. McCarney, 1995) when participants were tested while using Ritalin.
However, only those who had received EEG biofeedback sustained these gains when tested without Ritalin. The results of a Quantitative Electroencephalographic Scanning Process (QEEG-Scan; V. J. Monastra et al.,1999) revealed significant reduction in cortical slowing only in patients who had received EEG biofeedback.
Behavioral measures indicated that parenting style exerted a significant moderating effect on the expression of behavioral symptoms at home but not at school.
Training of slow cortical potentials in attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder: evidence for positive behavioral and neurophysiological effects.
Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Apr 1;55(7):772-5.
Heinrich H, Gevensleben H, Freisleder FJ, Moll GH, Rothenberger A.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Gottingen,
Gottingen, Germany.
BACKGROUND: Learned self-control of slow cortical potentials (SCPs) may lead to behavioral improvement in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Hence, training effects should also be reflected at the neurophysiological level.
METHODS: Thirteen children with ADHD, aged 7-13 years, performed 25 SCP training sessions within 3 weeks. Before and after training, the German ADHD rating scale was completed by parents, and event-related potentials were recorded in a cued continuous performance test (CPT). For a waiting-list group of nine children with ADHD, the same testing was applied.
RESULTS: ADHD symptomatology was reduced by approximately 25% after SCP training. Moreover, a decrease of impulsivity errors and an increase of the contingent negative variation were observed in the CPT task.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides first evidence for both positive behavioral and specific neurophysiological effects of SCP training in children with ADHD.
