Fwd: Re: Fwd: News Release -- UAMS Scientists Confirm Link between Premature Bi r
From: Terry J. DuBose (tjdubose@uams.edu)
Tue Aug 13 17:31:32 2002
Barbara, yes this is my university... UAMS, see:
http://www.uams.edu/ (first article at top of page)
and
http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/081302/anand.htm
This is not really new information, at lease folks have been suggesting it for some time. I have not seen this article yet, so perhaps it is with a larger population or better statistics now.
Please do post ASAP. THanks.
Peace, Terry J. DuBose, M.S., RDMS
Assistant Professor & Director, Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, CHRP
4301 West Markham St. Mail Slot #563
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205 USA
501-686-6510
DuBoseTerryJ@UAMS.edu
http://www.io.com/~dubose/
http://www.uams.edu/CHRP/dmshome.htm
http://www.obgyn.net/us/panel/panel.htm
Do you think we should use this?
Do you have anything to add to it?
Barb
this IS your University isn't it??????
>>From: "Mottler, Mike H" <MottlerMikeH@uams.edu>
>>To:
>>Subject: News Release -- UAMS Scientists Confirm Link between Premature Bi
>> rth and Later Learning, Behavioral Problems
>>Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 15:23:37 -0500
>>X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19)
>>
>> > For Immediate Release
>> >
>> > Contact:
>> > Jerri Jackson, 501-686-8149
>> > Office of Communications
>> > University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
>> > JacksonTerryJerri@uams.edu
>> >
>> > Note: High-resolution photo attached below
>> >
>> > UAMS Scientists Confirm Link between Premature Birth and Later
>> Learning, Behavioral Problems
>> >
>> > Scientists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)
>> report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) today
>> that premature babies are more likely to have significant learning and
>> behavioral problems after the age of five years than babies born full-term.
>> >
>> > Using sophisticated statistical methodology to analyze 20 years of
>> research around the world, the scientists at UAMS confirmed that children
>> born prematurely have much lower cognitive scores, with
>> lower-than-average learning ability, and more behavioral problems after
>> the age of five years than children who were born full-term.
>> >
>> > The scientists call for > "> concerted efforts of clinicians and
>> neuroscientists to [study] the biological, environmental, and
>> psychosocial mechanisms responsible for these cognitive and behavioral
>> differences.> ">
>> >
>> > Children born prematurely have been found in numerous studies to have >
>> "> huge differences> "> in cognitive scores, and to be aggressive or
>> withdrawn or suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
>> However, researchers who conducted the other studies over the years used
>> a variety of population groups and research methods, making the body of
>> knowledge about the effects of prematurity questionable.
>> >
>> > K. S. > "> Sunny> "> Anand, MBBS, D.Phil., FAAP, FCCM, FRCPCH, led
>> the study, called a meta-analysis. Dr. Anand is the Morris and Hettie
>> Oakley Chair in Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics in
>> the UAMS College of Medicine and chief of critical care at Arkansas
>> Children> '> s Hospital. The National Institute for Child Health and
>> Human Development and the Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation provided research
>> funding to the Arkansas Children> '> s Hospital Research Institute for
>> the study.
>> >
>> > The scientists analyzed 227 studies, eliminating studies that had
>> methodological problems, before drawing conclusions from the remaining
>> studies. Their analysis should > "> eliminate controversies> "> about
>> the importance of prematurity for long-range outcomes.
>> >
>> > While the relationship between prematurity and later learning and
>> behavioral problems is now clearer, the actual causes of those problems
>> in children born prematurely are not yet clear.
>> >
>> > The UAMS investigators speculate in JAMA that the medical complications
>> of prematurity; the painful medical procedures that many premature babies
>> experience in hospitals; and prolonged separation from their mothers all
>> may contribute to lower-than-average brain development and thus to later
>> learning and behavioral problems. They also point to the stress and
>> depression that having a premature baby can cause for parents,
>> particularly mothers, as a potential factor in the children> '> s later
>> developmental problems.
>> >
>> > Dr. Anand commented recently that the increasing survival rate for
>> extremely low-birthweight and premature babies means that > "> a larger
>> and larger pool of children> "> will have developmental problems > "> as
>> times goes on > ...> and the incremental costs of educating these
>> children are likely to be astronomical.> ">
>> >
>> > "> With an improved understanding of the underlying biological
>> mechanisms, we can begin to develop more focused therapeutic
>> interventions to decrease or prevent these long-term impairments
>> following survival after preterm birth,> "> the scientists conclude in JAMA.
>> >
>> > The following > investigators, all with UAMS, collaborated with Dr.
>> Anand: Adnan T. Bhutta, MBBS, FAAP, assistant professor of pediatrics;
>> Mario A. Cleves, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and senior
>> biostatistician, Arkansas Center for Birth Defects Research and
>> Prevention; Patrick H. Casey, M.D., FAAP, the Harvey and Bernice Jones
>> Professor of Developmental Pediatric> s; and Mary M. Cradock, Ph.D.,
>> assistant professor of pediatrics. The researchers formulated a novel
>> method for assessing the quality of observational studies which other
>> scientists will now be able to use.
>> >
>> > Dr. Anand also is conducting multiple studies of the relationship of
>> pain to brain development in premature infants. By observing the progress
>> of premature infants who receive pain medication in conjunction with
>> painful medical procedures, and through laboratory experiments, he has
>> formed the hypothesis that repetitive pain in the first weeks of life
>> causes the death or damage of certain brain cells and may consequently
>> reduce learning ability and alter behavioral development. As part of this
>> research, Dr. Anand is participating in a nationwide study of the use of
>> pain medication to reduce or eliminate pain during essential medical
>> procedures for premature infants. The National Institutes of Health are
>> sponsoring the study at 11 centers around the nation and four hospitals
>> in Europe.
>> >
>> > -30-
>> >
>> > > <<Sunny Anand in nursery.jpg>>
>> >
>
Barbara A. Nesbitt
Publisher, MediSpecialty.com
http://www.obgyn.net http://www.otohns.net
4010 Long Champ Dr. #24
Austin, Texas USA
Phone: 512-347-9986
Email: barbara.nesbitt@obgyn.net
