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Query: UMLS:C0917816 (mental retardation)
 15,867 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This overview of health programs and conditions in India reveals that health is related to economic development antipoverty measures, food production and distribution, drinking water supply, sanitation, housing, environmental protection, and education. There are urgent requirements for effective intersectorial coordination. Unprecedented growth of 1 million a year has resulted in slums and shanties--a place of epidemics; urbanization has contributed to environmental pollution impacting on health, and water pollution to water-born diseases. Health services are still insufficient to meet the needs. Sanitation practices contribute to cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, enteric fevers, and malaria. Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy must be active in preventive and health care. Accomplishments include in 1987/8 a decline in leprosy cases attributed to the existence of leprosy control units. 40 AIDS Surveillance Units are actively treating and screening. The Naval Goitre Control Programme's goal is replacement of iodized salt for edible salt by 1992, thereby reducing mental retardation and low birth weight babies. The Family Welfare Programme, targets a New Production Rate of Unity before 2000. A National Technology Mission on immunization and the Universal Immunization Programme plans to be operational in all districts by 1990. Oral rehydration therapy programs dispense free packets to fill the needs of 1 million children under 5 who suffer from diarrhea 3 times a year with 3 million facing death. The Primary Health Care Programme provides iron and folic acid to women with nutritional anemia and Vitamin A to children. Health service developments have been increased.
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PMID:Status of health in India and its future prospects. 226 69

In certain regions of Switzerland, before prophylaxis, 0.5% of the inhabitants were cretins, almost 100% of schoolchildren had large goitres and up to 30% of young men were unfit for military service owing to a large goitre. Iodization of salt was introduced in 1922 at 3.75 mg I per kg and the iodine content was doubled twice, in 1962 and 1980, to the present 15 mg I per kg. In 1988, 92% of retail salt and 76% of all salt for human consumption (including food industry) was iodized, even though its use is voluntary. Urinary iodine excretion, previously between 18 and 64 micrograms per per day, has now risen to 150 micrograms per day. No new endemic cretins born after 1930 have been identified. Goitre disappeared rapidly in newborns and schoolchildren, more slowly in army recruits, and incompletely in elderly adults. In some Cantons (by constitution in charge of health matters and the salt monopoly) which allowed iodized salt only in 1952, disappearance of goitre lagged behind accordingly, proof that iodized salt was the cause of regression. The Swiss data provide evidence that isolated deafness, mental deficiency, and short stature, each without the other attributes of cretinism have also decreased. Adverse effects of iodized salt were minimal, possibly because the initial iodine content of salt was chosen very low. Iodization of salt has proved a highly cost-effective preventive measure in Switzerland.
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PMID:Iodine deficiency diseases in Switzerland one hundred years after Theodor Kocher's survey: a historical review with some new goitre prevalence data. 228 84

Recent data on iodine excretion in the urine of adults, adolescents and newborns and on the iodine content of breast milk indicate a high prevalence of iodine deficiency (moderate in many cases and severe in a few) in many European countries. These cases may manifest as subclinical hypothyroidism in neonates and as goitre in adolescents and adults. Lack of iodine causes not only goitre, but also mental deficiency, hearing loss and other neurological impairments, and short stature due to thyroid insufficiency during fetal development and childhood. Although iodinated salt is available theoretically in most countries where it is needed, its quality and share of the market are often unsatisfactory. In many countries where only household salt is iodinated the iodine content has been set too low owing to an overestimation of household salt consumption. Governments are therefore urged to pass legislation and provide means for efficient iodination of salt wherever this is necessary.
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PMID:Iodine deficiency disorders in Europe. 267 Feb 99

Disorders resulting from severe iodine deficiency affect more than 400 million people in Asia alone. These disorders include stillbirths, abortions, and congenital anomalies; endemic cretinism, characterised most commonly by mental deficiency, deaf mutism, and spastic diplegia and lesser degrees of neurological defect related to fetal iodine deficiency; and impaired mental function in children and adults with goitre associated with subnormal concentrations of circulating thyroxine. Use of the term iodine deficiency disorders, instead of "goitre", would help to bridge the serious gap between knowledge and its application. Iodised salt and iodised oil (by injection or by mouth) are suitable for the correction of iodine deficiency on a mass scale. A single dose of iodised oil can correct severe iodine deficiency for 3-5 years. Iodised oil offers a satisfactory immediate measure for primary care services until an iodised salt programme can be implemented. The complete eradication of iodine deficiency is therefore feasible within 5-10 years.
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PMID:Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) and their eradication. 613 53

Iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of mental deficiency. Remarkable success has been achieved by the use of iodised salt to correct this deficiency in many industrialised countries since 1920. The Government of India has adopted a strategy to iodise all edible salt in the country to overcome iodine deficiency. Universal salt iodisation is the principal public health measure for eliminating iodine deficiency disorders. Daily iodine intakes of up to 1000 micrograms, appear to be entirely safe. In India, the likelihood of exceeding this level is quite small. Iodised salt does not cause any side effects. Iodine in iodised salt does not carry risks for persons who are already iodine sufficient. iodisation of salt at the current level of fortification (15-30 ppm iodine) keeps intakes well within a safe daily range for all populations, irrespective of their iodine status.
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PMID:Human requirements of iodine & safe use of iodised salt. 867 43

A 10-year-old girl complained or poor vision in both eyes. The patient showed progeria, physical and mental retardation, sensorineural hearing loss, cutaneous photosensitivity, hyperopia, poor pupillary dilation, exotropia, salt-and-pepper fundi, nondetectable cone and rod electroretinographic (ERG) responses, cerebral atrophy on computed tomography, and demyelination of periventricular white matter on magnetic resonance imaging. We believe that nondetectable cone and rod ERG responses in Cockayne syndrome, as demonstrated in our patient, may be uncommon.
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PMID:Nondetectable cone and rod electroretinographic responses in a patient with Cockayne syndrome. 892 50

Cockayne's syndrome is a very rare autosomal recessive affection. Ocular involvement is an essential element for positive diagnosis; the retina shows a typical salt and pepper retinitis with optical atrophy. We report a family with four brothers who had Cockayne's syndrome with unusual retinal involvement. The patients' parents were first cousins. Ophthalmologic examination of the mother showed unilateral left pigmentary retinopathy localized in the peripapillary region. The father's ophthalmological examination was normal. The four brothers presented disharmonious dwarfism, cutaneous hyperpigmentation of skin areas exposed to sun with old-appearance of the skin, sensorineural deafness, kyphoscoliosis, a cerebellar syndrome and mental retardation. The ophthalmological examination showed hypermetropia in all four brothers and bilateral maculopathy with no papillary or vascular abnormalities. The electroretinogram was in favor of cone dystrophy. Computed tomography showed one case of calcifications of the basal ganglia and cerebral atrophy. The karyotypes of the four brothers and the mother were normal. We discuss the ocular symptoms and the etiopathogenesis of this syndrome.
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PMID:[Cockayne's syndrome with unusual retinal involvement (report of one family)]. 1066 Jun 49

Iodine is a trace element essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. It is present in the human body in minute amounts (15-20 mg in adults). The thyroid is very sensitive to iodine deficiency in newborns and infants because of its very low iodine content. Daily iodine requirements in humans vary from 40 micrograms in neonates to 150 micrograms in adults. Iodine deficiency represents the first cause of avoidable mental deficiency in developed countries; it has not yet disappeared in Europe, especially in the East, where it is responsible for a high prevalence of goiter. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy increases the risk of neonatal transient hypothyroidism, with a high recall rate in programs of systematic screening for congenital hypothyroidism. Data available in France suggest that screening for iodine deficiency should be performed during pregnancy, and that the minimal iodine concentration in formula milk should be increased to 10 micrograms/100 kcal for term infants and 20 micrograms/100 kcal for premature infants. Iodine deficiency is ideally prevented by the use of iodized salt. Because of the risk of iodine overexposure and secondary transient hypothyroidism, the use of iodinated antiseptics must be avoided in premature babies and neonates as well as in pregnant and lactating women. The fight against iodine deficiency, associated with oral stable preventive iodine administration, decreases sharply the risk of thyroid cancer in case of nuclear exposure, by diminishing thyroid uptake of iodine radioactive isotopes.
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PMID:[Iodine nutrition in the infant. Committee on Nutrition of the French Society of Pediatrics]. 1066 89

In 1990, iodine deficiency affected almost one-third of the world population and was the greatest single cause of preventable brain damage and mental retardation. Following a resolution adopted by the World Summit for Children in 1990. major programmes of iodine supplementation were implemented by the governments of the affected countries with the support of major donors. Iodisation of salt was recognised as the method of choice. Nine years later, by April 1999, 75% of the affected countries had legislation on salt iodisation and 68% of the affected populations had access to iodised salt. The prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders decreased drastically in most countries and the deficiency disappeared completely in some such as Peru. This result constitutes a public heath success unprecedented with a non-infectious disease. However, occasional adverse effects occurred. The principle effect is iodine-induced hyperthyroidism which occurs essentially in older people with autonomous nodular goitres, especially following iodine intake that is too rapid and of too massive an increment. The incidence of the disorder is usually low and reverts spontaneously to the background rate of hyperthyroidism or even below this rate after 1 to 10 years of iodine supplementation. The possible occurrence of iodine-induced thyroiditis in susceptible individuals has not been clearly demonstrated by large epidemiological surveys. Iodine supplementation is followed by an increased prevalence of occult papillary carcinoma of the thyroid discovered at autopsy but the prognosis of thyroid cancer is improved due to a shift towards differentiated forms of thyroid cancer that are diagnosed at earlier stages. Iodine-induced hyperthyroidism and other adverse effects can be almost entirely avoided by adequate and sustained quality control and monitoring of iodine supplementation which should also confirm adequate iodine intake. Available evidence clearly confirms that the benefits of correcting iodine deficiency far outweigh the risks of iodine supplementation.
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PMID:Iodine supplementation: benefits outweigh risks. 1067 91

Despite significant progress in the last decades, endemic goiter remains a serious public health problem in the developing world, especially in Africa. Even in countries that have successfully reduced overall incidence to acceptable levels, endemic areas often remain. This persistence is due to the inadequacy of preventive measures and poor follow-up of control programs. The main etiologic factor in endemic goiter is inadequate dietary intake of iodine. This commonly occurs in communities depending exclusively on local produce grown on iodine-poor land, especially in mountain areas. Endemic goiter is epidemiologically associated with cretinism, deaf-mutism, and mental retardation. Even mild iodine deficiency leads to clinical hypothyroidism and moderate myxoedema with significantly reduced intellectual performance. Prevention of endemic goiter depends mainly on increasing the iodine intake of people in endemic areas. When iodine intake reaches the estimated adult minimum requirement (100 to 150 micrograms per day), the prevalence of goiter decreases. Two approaches have been used to increase iodine intake. The first consists of adding iodine to food staples such as table salt. The second consists of medical treatment using agents such as iodized oil. Iodization or iodination of salt is the most widespread and cost-effective method of prevention. Administration of iodized oil has been used only in severely endemic areas and in regions where reliable provision of iodinized salt is prevented by geographical barriers or political factors. However, iodized oil has been helpful in the start-up phase of prevention programs using iodized salt, either as an emergency measure or as a mean of convincing officials of the efficacy of iodine prophylaxis.
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PMID:[Management strategies for endemic goiter in developing countries]. 1081 56


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