PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Newborn hearing screening linked with improved developmental outcomes for hearing impaired children

2010-10-20
(Press-News.org) Children with permanent hearing impairment who received hearing screening as newborns had better general and language developmental outcomes and quality of life at ages 3 to 5 years compared to newborns who received hearing screening through behavioral testing, according to a study in the October 20 issue of JAMA.

Permanent childhood hearing impairment is a serious, relatively common condition. Auditory input is essential for development and social functioning, so early awareness of a child's hearing ability is important in creating opportunities for early amplification when necessary, according to background information in the article. "Until some years ago, distraction hearing screening (behavioral testing) was used for hearing screening around the age of 9 months. Newborn hearing screening (within 2 weeks of birth) was introduced in many developed countries because it was thought that the earlier permanent childhood hearing impairment was diagnosed, the less developmentally disadvantaged children would become. However, to date no strong evidence exists for universal implementation of newborn hearing screening," the authors write.

Anna M. H. Korver, M.D., Ph.D., of Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands, and colleagues studied the association between developmental outcomes and newborn hearing screening compared with distraction hearing screening in 3- to 5-year-old children with permanent childhood hearing impairment. Between 2002 and 2006, 65 regions in the Netherlands replaced distraction hearing screening with newborn hearing screening. The type of hearing screening offered was based on availability at the place and date of birth and was independent of developmental prognoses of individual children. All children born in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2005 were included. At the age of 3 to 5 years, all children with permanent childhood hearing impairment were identified. Evaluation ended December 2009.

During the study period, 335,560 children were born in a region where newborn hearing screening was offered and 234,826 in a region where distraction hearing screening was offered. At follow-up, 263 children in a newborn hearing screening region had been diagnosed with permanent childhood hearing impairment (0.78 per 1,000 children) and 171 children in a distraction hearing screening region (0.73 per 1,000 children).

Three hundred one children (69.4 percent) participated in analysis of general performance measures. In this analysis, the 2 groups (newborn hearing screening, n = 183; distraction hearing screening, n = 118) were comparable in degree of hearing impairment and type of education. Analysis of extensive developmental outcomes included 80 children born in newborn hearing screening regions and 70 in distraction hearing screening regions. The analysis showed that overall, children in newborn hearing screening regions had higher developmental outcome scores compared with children in distraction hearing screening regions, including on measures of social development, gross motor development and quality of life.

"The results of [this] study add evidence to the presumed importance and effectiveness of the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening programs. Because this study was performed nationwide, among all children born in the Netherlands in 3 subsequent years, we believe our results can be generalized to other countries with universal hearing screening programs, but the feasibility and effectiveness of newborn hearing screening programs in other countries remain to be studied," the authors write.

INFORMATION: (JAMA. 2010;304[15]:1701-1708. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Associations between drug company information and physicians' prescribing behavior

2010-10-20
Information provided to physicians from the US and around the world directly by pharmaceutical companies can be associated with higher prescribing frequency, higher costs, and lower prescribing quality. Furthermore, exposure to pharmaceutical company information does not improve physician prescribing behavior. These are the findings of a systematic review by Geoffrey Spurling from The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine. After doing an extensive literature search, the authors analyze and describe the ...

Can effective treatments be found for intracerebral hemorrhage?

2010-10-20
Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10% and 20% of strokes in high and low-to-middle income countries respectively, but ICH incidence and case fatality do not seem to be declining. In a Health in Action paper published in this week's PLoS Medicine magazine, Colin Josephson, Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, and colleagues (from the University of Edinburgh) discuss the effectiveness of treatments for intracerebral haemorrhage. Despite the lack of decline in ICH incidence and case fatality, the authors find that evidence supports organised stroke unit care and secondary prevention ...

TYRX AIGISRx antibacterial envelope shows low infection rate, high CIED procedure success

2010-10-20
Monmouth Junction, NJ (October 19, 2010) – Patients undergoing CIED (Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device) implantation with TYRX, Inc.'s FDA-cleared AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope enjoyed a 99.5% rate of successful implantation with an overall infection rate of 0.48% in the first 1.9 months following the procedure, as reported in newly published results of TYRX's COMMAND Clinical Study. There were no infections in patients receiving initial implantations of pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, or cardiac resynchronization therapy devices. The infection ...

Why the leopard got its spots

Why the leopard got its spots
2010-10-20
Why do leopards have rosette shaped markings but tigers have stripes? Rudyard Kipling suggested that it was because the leopard moved to an environment "full of trees and bushes and stripy, speckly, patchy-blatchy shadows" but is there any truth in this just-so story? Researchers at the University of Bristol investigated the flank markings of 35 species of wild cats to understand what drives the evolution of such beautiful and intriguing variation. They captured detailed differences in the visual appearance of the cats by linking them to a mathematical model of pattern ...

New nano techniques integrate electron gas-producing oxides with silicon

2010-10-20
MADISON – In cold weather, many children can't resist breathing onto a window and writing in the condensation. Now imagine the window as an electronic device platform, the condensation as a special conductive gas, and the letters as lines of nanowires. A team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Science and Engineering Professor Chang-Beom Eom has demonstrated methods to harness essentially this concept for broad applications in nanoelectronic devices, such as next-generation memory or tiny transistors. The discoveries were published Oct. 19 by the journal ...

Prostate cancer patients are at increased risk of precancerous colon polyps

2010-10-20
BUFFALO, NY -- Men with prostate cancer should be especially diligent about having routine screening colonoscopies, results of a new study by gastroenterologists at the University at Buffalo indicate. Their findings show that persons diagnosed with prostate cancer had significantly more abnormal colon polyps, known as adenomas, and advanced adenomas than men without prostate cancer. Results of the research were presented Oct. 19 at a 10:30 a.m. session at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting being held Oct. 15-20 in San Antonio, Texas. While most adenomas ...

Study rejects benefits of fish oil capsules in pregnancy

2010-10-20
A University of Adelaide study has found no evidence that taking fish oil capsules during pregnancy can help reduce the risk of post-natal depression, contrary to international recommendations. In an article published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Professor Maria Makrides says a study of 2400 pregnant women in five Australian maternity hospitals between 2005 and 2009 supports this finding. Professor Maria Makrides, who is Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Adelaide and Deputy Director of the Women's and Children's Health Research ...

Early pregnancy in spring linked to child's susceptibility to food allergies

2010-10-20
A child's likelihood of developing food allergies can be traced back to the season during which s/he completes their first three months of life in the womb, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The Finnish researchers base their findings on just under 6000 children, all of whom were born between 2001 and 2006 and lived in one area of Finland. Out of the total, just under 1000 were tested for sensitisation to food allergens between the ages of 0 and 4 years, with the likelihood of a positive test result rising sharply ...

Low testosterone linked to heightened risk of early death

2010-10-20
Low testosterone levels seem to be linked to a heightened risk of premature death from heart disease and all causes, suggests research published online in Heart. The finding refutes received wisdom that the hormone is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The researchers base their findings on 930 men, all of whom had coronary artery heart disease, and had been referred to a specialist heart centre between 2000 and 2002. Their heart health was then tracked for around 7 years. On referral, low testosterone was relatively common. One in four of the men was classified ...

SHIP protein identified as a B-cell tumor suppressor

SHIP protein identified as a B-cell tumor suppressor
2010-10-20
LA JOLLA, Calif., October 18, 2010 – Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. White blood cells divide again and again, spreading abnormally throughout the body. Lymphomas can arise from two types of white blood cells, T cells or B cells, which divide uncontrollably when the molecular mechanisms that keep them in check go awry. A new study led by Robert Rickert, Ph.D., professor and director of the Inflammatory Diseases Program at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), explores the roles of two enzymes, called SHIP and PTEN, in B cell growth and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Recycled plastics can affect hormone systems and metabolism

How babies are affected by their mother’s age

‘Closed loop’ learning barriers prevent doctors from using life-saving bedside ultrasound

Simple blood test predicts cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, new study shows

Antimicrobial resistance genes hitch rides on imported seafood

New way to find “aged” cells marks fresh approach for research into ageing

From blood sugar to brain relief: GLP-1 therapy slashes migraine frequency

Variability in heart rate during sleep may reveal early signs of stroke, depression or cognitive dysfunction, new study shows

New method to study catalysts could lead to better batteries

Current Molecular Pharmacology impact factor rises to 2.9, achieving Q2 ranking in the Pharmacology & Pharmacy category in 2024 JCR

More time with loved ones for cancer patients spared radiation treatment

New methods speed diagnosis of rare genetic disease

Genetics of cardiomyopathy risk in cancer survivors differ by age of onset

Autism inpatient collection releases genetic, phenotypic data for more than 1,500 children with autism

Targeting fusion protein’s role in childhood leukemia produces striking results

Clear understanding of social connections propels strivers up the social ladder

New research reveals why acute and chronic pain are so different – and what might make pain last

Stable cooling fostered life, rapid warming brought death: scientists use high-resolution fusuline data reveal evolutionary responses to cooling and warming

New research casts doubt on ancient drying of northern Africa’s climate

Study identifies umbilical cord blood biomarkers of early onset sepsis in preterm newborns

AI development: seeking consistency in logical structures

Want better sleep for your tween? Start with their screens

Cancer burden in neighborhoods with greater racial diversity and environmental burden

Alzheimer disease in breast cancer survivors

New method revolutionizes beta-blocker production process

Mechanism behind life-threatening cancer drug side-effect revealed

Weighted vests might help older adults meet weight loss goals, but solution for corresponding bone loss still elusive

Scientists find new way to predict how bowel cancer drugs will stop working – paving the way for smarter treatments

Breast cancer patients’ microbiome may hold key to avoiding damaging heart side-effects of cancer therapies

Exercise-induced protein revives aging muscles and bones

[Press-News.org] Newborn hearing screening linked with improved developmental outcomes for hearing impaired children