 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 19, 2010
Many fibromyalgia patients may also suffer from bipolar disorder as well as depression.
New research suggests that just over 25 percent of patients with fibromyalgia also have symptoms of bipolar disorder.
According to Dr. William Wilke from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and his colleagues, “the most important finding of our study pertains to the high prevalence of a positive screen for bipolar disorder in patients with fibromyalgia.â€
Fibromyalgia is a condition which causes painful muscle, joint and body aches. More common in women, it can also cause fatigue, daytime fatigue, and other symptoms. The causes are unknown and may affect up to five percent of the population. It is thought that depression can at some point affect 90 percent of patients with fibromyalgia. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, depression affects 6.7 million Americans a year, and bipolar disorder affects 2.6 million.
To determine the frequency of bipolar disorder in patients with fibromyalgia, Wilke and his colleagues assessed 128 consecutive fibromyalgia patients who had been newly referred to a rheumatology practice. Â Â The patients were asked to complete four different questionnaires, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) for bipolar disorder, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for daytime sleepiness, and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Disability Index (FIQ-DI).
Wilke found that of the fibromyalgia patients, according to the MDQ screen, 25.19 percent of the patients were likely to have bipolar disorder.
Over 78 percent of the fibromyalgia patients were clinically depressed according to the BDI.Â
The Epworth Sleepiness scale revealed that 52.13 percent of the patients reported daytime sleepiness.
Of the patients who tested positive for bipolar disorder, their depression was measured as more severe according to the BDI.
In addition, of the patients who screened positive for depression, almost one third also screened positive for bipolar disorder as well.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/20/bipolar-disorder-common-in-fibromyalgia/17083.html
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“The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck. Your thyroid lies below your Adam’s apple, along the front of the windpipe. The thyroid has two side lobes, connected by a bridge (isthmus) in the middle.” “Graves’ disease is one of the most common of all thyroid problems. It is also the leading cause of hyperthyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland produces excessive hormones. Once the disorder has been correctly diagnosed, it is quite easy to treat. In some cases, Graves’ disease goes into remission or disappears completely after several months or years. Left untreated, however, it can lead to serious complications — even death.” – From WebMD
 
Do you suffer with cold intolerance, fatigue, dry skin or hair, constipation, or muscle cramps? These may be symptoms of a thyroid disorder — or simply getting older.
Whether you have hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), or the more common condition, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), the proper diagnosis is important because thyroid problems can lead to a number of conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and chronic fatigue. For more information, read our new Special Report, Do You Have a Thyroid Disorder?.
Located at the base of your neck below the voice box (larynx), the thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that is part of the endocrine system. The thyroid makes two iodine-containing hormones — thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) — that control metabolism and help organs, like the heart, work properly. But for these functions to be carried out, your thyroid must release an appropriate amount of hormones into the bloodstream — an activity regulated by the pituitary gland, which produces thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), a substance that stimulates the release of both T4 and T3. Click here to read the entire article.
 
Abstract
Introduction Dyslexia is a complex neurodevelopemental disorder that affects 5 to 10% of school-age children. This condition consists in a specific learning disability with a neurological origin. These learning difficulties are unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of efficient classroom instruction. A range of neurobiological investigations suggests that disruption of the parieto-temporo-occipital systems underlies a failure of skilled reading to develop. The observation that dyslexia is both a familial and heritable problem was made early on and was confirmed by twin studies. They also suggested that both genetic and environmental factors are involved. Several loci have been implicated in dyslexia, notably on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 15 and 18 and some candidate genes have been proposed, but no functional mutation has yet been identified. Literature review Dyslexia seldom appears isolated and dyslexic people are very likely to present other kinds of learning disabilities or psychiatric disorders. Specific language impairment, often with a mild outcome, is the most frequently associated with dyslexia. Indeed, late language development is often reported by dyslexic patients and also occurs more frequently among their siblings. Genetic linkage studies suggest some common genetic factor underlying this comorbidity. Dyscalculia is associated with dyslexia in 25% of cases, but most people with dyscalculia do not have any sign of dyslexia. The question of whether dyscalculia associated with dyslexia and dyscalculia itself rely on the same cognitive impairment is still controversial. Impaired motor development is also a common feature that affects nearly 50% of dyslexics and dyslexia is frequent among dyspraxic patients. This association raises the discussion on the role of motor impairment in dyslexia’s physiopathology and the cerebellar theory of dyslexia. Beyond its link with other learning disorders, the study of dyslexia’s comorbidity highlights psychopathological issues. ADHD is the most frequent psychiatric disorder associated with dyslexia. Underpinnings of this link between the two disorders seem to rely on common cognitive and genetic factors. Some authors have proposed a candidate gene ADRA2A to determine the condition including ADHD and dyslexia. In addition, dyslexics are exposed to a higher risk of anxiodepressive and behavioural disorders. Dyslexic children experience three times more behavioural disorders and one third of children with behavioural problems turn out to be affected by dyslexia. The literature study reveals inconsistent findings about depressed mood among dyslexics, but evidence of a persistent increase in the rate of anxiety disorders. The authors put forward the impact of environmental factors to explain these psychiatric comorbidities. Conclusion This review emphasizes dyslexia’s comorbidities because they represent an important issue, both from a scientific and clinical point of view. Indeed, for clinicians, children showing multiple learning disabilities have specific reeducation and educational needs and dyslexics have a higher risk of emotional and behavioural disorders. On the other hand, dyslexia’s comorbidity study provides a powerful method for researchers to investigate the still unknown physiopathology of dyslexia.
Source:Â http://www.citeulike.org/group/12693/article/7647267
 
An EEG cap is used to measure the brain’s response to sensory stimuli
Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers develop method with potential to evaluate effectiveness of autism therapy
August 19, 2010 — (BRONX, NY) — A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children.
The study, which appears in the August 17 online issue of Autism Research, supports decades of clinical and anecdotal observations that individuals with ASD have difficulty coping with multiple sources of sensory information. The Einstein finding offers new insights into autism and could lead to objective measures for evaluating the effectiveness of autism therapies.
“One of the classic presentations of autism is the child in the corner with his hands over his ears rocking back and forth trying to block out the environment,” said senior author Sophie Molholm, Ph.D., associate professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of pediatrics. “People have long theorized that these children might not be integrating information across the senses very well. If you have all these sights and sounds coming at you but you can’t put them together in a meaningful way, the world can be an overwhelming place.”
The theory that autistic kids have trouble processing multisensory information has not been reliably supported by behavioral studies, and has rarely, if at all, been tested using measures of brain activity. Over the last few years, Dr. Molholm and her colleagues have been refining methods for measuring multisensory integration (MSI) using brainwave electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings.
In the current study, MSI was measured in 17 ASD children, ages 6 to 16, and 17 typically developing children matched for age and non-verbal IQ. The children watched a silent video of their choice while they were presented with unrelated sounds and vibrations. The auditory and vibrational stimuli were presented separately (creating so-called unisensory conditions) and then together (multisensory condition), which acted as the researchers’ index of MSI. The children’s EEG responses to the unisensory conditions were summed and compared to their EEG responses to multisensory conditions.
The responses of the typically developing children to the multisensory stimuli exceeded the sum of their responses to the unisensory stimuli―an indication of healthy MSI, according to the researchers. In the ASD children, by contrast, the differences between the sum of children’s unisensory responses and their MSI responses were not nearly as pronounced, indicating that these kids were not integrating multisensory information as effectively.
“Our data makes a compelling case, at least for these conditions, that there are differences in multisensory integration between the two groups,” said Dr. Molholm.
After our nerves are stimulated, “sensory information arrives in the brain’s cortex within 20 milliseconds (ms), or 20/1000ths of a second,” said co-author John Foxe, Ph.D., professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of pediatrics and director of research of the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein. “Then it takes an additional 100 to 200 ms for the brain to integrate information arriving from different senses, since many brain regions are involved in analyzing it.”
Read in Full:Â http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/aeco-arf081310.php
 
By Jia Feishang  |  2010-8-20
SHANGHAI is being urged to do more to help autistic children and their families.
The city has been slow to set up rehabilitation centers and social security systems, experts said at the city’s first autism seminar yesterday.
Ji Min, vice director of the Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation, said there were 39 institutes offering training services for autistic kids, but fewer than 100 professionals available.
The city has more than 8,000 children diagnosed with autism, but the real figure is estimated at around 10,000 based on the fact that the prevalence of autism is one per 1,000 people, said Peng Xizhe, a professor at Fudan University.
He called for preferential policies on taxes and more educational help for autistic children.
Chen Peide, father of 27-year-old son with autism, said he worries most about who can take care of his son if he and his wife died.
“I haven’t figured out any social security policies or systems for my son.”
About 80 percent of people who have the condition need to rely on others to take care of them throughout their lives.
 
NEW DELHI: The nation on Friday fondly remembered former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 66th birth anniversary.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajiv’s widow and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at his memorial ‘Veer Bhumi’.
Congress MP Rahul and his sister Priyanka along with her husband Robert Vadra were also present at the remembrance ceremony at the memorial.
Besides, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and senior Congress leaders also paid floral tributes at the memorial.
Later at a separate function, Sonia Gandhi presented motorised vehicles to 150 disabled persons. All recipients of the vehicles suffer from severe lower-limb disability.
The function was organised by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
 
ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2010) — Teens who are overweight, get little exercise or who smoke may be more likely to have frequent headaches and migraines than teens with none of these factors, according to a study published in the August 18, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Teens with all three of the negative lifestyle factors were 3.4 times more likely to have frequent headaches than those with none of the negative lifestyle factors. Of those with all three negative lifestyle factors, 55 percent had frequent headaches, compared to 25 percent of those with no negative lifestyle factors. Those with two negative factors were 1.8 times more likely to have frequent headaches.
Overweight teens were 40 percent more likely to have frequent headaches than those with no negative factors. Teens who smoked were 50 percent more likely to have frequent headaches, and teens who exercised less than twice a week were 20 percent more likely to have frequent headaches than those who exercised at least twice a week and had no other negative factors.
“These lifestyle factors have rarely been studied in teens,” said Andrew D. Hershey, MD, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. “This study is a vital step toward a better understanding of lifestyle factors and potential preventive measures that can be taken.”
Read in Full:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100818161445.htm
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 18, 2010
A new Associated Press article out this week suggests that the U.S. Army may have misdiagnosed hundreds of soldiers with a personality disorder, rather than with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Soldiers who carry a diagnosis of a personality disorder often face being discharged, and find that their access to military and health benefits cut at the same time. Nearly 1,000 soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 were discharged for having a personality disorder. Soldiers who receive a PTSD diagnosis can receive treatment while still being enlisted, and continue to receive all of the military and health benefits of an active duty soldier.
Advocates for veterans suggest that the practice, although supposedly stopped by the Army since it first came to light, is still occurring. Hundreds of soldiers are still receiving personality disorder diagnoses, cutting off their access to needed health care and treatment, according to advocates.
“We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren’t misdiagnosed,†Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen told the Associated Press. Dr. Van Dahlen is a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit “Give an Hour†connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/18/army-misdiagnoses-hundreds-with-personality-disorders-instead-of-ptsd/17022.html
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 18, 2010
Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest — and most immature — in their kindergarten class, according to new research by a Michigan State University economist.
These children are significantly more likely than their older classmates to be prescribed behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin, said Todd Elder, whose study will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics.
Such inappropriate treatment is particularly worrisome because of the unknown impacts of long-term stimulant use on children’s health, Elder said. It also wastes an estimated $320 million to $500 million a year on unnecessary medication — some $80 million to $90 million of it paid by Medicaid, he said.
Elder said the “smoking gun†of the study is that ADHD diagnoses depend on a child’s age relative to classmates and the teacher’s perceptions of whether the child has symptoms.
“If a child is behaving poorly, if he’s inattentive, if he can’t sit still, it may simply be because he’s 5 and the other kids are 6,†said Elder, assistant professor of economics. “There’s a big difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old, and teachers and medical practitioners need to take that into account when evaluating whether children have ADHD.â€
ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder for kids in the United States, with at least 4.5 million diagnoses among children under age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, there are no neurological markers for ADHD (such as a blood test), and experts disagree on its prevalence, fueling intense public debate about whether ADHD is under- or overdiagnosed, Elder said.
Using a sample of nearly 12,000 children, Elder examined the difference in ADHD diagnosis and medication rates between the youngest and oldest children in a grade. The data is from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort, which is funded by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/18/16984/16984.html
 
Put aside the dramatic Hollywood portrayals. Suited, married, high achieving, some of them walk among us. No, not vampires or super-heroes but ‘successful psychopaths’. Like their criminally violent cousins – the standard psychopaths – these people are ruthless, callous, fearless and arrogant. But thanks to their superior self-control and conscientiousness, rather than landing in prison, they end up as company chief executives, university chancellors and Queen’s Council barristers. Well, that’s the idea anyway. But it’s an idea that’s proven difficult for psychologists to investigate. After all, if you advertise for volunteers for a study of successful people who are psychopathic, you’re not likely to get many responses.
