Adolescents definitions

Children with pervasive developmental disorders are also at higher risk for developing TS. In a recent survey of 447 pupils from nine schools for children and adolescents with autism, 19 children were found to have definite TS, yielding a prevalence rate of 4.3% (Baron-Cohen et ah, 1999). However, caution is warranted, as complex motor tics can be difficult to distinguish from motor stereotypies, and differentiation among these behaviors may be especially problematic among retarded individuals with limited verbal skills. 

Remschmidt, H. (2001) Definition and classification. In Remschmidt, H., ed. Schizophrenia in Children and Adolescents. Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press, pp. 24 2. 

Sodium, potassium, and chloride are electrolytes found in cow s milk for which the Food and Nutrition Board has estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intakes for infants, children and adolescents, and adults (NAS 1980A). Sodium functions in the body to maintain blood volume and cellular osmotic pressure and to transmit nerve impulses (NAS 1980A). The estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intake of sodium is 1100-3300 mg (2.8-8.4 g sodium chloride) for healthy adults (NAS 1980A). The American Medical Association, Council on Scientific Affairs (1979), suggested 4800 mg sodium per day as a tentative definition of moderation in sodium intake. 

Potassium iodide has been widely used in asthma and chronic bronchitis as an expectorant. There is considerable controversy about its efficacy. It should not be used in adolescent patients because of its potential to aggravate and induce acne and its effect on the thyroid gland. In view of its doubtful efficacy and definite toxicity, it would be preferable if physicians stopped prescribing it as an expectorant. 

Adequate calcium nutrition during childhood and adolescence is thought to bean important deterrent to osteoporosis in later life. A one-year study of 149 girls (8 years old) revealed the effects of consuming a typical diet (900 mg Ca/day) or a diet supplemented with an additional 850 mg Ca/day Bonjour el al, 1997). The Ca supplement was supplied by specially prepared biscuits, juices, and candy bars (rather thar pills) to assure compliance. To view some of the data, the density at the femoral diaphysis increased by 5% (unsupplemented) and by 6% (plus calcium) during the 1-ycar period. The density at the lumbar spine increased by 4% (unsupplemented) and by 4% (plus calcium). The data dernonstrated a dear and definite increase in bone density at some sites, but not at others. This study, as well as others Johnston et al., 1992), tend to show that caicium supplements to children can benefit bones of the appendicular skeleton, but not the axial skeleton. The appendicular skeleton includes the pelvis, arm bones, and leg bones. The axial skeleton includes the skull, vertebra, ribs, and sternum. 

The critical defining feature that can help the clinician be more certain of a borderline diagnosis is the history. As noted in chapter 4, many individuals may transiently experience borderline characteristics while in the throes of a major Axis I disorder (for example, a depression), only to recompensate when the Axis I problem resolves. A more definitive diagnosis of borderline disorder emerges when there is a well-documented history of ego impairment dating back to adolescence or early adulthood—"stable instability."... 

Antidepressants are used to treat depressed children and adolescents because no other definitive effective therapies are currently available. Plasma concentration monitoring of TCAs is important to ensure safety. As in the adult population, plasma concentrations above 450 ng/mL are associated with increased risk of serious adverse effects including delirium, seizures, delayed cardiac conduction, and sudden death. ... 

Adolescence begins when the boy or girl rejects the old identity and treatment that went with being a child, and begins the quest for an older definition that is yet to be determined. The early adolescent knows how she doesn t want to be defined and be treated any longer, but has no idea of a positive alternative to put in its place. Hence, for awhile, negativity rules. 

Antithyroid medication use in children and adolescents is associated with minor and major side-effects. Although the use of antithyroid medications is a standard practice, the use of antithyroid medications involves definite risks. 

We must cut short our review of the psychoanalytic aspects of the myth of masturbation and will conclude by citing the views o(Ouo (Femchel, whose book. The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, is cofisidered the definitive modern text on psychoanalysis. Fenichel is considerably less opposed to masturbation than Freud had been. But he, too, tries to present moral criteria of what are desirable and undesirable attitudes toward masturbation as if they were scientific psychoanalytic criteria of mentally healthy behavior. Masturbation, Fenichel writes, .. . is normal in childhood and under present cultural conditions is also normal in adolescence, and even in adulthood as a substitute when no sexual object is available.. . . ... 

Perhaps surprisingly, there has been a variation in the definition of the terms infant , child and adolescent between texts or stndies. To overcome this, the International Commission on Harmonization has defined these terms for regulatory purposes (European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, 2000). These definitions and age bands (Table 1.1) broadly represent the ages at which the major changes... 

Based on these criteria, it is clear that people with antisocial personality disorder would be unpleasant to deal with and might be frightening. It should also be pointed out that mental disorders such as depression and anxiety can often be of relatively short duration (6 months to several years). In contrast, a personality disorder is, by definition, an enduring pattern of behavior that has been present since adolescence or early adulthood and rarely, if ever, changes. 

Debate about the association between SSRIs and suicidality, particularly in children and adolescents, continues. A metaanalysis of 57 placebo-controlled trials of paroxetine involving 14911 patients with anxiety and depressive disorders showed no significant differences between paroxetine and placebo in rates of definitive... 

In children, evaluate bradycardia and tachycardia in context. For example, bradycardia (less than 90 beats/minute) may occur in a healthy infant during sleep tachycardia may be a normal response when a child is crying or otherwise upset. Keep in mind that, because HR varies considerably from the neonate to the adolescent, one definition of bradycardia or tachycardia can t fit all children. 

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