Do newborn infants of Ethiopian origin spit up more than other newborn infants?

BACKGROUND: Ethnic differences in the incidence of spitting up have not been reported. The nursing team at our well-baby nursery observed that newborn infants of Ethiopian origin appeared to spit up more than the others. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there are such ethnic differences and what, if anything, is their clinical relevance. METHODS: Of the 3663 enrolled infants born at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center during the 12 month study period, 55 were of Ethiopian origin and their medical records were retrospectively surveyed. The retrieved data were compared with those of 167 randomly selected non-Ethiopian newborns (controls). Exclusion criteria were preterm delivery, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, and congenital birth defects. RESULTS: Newborn infants of Ethiopian origin spit up 57% more than control infants. The difference in the number of spit ups was more obvious when only the infants who spit up were compared (2.3 +/- 1.7 Ethiopian newborns vs. 1.5 +/- 0.9 controls, P=0.002), although the percentage of infants who spit up was the same in the two groups. There was no difference in weight gain, days of hospitalization, bilirubin levels or nutrition type between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Infants of Ethiopian origin spit up more than the control newborn infants of non-Ethiopian origin, while other clinical parameters were similar. In the absence of other pathological signs, spitting up is a non-relevant clinical condition.

Impact of progression of Parkinson's disease on drooling in various ethnic groups.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Drooling or sialorrhea is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), and is reported by 35-75% of patients. Drooling is primarily due to impaired swallowing rather than hypersecretion of saliva. In this study, we examined the prevalence of drooling in PD and its relation to various factors such as age, stage of disease, gender and ethnicity. METHODS: A retrospective cohort chart analysis of 307 patients with idiopathic PD was conducted. These patients were seen in the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic between 2005 and 2010. RESULTS: 123 (40%) patients exhibited drooling. No correlation between age and development of drooling was observed. However, gender was found to be a significant factor in developing sialorrhea. Males are twice as more likely to develop sialorrhea than females. In addition, drooling becomes more prevalent with disease progression; Hoehn and Yahr stage 4 patients being the most at risk. Ethnicity and immigration status have no relationship in developing drooling. CONCLUSIONS: Sialorrhea is seen in a significant number of PD patients. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the most extensive clinical assessment of drooling in PD to date.

Impact of ethnicity on non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative illness characterized by various non-motor symptoms that may contribute to disability, impaired quality of life and shortened life expectancy. The aim of present study was to determine the relative prevalence of common non-motor symptoms in various ethnic groups. A retrospective chart analysis was performed on Parkinson's disease patients where a total of 314 PD patients from six ethnic categories were examined for the occurrence of anxiety, visual hallucinations, nocturia, drooling and dementia. Our results show that anxiety in PD patients was correlated with their ethnicity classification. Interesting trends were observed with respect to nocturia and dementia symptoms and no significant differences were found between ethnic groups for visual hallucinations and drooling. Our study shows that non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are prevalent across all ethnic groups, and except anxiety there may not be any impact of ethnicity on dementia, nocturia, drooling, and visual hallucinations.

O uso da bandagem elástica Kinesio no controle da sialorréia em crianças com paralisia cerebral / The use of the Kinesio taping method in the control of sialorrhea in children with cerebral palsy

Objetivo: Verificar a eficiência da bandagem elástica Kinesio no controle de deglutição de saliva em crianças com paralisia cerebral. Material e Método: A pesquisa foi realizada no Setor Escolar da Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente (AACD). Participaram 42 crianças com idades entre 4 e 15 anos (média = 8 anos e 9 meses), de ambos os sexos, com diagnóstico de paralisia cerebral e queixa de sialorréia. Foi realizado um checklist com os pais da criança com perguntas referentes a sialorréia e posteriormente realizadas duas escalas para pontuação da freqüência e da gravidade dessa. Foram realizadas oito aplicações da Kinesio Tape na musculatura supra-hióidea e então, o checklist e as escalas foram reaplicados. Resultados: Verificou-se que houve redução estatisticamente significante nos parâmetros utilizados para verificação da sialorréia, sendo eles: número de toalhas utilizadas por dia para secar a baba, pontuação na escala de freqüência e pontuação na escala de gravidade da sialorréia. Conclusão: Conclui-se que o método Kinesio Taping é eficaz na melhora do controle de deglutição de saliva em crianças com Paralisia Cerebral.

Objective: To verify the effectiveness of the Kinesio taping method in the control of saliva deglutition in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Material and Methods: The study was carried out in the School Division of Associacao de Assistencia a Crianca Deficiente (The Disabled Child Assistance Association - AACD). A total of 42 children aged 4 to 15 years (mean 8 years and 9 months), of both sexes, with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and complaint of sialorrhea were studied. A check list was employed with the children?s parents, which included questions on sialorrhea and subsequently, two scales were used to score the frequency and severity of the condition. The Kinesio taping method was applied eight times on the suprahyoid muscles and the checklist and scales were re-applied. Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in the parameters used to assess the sialorrhea, among them: the number of towels used to wipe the saliva, frequency scale scores and severity scale scores. Conclusion: We conclude the Kinesio taping method is effective in improving the control of saliva deglutition in children with CP.