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New study finds link between prenatal SSRI use and umbilical cord length

Umbilical cords of children whose mothers used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy may be longer than umbilical cords of other newborn children, shows a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs, are commonly prescribed antidepressants, and this is the first time their association with umbilical cord length was observed.

9 May 2016

High levels of exercise from young age can benefit patients with cerebral palsy

For highly trained Paralympic athletes with cerebral palsy (CP), bone mineral density and other measures of body composition are similar to those of able-bodied adults of similar age, reports a study in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists.

9 May 2016

Unique attributes of zebrafish may help study human blood disorders

Genetic regulation of the various types of blood cells in zebrafish and humans is highly similar, making it relatively easy and cost-effective to perform genetic, chemical, imaging and other molecular studies on this invaluable model organism to study normal hematopoetic development in humans as well as blood disorders and malignancies, as described in a Review article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 May 2016

Minihepcidins may potentially treat serious genetic blood diseases in children, adults

New research suggests that synthetic peptides called minihepcidins may potentially treat two serious genetic blood diseases in children and adults. Although those diseases, beta-thalassemia and polycythemia vera, have opposite effects on red blood cell production, treating animals with minihepcidin helps to restore normal levels of red blood cells and reduces spleen enlargement. It also controls the accumulation of excess levels of iron in beta-thalassemia that often causes severe toxic effects.

9 May 2016

Researchers investigate effects of new steroid treatment on children with ARDS

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) affects hundreds of thousands of people each year, many of them children. Those with this life threatening condition have severely injured and wet lungs, and are treated with mechanical ventilation.

9 May 2016

UV clothing can give better sunblock

Just as most people know there is no such thing as safe smoking, there is also no such thing as safe sunbathing or tanning. Exposure to UVA and UVB rays can cause more than just a sunburn or tan - it can lead to everything from wrinkles to skin cancer.

8 May 2016

Serum biomarkers can help predict risk of IBD development and complications

Years before inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is diagnosed and symptoms exist, biomarkers are already circulating that can help predict risk not only of disease development but also of complications, according to research published online last week, which will also appear in the June 15th print issue of Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

6 May 2016

Key protein involved in mitosis helps prevent abnormal distribution of chromosomes

A tension-sensitive "fail safe" protein helps make sure that when our cells divide the two resulting cells inherit the normal number of chromosomes, researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report today, May 5, in the journal Cell.

6 May 2016

Scientists use non-invasive way to track rapid myelination of nerve fibers in children's brains

Much like electricity traveling down wires, nerve impulses in our brain travel along nerve fibers. And just as wires need insulation to function well, nerve fibers, too, rely on a kind of insulation called myelin, a fatty substance that protects them and increases the speed at which nerve impulses travel.

6 May 2016

Doctor’s access to vaccination data can improve pediatric immunization coverage

Exchange of immunization data between a centralized city immunization registry and provider electronic health records led to significant improvements in pediatric immunization coverage, a reduction in over-immunization for adolescents, and increased completeness of immunization records, according to a study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Citywide Immunization Registry.

6 May 2016

Gene-replacement therapy could be potential treatment option for SMARD1

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a disease that causes progressive degeneration in the nerve cells that control muscles, thereby causing muscle weakness and eventually death.

6 May 2016

Depressed moms not physiologically 'in sync' with their children

Mothers with a history of depression are not physiologically "in sync" with their kids, according to a new study from Binghamton University. While researchers have known for a while that depression is associated with interpersonal problems with others, this is the first study to examine whether this is also evident physiologically.

6 May 2016

Researchers link global increase in type 1 diabetes to advances in medical care

Researchers from the University of Adelaide say the global increase in cases of type 1 diabetes is directly linked to advances in medical care, with the underlying genetics of the disease more likely to be passed from one generation to the next.

6 May 2016

UA researchers one step closer to preventing asthma in children

Efforts to improve the health of children at increased risk for asthma will receive a major boost with the launch of a new University of Arizona Health Sciences-led, federally funded national clinical study. For Fernando D. Martinez, MD, and his colleagues at the UA Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center, this study follows 30 years of research to prevent and cure this chronic disease.

6 May 2016

Study finds no evidence of obesity decline among children and adolescents in the U.S

A clear and significant increase in obesity continued from 1999 through 2014, according to an analysis of data on United States children and adolescents age 2 to 19 years.

5 May 2016

Common misconception about penicillin allergies

It's time for your primary care check-up, and the doctor asks you to list any known drug allergies. "Penicillin," you say immediately, although you can't remember actually taking the drug or having a reaction to it—it was your parents who said so. According to a Texas A&M Health Science Center allergist, many people who believe they're allergic to this antibiotic may not actually be allergic at all.

5 May 2016

Children infected with Cryptosporidium parasite more likely to suffer from stunted growth

Children infected even just once with a certain type of waterborne parasite are nearly three times as likely to suffer from moderate or severe stunted growth by the age of two than those who are not - regardless of whether their infection made them feel sick, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.

5 May 2016

Existing UK law fails to protect best interests of children born to surrogates, say experts

In an article in the Medical Law Review, Dr Kirsty Horsey, of the University of Kent, describes cases that show current surrogacy law in the UK is 'fraying at the edges'.

5 May 2016

New study finds genetic overlap between bipolar disorder and autism

A new study suggests there may be an overlap between rare genetic variations linked to bipolar disorder (BD) and those implicated in schizophrenia and autism.

5 May 2016

Study reveals glioblastoma subtypes tend to develop in different regions of the brain

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that distinct types of glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer in adults, tend to develop in different regions of the brain. This finding provides an explanation for how the same cancer-causing mutation can give rise to different types of brain malignancies.

5 May 2016