Parent and child ratings of child behaviour following mild traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in children is most commonly associated with parent-reported child behaviour problems. The extent to which parent and child ratings align is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in child behaviour and patterns of recovery over the first 12 months following mTBI based on parent and child self-report. METHODS: Ninety-nine children (8-15 years) with mTBI and one of their parents completed the Behavioural Assessment Scale for Children - version 2 to assess child hyperactivity, anxiety and depression at baseline, 1, 6 and 12 months post-injury. Differences between ratings from parents and children were evaluated using Bland-Altman limits of agreement analyses. Child recovery over time was examined using mixed models repeated measures analyses. RESULTS: Parent and child ratings for child hyperactivity, anxiety and depression differed significantly at baseline and these differences remained constant at each follow-up. Parents tended to report more child hyperactivity, anxiety and depression. Over time, parents and children reported fewer child hyperactivity and anxiety problems. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and children have poor agreement in ratings of child behaviour yet there is general agreement in patterns of recovery in the year following mTBI. Findings show the importance of considering both parent and self-report of child behaviour.

Production from dairy cows of semi-industrial quantities of milk-protein concentrate (MPC) containing efficacious anti-Candida albicans IgA antibodies.

Bovine milk antibodies directed against human pathogenic organisms have potential as prophylactic or therapeutic treatments of disorders affecting mucosal surfaces. The cow, however, does not naturally secrete high levels of IgA in milk, the predominant immunoglobulin of the mucosal immune system. We have patented an immunisation protocol that results in increased production of IgA in ruminant milk and in this study established that our protocol can be used on a scale sufficient to produce semi-industrial quantities of milk for processing. Cows were immunised with a common pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans and responded with high levels of antigen-specific IgA antibodies in their milk. The spray-dried milk-protein concentrate (85% protein) powder was shown to reduce adherence of Cand. albicans cells in in vitro adherence assays, demonstrating an ability to retain efficacy through the processing. These results suggest that this milk product may be of therapeutic value if the reduction in Cand. albicans adhesion observed in vitro translates to reduced colonisation in vivo.