Children News and Research

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First Edition: January 2, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a number of reports about congressional efforts to avert the "fiscal cliff."

2 Jan 2013

News anchor shares experience about link between multiple sclerosis and dental mercury fillings

Nashville news anchor (Fox 17) Stacy Case will share her personal experience about the link between multiple sclerosis (MS) and dental mercury fillings on the January 3rd episode of CBS's The Doctors entitled "Dangerous Toxins."

2 Jan 2013

Hospital type plays a role in racial disparities and appendicitis outcomes in children

When researchers from UCLA Medical Center investigated the link between racial disparities and appendicitis outcomes in children, they found that the type of hospital in which black, Hispanic and other minority patients receive care-community, children's or county-affects their odds of developing a perforated appendix. The study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons is a first-of-its-kind look at the role hospital type plays in race-based treatment variances among this patient subset.

29 Dec 2012

Clinical approach to swallowing of foreign bodies

It is a well known fact that children often swallow things. Children aged 6 months to 6 years are most often affected, but even adults sometimes end up with a foreign body stuck in their throats-and not only there.

29 Dec 2012

Cancer is rare among children, but is also a leading cause of death

Childhood cancer is rare—children with cancer account for less than 1 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States. But did you know that cancer is the second leading cause of death (after accidents) among children ages 1 to 14? It is estimated that in 2012 in the United States, more than 12,000 children (ages 0 to 14) will be diagnosed with cancer and more than 1,300 will die from it.

29 Dec 2012

Common cholesterol-lowering drug may help protect against cerebral malaria

Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria.

29 Dec 2012

Prevention is better than cure for smoking in young people

Behavior-based interventions in the primary care setting reduce the risk for children and adolescents taking up smoking, conclude US investigators who also found that neither behavior- nor drug-based interventions improve cessation rates.

28 Dec 2012

Infertility treatment may raise childhood asthma risk

Children born after infertility treatment are at increased risk for asthma, results of a large cohort study indicate.

28 Dec 2012

BGU and CCHMC receive early stage funding to develop three new pediatric medical devices

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) have received early stage funding to develop three new devices that have applications for pediatric medical markets, as part of a collaboration announced this past spring.

28 Dec 2012

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe.

28 Dec 2012

Juxtapid receives FDA approval for treatment of rare cholesterol disorder

On Dec. 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid (lomitapide) to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). Juxtapid is intended for use in combination with a low fat diet and other lipid-lowering treatments.

27 Dec 2012

Prevalence of obesity and extreme obesity among young U.S. children may have begun to decline

Obesity and extreme obesity in childhood, which are more prevalent among minority and low-income families, have been associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, increased health care costs, and premature death.

26 Dec 2012

Use of CT scans for children suspected of having appendicitis varies among hospitals

Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown.

25 Dec 2012

Children diagnosed with food allergies experience bullying

Nearly a third of children diagnosed with food allergies who participated in a recent study are bullied, according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Almost eight percent of children in the U.S. are allergic to foods such as peanuts, tree-nuts, milk, eggs, and shellfish.

25 Dec 2012

Study suggests genetic component in pain response among children

At least two common gene variants are linked to "clinically meaningful" differences in pain scores in children after major surgery, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

25 Dec 2012

Children with chronic conditions use more resources at hospitals

Children with chronic conditions increasingly used more resources in a group of children's hospitals compared with patients without a chronic condition, according to a report that analyzed data from 28 U.S. children's hospitals between 2004 and 2009, and is being published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012