Ambidextrous Kids More Likely to Have Mental Health and School Problems.

The UK’s Telegraph (1/25, Devlin http://tinyurl.com/ambi-ADD) reports that ambidextrous children are twice as likely to be hyperactive as their classmates.  They are also twice as likely to suffer from language problems, such as dyslexia.  Scientists believe that differences in how the children’s brains work compared to others could link the problems, but admit they do not yet understand how.  Dr Alina Rodriguez, from Imperial College London, who led the study, said: “Our results should not be taken to mean that all children who are mixed-handed will have problems at school or develop ADHD.  “We found that mixed-handed children and adolescents were at a higher risk of having certain problems, but we’d like to stress that most of the mixed-handed children we followed didn’t have any of these difficulties.”  The study looked at almost 8,000 children, 87 of whom used both hands to write.  The researchers found that by the ages of seven or eight those children were twice as likely as their right-handed peers to have difficulties with language and to perform badly in school.  By the time they reached the age of 15 or 16 the teenagers were also as likely to suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  Studies suggest that people who write with their right hand have a more dominant left half of their brain.  Some researchers believe that the chances of developing ADHD could be influenced by having a weaker functioning right hemisphere of the brain. 

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Copper Pipes Could Cause Alzheimer’s Disease.

The UK’s Telegraph (1/22, Alleyne http://tinyurl.com/copper-alzheimers) reports that some scientists have claimed people should remove old copper pipes from their homes or install special filters because the metal has been shown to build up in their bodies and cause serious health problems.  They have warned that tiny traces of copper from pipes can mix with tap water and then consumed by people.  Over a long period of time this leads to a build-up of copper in the body which then leads to Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and diabetes because the body cannot process the metal.  The study found people over 50 should also avoid vitamin and mineral pills that contain cooper and iron, lowering meat intake and avoid drinking water from copper pipes.  They should also donate blood regularly to reduce iron levels and taking zinc supplements to lower copper levels.  Copper and iron are essential when people are young as they help during the years when people are trying to have children.  But the body can no longer process them effectively when people move beyond 50 years old.  The study from the American Chemical Society found that people were at risk from copper as they aged.   The study, the “Risks of Copper and Iron Toxicity during Ageing in Humans”, was published in the American Chemical Society’s Chemical Research in Toxicology journal.

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