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Microplastics Can Get Into Brain Tissue, Study Shows
Scientists in Brazil found microplastics in the brain tissue of cadavers, according to a new study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Mounting research over the last few years has found microplastics in nearly every organ in the body, as well as in the bloodstream and in plaque that clogs arteries.
Whether these ubiquitous pollutants can reach the human brain has been a primary concern for scientists.
The latest research looked at a part of the brain called the olfactory bulb, which processes information about smell.
Humans have two olfactory bulbs, one above each nasal cavity. Connecting the olfactory bulb and the nasal cavity is the olfactory nerve.
Some researchers worry the olfactory pathway may also be an entry point for microplastics getting into the brain, beyond the olfactory bulb.
Medical Cannabinoids in Kids Linked to These Adverse Events
Cannabinoids used for medical purposes in children and adolescents come with a risk of adverse events, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 randomized clinical trials showed.
The risk ratio (RR) of developing adverse events was higher in the cannabinoid group than in the control group (1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.16), Lauren Kelly, Ph.D., MSc, of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg in Canada, and colleagues reported in JAMA Pediatrics.
Specific adverse events significantly linked to cannabinoid treatment — cannabidiol (CBD) in about half of the trials — included:
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- Diarrhea (RR 1.82)
- Elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase (RR 5.69)
- Elevated alanine aminotransferase (RR 5.67)
- Somnolence (RR 2.28)
These events led to more trial withdrawals due to adverse events (RR 3.07, 95% CI 1.73-5.43), and serious adverse events were more common with medical cannabinoids than among controls (RR 1.81, 95% CI 1.21-2.71).
“The interest and use of cannabis-based medicines has increased, including in children with complex health concerns like epilepsy, autism, and cancer,” Kelly told MedPage Today in an email.
At the same time, adverse effects of medical use hadn’t been systematically appraised in children, she added.
Kids Using Lotions Have Higher Levels of Hormone-Disrupting Toxins — Study
Children who use more personal care products like sunscreen, lotion, soaps and haircare items have higher levels of toxic phthalates in their bodies, new research finds, and the highest levels were found in Black and Latino children.
The study checked more than 600 urine samples from four- to eight-year-olds for phthalates, which are highly toxic endocrine disruptors that can alter hormone production, and are linked to reproductive, immune system and metabolic diseases.
They are also considered developmental toxicants that impact children’s behavior and learning ability.
The study’s findings are “concerning,” said Michael Bloom, a George Mason University researcher and lead author of the study.
“The results show that the use of skincare products on children are sources of exposure to these chemicals,” Bloom said. “What also definitely raises concern is that these products tend to be used frequently and over long periods of time.”
Young People Worldwide Are Drinking More Sugary Beverages
Despite concern about sugary drinks and health, global consumption of the sweetened beverages by young people has increased by 23%, according to recent research.
Researchers from four countries looked at data from global surveys of 1.4 million children and adolescents, ages three to 19, conducted from 1990 to 2018 and found that the rise in consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks occurred at the same time as an increase in obesity among young people.
Globally, according to the research published last month in the British Medical Journal, from 1990 to 2018, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages increased by almost an eight-ounce serving per week, a 23% increase during that time period.
The increase was nearly double that seen in adults over the same period.
For a portion of the study period, 1990 to 2005, among the 25 most populous countries, the U.S. saw the largest increase in consumption, over 43%.
For the complete study period, 1990 to 2018, the largest increase was seen in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why Teens With Autism Struggle With Non-Verbal Cues
A new study reveals that difficulties in adapting to changes in speech patterns may affect how adolescents with autism understand tone and meaning.
Verbal communication isn’t just about the words we use — it’s also about how we say them.
For example, the phrase “I can’t believe it” can convey surprise if said with a rising intonation or it can express sarcasm if delivered with a flat tone.
Emphasizing different words or altering the tempo of speech can dramatically alter the message conveyed.
Researchers have long known that interpreting these variations in speech can pose challenges for individuals with autism, but they didn’t know exactly why.
According to new research from the University of Rochester, it may be because their brains have difficulties processing and adapting to changes in speech patterns.
New Insight Into the Effects of Proton-Pump Inhibitors in Children
Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are frequently prescribed to suppress stomach acid in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Prescribing rates of PPIs in children have risen more than 500% in the past two decades, despite growing concerns about their risks: Previous research has linked their use to an increased risk of various pulmonary and gastrointestinal infections in both adults and children.
The Aerodigestive Center at Boston Children’s Hospital has been at the forefront of research into PPIs and children.
Two recent studies from the center offer more insight into their effects.
Wildfire Smoke Might Harm Children’s Mental Health
As wildfires continue to burn across parts of California, a new study finds that smoke from these blazes and other air pollution could be harming kids’ mental health.
Repeated exposure to high levels of particle pollution increases kids’ risk of depression, anxiety and other mental health symptoms, researchers reported.
What’s more, each additional day of exposure to unsafe air significantly boosted the likelihood that a youngster would suffer mental health problems.
“We need to understand what these extreme events are doing to young people, their brains and their behavior,” said lead investigator Harry Smolker, a research associate with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from 10,000 kids ages nine to 11 participating in an ongoing study of brain development.
Some studies have found that these airborne particles could be small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the brain.
These particles have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers; by comparison, a human hair is about 50 micrometers in diameter.
Adult hospital admissions for depression, suicide and psychosis tend to increase on high pollution days, researchers said in background notes.
When pregnant women are exposed to heavy particle pollution, their children are more likely to suffer from cognitive impairments later in life.
For both boys and girls, the risk of depression, anxiety and other symptoms increased with each day they had been exposed to particle pollution, researchers found.
California: 1 in 10 Kids May Be Breathing Pesticides in San Joaquin Valley
Ten percent of children and 22% of adults in California’s San Joaquin Valley may be breathing in detectable levels of pesticides.
In a small survey of adults and children across the three small agricultural towns in the San Joaquin Valley, a significant proportion were found to be exposed to at least one pesticide in the air they breathed, according to new research in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.
One of these detected pesticides, named chlorpyrifos, is not even allowed to be used in California anymore, due to it having been linked to neurological damage in children.
“Residents in agricultural communities are exposed to pesticides in their daily lives. The impact on human health is not well studied for some of these compounds, and more work must be done to understand how often people are being exposed and what the health impacts are of this exposure,” study co-author Deborah H. Bennett, professor of environmental health at the UC Davis School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences, told Newsweek.
Parents Urged to Get Young Children Flu Vaccine
The NHS is urging parents and carers of two and three-year-olds to schedule a flu vaccine for their children ahead of an expected surge in respiratory illnesses this winter.
School-age children, kids in clinical risk groups and pregnant women are among the groups also eligible to get vaccinated.
The flu vaccine is given to most children as a quick, painless spray up the nose, with no injection.
Children who cannot have pork gelatine in medical products will be offered an injection.
The health service expects a wave of COVID-19 infections alongside a rise in flu and other illnesses this winter.
