Multiple Sclerosis Affects Children's Cognitive Skills
HealthDay via Yahoo! News Mon, 12 May 2008 1:02 PM PDT
MONDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) -- Only about 5 percent of people with multiple sclerosis are diagnosed when they're children, but like adults with MS, the disease can affect cognitive function, causing memory and attention problems, and possibly low IQ scores.

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LineaGen Selects Affymetrix Technology to Discover Genes Associated With Autism and Multiple Sclerosis
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance Mon, 12 May 2008 5:00 AM PDT
SANTA CLARA, Calif., & SALT LAKE CITY----Affymetrix Inc. and LineaGen Inc. today announced that a team of prominent researchers at the University of Utah and Vanderbilt University are leveraging Utah's deep domain expertise in human genetic research and the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 to discover genetic markers associated with Multiple Sclerosis and Autism.

Multiple Sclerosis Affects Children's Cognitive Skills
Health Scout Mon, 12 May 2008 3:37 PM PDT
Low IQ more likely the younger a child is at diagnosis, study finds.

Multiple Sclerosis Affects Children's Cognitive Skills
HealthCentral.com Mon, 12 May 2008 1:44 PM PDT
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

Mental impairment common in children with MS
Reuters via Yahoo! News Mon, 12 May 2008 2:57 PM PDT
Low IQ scores and cognitive problems (problems related to thinking and reasoning) are common in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an Italian study reported in the journal Neurology.

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Pediatric MS Affects Thinking, Memory
WebMD Mon, 12 May 2008 1:11 PM PDT
Multiple sclerosis (MS) that strikes during childhood may disrupt a key phase of brain development and appears to have a profound negative impact on a child's ability to think and pay attention.

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MS Can Affect Children's IQ, Thinking Skills
Newswise Mon, 12 May 2008 1:28 PM PDT
Multiple sclerosis (MS) typically starts in young adulthood, but about five percent of cases start in childhood or the teen years. Children with MS are at risk to exhibit low IQ scores and problems with memory, attention and other thinking skills, according to a study published in the May 13, 2008, issue of Neurology(r), the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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MS Answers - Diagnosis and Types of MS

Dr. Sadovnick

Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics and the Faculty of Medicine, Division of Neurology, UBC
View BIO

Q :
I've read that Canada has the highest rate of MS in the world. Has research uncovered why? Does northern USA have the same high rate or is it only in Canada? Reason I ask is I wonder if it's a geographical issue or hereditary? Or perhaps there's a difference in diet or lifestyle? What progress has been made in discovering why Canada has the highest rate?
A :
Canada has one of the highest rates of MS worldwide but is not the highest. However, recent evidence suggests that the rate of MS is increasing in many countries, including Canada. Canadian data indicate that the rate of MS is increasing for females but is remaining stable for males. Genes and heredity are both important in the risk to develop MS. It has clearly been shown that biological relatives of persons with MS have a higher rate of MS compared to the general population. Work is in progress to try to identify geographic and lifestyle factors which may interact with genetic factors to increase the risk to develop MS. As part of Phase 5 of the Canadian Collaborative Project on Genetic Susceptibility to MS, funded by the MS Society of Canada Scientific Research Foundation, we are looking at various geographic factors such as exposure to sunlight and lifestyle issues including occupation and smoking.
5/12/2008 9:42:28 PM
More answers from Dr. Dessa Sadovnick
More answers in the category: Diagnosis and Types of MS
http://www.msanswers.ca/QuestionView.aspx?L=2&QID=1753

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Canada orders vitamin D study
By Jack
Health Canada says it will launch a study by this fall investigating dramatic claims that a lack of vitamin D could be linked to ailments such as cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.
Jack's Newswatch - http://jacksnewswatch.com

Depression risk in seniors
The News - International - Pakistan
Older people with low blood levels of vitamin D and high blood levels of parathyroid hormone are more likely to be depressed, Dutch researchers report. ...
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Depression, vitamin D deficiency linked
PRESS TV - Tehran,Iran
Scientists say vitamin D deficiency is linked to a higher risk of developing depression and other psychiatric illnesses in the elderly. ...
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