Articles

Doreen Canton was honored as the Nurse of the Year at the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association (DDNA) and American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) meeting held recently in Orlando, FL.

May, 20, 2009

"Steve's beat involved people with syndromes. Collections of unique human proclivities when lumped together defined and described them.

The Trouble with Medical Journals

Author:
Richard Smith

ISBN 1-85315-673-6

The purpose of this short commentary on the history of the Hepatitis B virus is to increase understanding of immunity to the virus and to present the fascinating story of how medical scientists approached the problem of detecting an unknown virus.

I-Clinical perspective

A neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) is defined as a precise genetic or acquired biological brain disorder or condition that is responsible for childhood-onset brain dysfunction. If a neurodevelopmental disorder is severe enough, it may cause a “developmental disability” e.g. mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or autism.

This issue of R&R explores the role of research in the lives of people with disabilities. Taylor Spencer offers four potential benefits of such efforts, and the discussion warrants serious deliberation despite the complex and controversial nature of the subject. Considering we now know—medically speaking—that children are not just little adults, that women are not like men, and that older people are not like middle-aged people, it is time to recognize that people with disabilities may not be like their age- and gender-matched peers.

In this issue of the “Reviews and Reports”, Dr. Shobin discusses the risk/benefit analysis that should be applied to the decision of whether annual PAP and pelvic exams are appropriate for all individuals with intellectual disabilities. This is a difficult topic as contending issues of discomfort and trauma of the exam must be balanced against general population recommendations and personalized care and, frequently, an unreliable sexual history.

In this issue of the Reviews & Reports, Dr. Kouris reports on a neurodevelopmental disorder known as “Toxic Brain Injury.” Dr Kouris discusses several toxins whichwhen exposed to in childhood can lead to childhood-onset brain dysfunction. Examples include lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s). Other important examples include alcohol, cocaine, and tobacco smoke. Regarding the latter, it is not generally appreciated that there is mounting evidence that fetal exposure to maternal tobacco smoke may contribute to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism.