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UK survival for children's bone cancer lowest in Western Europe

Survival for childhood bone cancer is slightly lower in the UK than in any other Western European country, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

7 Jan 2009

Nintendo's Wii Fit helping seniors get healthy

While some emerging technologies can create environments that require very little physical effort, one Kansas State University researcher thinks games like Nintendo's Wii Fit can help promote physical rather than sedentary activities for people of all ages.

6 Jan 2009

New understanding of seizure behaviors and epilepsy

Two children have a seizure. One child never has another seizure. Twenty years later, the other child has a series of seizures and is diagnosed with epilepsy.

6 Jan 2009

Women who smoke during pregnancy risk having aggressive kids

While previous studies have shown that smoking during gestation causes low birth weight, this research shows mothers who light up during pregnancy can predispose their offspring to an additional risk: violent behaviour.

6 Jan 2009

New drug being tested for Fragile X syndrome

A pilot trial of an oral drug therapy called fenobam has shown promising initial results and could be a potential new treatment option for adult patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS).

6 Jan 2009

New hope for leptin as a solution to obesity

The discovery more than a decade ago of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone secreted by fat tissue, generated headlines and great hopes for an effective treatment for obesity.

6 Jan 2009

Many babies with simple febrile seizures can avoid spinal tap

When babies develop a fever high enough or abrupt enough to cause a seizure, frightened parents often rush them to the emergency room, where their workup frequently includes a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out bacterial meningitis.

6 Jan 2009

Genetic mutation causes familial susceptibility for degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy

Mutation of a gene that helps proteins migrate in and out of the cell's genetic command center - the nucleus - puts some families at higher risk for the degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE).

6 Jan 2009

Hand-held game devices lower fitness in children

If videogames like "Madden NFL" didn't exist, 12-year-old Tom might go outside and toss around a real football - and he'd have a better chance of sprinting for a touchdown without getting winded.

6 Jan 2009

Children's teasing is an 'essential' part of growing up, expert says

According to an American psychologist children's teasing is an 'essential' part of growing up and should not be seen as a form of bullying.

6 Jan 2009

Sun and surf among top summer hazards for Australians

An Australian expert has warned that among the top ten hazards for people in Australia this summer the beach culture plays a big role.

6 Jan 2009

Recovery coaches reduce the number of babies exposed to drugs

Of the 4 million babies born in the United States each year around 11% have been exposed to alcohol or illicit drugs in the womb.

6 Jan 2009

Research initiative looks at helpful bacteria found on the skin

The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health.

5 Jan 2009

Females of all ages are less active than their male peers

Two studies, presented (Tuesday 6 January) at a major academic conference, reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show males to be more physically active than females.

5 Jan 2009

Prolonged nevirapine in breast-fed babies prevents HIV infection but leads to drug-resistant HIV

Babies born to HIV-positive mothers and given the antiretroviral drug nevirapine through the first six weeks of life to prevent infection via breast-feeding are at high risk for developing drug-resistant HIV if they get infected anyway, a team of researchers report.

5 Jan 2009

New insight into critical molecular mechanisms involved in aggressive childhood cancer

A new study reveals critical molecular mechanisms associated with the development and progression of human neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children.

5 Jan 2009

Many teens discuss health risk behaviors on social networking websites

In a pair of related studies released by Seattle Children's Research Institute and published in the January 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine , researchers found that 54 percent of adolescents frequently discuss high-risk activities including sexual behavior, substance abuse or violence using MySpace, the popular social networking Web site (SNS).

5 Jan 2009

Debate on treating fevers in African children

A new debate in the open access journal PLoS Medicine questions whether all African children with fever should be treated presumptively with antimalarial drugs, or if treatment should wait until laboratory tests confirm malarial infection.

5 Jan 2009

Childhood trauma associated with increased risk for chronic fatigue syndrome

Childhood trauma is a potent risk factor for development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to a study by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

5 Jan 2009

Discovery of new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia

A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome: mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3).

5 Jan 2009