The long awaited results of a UK clinical trial of oral antioxidant and folinic acid supplements for young children with Down syndrome were published by the British Medical Journal on 21st February 2008.
The study used the Griffiths developmental quotient, an adapted MacArthur communicative development inventory, and biochemical markers to assess changes over 18 months, in a randomised clinical trial with 156 infants with Down syndrome participating.
No significant differences were found between the supplement and no supplement groups. The researchers concluded that the study "provides no evidence to support the use of antioxidant or folinic acid supplements in children with Down's syndrome."
The full text of the report is available to download from the BMJ website, and as a .pdf file An extract from a BMJ editorial in the same issue is available here.
We expect much more commentary on this study, and will post links here and on the DS NSW website, on the Research pages.
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
We said the last six months would be busy .....
... and they were. But it's a new year, and this blog will be updated regularly. Here's a quick catch up:
We have a lot new things to tell you about - our favourite new discovery is The Journey Ahead: Consider the Opportunities, an excellent video for new and expectant parents, produced by the Down syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati, and made available online here (scroll down the page a bit), Such generosity is truly in the spirit of the founding families who first established Down Syndrome Associations from about thirty years ago: alive and well, and enhanced by technology – and still needed, all over the world. It’s a new generation of support, from a new generation of parents.
Gifts is proving to be a very popular book with our new families - we've ordered 20 new copies for our library so that we should always have one available. Woodbine House is the publisher - email us if you would like to borrow it, or for a list of local suppliers if you want to buy a copy.
Our New Parent pages have been tweaked and tidied up, with a new set of links added for those with a prenatal diagnosis. Five weeks into 2008, seven families with newborns had been referred to the Parent Support Team, so they have hit the ground running. This week the Parent Support Team is in Lismore on the beautiful Far North Coast meeting with families of young children and the professionals that provide services to them, providing updates about Down syndrome.
Two new blogs have been added to our list of those we read: IDEAS (a NSW disability information service) and Pinwheels (by the mother of twins, one of whom has Down syndrome). Click on the titles in the list at right to check them out.
On the social scene, Tracy Barker is again organising the popular Illawarra Black Tie Dinner for World Down Syndrome Month, on 28th March. And our Patron, Craig Wing, is hosting a major fundraiser, On a Wing and a Prayer in Sydney on 2nd April, with proceeds coming to Down Syndrome NSW.
We have a lot new things to tell you about - our favourite new discovery is The Journey Ahead: Consider the Opportunities, an excellent video for new and expectant parents, produced by the Down syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati, and made available online here (scroll down the page a bit), Such generosity is truly in the spirit of the founding families who first established Down Syndrome Associations from about thirty years ago: alive and well, and enhanced by technology – and still needed, all over the world. It’s a new generation of support, from a new generation of parents.
Gifts is proving to be a very popular book with our new families - we've ordered 20 new copies for our library so that we should always have one available. Woodbine House is the publisher - email us if you would like to borrow it, or for a list of local suppliers if you want to buy a copy.Our New Parent pages have been tweaked and tidied up, with a new set of links added for those with a prenatal diagnosis. Five weeks into 2008, seven families with newborns had been referred to the Parent Support Team, so they have hit the ground running. This week the Parent Support Team is in Lismore on the beautiful Far North Coast meeting with families of young children and the professionals that provide services to them, providing updates about Down syndrome.
Two new blogs have been added to our list of those we read: IDEAS (a NSW disability information service) and Pinwheels (by the mother of twins, one of whom has Down syndrome). Click on the titles in the list at right to check them out.
On the social scene, Tracy Barker is again organising the popular Illawarra Black Tie Dinner for World Down Syndrome Month, on 28th March. And our Patron, Craig Wing, is hosting a major fundraiser, On a Wing and a Prayer in Sydney on 2nd April, with proceeds coming to Down Syndrome NSW.