CHILD HEALTH (Cont. 1)
the development of diabetes, Green says.
In the younger children "it was a little bit trickier because they don't want to push weights in a gym. They want to run around in a field," Green says. So that's what they did, he says. "It was essentially fun and games."
By the end of the eight-week program, blood vessel function had improved in both groups of children, he reports.
More Remarkable Results
So what happens when they stopped?
By two months later, "all the improvements had reverted back," Green says. "You have to keep on doing it."
Albert Wiegman, MD, a pediatrician at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, says all children at risk of heart disease later in life should be on a program of diet and exercise.
In a second study, Wiegman followed 211 children with an inherited susceptibility to very high cholesterol. The condition, called familial hypercholesterolemia, affects one in 400 children. Ultrasound tests showed that the youngsters had already begun to show signs of thickening of their blood vessel walls - this can lead to clogged arteries.
Without intervention, the kids face an ominous future, Wiegman says: Their affected parents with the disorder died before they turned 40 years, on average.
All the kids were placed on a low-fat diet and exercise program. Half were given the cholesterol-lowering statin drug Pravachol and the rest a placebo.
By the end of the two-year trial, cholesterol levels had dropped an average of 25% in the group that took the statin, while staying stable in those who took the placebo. Ultrasound measurements showed that arteries had opened up in the kids who took the statin. In those on placebo, however, arterial thickening had worsened.
There were no side effects, Wiegman says. Children more than 14 years old took an adult dose, while younger kids were given half doses.
Vinay Nadkarni, MD, associate professor of anesthesia and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, says the findings are "remarkable."
"Intervention in highly motivated kids can not only halt the progression of plaque, but reverse it," says Nadkarni, who moderated a discussion of the findings.
So how to get young kids to take their medicine?
That's easy, Wiegman says. "Explain to them that just like they have to brush their teeth at night to keep their teeth clean and prevent decay, they have to take this pill to brush out their arteries.
"Kids are smart, they'll get it."