Children News and Research

RSS

Building a comprehensive child vision care system

Even though universal comprehensive eye exams for children prior to starting school would result in more children being diagnosed and successfully treated for vision problems and eye diseases, requirements vary widely from state to state and only three states require eye examinations for school-age children, according to a new report from the National Commission on Vision and Health.

13 Aug 2009

Promising new treatment target for Kennedy's disease

New research with transgenic mice reveals that a therapy directed at the muscle significantly improves disease symptoms of a genetic disorder characterized by destruction of the neurons that control movement. The study, published by Cell Press in the August 13th issue of the journal Neuron, highlights a promising new treatment for this currently incurable and nontreatable neurodegenerative disorder.

12 Aug 2009

Weight training reduces lymphedema symptoms after breast cancer surgery

Breast cancer survivors who lift weights are less likely than their non-weightlifting peers to experience worsening symptoms of lymphedema, the arm- and hand-swelling condition that plagues many women following surgery for their disease, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research published in the August 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Aug 2009

Jobless, uninsured seek health care from COBRA and free clinics

Many people are going without health care in the current economy, but COBRA and free clinics can provide relief.

12 Aug 2009

Cryolife receives 510(k) clearance from FDA for CryoPatch SG pulmonary human cardiac patch

CryoLife, Inc., (NYSE: CRY) an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its CryoPatch((R)) SG pulmonary human cardiac patch.

12 Aug 2009

Children with newly diagnosed epilepsy at risk for cognitive problems

Children who have normal IQs before they experience a first seizure may also have problems with language, memory, learning and other cognitive skills, according to a study published in the August 12, 2009, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Aug 2009

UNICEF issues $1.5 million urgent appeal for malnourished children in Central African Republic

UNICEF on Tuesday issued an urgent appeal for $1.5 million to provide thousands of acutely malnourished children in the Central African Republic (CAR) with "life-saving therapeutic foods, drugs and other supplies" over the next six months, VOA News reports (Schlein, 8/11).

12 Aug 2009

Transcript: President Obama Town Hall meeting in New Hampshire

President Barack Obama continued his press for public support of health reform initiatives at what the White House called a "Health Insurance Reform Town Hall" meeting at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

12 Aug 2009

New understanding of role hyaluronic acid in skeletal growth

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of Connecticut Health Center (U.C.H.C.) have gained new understanding of the role hyaluronic acid (HA) plays in skeletal growth, chondrocyte maturation and joint formation in developing limbs.

12 Aug 2009

Outdoor air pollutants at high levels

Higher summertime levels of outdoor ground-level ozone, microscopic particle pollution like smoke and smog, as well as other air pollutants may cause anyone who is sensitive to these airborne contaminants to experience shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing, and may also trigger asthma attacks and cause lung irritation.

12 Aug 2009

Specter to oppose health reform covering illegal immigration

During a town hall meeting Tuesday on health care reform, Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) stated his opposition to legislation that would cover illegal aliens. Specter has been a long-time champion of amnesty for illegal aliens, he was the author of the 2006 amnesty bill (S. 2611) that was widely rejected by the American people.

12 Aug 2009

Massage therapy eases sickle cell disease pain in children

Massage offers both physical and psychological benefits and is used at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in many areas including Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and in patients who have received organ transplants, just to name a few. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s recently published a study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology that revealed the benefits of massage in reducing pain, anxiety and depression in children with Sickle Cell Disease.

12 Aug 2009

Pennsylvania's first case of West Nile in 2009 confirmed

State Health Secretary Everette James today reported this year's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania. The individual is a 21-year-old woman from Luzerne County.

12 Aug 2009

An examination of the social impact of armed conflict and militarization

New research out of the University of Cincinnati is a rare examination of the social impact of armed conflict and militarization. Steve Carlton-Ford, a UC associate professor of sociology, presented the findings Aug. 11 at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in San Francisco.

12 Aug 2009

New treatment for oxygen-starved newborns

Until now immediate cooling of the newborn infant was the only treatment that could possibly prevent brain damage following oxygen deprivation during delivery. New research findings from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden, in collaboration with Zhengzhou University in China, open up the possibility of a new and effective treatment that can be started as late as two days after birth.

12 Aug 2009

New tool for virtual surgery simulates blood flow - helps plan child's delicate heart surgery

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, collaborating with pediatric cardiologists and surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have developed a tool for virtual surgery that allows heart surgeons to view the predicted effects of different surgical approaches. By manipulating three-dimensional cardiac magnetic resonance images of a patient's specific anatomy, physicians can compare how alternative approaches affect blood flow and expected outcomes, and can select the best approach for each patient before entering the operating room.

12 Aug 2009

Scientists discover how new drug kills roundworms

A PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases study found how a new drug developed by scientists in China effectively kills roundworms – "a parasite that lurks in the intestines and which affects nearly two billion people in tropical countries," Reuters reports. "Roundworms are particularly harmful to children and pregnant women," Reuters writes.

12 Aug 2009

New insights into identifying children at risk for autoimmune brain disorders

A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing common throat infections.

11 Aug 2009

High school PE teachers say health-related fitness is primary focus of their programs

With growing concerns among parents and policymakers about the rise in childhood obesity - heightened by the recent CDC report showing that obesity rose 37% between 1998 and 2006 - approximately two-thirds of middle and high school physical education teachers say that health-related fitness is the primary focus of their programs, according to a new survey conducted by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Polar.

11 Aug 2009

Hillary Clinton tours International Medical Corps operations in DRC

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited International Medical Corps operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Tuesday, a region devastated by more than a decade of conflict and displacement, and pledged an additional $17 million in support for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and $3 million to form a female police force.

11 Aug 2009