Abnormalities in the connectivity of white matter in teens with conduct disorder may play a role in the presence and severity of antisocial behavior in these youth, indicates a new study in  PLOS ONE. Compared to healthy peers, adolescents with conduct disorder had measurably different cellular connectivity-increased fractional anisotropy- in 7 different regions of the brain as measured using the MRI-based technique diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Psychiatry Advisor, June 10, 2016

According to a new study, teenagers - particularly boys - who try to attempt suicide or are close to someone who has attempted suicide are at a higher risk for heart disease in their 20s. The findings of the study showed that young males had higher blood pressure and systemic low-grade inflammation if they had attempted suicide as a teenager. On the other hand, young women were more likely to be overweight or obese as well as have high blood pressure if they were close to someone   who tried to kill himself/herself. "What we are seeing is that suicide attempts in adolescence - which are typically considered as a mental health problem - could also signal the potential for physical health problems into young adulthood," said lead author Lilly Shanahan, assistant professor at University of North Carolina.

Indian Express, June 9, 2016

Garland and colleagues found reductions of approximately 90% for HPV infection, genital warts and high-grade histologically proven cervical abnormalities, as well as an approximately 60% reduction in low-grade cytological cervical abnormalities among countries with the greatest vaccine coverage. However, the reduced impact among countries with less coverage, or among countries not included in the review whose vaccination programs may not be fully developed, suggests areas in need of improvement.

Helio, June 9, 2016

It is the first study to examine the extent that adolescent males and females select empathic classmates as friends. And the conclusion based on a study of 1,970 Year 10 students in Queensland and New South Wales (average age of 15.7 years) is that girls are more likely to nominate empathic boys as friends. In contrast, empathetic girls didn't rate quite so highly with the opposite sex. In fact, the study found girls with empathetic qualities "did not attract a greater number of opposite sex friends" at all.

Science Daily, June 8, 2016

A new study finds a strong association between late onset of puberty and subsequent semen quality. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the influence of pubertal timing on male reproductive health. 1,068 healthy young Danish men participated in the study and provided information on the timing of puberty. This suggests that timing of pubertal onset may be a fundamental marker of male reproductive health. Men with a history of early puberty were shorter, had a higher BMI and were often smokers or exposed to prenatal tobacco smoke.

Science Daily, June 8, 2016

Vaccine Harm Anecdotes Work, Even When People Don't Believe Them

We found that telling participants about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System ( VAERS), without having them read the actual reports, improved vaccine acceptance only very slightly. Even worse, when participants read the detailed reports, both vaccine acceptance and trust in the CDC's conclusion that vaccines are safe declined significantly. What we found next surprised us: The vast majority of our survey respondents, the same ones who were less accepting of vaccines and less trusting of the CDC, said that they believed the vaccine caused few or none of the reported deaths and disabilities. This means that the individual stories of perceived vaccine harms were highly influential, even when people didn't believe they were true.

American Council on Science and Health, June 6, 2015

First U.S. Penis Transplant Patient Heads Home

The first patient to receive a penis transplant in the United States has been discharged from the hospital three weeks after his 15-hour surgery. Thomas Manning, 64, left Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Wednesday and was traveling back to his hometown of Halifax, Mass., the  Associated Press   reported. Manning said he can now urinate after two follow-up procedures were performed, but sexual function is months away from becoming a reality, the wire service said. After being diagnosed with penile cancer in 2012, Manning's penis was amputated. He is the third man in the world to receive a new penis, following transplants in South Africa in 2014 and China in 2005, the  AP   reported.

Healthfinder.gov, June 2, 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at dbarbour@partnershipformaleyouth.org.