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UCSF-led research team targets physiological factors that lead to asthma attack

A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding the two most significant biological responses that lead to an asthma attack.

18 Sep 2012

Poll: 14% of Canadians believe women can be diagnosed with prostate cancer

According to a recent Leger Marketing poll, 14 per cent of Canadians believe women can be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and an additional 20 per cent aren't sure. Only 56 per cent know with certainty that men are the only ones who can be afflicted.

18 Sep 2012

Pertussis immunity wanes in the 5 years after DTaP vaccination

The risk for pertussis infection in children who receive the combined diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine increases by an average of 42% per year after the last dose, a US study shows.

17 Sep 2012

Parents of sickle cell babies undercounseled

Parents of newborns with the sickle cell anemia trait are significantly less likely to receive genetic counseling than those of babies who are cystic fibrosis carriers, say researchers.

17 Sep 2012

Refinements in gene therapy prove beneficial for ‘bubble babies’

Results from a long-term study published in Blood show that adding a low dose of chemotherapy prior to gene therapy can help improve outcomes in children with adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency.

17 Sep 2012

Modifying fat intake during pregnancy benefits children regardless of mother's size

If you are overweight and pregnant, your baby isn't destined to a life of obesity after all, according to a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal. In the report, a team of U.S. scientists show that modifying fat intake during pregnancy to a moderate level is enough to benefit the child regardless of the mother's size.

17 Sep 2012

Migraine headaches in children linked to behavioral difficulties

Kids who get migraine headaches are much more likely than other children to also have behavioral difficulties, including social and attention issues, and anxiety and depression. The more frequent the headaches, the greater the effect, according to research out now in the journal Cephalagia, published by SAGE.

17 Sep 2012

Improve domestic health care worker recruiting, training in U.S. to improve economy, global health

"Today about 12 percent of the health work force [in the U.S.] is foreign-born and trained, including a quarter of all physicians," Kate Tulenko, senior director of health system innovation at IntraHealth International, writes in a New York Times opinion piece, adding, "That's bad for American workers, but even worse for the foreign workers' home countries, including some of the world's poorest and sickest, which could use these professionals at home."

17 Sep 2012

NIH announces multiple awards to UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment

The National Institutes of Health, recognizing UCLA's preeminence in both research and clinical care of children with autism, has announced multiple awards to the university as part of its Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) research program.

17 Sep 2012

Children without siblings at higher risk of being overweight or obese

Children who grow up without siblings have a more than 50 percent higher risk of being overweight or obese than children with siblings. This is the finding of a study of 12,700 children in eight European countries, including Sweden, published in Nutrition and Diabetes. The University of Gothenburg, Sweden, was one of the participating universities in the study.

17 Sep 2012

Partner treatment essential to prevent recurrent sexually transmitted infections in teenagers

California's pediatricians-in-training are not adequately educated about the methods to prevent recurrent sexually transmitted infections in teenagers. That's the conclusion of a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital examining pediatric residents' knowledge of laws governing treatment of their patients' sexual partners.

17 Sep 2012

Researchers investigate African plants effective in treating snakebite

A PhD student at the University of Copenhagen has drawn on nature's own pharmacy to help improve the treatment of snakebites in Africa.

17 Sep 2012

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia earns spot on InformationWeek 500 list

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia achieved high rankings in the annual information technology (IT) rankings announced this week by the industry publication InformationWeek. The Hospital ranked among both the top 10 innovators in the healthcare industry, and on the list of Top 20 Great Ideas, for defining and streamlining clinicians' access to electronic health records, while keeping those records secure.

15 Sep 2012

USAID helping to improve child survival worldwide

Chris Thomas of the USAID Bureau for Global Health writes in the agency's "IMPACT Blog," "America's legacy in child survival is a proud one: With strong bipartisan support, U.S. support of global health has saved many millions of lives."

15 Sep 2012

‘C’ variant disrupts brain connectivity in children with ASD

Over the past decade, researchers have made great strides in identifying genes that lead to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which result in a continuum of social deficits, communication difficulties and cognitive delays. But it's still critical to determine how exactly these genetic risk factors impact the brain's structure and function so that better treatments and interventions can be developed.

15 Sep 2012

UMass Amherst scientist receives NIH grant to study how napping and sleep affect preschoolers

Parents may feel it's clear that missing a nap means their young children will be grumpy and out-of-sorts, but scientists who study sleep say almost nothing is known about how daytime sleep affects children's coping skills and learning.

15 Sep 2012

World Bank, Bangladeshi government sign multi-donor trust fund agreement for country's health sector

"On Wednesday, the World Bank and the Bangladeshi government signed a Multi-Donor Trust Fund Grant Agreement" under which "$280 million coming from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Sweden will go to the Bangladesh Health Sector Development Program, which aims to improve the health status of people in Bangladesh, particularly women, children and the marginalized," the Devex "Development Newswire" reports.

15 Sep 2012

Conference to provide scientific research on shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma

On September 29, the Twelfth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)/Abusive Head Trauma will take place in the city where nearly 15 years earlier Louise Woodward was convicted of second degree murder in the shaking death of infant Matthew Eappen.

15 Sep 2012

New study analyses effects of passive smoking during pregnancy on newborns

A new study shows that newborns that have been exposed to nicotine from both active and passive smoking mothers show poor physiological, sensory, motor and attention responses.

15 Sep 2012

Whole-genome scan can help doctors choose best treatment option for children with neuroblastoma

A whole-genome scan to identify large-scale chromosomal damage can help doctors choose the best treatment option for children with neuroblastoma, one of the most common types of childhood cancer, finds an international collaboration jointly led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London.

15 Sep 2012