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Scientists use Affymetrix custom microarray to advance malarial study

Affymetrix, Inc. announced today that an international team of researchers led by scientists at Boston College, the Broad Institute, and Imperial College London used an Affymetrix custom microarray to advance the study of malaria by assessing the variation in genetic structure and detecting known and novel genetic differences among malaria vector mosquito populations.

25 Oct 2010

ASD-related health care expenditures escalate in state Medicaid programs

Autism was described as early as 1940, but a marked increase in the prevalence for the broader class of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) during the past decade highlights the demand for treatment of affected individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the prevalence of ASD was one in 110 children in 2006 and increased at an average annual rate of 57% between 2002 and 2006. The rising prevalence has heightened concern about the financial impact of treating ASDs in the private and public health care systems.

25 Oct 2010

Diabetes on the rise in Scotland

New reports show that one person is diagnosed with diabetes every 40 minutes in Scotland. This marks the rapid rise in the condition - a trend that is faster that experts had imagined. In the last 1 year another 14,000 Scots were added to those registered with GPs as diabetic.

24 Oct 2010

Motherhood helps women grow their grey matter: Study

According to the latest research motherhood helps women grow their grey matter. The study was conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland and it showed that the brains of new mothers substantially gained in nerve cells while they coped with the steep learning curve of dealing with a newborn. Also in a bizarre way, mothers who ‘gushed’ the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the brain.

24 Oct 2010

New multi-centre trial to treat cold and flu in children

Three Canadian research teams are trying to determine if a novel Canadian medicine approved by Health Canada for adults can help parents deal with the hacking coughs and runny noses their children suffer.

22 Oct 2010

NIH grants $ 3.2 million to promote reproductive science research

Scientists from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Morgan State University have received a $ 3.2 million National Institutes of Health grant designed to promote racial, ethnic and socio-economic diversity in reproductive science research.

22 Oct 2010

Parents more likely to be dissatisfied with informed consent process in children’s clinical trials

Compared with adult cancer patients, parents of children with cancer were more likely to be dissatisfied with the informed consent process for participating in clinical trials, according to a study from Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. The findings will be presented at the 42nd Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Boston on Saturday, Oct. 23.

22 Oct 2010

PSST training helps mothers to cope with stress associated with child's disease

Mothers who have children diagnosed with cancer now have a better approach to address and cope with stresses associated with their child's disease. A new certified intervention has proven to be more effective long term compared to other psychological methods, as reported today at the 42nd Congress of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology.

22 Oct 2010

New epilepsy drugs give more options, but make treatment decisions more complex: Epilepsy specialist

A dozen new epilepsy drugs are giving doctors and patients more options, but making treatment decisions more complex, a Loyola epilepsy specialist reports in the journal Neurologic Clinics.

22 Oct 2010

U.N. reports explore issues facing women worldwide

Two U.N. reports released on Wednesday examine the conditions faced by women around the world, the New York Times reports (MacFarquhar, 10/20). The World's Women 2010: Trends and Statistics report, which is published every five years, offers a compilation of "the latest data documenting progress for women worldwide in eight key areas: population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty," according to a U.N. Statistics Division press release.

22 Oct 2010

Researcher develops workshop method to help children deal with PTSD

A child who grows up in the midst of political conflict, such as war or terrorism, can exhibit severe emotional scars. But certain qualities, which psychologists call "resilience factors," can help overcome this adversity.

22 Oct 2010

Researcher receives grant to conduct study on brain development of children who stutter

A Michigan State University researcher is hopeful that a recent National Institutes of Health grant she received will result in better treatment options and, ultimately, better lives for children who stutter.

22 Oct 2010

Participants explore role of pediatric oncology nurses at APHON 34th Annual Convention

"While this is a topic most people - even nurses - avoid, it was a most informative presentation for me," said a participant in the session on "The Art of Pediatric Palliative Care Nursing" at the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses 34th Annual Convention, October 14-16, 2010, in Minneapolis, MN.

22 Oct 2010

TOBI reduces mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis, Pa lung infection

A new analysis of data from more than 12,000 people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) lung infection in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Patient Registry shows that use of TOBI (Tobramycin Inhalation Solution, USP) was associated with a 21% reduction in mortality in the following year.

22 Oct 2010

Mount Sinai School of Medicine launches inner-city mental health program for children

Research has shown that nearly 40 percent of youth in low-income communities exhibit significant mental health needs - needs which remain largely unaddressed due to a myriad of barriers, including system-level obstacles, such as waiting lists, stigma related to seeking mental health care, poverty, family stress and competing priorities.

22 Oct 2010

Injecting apoA-V protein may reduce high triglyceride levels: Research

Injecting a protein that helps break down triglycerides may someday help treat an inherited form of high triglycerides, according to a new study in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal.

22 Oct 2010

Research suggests lowering cholesterol can reduce benign prostatic hyperplasia

A cholesterol-lowering drug reduced the enlarged prostates of hamsters to the same extent as a drug commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and their colleagues in the October issue of the Journal of Urology. Together, the drugs worked even better.

22 Oct 2010

New research center to study effects of BPA, phthalates on children

A new research center based at the University of Illinois will investigate whether regular exposure to bisphenol A and phthalates - chemicals widely used in plastics and other consumer products - can alter infant and adolescent development, cognition or behavior.

22 Oct 2010

Canadian hospitals' contracts with consultants scrutinized

Cerberus Capital Management is poised to purchase Caritas Christi Health Care. This morning, at a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court hearing, Caritas and Cerberus face the final hurdle in an approval process that began in the spring.

22 Oct 2010

Parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work effectively: Researchers

A study led by a researcher at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicates that parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work equally as well as plans that include parents and child, while at the same time more cost effective and potentially easier for families. The results were published today in the advanced online edition of the journal Obesity.

22 Oct 2010