Children News and Research

RSS

SCL offers nonprofit orthodontic program for children and adolescents

There are two months until the April 15 tax deadline, and if your family has experienced a decrease in income due to the economic downturn, you may now qualify for a low-cost nonprofit orthodontic program. Smiles Change Lives (SCL) is looking for kids from low-income families who need braces.

8 Feb 2010

WHO Growth Charts recommended for monitoring growth of Canadian children

Four leading national health professional associations have collectively recommended the adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Charts for monitoring the growth of Canadian children in all primary health care and clinical settings.

8 Feb 2010

Smokers more likely to vaccinate their daughters against HPV

A parent's existing health habits or behaviors, like cigarette smoking, may influence the likelihood that they will have their daughters vaccinated against HPV.

8 Feb 2010

Excessive TV viewing, lack of sleep and low frequency of family meals increases risk of childhood obesity

A new national study suggests that preschool-aged children are likely to have a lower risk for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines: eating dinner as a family, getting adequate sleep and limiting their weekday television viewing time.

8 Feb 2010

Mutation in alpha tectorin gene causes progressive childhood deafness

Deafness is the most common disorder of the senses. Tragically, it commonly strikes in early childhood, severely damaging an affected child's ability to learn speech and language. In many cases, children gradually lose their hearing to become profoundly deaf over a long period of months to years, but scientists know very little about how this progressive loss happens, making prospects for prevention and cure very slim.

8 Feb 2010

Community Health Navigator Program for Houston's Burmese refugees may become a national model

The Physician Assistant Foundation (PAF), Baylor College of Medicine and other local partners today unveiled their unique approach to providing health care and social services to Burmese refugees in Houston, with hopes the program could become a model for meeting similar needs of refugees across the country.

8 Feb 2010

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome.

8 Feb 2010

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

In the 7 Feb. 2010 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), report that a genetic molecule, called Tbx3, which is crucial for many aspects of early developmental processes in mammals, significantly improves the quality of stem cells that have been reprogrammed from differentiated cells.

7 Feb 2010

WFP has reached 600,000 Haitians with food voucher plan

On Thursday, a food distribution voucher campaign that launched last Sunday, "hit all 16 fixed distribution points around the capital" of Port-au-Prince, CNN reports. "So far, 600,000 people affected by the devastating January 12 earthquake have been able to collect food under this plan, said Marcus Prior, spokesman for the United Nations World Food Programme [WFP]. 'We're encouraged by the way the system is working to get food out into the city to those in need, but still have a long way to go,' Prior said" (Basu, 2/5).

6 Feb 2010

Haiti relief efforts: HFHN distributes $35M

"Hope for Haiti Now" (HFHN) today announced the distribution of $35M as the first installment of funds raised through the January 22nd telethon: "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief." Six of the telethon beneficiaries (Oxfam America, Partners In Health, the American Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation) submitted proposals last week.

6 Feb 2010

Research roundup: Medicare spending, community health centers, children's dental services

Health Affairs: Prices Don't Drive Regional Medicare Spending Variations - "Per capita Medicare spending is more than twice as high in New York City and Miami than in places like Salem, Oregon.

6 Feb 2010

Athlete hopes for first U.S. cross-country medal; health issues plagued 2006 Olympic bid

Kris Freeman is back in the hunt for an Olympic medal in Vancouver after being named today to the U.S. ski team following a disappointing finish at the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy.

6 Feb 2010

Artificial pancreas can help manage diabetes in kids overnight

In a landmark study in children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes, JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that using a first-generation artificial pancreas system overnight can lower the risk of low blood sugar emergencies while sleeping, and at the same time improve diabetes control.

6 Feb 2010

Valentine's Day designated as National Organ Donor Day, drive for registration

While many commemorate Valentine's Day with cards, candy and flowers, Pennsylvanians are encouraged to give the ultimate gift of love by signing up to become organ and tissue donors. With the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Valentine's Day has been designated as National Organ Donor Day to raise awareness of the lives that can be touched -- potentially more than 50 at a time --through one person becoming an organ and tissue donor.

6 Feb 2010

$1.2B needed to aid women, children in 28 countries 'in crisis,' UNICEF says

UNICEF on Thursday launched a $1.2 billion appeal aimed at providing "life saving emergency assistance to millions of children and women in dire need," VOA News reports (Schlein, 2/4). "The appeal is part of UNICEF's Humanitarian Action Report 2010, released in Geneva ... which spotlights the desperate situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories facing deep humanitarian crises," the U.N. News Centre writes (2/4).

6 Feb 2010

Combination of Motrin and Robitussin drugs is safe for adults and children

A viral e-mail currently making the rounds between private accounts and public message boards warning of a danger posed by mixing over-the-counter medications Motrin and Robitussin is unfounded.

6 Feb 2010

Majority of Americans believe flu outbreak is over; levels of concern continue to decline

The latest poll from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows that almost half of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over (44%), and levels of concern about getting sick with the virus continue to decline.

6 Feb 2010

CREON effective in improving CFA and CNA in pediatric patients with EPI due to CF

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Phase IIIb data published in the January issue of Clinical Therapeutics confirm that CREON® (pancrelipase) Delayed-Release Capsules significantly improves a key measure of fat absorption in children aged 7-11 years who have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) due to cystic fibrosis (CF), EPI is a condition resulting from a deficiency in the production and/or secretion of pancreatic enzymes that are necessary to digest nutrients in food.

5 Feb 2010

Teens with suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms can benefit from family therapy

Adolescents with suicidal thoughts and elevated depression had stronger and faster reduction of symptoms when treated with family therapy than with standard treatment in the community.

5 Feb 2010

EBMT honours abstract on Defibrotide in Hepatic VOD prevention with the Van Bekkum Award

Gentium S.p.A. today announced that the abstract titled, "Defibrotide prevents hepatic VOD and reduces significantly VOD-associated complications in children at high risk: final results of a prospective phase II/III multicentre study," has been awarded the Van Bekkum Award for the best abstract submitted to the physician's program for the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation's (EBMT) 36th Annual Meeting, to be held in Vienna, March 21-24, 2010.

5 Feb 2010

Children News and Research

SCL offers nonprofit orthodontic program for children and adolescents

WHO Growth Charts recommended for monitoring growth of Canadian children

Smokers more likely to vaccinate their daughters against HPV

Excessive TV viewing, lack of sleep and low frequency of family meals increases risk of childhood obesity

Mutation in alpha tectorin gene causes progressive childhood deafness

Community Health Navigator Program for Houston's Burmese refugees may become a national model

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

WFP has reached 600,000 Haitians with food voucher plan

Haiti relief efforts: HFHN distributes $35M

Research roundup: Medicare spending, community health centers, children's dental services

Athlete hopes for first U.S. cross-country medal; health issues plagued 2006 Olympic bid

Artificial pancreas can help manage diabetes in kids overnight

Valentine's Day designated as National Organ Donor Day, drive for registration

$1.2B needed to aid women, children in 28 countries 'in crisis,' UNICEF says

Combination of Motrin and Robitussin drugs is safe for adults and children

Majority of Americans believe flu outbreak is over; levels of concern continue to decline

CREON effective in improving CFA and CNA in pediatric patients with EPI due to CF

Teens with suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms can benefit from family therapy

EBMT honours abstract on Defibrotide in Hepatic VOD prevention with the Van Bekkum Award

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News