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Tax on sugar-sweetened beverages may reduce obesity in adolescents, say researchers

Childhood obesity in the United States remains high. A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, energy drinks, sweet teas, and sports drinks would reduce obesity in adolescents more than other policies, such as exercise or an advertising ban, and would also generate significant revenue for additional obesity prevention activities, say researchers writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

29 Aug 2014

CHLA ECMO program honored with prestigious Award for Excellence in Life Support

The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been honored for the third time with the prestigious Award for Excellence in Life Support by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization, an international group of health care professionals and scientists who evaluate hospital treatment therapies for patients fighting complex cardiac disease and respiratory failure.

29 Aug 2014

High uptake of US infant vaccination in 2013

The recently published National Immunization Survey (NIS) conducted by the CDC, shows that the majority of infants in the US were vaccinated against potentially serious diseases in 2013. Fewer than 1% of children were unvaccinated in 2013.

29 Aug 2014

Study: One in every 200 Ontarians diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease

One in every 200 Ontarians has been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the number of people living with the disease increasing by 64 per cent between 1999 and 2008, according to a study by researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

29 Aug 2014

Peer groups, clinicians play critical role in development of effective breastfeeding programs

The support of peer groups and clinicians is critical to the development of effective breastfeeding programs, according to recent University of Georgia research.

29 Aug 2014

Changes in ADNP gene may provide further insight into causes of autism

A new study from Bradley Hospital has identified a genetic change in a recently identified autism-associated gene, which may provide further insight into the causes of autism. The study, now published online in the Journal of Medical Genetics, presents findings that likely represent a definitive clinical marker for some patients' developmental disabilities.

29 Aug 2014

New treatment fights respiratory syncytial virus

The New England Journal of Medicine published research results on Aug. 21 from a clinical trial of a drug shown to safely reduce the viral load and clinical illness of healthy adult volunteers intranasally infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

29 Aug 2014

Longer looks: A new kind of abortion war; foster kids and psychotropic drugs

While pro-life activists fight to rescue IVF embryos from the freezer, pregnant women in their third trimester with catastrophic fetal anomalies have nowhere to turn. ... Perhaps there is no other issue that touches on so many core dimensions of American society - legal, medical, scientific, theological, political, philosophical, biological, ethical, and ecological. What some on one side of the debate call reproductive justice, others call taking a life. What some call a person, others call a cluster of cells.

28 Aug 2014

School nurses reach 98% of students in U.S. public schools to diagnose primary immunodeficiency

School nurses reach 98 percent of the 50,000,000 students in U.S. public schools, grades k-12, and are uniquely positioned to facilitate the early diagnosis of serious medical conditions such as primary immunodeficiency (PI).

28 Aug 2014

Childhood inflammation linked to adult psychosis

Elevated levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin -6 in childhood are associated with an increased risk of psychosis and depression in adulthood, research shows.

28 Aug 2014

Optimal personalised treatment improves bipolar life quality, functioning

Optimal personalised treatment improves quality of life and functioning of patients with bipolar disorder type I or II, suggests research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

28 Aug 2014

Aberrant reward processing likely to precede bipolar symptom onset

Healthy children who have a parent with bipolar disorder show altered brain activation during reward processing, research shows.

28 Aug 2014

Centene’s Missouri subsidiary earns Medicaid and Marketplace HMO accreditation by NCQA

Centene Corporation announced today that its wholly-owned Missouri subsidiary, Home State Health, has earned Medicaid and Marketplace HMO accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

28 Aug 2014

Non-invasive functional neuroimaging tools help characterize how brain activity disrupted in dyslexia

A new study in Biological Psychiatry maps the circuitry of dyslexia. Dyslexia, the most commonly diagnosed learning disability in the United States, is a neurological reading disability that occurs when the regions of the brain that process written language don't function normally.

28 Aug 2014

State highlights: Calif. hospital chain sues union; Texas sues Xerox again; La. employees face higher health care costs

In a surprising move, an anti-union Southern California hospital chain hoping to buy the struggling Daughters of Charity Health Care System is suing employee unions under the federal RICO Act, saying the unions are trying to thwart that deal and others by using extortionist tactics aimed at forcing it to cave into union demands.

28 Aug 2014

Parents’ response to infant's babbling can speed child's language development

Pay attention, mom and dad, especially when your infant looks at you and babbles. Parents may not understand a baby's prattling, but by listening and responding, they let their infants know they can communicate which leads to children forming complex sounds and using language more quickly.

28 Aug 2014

New Coalition helps prevent abuse, misuse, diversion of ADHD drug

Today is the official launch of a newly formed Coalition of medical, mental health, higher education, student and pharmaceutical organizations that will work together to help prevent misuse, abuse and diversion of ADHD prescription stimulant medication. The Coalition will initially focus its efforts on college students.

28 Aug 2014

Researcher finds income, education disparity in reasons for not vaccinating

Not all students returning to school this month will be up to date on their vaccinations. A new study conducted by Jennifer Reich, a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver, shows that the reasons why children may not be fully vaccinated depends on the class privilege of their mothers.

28 Aug 2014

Bedsharing reduce infants sleep duration

Nocturnal awakenings are frequent among 6-month-old children, but sharing bed might make things worse.

28 Aug 2014

Exchange roundup: 2,000 Oregonians must switch plans; Georgia Medicaid applicants still in limbo

Cover Oregon will hold a special open enrollment period for 1,400 Oregonians who were incorrectly enrolled into the low-income Oregon Health Plan by the state's troubled health insurance exchange. Starting Aug. 31, the people affected will have no coverage through the OHP, the state's version of Medicaid. However, they will have the option to sign up for coverage from private insurers and to qualify for tax credits through Cover Oregon to bring down premiums. Meanwhile, Cover Oregon is contacting at least 700 people who should have been enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, but were incorrectly enrolled in a commercial health plan instead (Budnick, 8/26).

28 Aug 2014