Mental Impairment Common In Kids With Ms

Low IQ scores and problems related to thinking and reasoning are common in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an Italian study reported in the journal Neurology.

Approximately 5 percent of MS cases begin before age 18, note Dr. Maria Pia Amato, at the University of Florence, and her associates.

"The initial diagnosis of MS is more difficult in children than in adults," Amato told Reuters Health. Particularly before age 10, "symptoms may resemble those of acute encephalitis," with symptoms such as fever, alterations in mental state and level of consciousness.

Breathing assistance with a mechanical respirator may be required and seizures and signs of brain involvement, which are rare in adults, may often occur in children.

In adolescents, she added, the onset of MS is more like that observed in young adults, with symptoms such as inflammation of the optic nerve, brain stem and cerebellar symptoms and sensory disturbances, usually without any change in mental state.

In either case, there is concern that an early onset of MS could have greater impact on cognitive function if normal neurodevelopment is stunted.

In the researchers' study, 63 MS patients and 57 healthy controls younger than 18 years of age underwent a neuropsychological test battery. MS began before age 10 years in 15 subjects.

In the MS group, the IQ scores were lower than in the placebo group, five MS children had an IQ below 70 vs. none of the placebo group. Fifteen of the MS group had an IQ between 70 and 89, vs. two children in the placebo group.

The only significant predictor of an IQ score less than 70 was younger age at onset.

Half of the MS patients failed at least two neuropsychological tests. Most affected were verbal and visuospatial memory, complex attention, and executive functions.

By interviewing parents, "we confirmed that the disease had a great functional impact and that, beyond the extent of physical disability, cognitive problems play a relevant role negatively affecting school, everyday, and social activities," the authors report.

In treating MS patients, physicians should always take into account the cognitive and psychosocial problems associated with MS and should include them in patient evaluations, Amato emphasized.

In particular, global intellectual faculties and language problems need to be identified and dealt with, especially in children diagnosed with MS before the age of 10.

"I would like to highlight that treatment and support may help the subjects and the families to cope with their psychosocial difficulties," she added.

It is also possible that treatment of very young children may be more effective. "Therefore, early recognition of problems and intervention strategies, both rehabilitative and pharmacological, may lead to a better outcome."

Quick Health Gains For Women Smokers Who Quit-Study

Women who stop smoking can enjoy major health benefits within five years, but it can take decades to correct respiratory damage and lower their risk of lung cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday.

Those who kicked the habit had a 13 per cent reduction in the risk of death from all causes including heart and vascular problems within the first five years. After 20 years the risk of death from any cause was the same for those who quit as it was for those who had never smoked, the study found.

The report also found that women who start smoking later in life have a lower risk of many lung and heart diseases, which the researchers said was troubling given recent studies that show youngsters are taking up cigarettes at early ages.

"Our findings indicate that 64 per cent of deaths in current smokers and 28 per cent of deaths in past smokers are attributable to smoking," Stacey Kenfield of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Quitting reduces the excess mortality rates for all major causes of death examined," they added.

For deaths due specifically to respiratory diseases there was an 18 per cent reduction within five to 10 years of quitting, reaching the level found in nonsmokers after 20 years.

And while there was a 21 per cent reduction in the risk of lung cancer death within five years, Family Health Insurance it took 30 years for that excess risk to go away.

The findings are the latest to emerge from a study of more than 121,000 women US nurses whose health histories were recorded in 1976 and followed during the ensuing years. While the study involved only women, other research has found benefits for men who stop smoking.

The authors said a US survey in 2003 found that 13 per cent of smokers first started at about age 13 or 14, and that 22 per cent of all US high school students then reported they were smoking.

"It is likely that deaths attributable to smoking will increase over time unless there is a substantial increase in cessation," the study concluded.

Worldwide about 5 million premature deaths were attributable to smoking in 2000, the researchers said.

The World Health Organisation projects that by 2030 tobacco-attributable deaths will account for 3 million deaths in industrialized countries annually and 7 million in developing countries.

Protecting Your Child From Improper Vaccination

Family Health Insurance Vaccinations are a childhood ritual and provide vital protection against diseases like measles, mumps, rubella and polio, which can be extremely dangerous for young children. But a report, issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found an alarming 28 percent of toddlers have not been vaccinated according to U.S. guidelines.

Elizabeth Luman of the CDC said, Family Health Insurance "It's not acceptable to have any child improperly or incompletely vaccinated, because that increases their risk of disease and also increases the risk of outbreaks in the community."

RECOMMENDED TIMES FOR YOUR CHILD'S VACCINES: Input your child's age, and this interactive vaccine scheduler will give you a list of recommended dates for all your child's vaccinations.

Zinc Reduces Common Cold Symptoms

Zinc acetate lozenges taken within 24 hours of developing symptoms of the common cold reduce the duration and severity of symptoms, Family Health Insurance according to a report in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Previous studies of zinc treatment for common cold symptoms have yielded conflicting results, the authors explain.

Dr Ananda S Prasad from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, and associates investigated the effects of zinc acetate lozenges in treating the common cold in 50 volunteers who had cold symptoms for 24 hours or less. The participants took one zinc acetate lozenge containing 13.3 milligrams of zinc or an inactive "placebo" every 2 to 3 hours while awake.

The average duration of cold symptoms (including cough, runny nose, Family Health Insurance and muscle ache) was about 4 days in the zinc group compared with 7 in the placebo group, the authors report.

After 4 days, 56 per cent of the zinc group had complete resolution of their colds, whereas none of the placebo group was free of cold symptoms. The results of a number of biochemical tests suggested that zinc was having a true effect on the colds. The investigators observed no zinc side effects.

"Zinc acetate preparation, Family Health Insurance as used in our study, was significantly effective in decreasing the (average) duration of cold symptoms," the authors conclude. "We propose that the beneficial clinical effects seen in the zinc group were due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of zinc."

Lack Of Dental Insurance Creates Family Health Insurance Pressures

The call for increased access to dental care in the United States and Maine has escalated over the last 10 years. The underlying premise has been that a tremendous number of children and adults do not have access to dental care, Family Health Insurance and the primary solution has been to increase the number of providers. Though some evidence may exist to justify this expansion of the dental work force, we have seriously neglected the underlying cause of the lack of access — the proper financing of dental care, or lack thereof.

We are all well aware of the number of medically uninsured in this country. Recent estimates show that about 47 million people, or roughly 16 percent of Americans, do not have health insurance coverage. This large number of individuals without coverage causes diseases to be diagnosed late or not diagnosed at all, which results in higher health care costs. This puts a great burden on hospitals and clinics that absorb these costs and then must share these costs with insured patients through cost-sharing or write-offs. No matter how these costs are managed, all members of society end up paying for this care.

The addition of new providers has not lowered the cost of receiving medical care, it simply lowered the cost to provide the care. Health insurers are still billed the same fees whether a patient is seen by his physician or by a nurse practitioner. We should assume the same would occur in dentistry if and when we create a new dental provider. The translation is that dental care may be cheaper to provide through a community health center or dental office, but it won’t be cheaper for the patient to receive that dental care than it is today.

The issues surrounding dental care are more extreme than medicine but rarely if ever addressed when we discuss policy issues in health care. Though 16 percent of Americans have no health insurance, almost 50 percent of people in the United States do not have private dental insurance. This means more than 100 million Americans have no private dental insurance coverage, a number that is shocking. This number is compounded by the fact that there is no dental coverage for the elderly. More than 70 percent of people over age 65 lack dental coverage, even though their medical care is covered under Medicare benefits. This would translate to more than 650,000 Mainers living without private dental insurance.

Access to dental care is highly dependent on whether or not one has private dental insurance. In fact, the greatest indicator of the likelihood of an individual having had a dental visit in the last 12 months was based on insurance status. This indicator doesn’t change if one is in an area of high or low concentrations of dental providers.

In Maine, as in most states, we also must deal with the issue of being underinsured. The state Medicaid system, MaineCare, pays providers a fraction of the fees billed for most services, creating a severe disincentive for greater participation. Most MaineCare reimbursement for dental procedures is below the cost of providing this care. Even though more than half of dentists are active MaineCare providers, this number is inadequate to manage the extent of disease in this population. It is estimated that 80 percent of dental disease occurs in 20 percent of the population, the 20 percent being primarily low-income populations. More importantly, MaineCare only provides emergency coverage for adults, leaving MaineCare adults to pay cash out of pocket for comprehensive dental care.

Not surprisingly, the No. Family Health Insurance 1 unmet health care need reported by enrollees into the Dirigo health plan was dental care. Yet as a society, it seems that we do not place enough value on dental care to include it as a standard component of basic health benefits.

The risk of expanding the dental work force without addressing the enormous gap between the insured and uninsured is clear. Though some in need may be able to access care through an expansion of the dental work force, the realistic result will be that more care will be provided to those with resources and dental insurance, further widening the gap in dental disparities in Maine and the United States. This is what happened in Canada after they created a new dental provider intended for poor native populations — these providers went into more lucrative private practices.

Real change will require real dental benefits, which would then allow an expansion of the dental work force with a more equitable distribution of services. However, the real solution to change the oral health of our most needy is primary dental prevention, not treatment.

Considering we know how to prevent tooth decay and with the limited available public resources we have for dental services, Family Health Insurance it is imperative that we develop and implement a universal early dental preventive system for children 3 years of age and younger using nondental health professionals in nondental settings. Dental care financing and then work force expansion should follow the development of a universal prevention system.

School District Family Health Insurance To Offer Some Employees Holiday

The School District has declared two dependent Family Health Insurance holidays – two paydays where there will not be payment deducted from employee paychecks for dependent Family Health Insurance coverage.

Family Health Insurance Annual Premium Adjustment: Each year, prior to the enrollment period, the health insurance premiums shall be set to insure that the rates are actuarially sound and meet any and all federal.

LaBute said Superintendent Dennis Thompson has asked district officials to study how the district can make dependent health insurance more affordable for employees Family Health Insurance. Thompson said the district’s self-funded program is currently able to support the two insurance holidays.

Family Health Insurance Schip Battle Like Struggle For Medicare

The Republicans defeated the States Children's Family Health Insurance Program by sustaining Bush's veto. Even as President Bush prepares to veto for a second time legislation that funds the States Children's Family Health Insurance Program, congressional Republicans and Democrats are negotiating privately on a third version of the bill.

He signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, omitting Family Health Insurance.There was a push for health insurance within the Roosevelt Administration, but politics began to be influenced by internal government conflicts over priorities Family Health Insurance.

Harry Truman sent a message to Congress asking for legislation establishing a national Family Health Insurance plan.Kennedy was elected president in 1960, he also pushed for Medicare but failed because he couldn't overcome the above opposition. Kennedy's proposals would have provided health coverage for persons over 65 years of age. The same thing is happening today on the State Children's Family Health Insurance Program.

Family Health Insurance Schip Battle Like Struggle For Medicare

The Republicans defeated the States Children's Family Health Insurance Program by sustaining Bush's veto. Even as President Bush prepares to veto for a second time legislation that funds the States Children's Family Health Insurance Program, congressional Republicans and Democrats are negotiating privately on a third version of the bill.

He signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, omitting Family Health Insurance.There was a push for health insurance within the Roosevelt Administration, but politics began to be influenced by internal government conflicts over priorities Family Health Insurance.

Harry Truman sent a message to Congress asking for legislation establishing a national Family Health Insurance plan.Kennedy was elected president in 1960, he also pushed for Medicare but failed because he couldn't overcome the above opposition. Kennedy's proposals would have provided health coverage for persons over 65 years of age. The same thing is happening today on the State Children's Family Health Insurance Program.

Diplomat Trying Family Health Insurance

Family Health Insurance it is not his disability that is preventing him from leaving Israel, but rather a bureaucratic hurdle that requires returning Israelis to stay here for a set period in order to receive health insurance. was told that for my Family Health Insurance to start, I had to be in the country for a minimum of 183 days without leaving."

Family Health Insurance and while he is not forced to pay an enormous fine to receive health insurance like most other returning Israelis - in some cases, He has to be here for 183 days before his health insurance can begin," confirmed Daniel Elkayam, director of the Department for Family Health Insurance and Health Insurance at the NII.

Family Health Insurance that any medical expenses incurred during the waiting period could be reimbursed at a later date if the case were presented to a special Family Health Insurance Ministry committee. especially the large sums that have to be paid in order to receive health insurance.

She said that one of the main changes was that the ministry would now cover the health insurance fine for returning Israelis.Family Health Insurance As for erasing the health insurance waiting period, Noy said that attempts to modify such a demand had so far failed, Family Health Insurance but that efforts were still afoot to change the existing Health Insurance Law.

Family Health Insurance Arkansan Families Struggling

The number of insured Arkansans spending from 10 percent to 25 percent of disposable income on health care is expected to increase substantially during 2008,Family Health Insurance according to a study commissioned by New York-based Families USA, an advocacy group for consumers of family health care.

Marion Berry both renewed calls for President Bush to stop using the 2007 State Children's Family Health Insurance Program Re-authorization Bill as political leverage against a Congress that has given bipartisan support to the bill in both the House and Senate.

The bill holds $35 billion for Family Health Insurance for uninsured children and adults. The funding is tied directly to the Arkansas' ARKids First program and similar programs in other states.The study looked at 10 percent and 25 percent benchmarks in health-care spending among Arkansans during the past eight years Family Health Insurance.

Arkansans were in families that spent more than 25 percent of their pre-tax income on Family Health Insurance costs.These fast-rising health-care costs are forcing increasing numbers of people to look for new ways to pay for care Family Health Insurance. With the majority of doctor's offices and hospitals now accepting payment by credit card, paying for health services via credit card is becoming increasingly common.

New Study Shows Low Income Family Health Insurance Care

There are so many problems in our health care delivery system and its financing structure that even families who have health insurance are having problems getting care as well as paying for it Family Health Insurance, according to a recent study by an Oregon Health & Science University family physician.

The study Family Health Insurance, Insurance Plus Access Does Not Equal Health Care: Family Health Insurance Typology of Barriers to Health Care Access for Low Income Families, recently was published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine.Incremental health insurance reforms alone are not going to solve these problems.

The study was designed to the identify barriers low-income parents face when accessing health care for their children and how insurance status affects their reporting of these barriers. DeVoe found three major barriers: lack of insurance coverage, poor access to services and unaffordable costs. Even families with health insurance had trouble affording the co-pays as well as needed medications.Family Health Insurance with public health insurance had trouble getting access to a health care provider. When they did gain access Family Health Insurance.

The study population included all Oregon families enrolled in the federal food stamp program at the end of January 2005 with children who were also presumed eligible for publicly funded health insurance.We have insurance and we have a family physician, Family Health Insurance but we can't afford to get health care. The second group's could be: We have health insurance, but we can't always find the care that we need. Family Health Insurance And for the third group: Because we have no health insurance, we can't get care.

Product May Hit Market IN Dec Family Health Insurance

Family Health Insurance In the pipeline is a senior citizen’s health insurance policy.29 Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) hopes to launch its health insurance product by the third week of December.

Family Health Insurance would be on the lines of floater plan which would give the policyholder the option to take health insurance cover for his immediate family. LIC has tied up with Munich Re to structure the new product.

The official also said that the product is not based on the cashless transaction model and the company is targeting to provide health cover to close to one crore families in the first year of the launch of the product Family Health Insurance.the health insurance operations would be a part of the life insurance business.

based on which LIC would instruct the bankers to issue the claim cheque to its health insurance policyholders Family Health Insurance. This will help us settle claims much faster than what is happening in the market at the moment.crore from the health insurance policy in the first year Family Health Insurance.Also in the pipeline is a senior citizens health insurance policy.

Unicare Womens Health

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Dr. Lewenbergs Formulas And Women Family Health Insurance

Family Health Insurance Lewenberg's Formula is the safest and most effective treatment for hair loss in women. We guarantee regrowth of strong healthy beautiful hair in over 95% of women of any age. These results are for any kind of hair loss with only lower results in those patients with Alopecia Areata. The formula regrows,Family Health Insurance improves and thickens hair all over the head.

Family Health Insurance Once you regrow or thicken your hair to your desired look, it can be maintained permanently and easily for as little as 50cents per day. Family Health Insurance Most importantly for women, first visible improvement starts in only 3 months of treatment.

Lewenberg's Formulas contain only 2% minoxidil. . This is the only concentration approved by the FDA for women experiencing hair loss.Family Health Insurance It does not cause facial hair growth or other side effects associated with some other treatments on the market. This strength of minoxidil in combination with Tretinoin allows women to regrow strong healthy hair, Family Health Insurance and not the weak temporary hair found with other treatments. This is your own natural hair, only more beautiful and thicker.

Most of the women do not lose the hair they regrowed after stopping treatment; however Dr. Lewenberg advises minimal maintenance.Family Health Insurance Patients need to only apply the formula once per day and can suspend maintenance for up to 2 months at a time. The reason is that the formulas improve the quality of the hair and the health of the follicle in patients to the point that the hair is healthy and strong. Family Health Insurance By using minimal dosage for maintenance, patients can keep their hair healthy and beautiful for the rest of their lives.

Women Often Ask Family Health Insurance

Family Health Insurance However, you shouldn't experience significant "pain." They key to a more comfortable, and quicker, exam is to stay as calm and relaxed as possible.Family Health Insurance It also helps to breathe. Don't hold you breath! With a capable healthcare provider, your exam will be a much better experience than you anticipated.

your mother doesn't need to stay with you during your exam, though many young women prefer that they do. You will always be given the opportunity to talk with the health practitioner in privacy and with confidentiality. Family Health Insurance It's extremely important that you be honest with the doctor in order for him or her to help you. Nothing is too embarrassing to talk about, Family Health Insurance though we know it can be difficult to discuss some things.

Birth control pills are excellent for decreasing both the pain and heaviness or your periods. If your symptoms are severe enough,Family Health Insurance ask your doctor. Some women will experience severe enough cramps to miss work or school. Pain this severe should not be considered normal and should be evaluated by your health practitioner.

The yeast fungus is itself not usually dangerous, but the symptoms of the infection can be annoying, including severe itching, burning, or discharge. Family Health Insurance It is easily treated by creams that are readily available at most pharmacies or food stores. These creams include Monostat, Femstat, Mystatin,Family Health Insurance and others. Make sure you only use creams that are designed to be used in the vagina. If your infection does not readily clear up with the creams, make sure you call your health care professional Family Health Insurance.

Family Health Insurance In Autism Linked To Modern Diet

Family Health Insurance Mary Megson, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, agrees. She suggests that autism may be caused by inserting a G-alpha protein defect, the pertussis toxin found in the D.P.T. vaccine, Family Health Insurance into genetically at-risk children. This depletes the children of their existing supply of vitamin A.

She has treated over 2,000 children for autism and uses under a teaspoon of cod liver oil every day. Cod liver oil is a rich source of vitamin A. Otherwise known as retinol, vitamin A is essential for vision. Family Health Insurance It is also vital for building healthy cells in the gut and brain.

The majority of Dr. Megson's subjects come out of the autistic spectrum within six months — Family Health Insurance some within weeks, she says. She has seen children making eye contact for the first time in their lives after just three days of treatment.

Mental Illness Linked To Modern Diet Family Health Insurance

Mental illness is reaching epidemic levels Family Health Insurance. The World Health Organization claims that mental health problems "are fast becoming the number-one health issue of the 21st century". Clinical depression is the biggest international health threat after heart disease Family Health Insurance.

Family Health Insurance At the same time, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the drug treatments available. In the UK, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants has more than doubled in 10 years, with 80% of GPs admitting they over-prescribe drugs such as Prozac because of the lack of alternative forms of treatment Family Health Insurance.

While medical science pins mental health problems on a combination of factors, including age, genetics and environmental influence Family Health Insurance, research reveals there might be a link between the modern diet and mental health problems.

Already in the 1930s,Family Health Insurance a dentist named Weston Price traveled round the world studying cultures still eating their traditional foods, and compared their health with those members of the same culture eating western foods. Those continuing to eat traditional diets enjoyed excellent physical and emotional health. But those who had changed to a western diet high in white flour, sugar, Family Health Insurance and canned goods suffered from a range of physical and mental health problems and were prone to infectious diseases. This huge deterioration occurred after just one generation of exposure to processed foods Family Health Insurance. His book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is a landmark in the understanding of how food affects the mind and body.

Family Health Insurance Endomorph And Mesomorph

Family Health Insurance An ectomorph generally struggles to gain muscle and no matter how much they eat, never seem to gain any weight, despite the possibility of having a high and unhealthy body fat percentage.

Apart from the physical characteristics, endomorphs may also have a naturally low metabolic rate Family Health Insurance. While they do gain fat rather easily, endomorphs also have the capacity to build muscle with little effort Family Health Insurance.

Family Health Insurance In order to keep in shape and avoid gaining weight, endomorphs need to be extremely strict with their diet and exercise regime. Family Health Insurance A healthy diet, comprising of low carbohydrate and low fat meals, together with regular exercise, at least five times a week can help endomorphs stay in shape.

Family Health Insurance A mesomorph has the ability to gain muscle quickly and can lose fat weight when a healthy, Family Health Insurance low fat, high protein diet is followed.

The mesomorph body type is the one that can be envied by most. The reason for this is that mesomorphs have the ability to build masterpiece physiques Family Health Insurance. When optimally conditioned, mesomorphs gain lean muscle mass, quickly and don't lose it quickly. However, they also have the tendency to gain fat and may sometimes have trouble losing the fat Family Health Insurance.

Childrens Family Health Insurance Coverage Pilot Program

Family Health Insurance A new pilot project in West Virginia will offer health coverage to uninsured children who do not qualify for Medicaid or other government programs, the AP/Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Under the "Every Child Matters" program, families will pay $30 per physician visit, and an "affordability fund" will cover a portion of the cost if a family cannot pay the entire fee. Sixteen community health center facilities across the state will participate in the program Family Health Insurance. The program is a joint project of the Heinz Family Philanthropies, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the West Virginia Primary Care Association Family Health Insurance.

Heinz Family Philanthropies Chair Teresa Heinz said that the program will move the state one step closer to providing universal health care access for children Family Health Insurance.

Kentucky Candidates Differ On Expanding Family Health Insurance Coverage

The Louisville Courier-Journal on Tuesday examined health care proposals from Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear (D) and incumbent Gov Family Health Insurance. Ernie Fletcher (R). According to the Courier-Journal, Fletcher and Beshear agree on some health care issues but have different approaches to one pressing problem -- extending health coverage to more than half a million residents who lack it Family Health Insurance.

Fletcher, noting that three-quarters of the state's uninsured work for small businesses Family Health Insurance, has said he would expand the ICARE program his administration established to help small employers pay for workers' coverage.

The program currently covers more than 1,500 people in businesses with 25 or fewer employees, but Fletcher would expand eligibility to employers with 50 or fewer workers. He also has proposed establishing ICARE 4 Kids, which would expand KCHIP, the state's version of SCHIP,Family Health Insurance to subsidize premiums so families of small-business workers could purchase coverage through ICARE.

Both candidates support prevention efforts to help lower health care costs.Family Health Insurance In addition, both candidates oppose raising cigarette taxes to pay for their respective expansions. Health reform advocates say Beshear's overall proposals for cutting the ranks of the uninsured are more comprehensive, Family Health Insurance but they credit Fletcher for keeping many from losing health coverage through his management of Medicaid,