Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oral health problems among children in Spain.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to explore the association between symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oral health in a representative sample of the Spanish population aged 6 to 14 years, we examined the contribution of several sociodemographic and behavioral determinants of children/adolescents and their family environment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 3,402 subjects aged between 6 and 14 years from the Spanish National Health Survey. The presence of ADHD symptoms was determined using the self-reported hyperactivity/inattention subscale of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Oral health was assessed using five indicators: caries, extraction, restorations, gingival bleeding, and presence of teeth in poor condition (e.g. broken or misaligned). Logistic regressions were used to examine the association between the presence of ADHD symptoms and oral health indicators. These models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, lifestyle variables, and oral hygiene behaviors relating to both the children and their parents. RESULTS: Compared to children without ADHD symptoms, children with ADHD symptoms had a higher risk of caries (fully adjusted odds ratio: 2.16; 95% confidence interval: 1.66-2.82), extraction (1.42; 1.09-1.85), restoration (1.47; 1.19-1.82) and gingival bleeding (1.64; 1.11-2.41). The increased risk of caries was maintained when the analyses were restricted to middle/high social class families and to children with low sugar intake, good oral hygiene behaviors and regular dental visits. CONCLUSIONS: Children with ADHD symptoms in Spain had worse oral health indicators than those without ADHD symptoms. Our results suggest that the association of ADHD symptoms with caries was independent of socioeconomic level, cariogenic diet, frequency of toothbrushing and dental visits.

MgO-mediated activation of active carbon as an affordable strategy to "in situ" degradation of lindane in contaminated soils.

The accumulation in soil landfills of toxic and persistent lindane, widely used as an insecticide, triggers the risk of leaching with the concomitant contamination of surrounding rivers. Thus, viable remediation to eliminate in situ high concentrations of lindane in soil and water becomes an urgent demand. In this line, a simple and cost-effective composite is proposed, including the use of industrial wastes. It includes reductive and non-reductive base-catalyzed strategies to remove lindane in the media. A mixture of magnesium oxide (MgO) and activated carbon (AC) was selected for that purpose. The use of MgO provides a basic pH. In addition, the specific selected MgO forms double-layered hydroxides in water which permits the total adsorption of the main heavy metals in contaminated soils. AC provides adsorption microsites to hold the lindane and a reductive atmosphere that was increased when combined with the MgO. These properties trigger highly efficient remediation of the composite. It permits a complete elimination of lindane in the solution. In soils doped with lindane and heavy metals, it produces a rapid, complete, and stable elimination of lindane and immobilization of the metals. Finally, the composite tested in lindane-highly contaminated soils permits the "in situ" degradation of nearly 70% of the initial lindane. The proposed strategy opens a promising way to face this environmental issue with a simple, cost-effective composite to degrade lindane and fix heavy metals in contaminated soils.

Screening anthelmintic resistance to triclabendazole in Fasciola hepatica isolated from sheep by means of an egg hatch assay.

BACKGROUND: In the present study, the detection of anthelmintic resistance to triclabendazole (TCBZ) in sheep infected by Fasciola hepatica was studied using an egg hatch assay (EHA). F. hepatica eggs were recovered from bile and faeces of infected animals by isolates with different grade of anthelmintic resistance to TCBZ: i) a resistant isolate (RT); ii) a susceptible isolate (ST); iii) naturally infected sheep by a susceptible field strain (FST). In the EHA the percentage of hatched eggs were calculated according to the following concentrations of TCBZ diluted in dimethyl-sulfoxide (DMSO): 0.05, 0.2, 1, 5, and 25 µg/ml. RESULTS: In relation to the EHAs carried out with the eggs from bile of sheep infected by ST, differences were found in the percentage of hatched eggs between the control well, only with DMSO, and the two highest concentrations of TCBZ (5 and 25 µg/m) (p < 0.05). However, when we tested the drug with the eggs from the bile of sheep infected by RT, the percentage of hatched eggs was similar among all concentrations. Since the range of hatching varied between isolates, we calculated the ratio of the results of each concentration to its control value confirming the higher hatching in RT than in ST. We developed an EHA with eggs recovered from faeces in order to avoid the slaughter of sheep. The results of the EHAs with the isolate ST showed differences in the percentage of hatching between the highest concentration (25 µg/ml) and the control well (p < 0.05); however, these differences were not confirmed under field conditions with the strain FST. CONCLUSIONS: The ovicidal effect of TCBZ in F. hepatica eggs from bile was shown using a commercial formulation diluted in DMSO with a minimum concentration of 5 µg/ml. However, in eggs recovered from faeces the results are not conclusive. The cleaning of eggs recovered from faeces is an important issue that should be reviewed and standardized before comparing results between susceptible and resistant isolates in this kind of EHA.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes and Fasciola hepatica in sheep in the northwest of Spain: relation to climatic conditions and/or man-made environmental modifications.

BACKGROUND: In the present study we studied and updated the prevalence of the infections caused by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and Fasciola hepatica in grazing sheep in the northwest (NW) of Spain for the last six years (2006-2011), and its relationship with the current climatic conditions. METHODS: We analyzed faecal samples from 110 flocks located in four different provinces of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León: 76.4% of them were situated in León, 12.7% in Zamora, 9.1% in Palencia and 1.8% in Valladolid. RESULTS: The prevalence of GIN was 100% and the mean of eggs per gram (epg) in faeces was 237.2 (± 375.9) per flock. Regarding climatic conditions, we found a direct relationship between the GIN infection level and the maximum humidity (p<0.05) but inverse with the degree of solar radiation (p<0.05). The prevalence of fasciolosis was 59.3%, with a mean epg of 17.5 (± 33.9) per flock; these values were correlated with the minimum humidity and precipitations (p<0.05). Comparing our results in León with previous studies during the early 1990s, the mean epg of GIN was increased slightly (134.3 epg); regarding fasciolosis, the prevalence rose significantly, from 26.7% to 60.5%. Since the 1990s we observed that the maximum temperature is nowadays 0.45°C higher (17.0°C) and the minimum 0.5°C lower (5.2°C); the rainfall values were very similar in both decades but at the present time the humidity is higher (75.9%). CONCLUSIONS: We found that the prevalence of GIN and F. hepatica infections was directly influenced by the humidity and also by precipitations in the case of F. hepatica. Comparing the current prevalence with studies carried out in the same area for the early 1990s, we observed that nowadays the mean epg of GIN is higher with a possible cause being the differences in climatic conditions depending on the sampling year. Regarding F. hepatica infection, its prevalence rose significantly probably favoured by an increase in irrigated areas in the area of study.