NEWS TIPS FROM HOPKINS AT THE APS-SPR 2001 CONFERENCEAPRIL 27 - MAY 1, BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
To pursue any of the stories listed below, please call David Bricker, 410-223-1728, or e-mail [email protected]
CHILDREN EXPOSED TO DRUGS IN UTERO MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
The subject of whether prenatal drug exposure has a significant impact on a child's intellectual capacity has been controversial. Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers have been following a group of 204 children whose mothers had used cocaine or opiates during pregnancy, and 50 non-exposed children from Baltimore's inner city, from birth to ages 5 and 6 years.
Using standardized measures of intelligence, behavior and school readiness, nurse researcher Arlene Butz, Sc.D., and her colleagues found no significant differences between the two groups of children with regard to intelligence and school readiness. However, the drug-exposed children were more easily distracted, less attentive and less focused than children of drug-free mothers. The findings are to be presented at the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research (APS-SPR) joint conferences.Embargoed for release: Monday, April 30, 11 A.M., E.D.T.
HEPATITIS C VIRUS TREATMENTS LACK SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY, SAY HOPKINS RESEARCHERS
Chronic infections by the hepatitis C virus in children can cause serious liver damage or liver failure later in life if left untreated. To learn what therapies work best in fighting the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a team led by Children's Center gastroenterologist Kathleen Schwarz, M.D., reviewed 19 studies from five countries that looked at the effectiveness and safety of interferon therapy in children with HCV.
Interferon is a protein that disrupts viral replication and boosts host cell resistance. Interferon therapies probably represent doctors' present best hope for successful HCV treatment, Schwarz says. But the Hopkins team concluded that none of the interferon studies completed to date were scientifically rigorous enough to merit confidence in the drug's efficacy. The findings are to be presented at the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research (APS-SPR) joint conferences. Schwarz recently received $1 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the NIH, to study HCV infection patterns.Embargoed for release: Monday, April 30, 10 A.M., E.D.T.
EVEN SPECIALISTS READ AND USE ECHOCARDIOGRAMS DIFFERENTLY, HOPKINS RESEARCHERS FIND
Many cardiologists say that if an echocardiogram is to be used reliably to diagnose heart problems, it's best to go to a doctor trained in its use. But a Hopkins research team led by Co-Director of Pediatric Cardiology Joel Brenner, M.D., has found that even among pediatric cardiologists specially trained to use the technology, there's a lot of variation in their practices.
In a review of practice patterns of eight board-certified Johns Hopkins pediatric cardiologists, the researchers also found that the more experienced pediatric cardiologists were actually less likely to rely on echocardiograms in diagnosing functional heart murmurs than younger, less experienced doctors. Brenner suggests the discrepancy may be attributed to a difference in how much a doctor relies on the stethoscope as the sole method of diagnosis. The findings are to be presented at the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research (APS-SPR) joint conferences.Embargoed for release: Tuesday, May 1, NOON, E.D.T.
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