The pill offers an alternative to injections, which some people find difficult or unpleasant.  read on >

Community health workers could help extend care to more minority children with ADHD, a new pilot study says. Parents of kids with ADHD said they were more likely to consider medications, therapy and school services to help their child, researchers report in the Journal of Attention Disorders. “We know from previous studies that compared to white youth, Black, Hispanic and Asian children with ADHD receive less treatment, including fewer visits with a health care provider and lower medication use,” said lead researcher Dr. Andrea Spencer, vice chair for research in psychiatry and behavioral health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “We are excited to make a tangible difference for children and their families by using a community-based approach to ADHD that has proved to be so successful for other pediatric conditions, like asthma,” Spencer added in a news release. This is the first study to test ADHD care delivered by community health workers — non-clinical recruits with deep knowledge of and connections to their community, Spencer said. ADHD affects as many as 8% of children, and can be treated using a combination of drugs, behavior therapy and school accommodations, researchers said in background notes. However, many kids don’t have access to ADHD care, due to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities, researchers said. For this study, researchers asked trained community health workers…  read on >  read on >

Community health workers could help extend care to more minority children with ADHD, a new pilot study says. Parents of kids with ADHD said they were more likely to consider medications, therapy and school services to help their child, researchers report in the Journal of Attention Disorders. “We know from previous studies that compared to white youth, Black, Hispanic and Asian children with ADHD receive less treatment, including fewer visits with a health care provider and lower medication use,” said lead researcher Dr. Andrea Spencer, vice chair for research in psychiatry and behavioral health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “We are excited to make a tangible difference for children and their families by using a community-based approach to ADHD that has proved to be so successful for other pediatric conditions, like asthma,” Spencer added in a news release. This is the first study to test ADHD care delivered by community health workers — non-clinical recruits with deep knowledge of and connections to their community, Spencer said. ADHD affects as many as 8% of children, and can be treated using a combination of drugs, behavior therapy and school accommodations, researchers said in background notes. However, many kids don’t have access to ADHD care, due to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities, researchers said. For this study, researchers asked trained community health workers…  read on >  read on >

“Phantom limb” pain has been a curious aftereffect of amputation, with people experiencing false sensations from a hand, arm or leg that is no longer there. Researchers now think they know why phantom limb sensations occur. It turns out that the brain maintains a “map” of the body that remains unchanged even after a limb has been amputated, researchers report in the journal Nature Neuroscience. This not only explains a well-documented phenomenon, but offers a new solution when it comes to artificial limbs, researchers say. Using this brain map, it might be more straightforward than previously thought to control a robotic replacement limb with the mind, researchers said. “Now that we’ve shown these maps are stable, brain-computer interface technologies can operate under the assumption that the body map remains consistent over time,” lead researcher Hunter Schone, a postdoctoral associate with the University of Pittsburgh, said in a news release. “This allows us to move into the next frontier: accessing finer details of the hand map — like distinguishing the tip of the finger from the base — and restoring the rich, qualitative aspects of sensation, such as texture, shape and temperature,” he continued. “This study is a powerful reminder that even after limb loss, the brain holds onto the body, waiting for us to reconnect.” For this study, researchers worked with three people who needed…  read on >  read on >

“Phantom limb” pain has been a curious aftereffect of amputation, with people experiencing false sensations from a hand, arm or leg that is no longer there. Researchers now think they know why phantom limb sensations occur. It turns out that the brain maintains a “map” of the body that remains unchanged even after a limb has been amputated, researchers report in the journal Nature Neuroscience. This not only explains a well-documented phenomenon, but offers a new solution when it comes to artificial limbs, researchers say. Using this brain map, it might be more straightforward than previously thought to control a robotic replacement limb with the mind, researchers said. “Now that we’ve shown these maps are stable, brain-computer interface technologies can operate under the assumption that the body map remains consistent over time,” lead researcher Hunter Schone, a postdoctoral associate with the University of Pittsburgh, said in a news release. “This allows us to move into the next frontier: accessing finer details of the hand map — like distinguishing the tip of the finger from the base — and restoring the rich, qualitative aspects of sensation, such as texture, shape and temperature,” he continued. “This study is a powerful reminder that even after limb loss, the brain holds onto the body, waiting for us to reconnect.” For this study, researchers worked with three people who needed…  read on >  read on >

With a longtime vaccine critic leading the nation’s health departments, you might be wondering whether there’s a new flu shot this fall. There is —  and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says most Americans should get it. He’s basing that recommendation on the advice of a board he appointed to advise the federal government on vaccines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people 6 months old and up should get a flu shot. That’s pretty much the same advice the CDC has given in the past. This year’s version of the flu vaccine should be widely available soon, according to KFF Health News. No shortages are anticipated. So when should you roll up your sleeve? The best time to take the jab is September, October or early November, doctors say. That not only gives your body time to build up antibodies as outbreaks begin, it also helps ensure your protection won’t disappear before flu season ends.  Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told KFF that flu outbreaks typically peak in February.  This year’s flu vaccine protects against two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus. Scientists tweaked the formula, as recommended by the World Health Organization, to target a specific strain of the A/H3N2 virus that…  read on >  read on >

With a longtime vaccine critic leading the nation’s health departments, you might be wondering whether there’s a new flu shot this fall. There is —  and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says most Americans should get it. He’s basing that recommendation on the advice of a board he appointed to advise the federal government on vaccines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people 6 months old and up should get a flu shot. That’s pretty much the same advice the CDC has given in the past. This year’s version of the flu vaccine should be widely available soon, according to KFF Health News. No shortages are anticipated. So when should you roll up your sleeve? The best time to take the jab is September, October or early November, doctors say. That not only gives your body time to build up antibodies as outbreaks begin, it also helps ensure your protection won’t disappear before flu season ends.  Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told KFF that flu outbreaks typically peak in February.  This year’s flu vaccine protects against two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus. Scientists tweaked the formula, as recommended by the World Health Organization, to target a specific strain of the A/H3N2 virus that…  read on >  read on >