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Biomedical subjects

Roger D Freeman

Publications and source records attributed to Roger D Freeman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Evidence supporting the use of melatonin in short gestation infants.

Pineal melatonin regulates circadian rhythms and influences sleep. Melatonin also has protective actions against tissue damage from free-radicals and other toxins. Evidence is presented that this indoleamine is involved in pre- and postnatal brain (and ocular) development and intrauterine growth. In the absence of maternal melatonin, short gestation infants have a prolonged period of melatonin deficiency. Melatonin supplementation, which has a benign safety profile, may help reduce complications in the neonatal period that are associated with short gestation. We believe that this treatment might result in a wide range of health benefits, improved quality of life and reduced healthcare costs.

Dietary Supplements↗
PubMed2006

Sleep hygiene and melatonin treatment for children and adolescents with ADHD and initial insomnia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of sleep hygiene and melatonin treatment for initial insomnia in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Twenty-seven stimulant-treated children (6-14 years of age) with ADHD and initial insomnia (>60 minutes) received sleep hygiene intervention. Nonresponders were randomized to a 30-day double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of 5-mg pharmaceutical-grade melatonin provided by the study's sponsor. RESULTS: Sleep hygiene reduced initial insomnia to <60 minutes in 5 cases, with an overall effect size in the group as a whole of 0.67. Analysis of the trial data able to be evaluated showed a significant reduction in initial insomnia of 16 minutes with melatonin relative to placebo, with an effect size of 0.6. Adverse events were generally mild and not different from those recorded with placebo treatment. The effect size of the combined sleep hygiene and melatonin intervention from baseline to 90 days' posttrial was 1.7, with a mean decrease in initial insomnia of 60 minutes. Improved sleep had no demonstrable effect on ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSION: Combined sleep hygiene and melatonin was a safe and effective treatment for initial insomnia in children with ADHD taking stimulant medication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Tourette Syndrome and learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood. Learning disabilities are frequently comorbid with TS. Using the largest sample of TS patients ever reported, we sought to identify differences between subjects with TS only and subjects with TS and a comorbid learning disability. METHODS: We used the Tourette Syndrome International Consortium database (TIC) to compare subjects with comorbid Tourette Syndrome and learning disabilities (TS + LD) to subjects who did not have a comorbid learning disability (TS-LD). The TIC database contained 5,500 subjects. We had usable data on 5,450 subjects. RESULTS: We found 1,235 subjects with TS + LD. Significant differences between the TS + LD group and the TS-LD group were found for gender (.001), age onset (.030), age first seen (.001), age at diagnosis (.001), prenatal problems (.001), sibling or other family member with tics (.024), two or more affected family members (.009), and severe tics (.046). We used logistic modeling to identify the optimal prediction model of group membership. This resulted in a five variable model with the epidemiologic performance characteristics of accuracy 65.2% (model correctly classified 4,406 of 5,450 subjects), sensitivity 66.1%, and specificity 62.2%. CONCLUSION: Subjects with TS have high prevalence rates of comorbid learning disabilities. We identified phenotype differences between the TS-LD group compared to TS + LD group. In the evaluation of subjects with TS, the presence of a learning disability should always be a consideration. ADHD may be an important comorbid condition in the diagnosis of LD or may also be a potential confounder. Further research on etiology, course and response to intervention for subjects with TS only and TS with learning disabilities is needed.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗