Research that Benefits Chidren and Families-Uplifting Stories

I came across a study conducted in 1948 by Sidney Farber on leukemia in children. Farber conduct the research on five children who had been diagnosed with acute leukemia.Through research efforts Farber discovered that by injecting the children with folic acid there was an accelerated change in how the leukemia was progressing in which he called a "acceleration phenomenon" (Farber, 1948). After reading this article that which was wrote in 1948 I wanted to find out what researcher were saying about folic acid and it's effect on children with leukemia now; I located another article by Peter Spain (2010) who stated that

 

 "Half a century ago, a diagnosis of leukemia in a child was considered a death sentence. Today, approximately 85% of children diagnosed with this once fatal disease are cured (Pui et al. 2009; US National Institutes of Health 2010). The discovery that ushered in this dramatically transformed outlook was the observation by Sidney Farber (1903–1973) and his colleagues in Boston in 1948 that drugs that acted against the vitamin folic acid could produce remissions in children with acute leukemia (Farber et al. 1948). While carefully controlled studies were required to develop therapeutic regimens developed from these initial observations (Pocock 1977; Peto et al. 1986), the Farber article is featured in the James Lind Library because it is an example of a treatment effect that is so dramatic that bias can be confidently ruled out as an explanation for the observations (Glasziou et al. 2007). What led to the landmark findings in 1948, and what evidence was published subsequently confirming that a major advance in treatment had been discovered" (Spain, 2010).

 

The research that Farber conducted has helped to save many children's lives today; without this research the mortality rate for children diagnosed with leukemia would be significantly higher than it is. For further reading the articles can be found at:

 

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM194806032382301

 

http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/illustrating/articles/observations-of-unprecedented-remissions-following-novel-treatme

 

References

 

Farber, S., Diamond, L.K., Mercer, R.D., Sylvester, R.F., & Wolff, J.A. (1948). Temporary

Remission in Acute Leukemia in Children Produced by Folic Acid Antagonist, 4-Aminopteroyl Glutamic Acid (Aminopterin). New England Journal of Medicine, v.238. p787-793.Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM194806032382301

 

 

Spain P, Kadan-Lottick N (2010). Observations of unprecedented remissions following novel treatment for acute leukemia in children in 1948. JLL Bulletin: Commentaries on the history of treatment evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.jameslindlibrary.org

Personal Research Journey

The topic that I choose for the simulation has to do with the social emotional aspect of children's development,  primarily their behaviors and encouraging positive behaviors in preschoolers  I choose this topic based on my personal interest of raising two young children and wanting too help them develop into well adjusted children and my professional interest in this topic derives from the challenging behaviors that I see displayed within some of the early childhood classrooms.
There are many articles that I found through searching the Walden library on the subject of challenging behaviors in preschoolers if anyone knows links to articles, journals or has expertise on the subject that deal with building positive behaviors in preschoolers or positive emotional outlets I would appreciate it if you could share.
My personal experience with stimulation process has been enhanced by the information learned in week 1. I was able to go though the many articles on the topic I choose  to quickly find out whether the article was what I was looking for without reading the entire article.

Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field.

• The early childhood field globally is striving to combat the same types of issues, ex: poverty, teacher qualifications, equity.
• There is valuable information that each nation has to offer each other that can be used to combat some of the issues that each nation is experiencing.
• Many voices contributing to the early childhood field can help bring about the changes that are much needed.

One goal for the field related to international awareness:

• My goal is to continually read articles related to interantional early education matters as well as view international website such as the UNESCO so that I may stay up to date with the issues and trends within the early childhood field.