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Donors donate record amounts for global health despite the worst economic crisis

The worst global economic crisis in decades has not stopped public and private donors from giving record amounts of money to health assistance for developing countries, according to a new report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

1 Dec 2010

CRN says increased DRI for vitamin D a step in right direction, but still falls short

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today called the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's (IOM) newly released report on the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) levels for vitamin D "a modest step in the right direction that fell short of truly capturing the extensive and positive research that has consistently supported the need for people to significantly raise their vitamin D levels."

1 Dec 2010

Penicillamine challenge ineffective for detecting Wilson's disease in asymptomatic children

An Italian research team confirmed that the scoring system for Wilson's disease (WD) provides good diagnostic accuracy with 93% positive and 92% negative predictive values, respectively in children with mild liver disease. In asymptomatic children, a urinary copper excretion above 40 μg/24 hours was suggestive of WD, however the penicillamine challenge test (PCT) did not provide an accurate diagnosis in this patient subset.

1 Dec 2010

Experts convene to discuss ethical, policy consideration of guidelines for disabled children

Should parents be able to use medical means to restrict the growth of profoundly disabled children to make them easier to care for at home. A working group convened to discuss the ethical and policy considerations of "growth attenuation" proposes some guidelines in an article in the Hastings Center Report. Personal essays including those of parents whose children cannot walk or speak accompany the article

1 Dec 2010

Early eye exam can save sight and prevent a life time disability

Jennifer Hartman had no idea her child had a significant vision problem. The day after her daughter's sixth birthday, after an eye exam, she was diagnosed as being legally blind in one eye with a condition called amblyopia or lazy eye.

1 Dec 2010

New findings on folic acid supplementation reveal causes of low birth weight

Groundbreaking work by a team of UK scientists has identified, for the first time, a link between changes in the DNA of newborn babies, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, and birth weight.

1 Dec 2010

Children who care for parents with AIDS have higher level of mental illness

December 1st is World AIDS day. There are 33.4 million people worldwide living with HIV, 67per cent in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In South Africa alone, 5.6 million people are HIV-positive, with only 22 per cent having access to anti-retroviral medication. A pioneering study, funded by Economic and Social Research Council and the South African National Research Foundation, finds that those children who care for parents with AIDS have a higher level of mental illness.

1 Dec 2010

Halek Energy donates funds to Scott & White Healthcare

Taking a page from the personal playbook of Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, Halek Energy LLC has made a donation to Scott & White Healthcare of Temple, Texas.

1 Dec 2010

Military deployment influences sleep quality and quantity

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan significantly influenced sleep quality and quantity in a population of 41,225 military service personnel. The study suggests that the promotion of healthier sleep patterns may be beneficial for military service members.

1 Dec 2010

Fourteen research projects on population health intervention receive $2.8 million

Fourteen research projects on population health intervention research received $2.8 million in funding. The Vice-President of Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr. Pierre Chartrand today announced these initiatives during the Population Health Intervention Research Symposium in Toronto.

1 Dec 2010

New study evaluates use and safety of complementary medicine for children's asthma

Approximately 13 percent of parents turn to alternative therapies to treat their children's asthma, according to a new study from the Universit- de Montr-al. The findings, published recently in the Canadian Respiratory Journal, suggest that this trend is associated with a two-fold higher rate of poor asthma control in children.

1 Dec 2010

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards $6M grant to NanoBio to develop intranasal vaccine for RSV

NanoBio Corporation announced today that it has received a $6M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a safe and effective intranasal vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

1 Dec 2010

High levels of variability, inconsistencies found in children's medication labeling and measuring devices

An examination of 200 of the top-selling cough/cold, allergy, analgesic and gastrointestinal over-the-counter liquid medications for children finds that there have been high levels of variability and inconsistencies regarding medication labeling and measuring devices, according to a study that will appear in the December 15 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because of its public health importance.

1 Dec 2010

Mitochondrial dysfunction observed in children with full syndrome autism

Preliminary research has found that children with autism are more likely to have impaired mitochondrial function (structures within cells responsible for energy production) and mitochondrial DNA abnormalities than typically developing children, according to a study in the December 1 issue of JAMA.

1 Dec 2010

One-fifth of nonelderly Californians lack access to job-based health insurance

Most Americans receive health insurance coverage through their employer, or through an employed family member's dependent coverage. Yet having a job is no guarantee of coverage, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

1 Dec 2010

Data on UCB’s anti-epileptic drugs to be presented at AES annual meeting

New data on UCB's anti-epileptic drug (AED) Vimpat (lacosamide) C-V will be presented at the 64th annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), taking place at the San Antonio Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from December 3 to 7, 2010. Data will also be presented on Keppra XR and the investigative epilepsy therapy, brivaracetam.

1 Dec 2010

Willpower can be learned

Good things come to those who wait. A scientist who showed that willpower can be learned–and that it carries lifelong benefits–has won the 2011 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.

1 Dec 2010

Scientists identify signaling pathway and receptor for thymosin beta 4

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. nnounced that scientists have identified a long sought-after extracellular signaling pathway and receptor for thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4). The observation that Tβ4 increases cell surface ATP (energy produced by cells), could explain its ability to protect and regenerate tissue after ischemic injury and hypoxia (oxygen deficiency).

30 Nov 2010

Are vitamin D and calcium supplements needed?

The IOM raised the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D from the amount cited in their last report, released 13 years ago. It said that although 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D or more each day is sufficient to maintain bone health in majority. But those aged 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs daily, the IOM experts say. However 1997 recommendations advised 400 IUs per day for people aged 51 to 70 and 600 IUs per day for those over 70.

30 Nov 2010

Gavi Alliance elects new chair to continue global immunisation efforts

Former Norwegian Minister of Health and current member of parliament Dagfinn Høybråten was unanimously elected by the GAVI Alliance Board as its new Chair, GAVI announced on the first day of its board meeting taking place in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

30 Nov 2010

Children News and Research

Donors donate record amounts for global health despite the worst economic crisis

CRN says increased DRI for vitamin D a step in right direction, but still falls short

Penicillamine challenge ineffective for detecting Wilson's disease in asymptomatic children

Experts convene to discuss ethical, policy consideration of guidelines for disabled children

Early eye exam can save sight and prevent a life time disability

New findings on folic acid supplementation reveal causes of low birth weight

Children who care for parents with AIDS have higher level of mental illness

Halek Energy donates funds to Scott & White Healthcare

Military deployment influences sleep quality and quantity

Fourteen research projects on population health intervention receive $2.8 million

New study evaluates use and safety of complementary medicine for children's asthma

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards $6M grant to NanoBio to develop intranasal vaccine for RSV

High levels of variability, inconsistencies found in children's medication labeling and measuring devices

Mitochondrial dysfunction observed in children with full syndrome autism

One-fifth of nonelderly Californians lack access to job-based health insurance

Data on UCB’s anti-epileptic drugs to be presented at AES annual meeting

Willpower can be learned

Scientists identify signaling pathway and receptor for thymosin beta 4

Are vitamin D and calcium supplements needed?

Gavi Alliance elects new chair to continue global immunisation efforts

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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