The Asbury Park (NJ) Press (3/31, Racioppi) reported that reparative therapy, also known as conversion therapy, “is on the brink of banishment in New Jersey. A bill outlawing such therapy for those under 18 is headed to the state Senate for a vote after its Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed the bill by a 7 to 1 vote March 18.” The piece also noted that the “American Psychiatric Association…and the American Medical Association are among the national organizations that either oppose or warn against reparative therapy.”

Related Links:

— “Conversion therapy exposes gay ‘culture war’, “Dustin Racioppi, The Asbury Park Press, March 31, 2013.

American Medical News (4/1, Lubell) reports, “Mental health professionals and other participants at a recent congressional forum said a dearth of trained physicians and the presence of too many regulatory barriers are some of the main factors preventing severely mentally ill children from getting the medical help they need.” On March 5, a “bipartisan forum was convened by Rep. Tim Murphy (R, Pa.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee, to discuss what federal resources might be needed to prevent another incident such as the mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.” In particular, “the forum focused on severely mentally ill individuals who could be prone to violence but who often don’t receive the timely treatments available to those with other medical emergencies.”

Related Links:

— “More trained clinicians, research urged for mentally ill, “Jennifer Lubell, Amednews, April 1, 2013.

MedPage Today (4/2, Bankhead) reports, “Children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) are at significantly increased risk of behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, attention problems, aggressiveness, and reduced social competency,” according to a 263-child study published in the April issue of the journal Sleep. “As compared with children who had no history of sleep disordered breathing, those with the condition were seven times more likely to meet cutoff scores on a validated index of behavioral symptoms and for the hyperactivity subscale,” the study found. In fact, “sleep disordered breathing doubled and tripled the odds of threshold scores on most assessments, including social interaction, communication, self-care, and adaptive behavior, Michelle M. Perfect, PhD, of the University of Arizona in Tucson, and co-authors reported.”

Related Links:

— “Sleep Disordered Breathing Takes Toll on Kids, “Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today, April 1, 2013.

A front-page New York Times analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a sharp increase in the numbers of US children being diagnosed for the first time with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The figures indicate a 16% increase in AD/HD cases diagnosed since 2007 alone. In addition to the New York Times, one network news segment, numerous print publications and medical journals focus on the story, many of them questioning if overdiagnosis is behind the increased number of cases, and others concentrating on the fact that some medications for AD/HD may be misused or abused.

NBC Nightly News (4/1, story 2, 2:25, Williams) reported, “A stunning new assessment of national numbers came out today. … It’s about “the extraordinary number of cases” of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) now being diagnosed.” New figures “show a 16% rise in cases just since 2007,” begging the question whether the condition is being overdiagnosed.

USA Today (3/29, Szabo) reports, “A new study finds that children who receive the full schedule of vaccinations have no increased risk of autism.” The study, which appears “today in the Journal of Pediatrics, is the latest of more than 20 studies showing no connection between autism and vaccines, given either individually or as part of the standard schedule. The paper is the first to consider not just the number of vaccines, but a child’s total exposure to the substances inside vaccines that trigger an immune response.”

Related Links:

— “Full vaccine schedule safe for kids, no link to autism, “Liz Szabo, USA Today, March 29, 2013.