UAB now hosts the better Breathers’ Club, a project of the American Lung Association for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. the better Breathers’ Club provides support, education and socialization for people with COPD, their family members, and their caretakers.

The club will meet 3:30-4:30 p.m. every other month at UAB Highlands Hospital in the first floor board room. the first meeting is scheduled for June 13 and the topic is oxygen delivery devices. Meeting dates through the end of 2013 can be found at uabmedicine.org/conditions-and-services/copd-patients.

COPD is a slowly progressive disease of the airways that is characterized by a gradual loss of lung function. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema or a combination of these conditions. there are effective treatments for COPD, particularly if the disease is diagnosed while still in the early stages. the symptoms of COPD can range from chronic cough and sputum production to severely disabling shortness of breath. in America, the most important risk factor for COPD is cigarette smoking. the most important measure for preventing COPD — and for slowing disease progression — is to quit smoking.

First black policeman David Michael raises awareness of prostate cancer

7:10am Friday 23rd March 2012 in News by Alex Bellotti

in 1973, David Michael made history as a 19-year-old by becoming the first black officer to serve in the Met Police in Lewisham.

Now, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, the Lewisham 58-year-old is again trying to make a difference.

The retired Detective Chief Inspector has decided it is time to raise awareness about prostate cancer and, having also lost two close family members to the disease, it is a subject he is painfully aware of.

He said: “It seemed more difficult for the family.

“I was resigned to take one day at a time and was confident the medical team would do the best they could for me.

“I was 55 years old at the time and the consultant and his team recommended that the most appropriate treatment in my case was to remove the diseased prostate by keyhole surgery.

“My keyhole procedure went very well.

“I did not require any other form of medicine or treatment and have been cancer-free since January 2009.”

However, Mr Michael says the reason for his successful recovery is because he requested a test for prostate cancer before doctors even identified any symptoms.

Without this request, the outcome may not have been as positive, a fact which he is keen to pass on.

He said: “Since my diagnosis, treatment and recovery, I have been involved in prostate cancer awareness in the community.

“I started a Facebook group that now has over 3,000 members including health professionals, family members bereaved through prostate cancer and men living with prostate cancer through various stages.”

Mr Michael is now helping to promote the work of The Prostate Cancer Charity and has been working harder than ever during March – designated Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

He is also raising money for the organisation through his page on the Justgiving fundraising website.

for more information, visit prostate-cancer.org.uk and justgiving.com/David-Michael3

Facts about Prostate Cancer.

• all men over 50 years old are entitled to the blood test David requested on the NHS.

• The older men get, the greater incidence of prostate cancer there will be.

• The more members of a family who have prostate cancer, the greater the risk factors for other male members.

• Black men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men.

• It is widely suggested that a good diet may play a crucial role as a preventative measure.

The cause of a mysterious condition that haunts its sufferers with sensations of crawling bugs and fibrous material embedded in the skin may be one step closer to being found, a new study suggests.

The condition, commonly referred to as Morgellons, does not appear to be contagious, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This alleviates concerns about the condition being contagious between family members and others,” said mark Eberhard, Director of CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

People with Morgellons report having symptoms manifesting on their skin. These include non-healing skin lesions, the emergence of fibers or solid material from the skin, and disturbing sensations, such as crawling, stinging or biting. Some patients report fatigue, memory loss and a substantial decline in quality of life, according to the study.

The study was undertaken after the CDC received a number of calls over the last 10 years with reports of the condition, Eberhard said.

“We had no idea what it was or might be,” Eberhard told MyHealthNewsDaily. “We felt very compelled to do something. it was quite clear that people were suffering.”

The report still does not identify a cause of the condition, and Morgellons is not recognized as a distinct medical disorder. however, by ruling out an infectious cause, researchers have begun to narrow down what health care providers need to look for when patients report signs of the condition, Eberhard said. And it’s likely that different factors contribute to individual cases.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a single diagnosis that will fit across the spectrum of it,” Eberhard said.

Unexplained disease

Eberhard and colleagues identified 109 patients with this condition by searching the electronic medical record database of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California. The researchers estimate the condition is rare, found in about four out of every 100,000 people.

Patients were put through a battery of tests to identify possible causes, including a medical exam, skin biopsies and psychiatric and blood testing. Fibers and solid material was extracted from the patients’ wounds, and their composition was examined.

“There’s been a great deal of fixation, on everybody’s part, with those fibers,” Eberhard said. Previous reports included patients bringing fibers they said had emerged from their skin to their doctors, but “there was no way to validate, scientifically, where the fibers came from,” Eberhard said.

The researchers concluded the fibers were coming from external sources, mostly from cotton. Fibers from clothing or carpet may become stuck in an open wound before it clots over, and appear to be coming from the wound, Eberhard said.

The majority of patients were middle-age white women. about half had evidence of other medical conditions, mostly psychiatric illnesses. Also, about half of patients were found to have been using drugs, including amphetamines, opiates and cocaine, according to the study.

Most of the lesions had the appearance of wounds caused by scratching, Eberhard said. Other potential causes for some of the cases include eczema and bug bites.

Seeking help

Eberhard emphasized that the study cannot say whether certain factors, including drug use and scratching, are a cause or an effect of the condition.

People who suspect they have Morgellons should speak with their health care provider, Eberhard said. Eberhard recommends that both the patient and doctor keep an open mind about the diagnosis.

However, “we would propose that they not focus on an infectious cause, or an environmental link,” Eberhard said.

Although no treatment for Morgellons is available, patients should be given standard therapies for any co-occurring conditions they may have, the researchers say. in addition, patients may benefit from therapies used to treat psychiatric conditions with similar symptoms.

The study is published today (Jan. 25) in the online journal PLoS ONE.

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Jodi DeMuth has brought life to the Seacoast, delivering hundreds of babies as a midwife, but in this new Year she is waiting to see whether a family member can save her life by donating 60 percent of their liver.

DeMuth, 58, is in need of a transplant because of degenerative autoimmune disease primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), which has irreversibly scarred her liver. The Wells resident was diagnosed with the disease 23 years ago and, with the help of her doctors and medications, she managed to keep its progression at bay until her condition recently reached a new level.

Doctors have determined that a live donor is DeMuth’s best option, so she’s turned to eight of her family members, all of whom are being tested to determine whether they are a match. with the same blood type, and all in relatively good health, it’s likely that DeMuth will find a match in one of those eight family members.

Her biggest obstacle is money. The surgery can cost up to $1 million dollars and will take DeMuth and her donor away from their jobs for months.

Now, this woman who has given so much of herself to parents and their newborn babies as a midwife is turning to the community for help.

An autoimmune disease, PBC is chronic, progressive and has no cure. While the liver is regenerative and can keep itself healthy under attack for long periods of time, it eventually suffers too much damage.

“It’s a condition that progresses over many years and generally ends up in typical cirrhosis of the liver. This causes a variety of symptoms, generally causes fatigue and general debilitation,” said Dr. James Markmann, chief of transplant surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of surgery at Harvard University. “It eventually becomes life-threatening.”

After her PBC diagnosis, DeMuth and her doctors created a successful treatment plan that has kept her feeling healthy and living well. but the disease’s recent progression cannot be treated with medication. The daily struggles are worsening as DeMuth faces intense fatigue, abdominal inflammation and severe itchiness, all diminishing her quality of life.

“At periods of time when I’m feeling more kind of enlightened, I feel really lucky that I’ve had 20 years of this being pretty low-key, pretty back-burner,” DeMuth said. “I’ve been able to raise a family and have this amazing career.”

The closeness of DeMuth’s family is humbling, the love you feel between them striking and the laughter they emanate contagious. It was all felt during a brief lunch with DeMuth and six of her family members as they started the liver-match process recently at Massachusetts General Hospital, where the transplant surgery will take place.

“We thrive a little on humor and in general our tone is optimistic and positive. we all grew up with the sense that everything would be OK and that our strength lay in our connectedness. It’s just always been a piece of the fabric of the whole thing,” Jodi DeMuth said. “We make fun of this all the time. This whole process that we’re going through. There’s nothing else to do.”

For the eight family members undergoing testing — including Jodi’s sister Nancy DeMuth and two other siblings, daughter Caitlin DeMuth Greenwood, 24, and son Mischa DeMuth Winters, 33 — there was never a question of whether to donate.

“No, I didn’t think about it. It’s a yes. Automatically, if I’m the best one, then it’s a yes,” said Nancy DeMuth, who lives in Marblehead, Mass.

The two sisters have a strong bond formed from their childhood memories, time spent together in California in their younger years, and Jodi’s involvement as a midwife in the birth of Nancy’s daughter.

Jodi DeMuth’s longtime partner, Earl Whitfield, who was the first to be rejected as a potential donor, is a strong source of support, particularly for DeMuth and her children.

Caitlin DeMuth Greenwood was just 2 years old when her mom was diagnosed with PBC. It’s not something that’s been a focus in her life, until now.

“It was definitely hard when it hit another stage. I really love her and everybody does. It’s just not supposed to happen like this. I worry about it, but I don’t,” she said, turning to her mother, their eyes locking. “She likes to make sure I don’t.”

As a nurse midwife for more than 20 years, DeMuth has treasured her intimate access into people’s lives and witnessing the strength of women every day. for the first time, DeMuth will take a leave of absence — effective Jan. 3. It’s a demanding job — physically, mentally and emotionally — that has only become more so for DeMuth as her disease has progressed.

“There’s this ongoing fear of, if I’m not a midwife, who will I be,” said DeMuth, who started her career in 1999 in Portsmouth and is now at York Hospital OBGYN and Midwifery Associates. “It’s been such a huge part of my life for so long.”

There is an immeasurable reward from her work, which has kept DeMuth going, even on the days where the effects of the disease are hitting hard.

“No matter how tired I am and no matter how drained I might feel, to be able to be involved in people’s lives the way that we are as midwives allowed access into people’s lives, is too amazing of a gift to ever be overshadowed by anything else,” she said. “Even when I’m falling on my feet ready to go home and go to bed.”

DeMuth estimates she’s delivered between 700 and 800 babies on the Seacoast.

“Pretty much anywhere we go, we bump into somebody who comes over and starts talking,” Whitfield said.

Two of those babies are Christine Allen’s children Saige, 9, and Seth, who was born in October. DeMuth delivered Saige in Portsmouth, N.H., and Allen followed her to York for the birth of her second child.

With the bond they’ve created over the years, Allen said DeMuth is more a friend than a midwife.

“She’s awesome,” Allen said. “She’s there for all the support. The advice. She’s amazing.”

Hope for a match

The self-titled “Gang of 8″ undergoing testing are hoping they will be a match for DeMuth. The testing is rigorous and seeks to determine who is the best match on every level, including physical and emotional. The procedure takes about 60 percent of the liver from the donor, who usually goes home in five to six days and heals for about six weeks, Dr. Markmann said.

The recipient’s recovery is dependant upon how sick they are going into the surgery, Markmann said. They are usually in the hospital for six to 10 days and are closely monitored for the first few months for rejection of the transplant, when the potential for rejection is highest.

Donors are expected to return to a normal life, without any changes in their lifestyle or quality of life, Markmann said, while recipients will take immunosuppression medication for the rest of their lives.

“One of my biggest fears is just this ongoing unknown of what will happen, how things will go. How will I be? How my donor will be?” DeMuth said.

For DeMuth’s family, their prominent fear is a difficult one to face.

“That Jodi won’t live. That’s my greatest fear,” Nancy DeMuth said.

Markmann said patients in their 60s undergo transplants all the time and “they do great.”

“A lot of it depends on how sick they are and how debilitated they are going in,” he said. “She should experience a full recovery, and I would say at that age not have any out-of-the-ordinary expectations for complications.”

A liver transplant is a major surgery that keeps the donor and recipient out of work for several months. Including surgical expenses and ongoing costs, it is estimated the transplant surgery for DeMuth and her donor could range up to $1 million, DeMuth said. Health insurance, which will cover a portion of the bills, will only pay for a blood relative to be a donor, she said.

“I think that trying to always figure out in my head how we’re going to do it and how it’s going to work out just adds to the anxiety right now,” DeMuth said. “I feel guilty. It feels incredibly awkward to me. It’s hard for me to look around me, and to the world around me in particular, and feel that there’s any way that I deserve either help or assistance or anything. That’s a struggle.”

Mischa DeMuth Winters, who is serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and lives in California, said his primary concerns aren’t about the details of the surgery or its costs.

“My main concerns are more for my mom and her loss of work, her recovery time after the operation, the fatigue level she’s been having for the last year-plus,” he said. “My concerns are more for her.”

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Vale Dyspraxia Support Group appeals for volunteer leaders

4:30pm Sunday 21st August 2011

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THE Vale Dyspraxia Support Group is appealing for volunteers to come forward to run the organisation.

the Barry family members who have run the group for the last seven years are moving out of the area, and they are desperate for someone to take over the reins.

VDSG provides support and advice for parents, carers, families and others that are affected by dyspraxia.

They currently provide members with monthly meetings, an advice line, and links to a range of other organisations.

They also arrange social activities including 10-pin bowling, cinema trips, boat trips and visits to the likes of Techniquest.

“We are considering moving to Oxford and we are not going to be able carry on with the group if we move there,” said one of the co-ordinators.

“After seven and a half years the group could do with some fresh leadership too.

“We are asking for people to come forward, for us to find out a little bit more about them, and see if people in the meetings feel happy for them to lead the group and take it forward from us.”

Dyspraxia is a condition where the normal process of development of physical actions that require co-ordination is delayed or disturbed.

Typically a child with dyspraxia has difficulty with their gross motor skills, including activities such as throwing, catching and running, as well as fine motor skills, such as handwriting.

Dyspraxia is part of a group of conditions that include dyslexia and ADHD, with many children having symptoms of one or more of these conditions.

if you have an interest in helping young people with dyspraxia and its associated conditions, email valedyspraxia@aol.com or ring 01446 738945.

You can also visit the website at vdsg.org.uk

Read these News stories

by jajacks62

Article by Ramy Mekky

There are other aspects that you need to consider when you are creating your symptoms check; these aspects include ‘Family inherited diseases’, ‘Things having direct impact on your daily life’, ‘Alcohol and Drugs effect’ and ‘Smoking effect’.

Family Inherited diseases: Children are subject to inherit some conditions (known as genetic or inherited disorders) from their parents. so you need to take into account whether any of your family members is suffering from similar conditions, when you are doing your symptoms check. The risk of inheriting such disease increases for direct family members affected by such condition. Some of the conditions that commonly run in families and that are easily developed by descendants are:

Autoimmune conditions (such as underactive thyroid gland). certain cancers. Cardiovascular disease (causing heart attack and stroke). Diabetes. Mental disorders (such as depression).

Things having direct impact on your daily life: Some symptoms can have a direct effect on the quality of your life and it is very important to get help soon for it. these symptoms include:

Driving and other activities: Problems in vision for example can stop you from driving until you have proper treatment. Exercise: Not being able to exercise for because of a health problem can make you depressed or get more weight, which would affect you more in the future. Family issues: when you have to take care of your children and your health problem prevents you from doing this. Home Life: when your daily activities like cooking, washing, shopping and more is affected by your health problem. Work: health problems preventing you from getting to work or doing your job correctly and the consequences of this.

Alcohol and Drugs effect: Alcohol and drugs are often responsible for symptoms that you might never suspect can be connected. there is no such thing as a safe limit for alcohol exists, when you drink alcohol you may put your health at risk. so when you drink, you increase the risk of having any of the following:

Accidents: many driving accidents are direct result of alcohol. Chest pain and stroke symptoms: Drinking alcohol increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. so any chest pain you have is more probable related to heart problems in this case. Liver problems: if you drink too much alcohol for too long, you may have health problems like liver failure or liver cancer. so if you suffer from abdominal pain, tiredness or yellow skin, your symptoms may be related to liver problem. Poisoning: Drinking a lot may lead you to suffer a fatal alcohol poisoning.

Smoking effect: Smoking is a very important factor that you need to mention in your symptoms check due to wide range of problems it can cause. Smoking can lead both to minor problems and potentially serious health problems with time.

Bad breath. Coughs, colds and flu-like illness. Gum problems and mouth ulcers. Chest symptoms. Fertility problems. Leg problems. Vision problems.

This should conclude our series of articles about creating your own health symptoms check.

Ramy has been writing articles for nearly 2 years. come visit his latest website that preview baby shower parties items like Baby Shower Invitations and Baby Shower Themes that helps people find the information they are looking for when they are expecting a new baby.

Find More Stroke Symptoms Articles

Tricia Pruitt fears her life is about to enter a chaotic, stressful stage she is ill-equipped to manage.

She suspects a family member is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Expecting to become the primary caregiver, Pruitt has more questions than answers, but she started learning some of those answers Wednesday at the ninth annual Lucy and John Caddell Alzheimer’s Conference.

“We all have the fear of the unknown,” Pruitt said.

Some of those unknowns include how to persuade the family member to get tested when he doesn’t want to know the results; how to keep him encouraged and maintain his quality of life when he knows he’s losing mental abilities; when does she remove him from home and put him in a nursing home; which medications can help reduce his symptoms; and how long can she expect to be his primary caregiver?

The conference, presented by the Mental Health Association in Morgan County, was attended by more than 200 health-care providers and family members dealing with dementia. Topics dealt with the loss of multiple mental functions, such as memory, language comprehension or motor skills like walking and swallowing. In extreme cases, the brain is unable to continue instructing the body to survive.

Four speakers informed attendees of the latest research and practices in the dementia and geriatric medical world. One of those was Dr. Richard Powers, who has spoken at all nine conferences to explain the basics of dementia and what help is on the horizon.

America is behind the curve in dementia research, he said, but it’s trying to catch up, especially in Alabama, as government and community leaders realize dementia is a rapidly growing work-force issue.

Surveys show Pruitt, regional vice president for the North Alabama better Business Bureau, is the typical caregiver in America, Powers said. There are 8.9 million dementia-related caregivers in the U.S., and most are females age 40 to 60 working full-time, he said.

That is a major issue because these people, often the most capable and productive in the work force, are less likely to take job promotions and more likely to reduce working hours, said Dr. Powers, medical director of the Bureau of Geriatric Psychiatry and Pathology for the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

“This is going to be a worldwide disaster if we don’t do something about it,” he said.

Pruitt said finding the time to care for her family member, whom she wanted to remain anonymous, is a key concern because she already has a busy lifestyle. her immediate issue, however, is confronting him with the possibility he has Alzheimer’s and getting him tested so she can be better prepared to meet his specific needs, she said. As she learned from Dr. Powers, different forms of dementia have different treatments and care tactics.

Pruitt only learned of the family member’s potential dementia in December after she tried to get information from his doctor. when he learned she called his doctor, he became angry and told her the doctor suspected Alzheimer’s, she said, but then he didn’t want to discuss it further.

“He’ll talk about going crazy, and he doesn’t want to be a burden,” Pruitt said. “He does it out of a caring mode. It’s not a mean thing. I try to tell him, ‘That was families do for each other. That’s love.’ ”

Pruitt said the conference didn’t ease her fears, but it did help her feel empowered to know resources are available to help.

Dr. Powers said new drugs have shown the ability to reduce the negative impacts of certain kinds of dementia, but because different forms of dementia affect different parts of the brain, more research is needed to help pinpoint treatments that don’t damage other parts of the brain.

He also said medical tests that can show early warning signs of dementia are still inconclusive, and without proper treatments for preventing the onset of dementia, he recommends against people in their 50s getting tested.

The United States invests $500 million annually for dementia research, which Dr. Powers called “pathetic,” especially compared to Europe. He did, however, say he believes the medical industry will find foolproof early detection methods and ways to prevent dementia’s onset, but not reverse it.

Posted: 2:50 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

Dear Dr. Bone: when my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer, we went for more than one opinion. they conflicted and we ended up going with the doctor who thought we could delay treatment. Two years later when my husband went for the surgery, the cancer had spread. I am less upset about the medical opinions than the unsolicited "friendly comments" from family members, close friends and co-workers during my husband’s cancer journey:

"God only sends what people can handle."

"God knows what you need and will send it to you."

"Jim can live without his prostate so thank goodness it wasn’t cancer of a more vital organ."

"Your husband will live but your sex life is over."

"John’s sex life is over but you can go on."

"what is your problem? You were not still enjoying sex, were you?!"

"You have had a good life so get over this cancer issue."

I could go on and on with a list of stupid comments and advice. all I wanted was for everyone just to say that they were sorry for us. – Anonymous

Dear Anonymous: Your insight helps all of us. Let’s improve our cancer etiquette!

Dear Dr. Bone: I had a hysterectomy for fibroids in my late 20s and was started on Premarin pills. Over the years, I have decreased my dose, and now that I am 64, I take only 0.3 mg, which I understand is the lowest dose. my own gynecologist feels that I should continue, but I am worried about the studies linking estrogen with cancer. my mother’s sister had breast cancer and I look just like her. I would appreciate your input. ­- LCM

Dear LCM: thanks for your question. there is no one right answer. By now you have probably gotten all the benefit from the hormones that you will get. the only way to know whether you really need to be on them is to try to come off. You might try to wean off hormones slowly. If you have no menopause symptoms that might have been masked by long-term use, then you can stay off. on the other hand, if you start to have hot flashes, flushes or sweats, you can go back on knowing that you need hormone replacement to maintain your quality of life, even if there is some risk of blood clots, stroke, and/or heart attack with prolonged use. Your family history is not worrisome. Even though people think that looking like a relative who had cancer increases their own risk, it does not.

Hope that helps.

Dear Dr. Bone: my father’s twin brother was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. they were hoping the surgery would remove it all, but it’s been discovered that it has metastasized to his lymph nodes.

My uncle is very optimistic, while his wife has a hard time talking about it without getting choked up. I have twin sons myself, so it makes me worry for them as well, as it is now "in our family" so to speak when before, until now, the only person who got cancer in our family was my grandfather, and it was lung cancer and he smoked like a chimney for decades. So my questions are these: what can I do to help? are my sons at risk? what is the prognosis? – PM

Dear PM: First your uncle: according to a subsequent e-mail I received, the disease is wider spread than the doctors originally thought. it would be impossible for me to predict his absolute prognosis, but the 50-50 chances the oncologist gave him sounds right on target. my personal prognosis was the same and I just was determined to be in the "right" 50 percent!

Colon cancer can be hereditary. usually more than one relative has it and uterine cancer can also be associated with it. it sounds like your uncle is an isolated case, but your father should be watched carefully as well. due to your uncle’s age (68), it is less likely to be a hereditary cancer, but I would ask that you get your baseline colonoscopy soon. This will help to determine how to manage your own twin sons.

As for what you can do, I suggest asking him what he might need done. Errands, meals, rides to appointments, books or magazine to read during chemotherapy – all are good ideas. Don’t guess. it is fine to ask a cancer patient directly. Speak to him just the way you did before you knew he had cancer.

DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–An article published recently in Psychosomatic Medicine 72:(November) 897-904) showed that the Williams LifeSkills video training program can reduce stress in individuals who care for a relative with Alzheimer’s disease. The impact of the 5-week video training was significant: depressive symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety and blood pressure were all reduced. These improvements were maintained or even enhanced six months after the video training was delivered. in this controlled study, caregivers were alternately assigned to two groups: one that participated in a video-delivered plus telephone coaching coping skills training program and another group that was wait-listed and received the training later.

“People who care for the 5 million Americans afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease are usually family members and they have been found to be at increased risk of developing both physical and mental health problems”

“People who care for the 5 million Americans afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease are usually family members and they have been found to be at increased risk of developing both physical and mental health problems”, commented Virginia Williams, President of Williams LifeSkills, the developer of the program and lead author on this paper. “These individuals are extremely stressed, and usually don’t have the time or the financial resources to attend more formally delivered coping skills programs. The advantage of the Williams LifeSkills video training is that is not only less costly, but can be viewed and studied in their home at times most convenient for the caregiver”.

Redford Williams, a co-developer of the training program and Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Duke University, added, “few stress reduction programs for caregivers have been shown to produce improvements in both psychological and biological stress markers. in this study, 116 caregivers were recruited over a 2-year period and were assessed before and up to six months later for both psychosocial and biological markers of stress. Compared to those in the wait list group, caregivers receiving video coping skills training not only reported lower levels of anxiety, perceived stress and depression, but were also found to have clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure.”

Williams LifeSkills is a North Carolina based company that develops coping skills training programs to reduce physical and emotional stress in a wide variety of populations, including medical personnel, cardiac patients, teens and law enforcement officers. more information about Williams LifeSkills and its coping skills programs can be found at williamslifeskills.com

Reference: Psychosomatic Medicine 73:000–000 (2011)

Are You At Risk for ADHD?

Much research has been done on how you get ADHD, and it is now known that genetics is at least part of the reason. Current research demonstrates that at least 30%-40% of individuals with ADHD have a family member that is experiencing the same kinds of issues. However, this does not mean that the entire family will be affected by these issues; findings indicate that when more family members are affected, it is usually limited to one member.

There are many different theories as to what exactly causes ADHD. for many years, it was thought that ADHD was caused by some kind of brain damage; however, it is now believed to be caused by brain chemistry. Researchers have been looking specifically at neurotransmitters as the cause of ADHD. Examples of neurotransmitters that could be affected by this disorder are dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. because people in families tend to have similar brain wirings, it makes sense that ADHD would be at least partly genetic.

Other theories that have been investigated are that ADHD could also be caused by some sort of illness or accident that produced damage to the brain. possible examples include complications that had occurred during pregnancy, such as drugs used to prevent infectious diseases, consuming alcohol, overexposure to radiation or a complicated delivery.

Many have questioned whether nutritional deficiencies are linked to ADHD. although this has not been ruled out, it is doubtful that a particular deficiency would cause this disorder. While it is true that certain nutritional deficiencies will cause symptoms that are similar to ADHD, there is no proof or scientific evidence that a link exists. Research experts in autism and other behavior disorders have looked for a nutritional link as well, but have found none. However, there has been some evidence that the Feingold diet may help diminish symptoms of ADHD.

Since the diagnosis of ADHD has become so much more common in recent years, it is often that an older family member will get diagnosed while bringing their son or daughter in to get tested. This may provide some relief to individuals who weren’t sure exactly why they were the way they were, and explain some part of the individual’s life that did not make sense before. some of those diagnosed late may decide to go on medication upon diagnosis, while others may not.

If there are no other members of a family that have ADHD per se, there may be other similar disorders. although there is no formal link between autism and ADHD, there are similarities, and the two disorders tend to run together. Family background may include someone with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, bipolar or OCD; these are mainly brain based disorders that have been loosely linked to ADHD and are sometimes co-morbid.

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