Community Magazine June 2014

98 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE WORLD’SFIRST INSULINPILLCOULD BEONTHEHORIZON An Israeli pharmaceutical company, Oramed, is developing an insulin pill that it says could relieve thousands of diabetics from daily injections. If clinical trials prove successful, it will be the first insulin pill ever developed. The concept of oral insulin has been discussed since the 1930s, but making it a reality has been extremely difficult because insulin cannot survive the destructive enzymes in the digestive system. Oramed believes that it has now found a solution to allow enough insulin to survive the onslaught of digestive juices to be effective. The capsule is covered in a unique coating which protects it from degrading during its journey down the gastrointestinal tract. The pill would not completely eliminate the need for injections, but for Type 2 diabetics - who generally develop the disease in adulthood due to inactivity, obesity or genetics – it could delay the shift to needles by many years. Injectable insulin is usually administered during the late stages of Type 2 diabetes, when the pancreas can no longer produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes, which is far less common, usually develops in children, and is believed to be caused by either genetic susceptibility or environmental factors. Harold Jacob, Director of Endoscopy at Hadassah hospital and a board member of Oramed, says oral insulin could make it easier for diabetics to start early treatment, slow progression of the disease, and delay the need for injections. Oramed will need to conduct a final, large-scale Phase III trial before the drug is licensed for sale, so the capsule is still years away from commercialization. HEALTHY FOODS MAKE FOR HAPPY TUMMIES Does your kid have a tummy ache again? Belly pain affects lots of kids, so your family isn’t alone. For minor tummy troubles – and for all-around good digestion – here are some basic guidelines to follow. Add more fiber... Fiber is key to a healthy tummy. “Fiber keeps the digestive system moving and helps clean you out,” says Kristi King, MPH, RD, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Both soluble fiber (which the body breaks down) and insoluble fiber (which it doesn’t) are important. Most fruits and vegetables have both. ... but don’t add too much fiber. Excess fiber can cause gas and bloating - another cause of kid tummy troubles. Kids ages 1 to 3 need 14 grams of fiber a day - that’s equal to a medium banana, 1/2 cup of cooked beans, and a whole- wheat English muffin. Older kids up to age 14 need between 17 to 25 grams per day - add 1/3 cup of bran cereal and a handful of almonds – depending on their age and gender. Serve more yogurt. Unlike most other dairy products, yogurt is full of living, helpful germs called probiotics. Probiotics also live inside us. They help digest food and get rid of bad germs. Offer your kid a fruit smoothie for breakfast, which provides the benefits of fiber and probiotics at the same time. Cut down on sugar. Some sugars aren’t easily digested. When your kids gobble too much sugary food, they can get gas and painful cramps. Any sugary food - even fruits and fruit juices, in high amounts - can cause problems. Don’t allow fizzy drinks. The gas in bubbly drinks can cause painful gas and bloating. AUTISMMAY BEGIN DEVELOPING IN INFANTS DURING PREGNANCY Stunning developments were revealed recently about autism in America. CBS 2′s Dr. Max Gomez reported that autism is now thought to affect roughly 1.2 million children and teens in the United States. And new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 1 in 68 children have an autism spectrum disorder in the U.S. - about a 30 percent increase from two years ago. “We believe part of the increase in prevalence is due tobetter detectionof autism.” said Autism Speaks Associate Director Public Health Research Michael Rosanoff. Most children aren’t diagnosed until age 4, even though it can be diagnosed by age 2. And now, researchers have begun to find signs of autism in even younger children. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that changes in the brains of autistic children actually begin in the womb. Dr. Gomez said that in normal fetuses, brain cells develop and migrate into specific layers. This study found that in the second trimester, some of the brain cells in autistic children did not go where they were supposed to. “We know there are places in the brain where they’re supposed to be and they are not,” explained Dr. Melissa Nishawala of NYU’s Child Study Center. “It’s like the pathways are not able to form in the proper way. We’ve been doing research at NYU that shows there’s problems in the connectivity of the brain, so that means that social centers, and language centers, and cognitive centers aren’t talking to each other in the way that they need to.” These new findings should help lead to earlier detections of autism. When it comes to autism - catching it early – ideally before the age of 2 - makes a huge difference. The younger the child – the greater the impact of treatment on symptoms of autism. To • • Health