Children
Radiologists diagnose and treat self embedding disorder in teensMinimally invasive, image-guided treatment is a safe and precise method for removal of self-inflicted foreign objects from the body, according to the first report on "self-embedding disorder," or self-injury and self-inflicted foreign body insertion in adolescents.
New treatment may cure food allergiesA team of scientists from across Europe are embarking on new research to develop a treatment for food allergy.
International Society for Stem Cell Research releases new guidelinesThe International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the world's leading professional organization of stem cell researchers, released new guidelines for the responsible development of safe and effective stem cell therapies for patients.
£15 m for South Africa in new struggle against AIDSSouth Africa's revitalised drive against AIDS today received a £15 million boost which could help save millions of lives and stop the spread of HIV across the country.
Whooping cough booster for parents of newbornsA booster vaccination for parents of new babies and other household members may be the most effective way of preventing the fatal form of whooping cough in young infants, say a group of paediatric intensive care doctors on bmj.com today.
Children of centenarians live longer with no heart disease, stroke, diabetesA recent study appearing in the November issue of Journal of American Geriatrics Society revealed that centenarian offspring (children of parents who lived to be at least 97 years old) retain important cardiovascular advantages from their parents compared to a similarly-aged cohort.
Buggies influence parent-infant interactionA groundbreaking study being presented on 22nd November at the British Psychological Society Scotland's Annual Conference suggests the orientation of a baby's buggy impacts on mother-baby interaction, infant stress levels and ultimately child development.
Asthma risk more in children born in autumnChildren who are born four months before the peak of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma than children born at any other time of year, according to new research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Obese women may have safe pregnancy after weight loss surgeryObese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Ban on fast food TV advertising may reverse childhood obesity trendsA ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics.
Genetic screening for diabetes not helpfulScreening for a panel of gene variants associated with the risk for type 2 diabetes can identify adults at risk for the disorder but is not significantly better than assessment based on traditional risk factors such as weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Birth defects rate high in infants born with assisted reproductive technologyInfants conceived with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) are two to four times more likely to have certain types of birth defects than children conceived naturally, according to a study by the CDC.
Lilly donated Insulin to International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child ProgramEli Lilly and Company announced it intends to donate more than 800,000 vials of insulin to the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child Program, providing free life-saving medicine to as many as 24,000 children who currently have no access to diabetes treatment.
Nicole Johnson takes action for type 1 diabetes researchDiabetes in Children and Adolescents has particular urgency for former Miss America Nicole Johnson. Nicole has served as an international spokesperson for diabetes issues for more than 8 years. She has worked tirelessly promoting awareness, prevention and early detection of the hidden killer, diabetes.
Factors identified causing barriers to asthma careBarriers to managing asthma include access to appropriate care, patient adherence, distrust of the medical profession, delayed asthma diagnosis, culture, lifestyle choices and genetic discrepancies according to experts at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Seattle.
Bone marrow transplant can cure sickle cell diseaseA unique approach to bone marrow transplantation pioneered in part by a Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC physician has proven to be the only safe and effective cure for sickle cell disease, according to a new study.
Rainfall linked to autismChildren living in counties with higher levels of annual precipitation appear more likely to have higher prevalence rates of autism, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The results raise the possibility that an environmental trigger for autism may be associated with precipitation and may affect genetically vulnerable children.
3 million US children have food or digestive allergiesThe number of young people who had a food or digestive allergy increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Estimating lives lost due to delay in HIV drug use in South AfricaMore than 330,000 lives were lost to HIV/AIDS in South Africa from 2000 and 2005 because a feasible and timely antiretroviral (ARV) treatment program was not implemented, assert researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in a study published online by the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) (http://www.jaids.com/).
Live cell therapy clinical trial in New Zealand for diabeticsLiving Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY) announced that New Zealand Health Minister, the Honorable David Cunliffe, has approved an application from the company to conduct in New Zealand a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of DiabeCell®, LCT's lead product candidate for the treatment of insulin dependent (Type 1) diabetes.
Kids from low income families are without health insuranceNew research at Oregon Health & Science University reveals millions of children from low- to middle-income families are going without health insurance, even when at least one parent has private health insurance through his or her employer.
Eating fast may make you overweight and obeseThe combination of eating quickly and eating until full trebles the risk of being overweight, according to a study published on bmj.com - site of British Medical Journal, UK.
Parents believe their children are in average weight rangeMore than four in 10 parents with underweight and overweight children mistakenly believe their children are in the average weight range, according to University of Melbourne research.
21st century could be the age of paranoiaParanoia is on the increase and could go unchecked unless we take urgent action, claims a leading scientist. Dr Daniel Freeman, a Wellcome Trust fellow, warns that changes in how we live and work could mean that we are entering an "age of paranoia."
Health Canada reaffirms safety of BPA useAnnouncement by Health Canada regarding completion of its assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) offers reassurance to Canadians that the use of this chemical in the production of epoxy resins in metal food and beverage packaging presents no risk to consumers.
Updated labeling for psoriasis drug Raptiva approvedThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced labeling changes, including a Boxed Warning, to highlight the risks of life-threatening infections, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), with the use of Raptiva (efalizumab).
Label updates of oral OTC children's cough and cold medicinesThe following statement was issued by Linda Suydam, president of Consumer Healthcare Products Association, USA, on the Voluntary Label Updates to Oral OTC Children's Cough and Cold Medicines.
A new research on climate change and public health - WHOA meeting of experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Madrid agreed to a research agenda to develop an evidence-based framework for action on the human health implications of climate change.
New prenatal test for Down syndrome less risky than amniocentesisPregnant women worried about their babies' genetic health face a tough decision: get prenatal gene testing and risk miscarriage, or skip the tests and miss the chance to learn of genetic defects before birth.
Reading can help obese kids lose weightIt's no secret that reading is beneficial. But can it help kids lose weight? In the first study to look at the impact of literature on obese adolescents, researchers at Duke Children's Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.
Free drug samples not safe for childrenFree prescription drug samples distributed to children may be unsafe, according to a study by physicians from Cambridge Health Alliance and Hasbro Children's Hospital.
Childhood wheezing with rhinovirus can increase asthma riskInfants who experience viral respiratory illnesses with wheezing are known to be at increased risk for developing asthma later during childhood. It is not known, however, whether every type of respiratory virus that produces wheezing presents similar risk.
Increased risk of pregnancy problems in Asian-whitePregnant women who are part of an Asian-white couple face an increased risk of gestational diabetes as compared with couples in which both partners are white, according to a new study from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Breakfast cereals are excessively sugaryAre you one of those adults who keep a box of Frosted Flakes or Froot Loops hidden in the cupboard? Such sugary cereals are heavily marketed to children, to the tune of about $229 million advertising dollars per year. But an estimated 58 percent of "children's" cereals are consumed by the over-18 crowd.
Breastfeeding mothers reduce breast cancer riskMothers who breastfeed their babies for a total of a year, are almost five per cent less likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not breastfeed at all, a scientist has advised.
Second hand smoke may trigger nicotine dependence symptoms in kidsParents who smoke cigarettes around their kids in cars and homes beware – second-hand smoke may trigger symptoms of nicotine dependence in children. The findings are published in the September edition of the journal Addictive Behaviors in a joint study from nine Canadian institutions.
Men with traditional views about women earn moreMen who believe in traditional roles for women earn more money than men who don't, and women with more egalitarian views don't make much more than women with a more traditional outlook, revealed by researchers.
Paracetamol use raises childhood asthma riskA strong association between paracetamol use in infancy and increased risk of asthma by age 6-7 years, suggested by researchers in a new study published in the Lancet.
Boys grow out of childhood asthmaBoys may be more apt than girls to have childhood asthma, but, when compared to girls, they are also more likely to grow out of it in adolescence and have a decreased incidence of asthma in the post-pubertal years. This indicates that there may be a buried mechanism in asthma development, according to a prospective study that analyzed airway responsiveness (AR) in more than 1,000 children with mild to moderate asthma over a period of about nine years.
Lower cholesterol early in lifeWith heart disease maintaining top billing as the leading cause of death in the United States, a team of University of California, San Diego School of Medicine physician-researchers is proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach available today to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease.
Diving related injuries common among childrenThe thrill of flipping and jumping into water has become common practice among children and adolescents as they dive into more than eight million swimming pools across the United States.
Parents will be told if their children are overweightIn UK, from September this year, parents of children who have been weighed and measured at school could automatically receive their child's results in a bid to get parents to be more aware about healthy lifestyles, and help their children achieve a healthy weight.
Chromosomal changes increase schizophrenia riskPeople with schizophrenia (mental illness variously affecting behavior, thinking, and emotion) have an increased number of unusual chromosomal changes, particularly structural changes that have the potential to alter the function of the genes.
Limit exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phonesAn international expert panel of pathologists, oncologists and public health specialists recently declared that electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones should be considered a potential human health risk.
Children's food products provide poor nutritional qualityNine out of ten regular food items aimed specifically at children have a poor nutritional content – because of high levels of sugar, fat or sodium - according to a detailed study of 367 products published in the July issue of the UK-based journal Obesity Reviews.
Nut products during pregnancy increases asthma risk in childrenExpectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy, according to new research from the Netherlands.
Low vitamin D level during pregnancy affects baby's dental healthLow maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.
Type 1 diabetes rising in Australian childrenThe incidence of new cases of Type 1 diabetes in children is rising at around 3% a year, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Rimonabant guidance for overweight and obese patientsThe UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of rimonabant for the treatment of overweight and obese patients.
Positive school environments reduce student smokingA survey of high-school children in Scotland has shown that pupils who experience positive and inclusive social environments in schools are less likely to take up smoking. The teachers who succeed in creating a positive environment in school may be responsible for their pupils staying smoke-free.