Fukushima radiation has been linked to a surge in thyroid cancer among children near the disaster area

  Asia

Child cancers up fiftyfold after Fukushima disaster

Damir Sagolj/Corbis

• 
  104 cases of thyroid cancer have been identified, a far higher rate than the national average Damir Sagolj/Corbis

Richard Lloyd ParryTokyo

Last updated at 8:45AM, October 8 2015

Cases of thyroid cancer among children living close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant have increased fiftyfold since the meltdown in 2011, according to Japanese scientists.

Read More Here

.........................................................................................

ONE NEWS NOW TVNZ

Study shows alarming thyroid cancer rates in children living near Fukushima

Thu, Oct 8

Associated PressSource:

Children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a rate 20 to 50 times that of children elsewhere.

A young evacuee is screened at a shelter for leaked radiation from the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima,

Source: Associated Press

Most of the 370,000 children in Fukushima prefecture (state) have been given ultrasound checkups since the March 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The most recent statistics, released in August, show that thyroid cancer is suspected or confirmed in 137 of those children, a number that rose by 25 from a year earlier. Elsewhere, the disease occurs in only about one or two of every million children per year.

"This is more than expected and emerging faster than expected," lead author Toshihide Tsuda said.

Read More Here

 

.....................................................................................

Fukushima radiation hits home as thyroid cancer rises among children

Thyroid cancer rates were about 20 to 50 times the national average, according to the analysis.

 

By Elizabeth Shim   |   Oct. 8, 2015 at 2:19 PM

 

 

 

TOKYO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Fukushima radiation has been linked to a surge in thyroid cancer among children near the disaster area, and radiation woes have reach South Korea, where findings revealed imported tobacco from Japan contained higher than normal levels of radioactive cesium.
A team of Japanese researchers led by Toshihide Tsuda, a professor of environmental epidemiology at Okayama University, said cases of thyroid cancer in Fukushima Prefecture have skyrocketed since March 2011, Kyodo News reported..

The rates were about 20 to 50 times the national average, according to the analysis. The findings were based on screenings of 370,000 Fukushima residents age 18 or younger, and the culprit was increased radiation exposure since the Fukushima nuclear disaster hit the area in March 2011. In late August, the prefecture had identified 104 cases of thyroid cancer..

Read More Here

Mysterious polio-like illness affects kids in California . Doctors investigate handful of cases of paralysis in one or more limbs

KING5

Mysterious polio-like illness affects kids in California

Credit: Jessica Tomei

Sofia Jarvis, 4, of Berkeley, Calif., was struck by a polio-like illness when she was 2. It left her with a paralyzed arm

by ELIZABETH WEISE / USA Today

Posted on February 23, 2014 at 5:29 PM

A mysterious polio-like syndrome has affected as many as 25 California children, leaving them with paralyzed limbs and little hope of recovery.
"What's we're seeing now is bad. The best-case scenario is complete loss of one limb, the worst is all four limbs, with respiratory insufficiency, as well. It's like the old polio," said Keith Van Haren, a pediatric neurologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.
The first known case appeared in 2012. Sofia Jarvis in Berkeley began to experience wheezing and difficulty breathing. The 2-year-old spent days in the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Oakland. Doctors thought she had asthma.
On a follow-up visit, her mother Jessica Tomei, 37, realized something else was wrong.
"As we were leaving the doctor's office, I noticed that she went to grab something with her left arm and she stopped, midway," Tomei said.
Eventually Sofia was brought to Van Haren's clinic with "a unique set of symptoms." She was treated with steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, used to reduce the severity of infections by giving the body antibodies to protect against bacteria and viruses. "None of it helped," said Van Haren, a neurology professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
"He told us right away that the prognosis was really poor and that she's not going to get better," Tomei said.
The diagnosis proved correct. Today, at age 4, Sofia's left arm is paralyzed and she has some weakness in her left leg as well as slight breathing issues.
Still, parents shouldn't panic. "This is really very rare," Van Haren said. "But we are asking any families who notice a sudden onset of weakness to see their doctors immediately. Their doctors should contact the California Department of Public Health."
California is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to see if there are cases outside California. So far none have been reported.
Overall Sofia's family is grateful. "She's still with us, she's still running around, she's going to preschool," her mother said.
The case galvanized Van Haren and other neurologists, who worried a new disease had appeared. When they began to go through recent medical files, they found two more cases, both in the San Francisco Bay area.

Read More Here

.....

Polio-like disease seen in California children

Doctors investigate handful of cases of paralysis in one or more limbs

• Associated Press in Los Angeles
• 
  
• theguardian.com, Monday 24 February 2014 03.01 EST

A doctor gives an eight-week-old baby the polio vaccine. The children in California had been vaccinated against polio. Photograph: Alamy

A polio-like illness has afflicted a small number of children in California since 2012, causing severe weakness or rapid paralysis in one or more limbs.
The Los Angeles Times reported that state public health officials had been investigating the illness since a doctor requested polio testing for a child with severe paralysis in 2012. Since then, similar cases have sporadically been reported throughout the state.
Dr Carol Glaser, leader of a California department of public health team investigating the illnesses, said she was concerned about the request because polio had been eradicated in the US and the child had not travelled overseas.
The symptoms sometimes occur after a mild respiratory illness. Glaser said a virus that is usually associated with respiratory illness but which has also been linked to polio-like illnesses had been detected in two of the patients.

Read More Here

.....

Related articles

• Mysterious polio-like illness affects kids in California
• Fear as mysterious polio-like illness paralyzes Californian children with NO hope of improvement
• Mysterious polio-like illness affects kids in California
• Mysterious polio-like illnesses reported in some California children
• Polio-like disease seen in California children

Toxic Chemicals Blamed for 'Silent Pandemic' of Brain Disorders in Children

VOA

.....

Workers inspect an area outside a retaining wall around storage tanks where a chemical leaked into the Elk River at Freedom Industries storage facility in Charleston, West Virginia, Jan. 13, 2014.

 

Jessica Berman

February 15, 2014

Experts are calling for a targeted strategy to restrict the use of toxic industrial chemicals, which they say are causing a “silent pandemic” of brain disorders in children worldwide.  Scientists are urging action as more so-called neurotoxins have been identified but remain largely unregulated.
A rise in the number of pediatric brain disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, cerebral palsy and autism, may be the result of increased use of unregulated toxic chemicals around the world.
In the past seven years, researchers have identified six new chemicals that have been shown to be capable of damaging the brains of developing human fetuses and young children. The discovery brings to twelve the number of confirmed neurotoxins.  Experts estimate one in six children worldwide suffers from a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Pediatrician Philip Landrigan, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said exposure to neurotoxic chemicals was a serious problem that has reached pandemic proportions.
“Injury to the human brain in early life leads to problems like loss of IQ, shortening of attention span, behavioral problems.  And these effects by and large tend to be permanent,” he said.


Read More Here


.....

Number of chemicals linked to problems such as autism DOUBLES in just seven years

• Researchers warn that chemical safety checks must be tightened

• Many substances are found in everyday items like food, toys and clothes

• And the study warns that these findings are just the tip of the iceberg
  

By Damien Gayle
PUBLISHED: 08:09 EST, 15 February 2014 | UPDATED: 08:41 EST, 15 February 2014
The number of industrial chemicals known to trigger brain development problems like autism has doubled in just seven years, experts warned today.
A new study suggests toxic chemicals may be triggering increases in neurological disabilities among children, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia.
The researchers warn that chemical safety checks need to be tightened up around the world to protect our vulnerable youngsters from a 'silent epidemic' of brain disorders.

 

 

A tractor sprays barley crops: Pesticides are among the toxic chemicals which may be triggering neurological disabilities among children, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia

Their work also found that the list of chemicals known to damage the human brain but not regulated to safeguard children had also risen from 202 to 214.
These substances are found in everyday items including food, clothing, furniture and toys.
'The greatest concern is the large numbers of children who are affected by toxic damage to brain development in the absence of a formal diagnosis,' said Dr Philippe Grandjean, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
'They suffer reduced attention span, delayed development, and poor school performance.
'Industrial chemicals are now emerging as likely causes.'
He and his co-authors are calling for universal legal requirements forcing manufacturers to prove that all existing and new industrial chemicals are non-toxic before they reach the market place.
In the EU, the Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulations already impose such rules.
But without them being applied globally, the world faces a 'pandemic of neurodevelopmental toxicity', warned Dr Grandjean.
'Current chemical regulations are woefully inadequate to safeguard children whose developing brains are uniquely vulnerable to toxic chemicals in the environment,' Dr Grandjean pointed out.
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and cerebral palsy affect one in six children worldwide.


Read More Here
.....

Related articles

• Toxic Chemicals Blamed for 'Silent Pandemic' of Brain Disorders in Children
• Industrial chemicals 'may cause global neurodevelopmental epidemic'
• Better chemical safety checks urged
• Growing Number of Chemicals Linked With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Children
• Number of chemicals linked to problems such as autism DOUBLES in just seven years
• Six Chemicals Added To List That Affect Childrens Brains
• 11 Toxic Chemicals Affecting Brain Development In Children

NHK Documentary: "Healing Children through Art"

MissingSky101


 

Published on Nov 11, 2013

Note:
This video does not pertain to any radiation issues from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant meltdown. "Healing Children through Art" is a message of hope, support, encouragement and love for the children living in the disaster stricken area of Tohoku.
Healing Children through Art
Ms. Harumi Torii, Founder of Kids Earth Fund, believes in the healing power of creative activities. She holds variety of events to help children in the disaster area to freely express their feelings through painting. One day she shows some children a big canvas and encourages them to complete a painting of artistic messages from children around the world. This is a story of how traumatized children reacted and were comforted through heart to heart exchanges with the world.
Kids Earth Fund
Sadly, even in affluent countries such as Japan there are many children who suffer emotional problems as a result of the damaging influence they have received growing up in a materialistic society. In Japan, KIDS EARTH FUND hosts projects and workshops that are designed to help these children. Professional artist, specialist and musician volunteers design programs that foster children's imagination and help build their self-esteem and interest in helping others. 1000 children have participated in these Japan-based events.
http://www.kidsearthfund.jp/en/injapa...