Being exposed to lead while in the womb or during early childhood may increase a person’s chance of engaging in criminal behavior as an adult, a new review claims. To arrive at this conclusion, the review authors evaluated 17 previous studies that used varying methods to test for lead exposure, including blood, bones and teeth. They also addressed the effects of exposure at different ages, including in the womb or early childhood, later childhood, and adolescence or adulthood. The reviewed studies had a wide range of findings, including that, in some cases, no links were found between early childhood lead exposure and later delinquent behavior. One of the studies showed a link between exposure and antisocial behavior, but not arrests. However, several studies did find links between early childhood exposure to lead and later arrests, including drug-related arrests. Some of the studies were more robust than others, the investigators found, using a tool to evaluate each study for statistical bias. The findings were published online Aug. 1 in PLOS Global Public Health. Exposure to lead can cause kidney damage, cardiac issues, immune system dysfunction, reproductive problems and impaired neuro-developmental function in children, the study authors noted. More evidence is needed to strengthen understanding, said the authors, who included Maria Jose Talayero Schettino of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Still, preventing lead exposure is important…  read on >  read on >

One dose of the hallucinogenic ingredient in “magic mushrooms” may help some people with anorexia move past their preoccupation with body image, an early study suggests. The study, of just 10 women with anorexia, tested the effects of a single dose of psilocybin plus psychological counseling sessions. Researchers found that the treatment appeared safe, with patients rating the experience as a positive one. And within three months, four of 10 women had a significant improvement in their eating disorder “pathology.” That meant certain eating-disorder behaviors — including preoccupation with weight and body shape — improved to the degree that they were close to what’s typical of people without an eating disorder. There are plenty of caveats in the findings, however, experts said. The phase 1 trial was small and designed primarily to make sure the treatment was feasible and safe. So, no conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness. Still, the early findings indicate that psilocybin is worth further study, said Dr. Evelyn Attia, director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine, in New York City. “I’d very much like for this to be studied further,” she said. Attia, who was not involved in the study, is also with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). At any given time, about 0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men…  read on >  read on >

Pediatricians have suspected it for years, and now a new study may be proving them right: Cold air really can help ease children’s croup symptoms. Croup is a common childhood illness that usually starts as an ordinary cold. It arises when the infection causes swelling around the voice box (larynx) and wind pipe (trachea), leading to some distinctive croup symptoms: a cough that sounds like a seal’s bark and a high-pitched “creaky” or whistling noise when a child inhales (what doctors call stridor). Fortunately, most cases of croup are mild. And pediatricians have long told parents they can try some old-fashioned tricks for milder croup symptoms: running a hot shower and standing with their child in the steamy bathroom; standing in front of an open refrigerator freezer, or wrapping their child in blankets and going outside in the chilly air for a bit. “The common denominator there is the moist air,” said Dr. Mike Patrick, an emergency medicine physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Indoor air, especially in the winter, is dry.” He said pediatricians were giving that advice back when he was a resident almost 30 years ago. There is a basis for it, Patrick and other pediatricians said. There is a “classic” croup scenario where a child develops worsening symptoms at night and worried parents rush the child to the ER.…  read on >  read on >