( While children who have had brain tumor...)Report Shows How Children With Brain Tumors Perform at School,Health

While children who have had brain tumors perform worse in school than healthy kids, grades in foreign language are the most affected and girls have a harder time than boys in getting good grades, according to a study published in the issue of Neurology. Researchers say this is the first time the actual grades and subjects of brain tumor survivors have been reported.

These results will help us identify brain tumor survivors who are at greatest risk for school failure and may need remedial help as early as possible, said study author Pivi Lhteenmki, MD, PhD, with Turku University Hospital in Turku, Finland.

For the study, researchers compared the ninth grade report cards of 300 children with previous brain tumors, which had been treated with surgery or radiation therapy, to 1,473 healthy children living in Finland.

The study found the average grades of children who have had a brain tumor were significantly lower in each school subject, and differed most in foreign language, especially for girls. More than 58 percent of female patients received grades below an eight (four = fail, 10 = excellent) in foreign language compared to 38 percent of healthy children. It appears verbal performance is the area most seriously affected for brain tumor survivors. said Lhteenmki. This may be a reflection of a diminished ability to learn new information.

Lhteenmki says girls may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of radiation therapy, which has been regarded as the main cause of cognitive decline.

The study also found 94 percent of brain tumor survivors completed the ninth grade of Finnish comprehensive school at the usual age. These results are encouraging, considering a prior study in the United States showed brain tumor survivors were significantly less likely to finish high school compared to their siblings, said Lhteenmki.

Brain tumors are the second most common form of cancer occurring i
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Russia Reports First SARS Case
2. Report on the Safety and Effectiveness of Melatonin supplements
3. Sepsis Death Reported With Mifepristone – FDA Issues Warnin
4. Experts Insist That Neonatal Herpes Be Reported Regularly
5. Uganda Reports Failure To Contain Sleeping Sickness
6. Encephalitis Deaths in Maybe higher than Reported
7. Only 30 Polio Cases Reported In India
8. Reports of Hantavirus infection in India raise concerns
9. Controversy Surrounding The HIV Positive Reports Of One-Year Girl In Kerala
10. ADB Report Warns of Bird-Flu Catastrophe
11. Asthma Patients Under The Care Of An Allergist Report Less Severe Symptoms