Welcome To Kaitlynn's Place

Kaitlynn was born September 29th, 2004. We have seen neurology specialists from St. Louis to New Orleans since she was born. Unfortunately, we still do not have a definitive diagnosis for Kaitlynn. The best guess her doctors have to offer is mitochondrial disease.

New Dental Gel for Cavities Could Retire The Dental Drill and Filling Forever | HealthMad

10:41 AM Edit This 7 Comments »
New Dental Gel for Cavities Could Retire The Dental Drill and Filling Forever | HealthMad

A gel has been developed that can help a decayed tooth return to it’s original healthy state in as little as four weeks. This could retire the dental drill and dental fillings. It would be of great value to children with handicaps, as they would no longer have to be put under anesthesia to have cavities filled.

Mom Cruelly Murders Her Autistic Children Because They Were Not Normal | Socyberty

7:52 AM Edit This 3 Comments »
Mom Cruelly Murders Her Autistic Children Because They Were Not Normal | Socyberty

Saiqa Akhter is charged with capital murder after strangling to death her two children- Zain, 6-year-old, and Faraal, two- year- old. The 911 tape is nothing short of sickening as Saiqa tell the operator without a shred of emotion how and why she killed her children. Saiqa is Pakistani born and the 911 operator had her repeat much of what she was saying over and over because of her heavy dialect. Listen to the tape and read the story: http://socyberty.com/crime/mom-cruelly-murders-her-autistic-children-because-they-were-not-normal/#ixzz0uQGI5Dr7

Baby Babble Used as Early Detection for Autism | HealthMad

10:53 AM Edit This 3 Comments »
Baby Babble Used as Early Detection for Autism | HealthMad

Medical experts all agree that early diagnosis is crucial, if not essential, to maximize therapeutic improvement in children with autism. The theory being that the sooner intensive therapy is started, the more improvement is possible.

So, you can imagine the benefits that being able to distinguish early babble of an autistic child vs. a non-effected child would be. Currently, autism is usually diagnosed after a long subjective observation session by a medical specialist watching for and keeping count of the “characteristics of autism” presented.

Imagine if therapy could begin before the signs and symptoms of autism are even present! That is exactly what a new research study is focusing on. Researchers are studying those nonsense syllables that babies make as they babble in an effort to find an early screening tool. Science has proven that autistic children typically show early problems in speech, but that fact is not reliable because of the variety in how toddlers distort their babbling….in comes a computer program.

The study is being published today in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.” I think that readers should be aware that a couple of the authors were paid consultants for the company that developed the recorder and computer program. However, the researchers disclosed this information, and claim that they stopped taking the fees by the time the research was written.

Read the research here-http://healthmad.com/mental-health/baby-babble-used-as-early-detection-for-autism/

Three Percent Survival Rate for Disease You Get While Swimming | HealthMad

2:02 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Three Percent Survival Rate for Disease You Get While Swimming | HealthMad

Most deaths associated with swimming are due to drowning. However, there is a hidden danger that few are aware of- Naegleria fowleri

Doctor Plugs Baby's Brain with Glue

6:55 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
Doctor Plugs Baby's Brain with Glue

It is no doubt that the field of medicine has come a long way. Not long ago things like bioprosthetic valve’s and laser surgery to remove kidney stones would have been a foreign thought for most. Yet, with all the astounding technology we have available, something as simple as glue still has an invaluable place in medicine.

Read about Joely Finkelstein and how Dr. Alejandro Berenstein saved her life with something as simple as medical glue.

Welcome News For Tourette Syndrome Kids: Non-pharmaceutical Treatment With Hypnosis

10:24 PM Posted In , , , Edit This 2 Comments »
I encourage you to watch this YouTube Video about Tourette Syndrome

An interesting Tourette Syndrome study was published in the July issue of the Journal of Development and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder that appears in childhood. It is characterized by multiple physical and vocal tics. It is estimated that as many as 10 per 1,000 people have Tourette syndrome. The exact cause of Tourette syndrome is unknown, but genetic and environmental factors are known to have a role. Sadly, there is no universal medication to control the many variations, degrees, and manifestations of the Tourette tics. The medications that are available are used sparingly and in the lowest dose possible, as the medications’ adverse effects are often more disturbing than the Tourette symptoms.

As one can imagine, children with Tourette syndrome are usually socially awkward, teased, and are viewed as bizarre by their peers.  So, the study titled- "Children and Teens With Tourette Syndrome Find Relief With Self-Hypnosis," is welcoming news for those with Tourette Syndrome.

The study was of 33 children and adolescents with Tourette Syndrome. It found supporting evidence that self-hypnosis reduced their symptoms and improved their quality of life.

Each participant watched a video and was given self-hypnosis training in individual sessions. They were then assigned to practice the technique three times a day and answer questions about their tics and how they felt experiencing them.

Seventy-nine percent of the research participants achieved enough tic control improvement to report that they were personally satisfied with the technique. According to one of the authors of the study, Dr. Lazarus, self-hypnosis helped the patients experience a state of mind that combined relaxation with concentration on a desired focus point as other thoughts and feelings fade into the background.

Read the study here.










Nanotechnology Dressing Will Fight Infection Before You Even Know There is an Infection | Scienceray

10:57 AM Edit This 3 Comments »
Nanotechnology Dressing Will Fight Infection Before You Even Know There is an Infection | Scienceray

Scientists at the University of Bath and the burns team at the Southwest UK Pediatric Burns Center in Bristol are working with international teams to create an advanced wound dressing that will detect and treat infections from the moment they arise. The prototype will take around four years, but the wait will be well worth it.

Gene Therapy Re-launched For Bubble Boy Syndrome

11:02 AM Posted In , , , , , Edit This 4 Comments »
                                                                          source

You might remember the made-for-TV movie, “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” starring John Travolta. The movie was inspired by real life SCID (also called bubble boy syndrome) sufferers- David Vetter and Ted DeVita. The genetic condition leaves the child unable to fight off germs.

The last study about SCID and gene therapy was seven years ago in Europe. The two trials involved a total of 20 children. It was stopped after  two participants were diagnosed with leukemia. Three others eventually developed leukemia as well. The survivors were cured of SCID-X1, but the European episode prompted the U.S. FDA to put certain gene-therapy studies on hold.

Finally, researchers believe that they have removed the treatment feature thought to have caused the leukemia, and we have a new gene-therapy trial for SCID in the U.S. going forward. Five other international sites will also participate. The new study is  sponsored by investigators at Children's Hospital Boston. Scientists plan to enroll 20 boys with SCID-X1. Scientists will try to correct the defective or non-functioning gene in SCID by delivering a “vector,” a virus genetically altered to contain human DNA. In theory, the normal gene with the vector will begin producing a protein that has been missing or not working. Thus, curing the disease.




Read more about SCID and the new study:

Wall Street Journal- Study Shows Hope For Gene Therapy

Severe Combined Immune Deficiency - Types And Severity Of Immunodeficiency Diseases, Scid, Gene Therapy

Science Daily- Why Gene Therapy Caused Leukemia in Some Boy in the Bubble Syndrome Patients  

Children's Hospital Boston- International Gene Therapy Trial Launched at Children's Hospital Boston for "Bubble Boy" Syndrome

Breakthrough Cord Blood Infusion Reverses Cerebral Palsy in Chloe Levine

9:13 AM Edit This 2 Comments »
Breakthrough Cord Blood Infusion Reverses Cerebral Palsy in Chloe Levine

Bone marrow stem cells have been being used in medicine for the last forty years with much success. It has been seen in the treatment of blood diseases, cancer, immune disorders, etc. In these disease processes, stem cells serve as a sort of jumper cable for the recipients immune system. However, stem cells taken from children and adults have already been exposed to things like viruses, chemicals, and toxins…which can damage or alter the cell structure and function. In comes umbilical cord blood.

Cord blood cells are taken at birth, before the infant is exposed to any environmental factors. It is also advantageous because the cells are younger and smarter. Once the cord blood is re-infused into the person, the cells migrate to wherever the person is injured and immediately go to work to help repair any damaged cells or tissue.

The umbilical cord blood collection process is simple and painless for the infant. A syringe is placed in the umbilical cord that runs from mother to infant. The blood is then sent to whatever blood bank the parent has opted to use. Sadly, the collection and storage cost is still out of reach for many families.

Chloe Levine, a child with cerebral palsy, was lucky that her parents were able to store her cord blood. See her story: http://telewatcher.com/telewatching/breakthrough-cord-blood-infusion-reverses-cerebral-palsy-in-chloe-levine/#ixzz0t0uOcE1G


B L T Pasta | Notecook

7:06 AM Edit This 4 Comments »
B L T Pasta | Notecook

I love B (bacon) L (lettuce) T (tomato) sandwiches, but they are not too easy to transport. So, here is a BLT pasta spin that is perfect for a picnic or bring-to-work lunch.

Are Americans treated...overtreated....to death?

7:46 PM Posted In , , , , Edit This 11 Comments »
If your house was on fire would you try to put it out with everything you could…or would you throw your hands up and say fire is part of nature?
I read an article in the Washington Post titled- “Americans are treated, and overtreated, to death,” which I thought would be about the way doctors subject patients to tests, procedures, etc.. that they do not necessarily need in an effort to not be sued. Sadly, the article was about something altogether different.     

The article starts out by describing how Rosaria Vandenberg had endured two surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation for an incurable brain tumor. After months of tubes and machines, Rosaria went home to spend her final moments with her 2-year-old daughter. She died the next day. The family says that those moments with her daughter could have been longer if only they would have known to talk about alternatives to the aggressive treatment Rosaria underwent. Rosaria’s sister-in-law, Alexandra Drane said, “We would have had a very different discussion about that second surgery and chemotherapy. We might have just taken her home and stuck her in a beautiful chair outside under the sun and let her gorgeous little daughter play around her.”

Several alike stories were included by families of those that lost their life to terminal illness. These families are hurting. They have lost a loved one and feel like tubes and machines robbed them of their “goodbye.” However, each person chooses their path; I seriously doubt that any one of these patients were told that they MUST undergo any of the treatments. 

The article goes on to say that 80% of patients say that they want to avoid hospitalization and intensive care when dying. However, that number is not representative of what is actually happening, as the article claims that hospitalizations during the last six months of life has risen from 1,302 per 1,000 Medicare recipients in 1996 to 1,441 in 2005. So, it really does not matter what people say…it matters what they do!

It seemed almost like the writer was putting a price on life after he made several references to things like…the last two years of chronic illness treatment “gobbles up” one-third of all Medicare dollars and people are “racking up bills that have made medical care a leading cause of bankruptcies.”

Dr. Ira Byock, director of palliative care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, backs up the articles theme by claiming patients are actually sicker as they die. He says that families may push for treatment, but "there are worse things than having someone you love die." Humm, I can think of worse things than my computer blowing up in my face, but that does not mean that I am not going to do everything possible to keep it from happening.

Another point the article tried to drive home was blame-  many doctors practice “exhaustive medicine” even when they know that the illness is incurable and many patients don’t want to give up. Dr. Porter Storey, an executive vice president of a hospice group, says that instead of fighting, we should be helping patients and families accept death as an inevitable part of life. Ahhh…yeah death is inevitable, but fighting for life is the root from which current lifesaving medications and procedures were invented. Everything was incurable until a cure was fought for, or at least sought after. For example, before the invention of insulin in the 1920‘s, many diabetics faced a slow and certain death. Imagine if Dr. Frederick Banting had shared the faulty logic that every medical happening is just part of an inevitable path to death and not fought to provide a life extender via insulin!  

Finally, the article pointed out that patients and their families ultimately make their own end of life path. In my opinion, it is it kind of hard to acknowledge that this is a personal decision all while bashing the decision that the majority of terminally ill patients opt for. A person has every right to seek out every option they have when they are faced with a terminal illness, no matter how remote the chance of success might be, no matter how expensive it is, no matter what their family thinks they should do. They also have the right to decline treatment. Whatever they choose to do, we should not judge, but rather support.

Education: What Does It Mean For Your Child

11:07 PM Posted In , , Edit This 1 Comment »
The PACER Center is a Minnesota training and information center funded by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Special Education (n.d., http://www.pacer.org/) writes an article for LD online explaining to lay people the evaluation process for special education. The article gives brief descriptions of measurement tools and the function of individual assessments. In addition, questions such as, “What questions should I consider when evaluation or reevaluation is proposed?” and” What if I disagree with the school’s evaluation? (p.5)” are discussed. To illustra... From: Education: What Does It Mean For Your Child

Chris, the author of this article, is a dear friend that has first hand experience in dealing with special needs children in the education system. His articles are always informative, factual, detailed, and easy for the layman to comprehend.

Read the rest of his article, "Education: What Does It Mean For Your Child."