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Researchers identify new gene in Cornelia deLange syndrome

Genetics researchers have identified a key gene that, when mutated, causes the rare multisystem disorder Cornelia deLange syndrome (CdLS). By revealing how mutations in the HDAC8 gene disrupt the biology of proteins that control both gene expression and cell division, the research sheds light on this disease, which causes intellectual disability, limb deformations and other disabilities resulting from impairments in early development.

13 Aug 2012

Blogs address hunger summit held in London on Sunday

The following blog posts address a hunger summit hosted by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron at the conclusion of the Olympic Games in London on Sunday.

13 Aug 2012

Twelve states currently have adult obesity rate above 30%

Twelve states currently have an adult obesity rate above 30 percent, according to a new analysis released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

13 Aug 2012

Meritage commences OBS Phase 2 clinical trial for eosinophilic esophagitis

Meritage Pharma, Inc. announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate oral budesonide suspension (OBS) for the treatment of adolescents and young adults with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus. EoE is a chronic disease characterized by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and eosinophil-predominant inflammation.

13 Aug 2012

UTSW reports successful delivery of quintuplets

Three boys and two girls were born Thursday, Aug. 9, to missionaries Carrie and Gavin Jones at UT Southwestern Medical Center, among the first sets of quintuplets delivered nationally so far this year.

13 Aug 2012

Insight into ubiquitin system

A faulty gene linked to a rare blood vessel disorder has led investigators to discover a mechanism involved in determining the fate of possibly thousands of proteins working inside cells.

13 Aug 2012

Medical ethics: an interview with Anita Silvers

Medical ethics assists healthcare professionals to make decisions respectful of persons who happen to be their patients.

13 Aug 2012

Persistent and loud snoring associated with problem behaviors in young children

Persistent and loud snoring in young children is associated with problem behaviors, according to a new study published online in Pediatrics.

13 Aug 2012

HDAC8 gene mutations cause Cornelia deLange syndrome

13 Aug 2012

Scientists discover how pten gene causes brain changes that lead to autism-like behavior

Scientists affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have discovered how a defective gene causes brain changes that lead to the atypical social behavior characteristic of autism. The research offers a potential target for drugs to treat the condition.

13 Aug 2012

State officials look for Medicaid savings in cuts, new payment methods, managed care

Facing budget pressures, state officials in Georgia, Minnesota, Kansas and West Virginia are among those making cuts and switching to new payment methods as well as to managed care to cut the cost of the state-federal health care program for the poor and disabled.

12 Aug 2012

Research roundup: Disparities in head scans; Unnecessary heart tests; Americans hit the walkway

Among children who suffered minor blows to the head, whites were more likely to receive unneeded cranial CT scans in the ED than were blacks or Hispanics, researchers found.

12 Aug 2012

Heat wave safety tips from Children's Hospital Los Angeles

With July 2012 on record as being one of the hottest months in U.S. history and the August heat showing no let up in many parts of the country, how can parents protect their children's health during a heat wave? "While kids and teens may think of themselves as invincible, they're prone to heat-related illnesses," says Megan Summers, a registered nurse in the Children's Hospital Los Angeles' Rehabilitation Unit.

12 Aug 2012

PM Cameron discusses foreign aid, nutrition summit; Aid agencies deliver petitions to Downing Street calling for government action on hunger

British Prime Minister David Cameron "has defended the government's commitment to overseas aid funding at a time of recession, as he prepares to co-host a hunger summit in Downing Street on the closing day of the Olympics," the Guardian reports.

12 Aug 2012

Smartphone app can combat ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity

To combat the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity, two Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing students, Janna Stephens, RN, BSN, and Michelle Brei, APRN, CPNP, are using smartphones and websites to engage and invite young audiences.

12 Aug 2012

Evaluating cash transfers as a tool to combat HIV/AIDS

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the center, and Denizhan Duran, a research assistant at the center, examine several recent studies evaluating the use of cash transfers as a strategy against HIV/AIDS.

10 Aug 2012

Precautions to ensure safety of children in and near water

Spending time in the water is a great way for kids to get exercise and cool off during the summer, but without taking the proper safety measures, hazards could be lurking around the pool.

10 Aug 2012

BBC News examines malnutrition in India

BBC News reports on malnutrition in India, "an enduring problem Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a 'national shame.'" "[D]espite supposedly spending billions of rupees on poverty and food-relief programs -- and during a period of sustained economic growth -- the government has made only a dent in the problem," the news service writes.

10 Aug 2012

New subtype of Ewing sarcoma discovered

A new study of the genetic makeup, or genome, of Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that strikes children, teenagers, and young adults, has produced multiple discoveries: a previously unknown sarcoma subtype, genetic factors related to long-term survival, and identification of a genetic change between the primary and metastatic stages of the disease that could lead to better, more targeted treatment.

10 Aug 2012

Boys are little more susceptible to both bad and good exposures

A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age 7, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures.

10 Aug 2012