New Recommendations For Screening And Testing Newborn Children

New recommendations on testing and screening newborn children for genetic diseases have been published in the latest policy statements of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG).
They believe that it is necessary to test all newborn children as it is in the best interest of their health, showing their support for mandatory genetic testing and screening.

Millions of newborns undergo genetic screening every year.

However, additional genetic testing after the initial screening is far less common.

Most additional genetic testing conducted after the newborn period is mainly carried out on children who show signs and symptoms of intellectual disability for diagnostic purposes.

Beyond the initial screening, the decision to carry out additional testing should rest on the parents, say the experts.

There were distinct differences between the recommendations for testing for childhood-onset conditions and testing for conditions that appear in adulthood. The experts encouraged testing children who are at risk of childhood-onset conditions, but discouraged testing for diseases or conditions that appear later in adulthood.

They also noted that when a child shows early symptoms of a disease, it is necessary to make a quick diagnosis and evaluate the best courses of action, guiding the family in making a decision for the best of the child.

In fact, according to a previous study published in the journal Pediatrics, the majority of parents would accept and embrace predictive genetic testing for their children if offered.

Even though these two reports discourage testing for adult-onset conditions, some experts believe that results concerning these conditions could help adjust lifestyle risks early on.

One of the policy authors, Dr. Lainie Friedman Ross, said:

"There is an important role for counseling before and after genetic screening. The focus should be on education of families, counseling them and helping them make decisions that focus on the child's best interest.

Clearly, if a child has symptoms, we need a diagnosis to help the family make clinical decisions that are in the child's best interest. This is important even when the disease has no current therapies."

Sometimes genetic testing can give incorrect results or interpretations; the ACMG suggests that a person who is certified in either Clinical Molecular Genetics (ABMG) or Molecular Genetic Pathology (ABPath/ABMG) should always review test results.

In addition, they state that pre- and post-test counseling should be provided to patients by an ABMG certified Clinical Geneticist or ABGC/ABMG certified Genetic Counselor.

In view of the rapid advances made in genetics and genomics, the authors stress that health care providers and pediatricians should always be informed on what the best new practices are.

Infants Who Develop Slowly Catch Up On Growth In Time

New research reveals that most babies who put on weight at a slow rate during their first 9 months do eventually catch up to normal weight by the time they are teenagers, however, they will remain slightly shorter and lighter than their peers for a long time.

The findings, which were published by researchers at the University of Bristol in the journal Pediatrics, finally provides conclusive evidence to show that, with careful care, babies who are slow to put on weight during their first 9 months can eventually catch up to within a normal range.

A total of 11,499 people who were born in the 90s participated in the study. The researchers studied and analyzed their weight gain during their first 9 months as children. 507 of the infants gained weight at a slower than normal rate before the age of eight weeks and were part of the 'early group'. 480 put on weight at a slower than normal rate between the age of eight weeks and 9 months and were part of the 'late group'.

Children in the early group were able to quickly recover to a normal weight before the age of two, while those in the late group took a bit longer to recover, gradually gaining weight until the age of seven and then experiencing a spurt.

At the age of 13 those in the late group were found to be an average of 4.4 cm shorter and 5.5 kg lighter than other children, while infants in the early group were an average of 3.25 cm shorter and 2.5 kg lighter.

Clinicians often face a dilemma when treating infants with slow weight gain as they have to ensure that they are able to increase daily calorie intake without putting the children at risk of obesity later in life.

There were significant differences in the patterns of recovery between the early group and the late group.

Professor Alan Emond noted Professor of Community Child Health in the University's School of Social and Community Medicine, noted that the reason why children in the early group might have recovered more quickly is because they had feeding difficulties which were identified within the first eight weeks, resulting in earlier and more effective treatment.

He said:

"As Children of the 90s is an observational study, there is limited information available about which infants received nutritional supplements or medical treatments. Those children who showed slow weight gain later in infancy took longer to recover, because of the longer period of slow growth and because their parents were smaller and lighter too."

He added:

"Overall, parents can be reassured that well babies showing slow weight gain in the first year do eventually recover to within the normal range, but at 13-years tend to be lighter and smaller than many of their peers."

It's important to monitor and check a baby's weight progression during their first months of development. However, parents should not overly worry if their baby is well but growing at a slow rate, as they will often catch up with the national average in time.

The findings suggest that, unless urgently required, doctors shouldn't necessarily increase the calorie intake among infants too quickly as it can severely increase their risk of weight problems later in life.

New Measles Cases Highest In 18 Years, England

New cases of measles have reached their highest level in 18 years in the England and Wales, many of them young adults and teenagers who were not immunized after the fraudulent 1998 MMR scare. Health authorities say that many young people and children have had to be taken to hospital.
According to the HPA (Health Protection Agency), there were 2,016 confirmed cases in England and Wales last year, the highest total for one year since 1994.

In 2012, there were prolonged outbreaks in Merseyside and Sussex, as well as several minor outbreaks among travelling communities across the country.

Eighty-seven percent of the 7,392 measles cases reported in the EU (European Union) up to the end of November 2012 came from Romania, Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

Head of immunization at the HPA, Dr Mary Ramsay, said:

"Coverage of MMR is now at historically high levels but measles is highly infectious and can spread easily among communities that are poorly vaccinated, and can affect anyone who is susceptible, including toddlers in whom vaccination has been delayed. Older children who were not vaccinated at the routine age, who may now be teenagers, are at particular risk of becoming exposed, while at school for example.

Measles continues to circulate in several European countries that are popular with holidaymakers. Measles is a highly infectious disease so the only way to prevent outbreaks is to make sure the UK has good uptake of the MMR vaccine, and that when cases are reported, immediate public health action is taken to target unvaccinated individuals in the vicinity as soon as possible."

Dr. Ramsay explained that many people are not aware that measles can strike people today, can cause severe disease and even death; they see it as a disease of the past. Parents need to make sure that their children are immunized against rubella, mumps and measles with two doses of the MMR vaccine.

UK health authorities are urging parents whose kids have not been vaccinated to see their GP (general practitioner, primary care physician) to get immunized. Unvaccinated adults should also see their doctor.

Dr. Ramsay said "If you are unsure whether you or your child has had two doses of the vaccine, speak to your GP who will have a record."

The following signs and symptoms are common in people with measles:

• Flu-like symptoms
• Fever
• Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
• Red eyes
• Gray-white spots in the throat and mouth
• Within a few days a red-brown spotty rash appears on the skin, which usually starts off behind the ears, makes its way around the head and neck, and then spreads to the legs and the rest of the body.

USA - 2011 saw highest number of measles cases in 15 years

In April 2012, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) informed that in 2011 there were more reported cases of measles in the United States than in any of the previous 15 years. Most cases involved foreigners visiting the country or Americans who became infected abroad.

However, the total, at 222 is dwarfed by the current figures coming out of the European Union. One third of all the measles cases in the USA in 2011 had to be hospitalized - however, there were no deaths from the disease that year.

Harm Caused By Bullying, Whether Online Or Off

Children who are bullied online or by mobile phone are just as likely to skip school or consider suicide as kids who are physically bullied, according to a study led by a Michigan State University criminologist.

The findings, published in the International Criminal Justice Review, suggest parents, school officials and policymakers should consider bullying experiences both on and offline when creating anti-bullying policies and procedures.

"We should not ignore one form of bullying for the sake of the other," said Thomas Holt, associate professor of criminal justice. "The results suggest we should find ways to develop school policies to combat bullying within the school environment and then figure out how to translate that to the home, because the risk goes beyond the schoolyard."

The study is one of two new research papers from MSU scholars dealing with cyberbullying. The other study, led by Saleem Alhabash in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, suggests positive online comments are an effective way to fight cyberbullying.

Holt and colleagues, using survey data from more than 3,000 third- through 11th-grade students in Singapore, analyzed the relationships between physical bullying, cyberbullying and mobile phone bullying on skipping school and suicidal thoughts. The study, one of the first to explore bullying in Southeast Asia, echoes research findings from the United States and Canada.

According to the study, 22 percent of students who were physically bullied skipped school or thought about skipping. By comparison, 27 percent of students who were bullied online (which includes email, blogs and chat rooms) and 28 percent who were sent bullying text messages on a mobile phone skipped school or thought about skipping.

Similarly, 22 percent of students who were physically bullied reported suicidal thoughts, while 28 percent of those who reported cyberbullying and 26 percent who were bullied via cell phone said they considered suicide.

In addition, females and younger students were more likely to consider suicide, which reflects other research findings.

Holt said parents should pay attention to warning signs of bullying such as mood changes, sadness, school failures, social withdrawal and a lack of appetite.

When it comes to cyberbullying, he said "careful supervision of youth activity online, including the use of filtering software, can help reduce the likelihood that the child is targeted by bullies via the Web."

Managing the child's mobile phone use is encouraged, Holt said, although there is evidence kids are less likely to report this type of bullying for fear of losing their phone.

"Thus," he said, "parents must carefully educate their children on the risk of bullying victimization via mobile phones and ensure that they can speak to one or both parents about negative experiences."