(Press-News.org) A medicine widely used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also provides long-term relief from the attention and behavior changes that affect many childhood cancer survivors, according to a multicenter trial led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.
Researchers reported that one year after starting the drug methylphenidate, young cancer survivors scored better on tests of sustained attention and other measures of attention, social skills and behavior than did a similar group of unmedicated survivors. While taking methylphenidate, scores on the attention and behavior measures of many survivors returned to normal ranges. Methylphenidate is marketed under several brand names, including Ritalin and Concerta. The study is the first to document that some survivors enjoy long-term benefits from its use.
Coupled with results from earlier medication side effects studies, the study's authors said these findings offer hope and reassurance for survivors, their families and others looking for ways to ease such late effects of cancer and its treatment. The work appears in the September 13 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"We found that methylphenidate improves both attention and social skills and that these benefits are maintained," said Heather Conklin, Ph.D., assistant member of the St. Jude Department of Psychology and the study's first author. "Although the drug did not lead to a significant gain in measured academic skills, many parents reported their children's grades improved because the children did a better job of managing tasks like planning ahead for projects or remembering to complete and turn in assignments."
The results come as the growing ranks of childhood cancer survivors have the pediatric cancer community searching for better ways to ease or even prevent treatment late effects.
Conklin said the findings also underscore the need for non-pharmacological approaches. Earlier research from Conklin and her colleagues found only about half of young cancer survivors benefit from methylphenidate. Also, Conklin said many parents are reluctant to use the drug and some survivors may not be good candidates due to medical or other reasons. "We are moving forward with research into new strategies to benefit more survivors and their families," she said.
This study focused on young survivors of brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Their cancer treatment included surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy targeting the central nervous system. Those treatments and other factors, including a patient's age at treatment, are linked to risk of later attention, memory and processing speed problems that make learning difficult. Such troubles can reverberate through life and affect a survivor's ability to hold a job and live independently.
Although methylphenidate has been used successfully for decades to treat ADHD in healthy children, Conklin said that was no guarantee the drug would benefit children whose symptoms followed a cancer diagnosis. Excluded from this study were children who had ADHD before their cancer was found.
After a year of methylphenidate, young cancer survivors scored better on tests of sustained attention. Parent, teacher and survivor ratings of attention all improved. Parental ratings of social skills and behavior problems also documented that survivors had benefited. The group included 35 brain tumor and 33 ALL survivors.
In contrast, only parental ratings of attention and social skills improved during the same period for a similar group of survivors not taking medication. The group included 31 brain tumor and 23 ALL survivors.
Academic skills measured by completion of math, reading and spelling problems were not significantly better in either group. Conklin said that might reflect the study design, which did not assess changes in executive aspects of school performance, including organization and planning.
INFORMATION:
The other authors of this paper are Wilburn Reddick, Jason Ashford, Susan Ogg, Scott Howard, Robbin Christensen, Shengjie Wu, Xiaoping Xiong (St. Jude); E. Brannon Morris (Athens, Ga.); Ronald Brown (Temple University); Melanie Bonner (Duke University) and Raja Khan (Semmes-Murphey Institute, Memphis).
This work was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute and ALSAC.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Ranked the No. 1 pediatric cancer hospital by Parents magazine and the No. 1 children's cancer hospital by U.S. News & World Report, St. Jude is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world, serving as a trusted resource for physicians and researchers. St. Jude has developed research protocols that helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened to almost 80 percent today. St. Jude is the national coordinating center for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium and the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. In addition to pediatric cancer research, St. Jude is also a leader in sickle cell disease research and is a globally prominent research center for influenza.
Founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world, publishing more research articles than any other pediatric cancer research center in the United States. St. Jude treats more than 5,700 patients each year and is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. St. Jude is financially supported by thousands of individual donors, organizations and corporations without which the hospital's work would not be possible. In 2010, St. Jude was ranked the most trusted charity in the nation in a public survey conducted by Harris Interactive, a highly respected international polling and research firm. For more information, go to www.stjude.org.
END
NASA Satellites have noticed two distinct features in Igor that both indicate how powerful he has become, icy cold, high cloud tops and very heavy rainfall. NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites have provided that insight to forecasters who are predicting Igor's next move as a powerful Category 4 Hurricane.
Last week, Igor was a tropical storm who faded into a tropical depression. The National Hurricane Center had forecast that over the weekend Igor would approach more favorable conditions (low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures) causing it to strengthen into a hurricane ...
Tropical Depression 12 was born in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean yesterday, Sept. 12 and two NASA satellites saw factors that indicated she would later strengthen into Tropical Storm Julia. Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed strong convection in its center that powered the storm into tropical storm status by 11 p.m. EDT. NASA's TRMM satellite indicated very heavy rainfall from that strong area of convection.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies on NASA's Aqua satellite gives scientists and meteorologists clues about how a tropical ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) have identified an experimental agent that targets chronic lymphocytic leukemia and perhaps other proliferative disorders of lymphocytes.
Their study shows that the small-molecule inhibitor CAL-101 directly promotes cell death by apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells and disrupts several external survival pathways needed for CLL cell viability and proliferation.
The agent blocks ...
Washington, DC, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010– A widely prescribed class of drugs is highly effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, but an expert panel announced today that these same drugs – when used long term – may be related to unusual but serious fractures of the thigh bone. In the most comprehensive scientific report to date on the topic, the task force reviewed 310 cases of "atypical femur fractures," and found that 94 percent (291) of patients had taken the drugs, most for more than five years. The task force members emphasized that atypical ...
A set of studies released in this month's special issue of The Elementary School Journal reveals the powerful effect that the coaching of teachers can have on both teachers and students.
"Many in the field have trusted that intuitive feeling that putting a knowledgeable coach in a classroom to work with a teacher will result in improved teacher practices and increased student learning," write the issue's guest editors, Misty Sailors of The University of Texas at San Antonio and Nancy L. Shanklin of University of Colorado, Denver. "The jury of these researchers and the ...
Repairing small, seemingly benign holes in a child's heart may be more clinically important than previously thought, as dysfunction could be lurking out of sight. These are the findings from a study conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Ohio State University Medical Center examining a subset of the most common form of congenital heart disease, ventricular septal defect. The recently published study appears in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, the official journal of the International Society for Heart Research.
Ventricular ...
Years ago the idea of using a virtual data room (VDR) seemed like it would never be accepted. The concept of taking paper due diligence materials and placing them 'online' seemed too far fetched to work. People felt the internet would never have the level of security or the speed required to display sensitive corporate information to outside parties. Once internet connection speeds increased and security measures improved so did the idea of people reviewing information on a computer screen from the comfort of their own office. Today, VDR awareness is still growing and the ...
Caring Technologies Inc., developer of the proprietary Behavior Imaging technology, unveiled a new brand identity today, changing its name to Behavior Imaging Solutions, Inc. The timing coincides with its recent registered trademark award, and reflects the company's history and commitment to Behavior Imaging technology as a means of treating behavioral disorders with greater accuracy and cost-effectiveness. The company's rebranding effort is intended to establish broader market application of Behavior Imaging as an innovative and versatile solution for healthcare providers ...
When people hear the word hospice, visions of imminent death are conjured and fear of the unknown prevails in even the coolest of heads. While death is ultimately the inescapable result, Hospice focuses on life and making sure that every last moment can be lived to the fullest. Raleigh resident Bobbi Lancaster recently experienced first-hand the value and comfort Hospice of Wake County brings to not only the patient, but the family as well.
In a matter of months, Lancaster was nearly consumed by a maelstrom of events that threatened to drag her under including the loss ...
Njideka Harry, Founder & Executive Director of Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), received a nomination for this year's 2010 Microsoft Integral Fellows Award. The Microsoft Alumni Foundation gives this award to "recognize and support a Microsoft alumnus who has made a meaningful difference in the daily lives of others by using his/her talents, time and resources to contribute to the world."
Up to four alumni nominees for the Microsoft Integral Fellows Award will receive a $25K award to go to the 501(c)(3) with which they work in the form of a one-year, unrestricted ...