Could exposure to phthalates from plastics be contributing to the incidence of ADHD in children? Phthalates are important components of many consumer products, including toys, cleaning materials, plastics, and personal care items. Studies to date on phthalates have been inconsistent, with some linking exposure to these chemicals to hormone disruptions, birth defects, asthma, and reproductive [...]

Expectant mothers who eat excessive quantities of licorice during pregnancy could adversely affect their child’s intelligence and behavior, a study has shown. A study of eight year old children whose mothers ate large amounts of licorice when pregnant found they did not perform as well as other youngsters in cognitive tests. They were also more [...]

JAMA commentary urges testing of children, men and women for subtle effects of fragile X gene mutation. UCDavis.edu – Writing in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researchers urge physicians to test for mutations of the fragile X gene in patients of all ages. That’s because, after decades of [...]

NIEHS.NIH.GOV – In contrast to some prior findings in pilot studies, two of the most common medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to cause genetic damage in children who take them as prescribed, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke [...]

For children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), tasks that require concentration such as doing homework or taking a test can be very difficult. A simple, inexpensive remedy may be a “dose of nature.” A study conducted at the University of Illinois shows that children with ADHD demonstrate greater attention after a 20-minute walk in [...]

JAMA / Archives – Low-birth-weight children appear to be at higher risk for anxious and aggressive psychiatric disturbances from childhood through high school than normal-birth-weight children, according to a report in the September 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Also, low-birth-weight children from urban communities may be more likely to have attention problems than [...]