18 May, 2015

Premature babies have great abnormalities in brain

Premature birth can alter the wiring in key parts of a baby's brain, a new study has found. 

The discovery could help explain why being born too early increases the risk of neurodevelopmental problems -including autism and attention deficit disorders, say researchers. 

Scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to map the brain connections of 66 infants, 47 of whom were born prematurely before 33 weeks of pregnancy. 

Babies born in the "normal" birth window of 37 to 42 weeks gestation had a similar brain structure to adults in key areas known to develop rapidly during the time a pre-term infant is cared for in a neonatal unit. 

But those born early had less connectivity between parts of the thalamus and specific regions of the brain's cortex that support higher mental functions. 

At the same time, they had more connectivity between the thalamus and an area of the primary sensory cortex involved in processing signals from the face, lips, jaw tongue and throat. 

The stronger "face" connections may reflect early exposure to breast and bottle feeding, say the authors, while reduced connectivity in other areas could lead to problems seen in later childhood. 

Lead scientist Dr Hilary Toulmin, from the Centre for the Developing Brain at King's College London, said: "The next stage of our work will be to understand how these findings relate to the learning, concentration and social difficulties - which many of these children experience as they grow older." 

Professor David Edwards, director of the Centre for the Developing Brain, said: "The ability of modern science to image the connections in the brain would have been inconceivable just a few years ago, but we are now able to observe brain development in babies as they grow, and this is likely to produce remarkable benefits for medicine." 

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that babies born the most prematurely displayed the greatest abnormalities in brain connectivity.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.05.2015

Quality of life of elderly will determine our future

The future of communities around the world will be determined by the efforts to achieve a high quality of life for older citizens, says a new study.

Age-friendly communities are designed to promote "aging-in-place", which is the ability to live in one's own home and community safely and independently regardless of age or income.

Developing cities that meet the interests of all generations should be an important goal for economic and social policy.

"The concomitant growth of cities and of an older population within those cities has come to generate a disjuncture between physical infrastructure and resident needs," said Robert B. Hudson, editor of the journal Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR) that published the study.

"Modern economic growth results largely from private sector investments and incentives which pay little heed to the concerns of vulnerable populations," Hudson noted.

The authors addressed the evolution of the age-friendly community movement, presenting a review of four major age-friendly community initiatives.

They stressed on a challenge to move beyond locally-based initiatives and to engage policymakers at the state and federal levels to galvanise the movement.

Together, these conceptual pieces provide a thorough review of what forms age-friendly communities may take, how they work on the ground and what next steps should be considered, the authors concluded.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.05.2015

The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job

Zig Ziglar