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Exercise and mental health: an interview with Professor Nanette Mutrie

Perhaps we should first of all clear up the definition of exercise. In public health terms it is more common to use the phrase ‘physical activity’ because this phrase encompasses all kinds of movement- indeed anything we do above sitting and resting levels.

21 Dec 2012

New technique may prevent inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children

A joint team of scientists from The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has developed a technique that may prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children.

21 Dec 2012

Kenya working to integrate PMTCT services into maternal, child health care clinics

"Health programs integrating services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV into regular maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) clinics, rather than operating PMTCT services as stand-along programs, are showing positive results in Kenya, experts say," PlusNews reports.

21 Dec 2012

USAID releases Action Plan on Children in Adversity

On Wednesday, USAID, "along with representatives from seven government agencies and departments, launched the first-ever, whole-of-government strategic guidance on international assistance for children in adversity," a USAID press release reports.

21 Dec 2012

UCLA study assesses prevalence of various types of study partners in Alzheimer's trials

For Alzheimer's disease researchers who conduct clinical trials, enrolling enough patients to make a trial meaningful is always a challenge. To enroll a single patient in a study requires not one but two participants - the patient and what's known as a study partner. Study partners provide the patient with support and update researchers about the patient's progress.

21 Dec 2012

New technique to directly image biological structures at atomic levels

Investigators at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have invented a way to directly image biological structures at their most fundamental level and in their natural habitats. The technique is a major advancement toward the ultimate goal of imaging biological processes in action at the atomic level.

21 Dec 2012

Proteins detected in urine may enable diagnosis of Kawasaki disease

A set of proteins detected in urine by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital may prove to be the first biomarkers for Kawasaki disease, an uncommon but increasingly prevalent disease which causes inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to enlarged coronary arteries and even heart attacks in some children.

20 Dec 2012

Roundup: Calif. Report sets 10-year health goals; Conn. hospitals plead to stop cuts; Colo. lawmaker wants state universal health care on ballot

With the state facing rising medical costs and increasing rates of chronic disease, California health leaders issued a report Wednesday setting specific health targets to meet by 2022. The state's goals include reducing smoking rates, increasing vaccinations among children and improving depression screening and treatment. The report also describes ways to improve end-of-life care, by expanding palliative care at hospitals and hospice programs at home.

20 Dec 2012

Bariatric surgery rates dropping in adolescents

Rates of bariatric surgery in adolescents have plateaued since 2003, despite childhood obesity being on the increase, suggest US study findings.

20 Dec 2012

Radical surgery has lasting benefits for epileptic children

Hemispherectomy in children with medically refractory epilepsy offers a high rate of long-term seizure control, report US researchers.

20 Dec 2012

Eating a meal together as a family helps children eat more healthily

Study results suggest that eating as little as one or two meals together as a family per week can significantly improve the amount of fruit and vegetables that children consume on a regular basis.

20 Dec 2012

Disparities in HIV care in Ontario

Researchers have found significant disparities in hospital admission rates for certain groups of individuals living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

20 Dec 2012

Maneuvering toward a 'fiscal cliff' deal

Despite progress toward an agreement with the White House, House Republicans appeared to veer off course Tuesday with a "Plan B" if budget talks fail. Some media outlets suggested that both President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are attempting to quell backlash within their own parties -- Boehner for agreeing to tax increases, Obama for ceding some entitlement cuts.

20 Dec 2012

Misdiagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD can jeopardize patient care

On the surface, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear very similar, with impaired attention, memory, or behavioral control. But Prof. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's School of Psychological Sciences argues that these two neuropsychological disorders have very different roots - and there are enormous consequences if they are mistaken for each other.

20 Dec 2012

Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan

"Three workers in a polio eradication campaign were shot in Pakistan on Wednesday, and two of them were killed, the latest in an unprecedented string of attacks over the past three days that has partially halted the U.N.-backed campaign," Reuters reports.

20 Dec 2012

Newtown shooting spotlights gaps in mental health care

The elementary school massacre prompts an examination of mental health care policies and access to guns by the mentally ill.

20 Dec 2012

Science supports early interventions for children in adversity

Neil Boothby, U.S. government special adviser and senior coordinator to the USAID administrator on children in adversity, writes in a USAID "IMPACTblog" post that the international community has scientific evidence and empirical data "that sho[w] investments made early in the lives of children yield greater returns than at any other point in the life cycle."

20 Dec 2012

Link made between muscular dystrophy and defective nerve wiring

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a particular protein helps nerve cells extend themselves along the spinal cord during mammalian development. Their results shed light on the subset of muscular dystrophies that result from mutations in the gene that holds the code for the protein, called dystroglycan, and also show how the nerve and muscle failings of the degenerative diseases are related.

20 Dec 2012

Malaria progress at risk as funding for global response levels off, WHO report states

"The remarkable gains made in the treatment of malaria over the past decade are under threat because of insufficient increases in funding over the past two years, according to an annual progress report by the World Health Organization," the Guardian reports.

20 Dec 2012

Household rules can help parents resolve conflicts and guard children's mental health

Holiday presents will soon be under the tree for millions of adolescents. With those gifts may come sibling squabbles over violations of personal space, such as unwanted borrowing of a fashionable clothing item, or arguments over fairness, such as whose turn it is to play a new video game. Those squabbles represent two specific types of sibling conflict that can have different effects on a youth's emotional health, according to a multi-year study by a University of Missouri psychologist.

20 Dec 2012