TV Linked to Attention Deficit in Youth
The journal Pediatrics published
a study in its April issue that has begun to link watching television as a preschooler
and having attention deficit challenges. The study, which was led by Dr. Dimitri
Christakis from Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle,
analyzed parental reviews of their children’s behavior and linked that
with the amount of television they watched between ages 1 and 3. The study found
that risk for attention deficit problems increased with the amount of television
viewed. According to the study, 14 percent of the children sampled watched between
three and four hours of television each day. This group’s risk was between
30 and 40 percent greater than those children who did not watch television.
The research did not conclusively link attention deficit to any specific programs,
but Christakis has speculated that the speed at which images are displayed may
affect children’s brains. The study did not analyze participants based
on whether they had a clinically diagnosed attention deficit disorder, but rather
used parental comments about their children having attention difficulties.
Soy Protein May Have Effect on Colon Cancer
A University of Missouri-Columbia
researcher has shown that estrogen may protect against colon cancer. In addition,
the researcher also found that soy protein may help minimize the number and
size of tumors that do occur.
“This study suggests that colon cancer may be a hormone-responsive cancer
which may provide new ways to treat and or prevent this disease,” said
Ruth MacDonald, professor of food science. “In addition, we discovered
that soy protein could have a very positive effect on the number and size of
tumors that do occur.”
In her study, which was published in the January 2004 edition of the Journal
of Nutrition, MacDonald fed female mice five different diets and followed their
progress for a year. The five diets were designed to compare the effects of
specific ingredients.
Somewhat to her surprise, MacDonald found that while all the diets consisting
of soy and estrogen gave some protection, the diet containing estrone was the
most effective in preventing colon cancer. This is the first time such a finding
has been documented. The researcher also discovered that those mice that ate
soy protein and did develop colon cancer had fewer and smaller tumors than those
mice that did not eat soy.
Three Studies Assess Neck Adjustments
The Canadian chiropractic
profession is currently involved in three studies into neck adjustment. The
Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders is
an international, multi-center, multi-disciplinary study in which the Canadian
chiropractic profession is involved. Two of the task force’s five studies
are focused specifically on risks associated with the treatment of neck pain.
One of the studies will examine neck adjustment and the other will examine the
prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of neck
pain.
Second, the Chiropractic Neck Study is a case control study to assess the risk
of stroke associated with neck adjustment under the direction of Dr. Michael
Hill, a neurologist and epidemiologist with the Departments of Community Health
Sciences and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary.
The third study contains the work of Dr. Walter Herzog, associate dean of research,
faculty of kinesiology, at the University of Calgary. His research into the
biomechanics of neck adjustment is ongoing.
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