Gene’s presence in brain’s language centers may explain speech delay
UCLA scientists have used language onset — the age when a child speaks his or her first word — as a tool for identifying a new gene linked to autism. The research team also discovered that the gene is most active in brain regions involved with language and thought.
Interestingly, evidence for the genetic link came from the DNA of families with autistic boys, not those with autistic girls. [continue reading…]
Survival times in people with dementia: analysis from population-based cohort study with 14-year follow-up
People with dementia survive an average of four and a half years after diagnosis, with age, sex, and existing disability all having an influence on life expectancy, finds a study published on bmj.com today.
The authors hope that these estimates will be of value to patients, carers, service providers, and policy-makers. [continue reading…]
As more and more people turn to the Internet to find out what ails, a University of Alberta researcher is looking into the role the web is playing in helping adolescents cope with thoughts of suicide.According to Elaine Greidanus, a Faculty of Education child and adolescent counselling graduate student, teens dealing with suicidal thoughts are difficult to reach, with few services available that directly target them. She says while teens don’t seek out traditional modes of support, her research is showing that they seem to be logging on for emotional support. [continue reading…]
Where a teenage girl sees herself on her school’s social ladder may sway her future weight, a study of more than 4,000 girls finds. Those who believed they were unpopular gained more weight over a two-year period than girls who viewed themselves as more popular. Researchers said the study showed how a girl’s view of her social status has broader health consequences.The girls in the study were still growing — their average age was 15 — and all of them gained some weight. However, those who rated themselves low in popularity were 69 percent more likely than other girls to increase their body mass index by two units, the equivalent of gaining about 11 excess pounds. (The body mass index, or BMI, is a calculation based on height and weight.) [continue reading…]
