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Despite worries of an increase in dementia cases over the next few decades due to an aging population, a new study suggests that the rate of new cases of dementia actually may be decreasing. The most noticeable decline was found in new cases of stroke-related dementia. The findings, based on data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), provide hope that some cases of dementia might be preventable or delayed and encourages funding agencies and the scientific community to further explore...

There is, as there should be, an intense spotlight on the children of Flint, who are at risk of lead poisoning because of poor decisions made concerning the citys water supply. Now, the hard work of minimizing the impact of this exposure is under way. But it is the hope of pediatricians and others who work with young children that the catastrophe in Flint will now shine a bright light on the needs of all children, especially those who have to grow up in poverty and face many of the same...

Legislation aimed at curbing an alarming tide of veterans' suicides passed Congress and headed to President Barack Obama's desk last week, thanks in part to a Columbia University sophomore. Kristofer Goldsmith, a Bellmore native, helped convince lawmakers that boosting suicide-prevention resources will help potential victims like himself overcome their trauma and lead productive lives. Eight years ago, Goldsmith, an Army sergeant whose duties once included doing an inventory of the bodies of...

Heres a thought experiment: Youre walking down the street with a friend when your companion falls and gashes her leg on the concrete. Its bleeding; shes in pain. Its clear shes going to need stitches. What do you do? This one isnt exactly a head-scratcher. You'd probably attempt to offer some sort of first-aid assistance until the bleeding stopped, or until she could get to medical help. Maybe you happen to have a Band-Aid on you, or a tissue to help her clean the wound, or a water bottle...

The noted English Jurist, William Blackstone, said in his famous Commentary, All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously; for the law holds it better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent party suffer. This view was repeated in the early United States political history by President John Adams when he was defending British soldiers from charges of murder during the Boston Massacre in the Revolutionary War. It is more important that innocence be protected...

Working with children and families experiencing medical traumatic stress: A resource guide for mental health professionals What do mental health professionals need to know about pediatric medical traumatic stress? How can mental health professionals improve their collaboration with medical providers around pediatric medical traumatic stress? What resources and tools are available for professionals working with children and families who have experienced pediatric medical traumatic stress?

In the Feb. 14 New York Times Sunday Review, op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, calls for a public health revolution focused on the roots of many pathologies caused by chemical toxins that Americans and others around the world are exposed to (the lead-poisoned water in Flint, Michigan being just one example). In addition to lead, he describes widespread poisoning by PCBs, flame retardants and pesticides as examples but also includes toxic stress among the toxins that impact children even...

In 2011, a youth needs assessment of the Kansas City metro area included surveys of pediatricians and school nurses, mental health providers and teenagers, pre-school teachers and parents. No matter what discipline was represented, trauma and toxic stress kept coming up, said Marsha Morgan, Chief Operating Officer of Truman Medical Centers Department of Behavioral Health. It was clear that we had to do something. We had to make this a community issue. The needs assessment showed that more...

Prisoners have already suffered from one of the byproducts of having a high ACE load, imprisonment for a period of time. Many programs have been developed to reduce the negative behaviors present in this population and to reduce the rate of recidivism among prisoners. One successful method appears to be the teaching of a form of meditation referred to as Vipassanā. I believe this has relevance to healing for ACE victims and wrote the following for proposing a pilot project in Alaska prisons.

Child abuse costs nations worldwide billions of dollars a year, experts report. In high-income nations, the median cost of child abuse equals a loss of 1.2 percent of per capita income, or $150 billion a year in the United States. The estimated cost in China -- a middle-income country -- is $50 billion a year, the experts added. In East Asia and the Pacific, the cost of emotional child abuse alone is more than $48 billion a year, the researchers said. The findings, from an international...

At a time when communities across the country are interested in evidence-based youth programming, an April conference will bring together leaders from the field to discuss whats possible. The Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development biennial conference will feature sessions on evidence-based programs that promote youth education, healthy behaviors, emotional and physical well-being and positive behaviors. Some of these programs are used in the juvenile justice field. [For more of this story,...

This school-to-prison pipeline is one of our nations most pressing challenges, that all of us must help reverse. A students involvement in the justice system often results from a combination of factors such as low academic achievement; low academic expectations; poor relationships with other members of the school community; poor school climates; low engagement; incorrect referral or categorization in special education; and overly harsh and exclusionary discipline such as suspension,...