Children News and Research

RSS

California Pacific Medical Center opens pediatric ER

California Pacific Medical Center is opening the first Emergency Department in San Francisco designed specifically to treat and meet the needs of children ages birth to 18 and their families.

6 Nov 2008

ADHD affects the motor skills of boys more than girls

New research published in the November 4, 2008 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that ADHD affects the motor skills of boys more than girls. By examining age-related improvement of motor skills in children with and without ADHD, researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md. found that girls with ADHD and their typically developing peers were more likely to be able to control their movements compared to boys with ADHD.

5 Nov 2008

Most adults not up to date on their vaccinations

Most adults are not up to date on their vaccinations, says a new report from Harvard Medical School.

5 Nov 2008

Lung airway cells activate vitamin D and increase immune response

Vitamin D is essential to good health but needs to be activated to function properly in the human body.

5 Nov 2008

Rainfall linked to autism

Scientists in the U.S. say there appears to be a link between high levels of rainfall and the prevalence of autism - they say children living in high annual rainfall areas appear more likely to develop autism, which raises again the possibility of an environmental trigger for the disorder.

5 Nov 2008

Better educated women more likely to divorce

According to new research from the Australian National University (ANU), marriages where the woman is better educated than the man are more likely to end in divorce.

5 Nov 2008

New evidence strengthens link between cigarette smoke exposure and poor infant health

The damaging effects of smoking and smoke exposure can be seen at any age. Pediatricians have even noted these negative effects in various stages of infant development. The consequences of maternal smoke exposure during pregnancy can range from higher rates of prematurity to increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

5 Nov 2008

WHO gets aid for Democratic Republic of the Congo victims, but more funds needed

Increasing quantities of medical supplies are being provided by foreign governments to save lives in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, but WHO is calling for more support to meet urgent health needs

4 Nov 2008

Children who are poor sleepers more likely to be obese as adults

According to new research regularly getting a good night's sleep as a child may help protect adults from becoming obese.

4 Nov 2008

Researchers look at direct-to-consumer genetic testing

What's your child's "genetic destiny?" Does diabetes run in your family? Or has a genetic test indicated that your child may some day be at risk for developing heart disease?

4 Nov 2008

Study looks at chronic medication use in children ages 5 to 19

America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase.

4 Nov 2008

Targeting epigenetic changes helps tackle MLL-AF4 leukemias

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on.

4 Nov 2008

Watching lots of sexual content on TV linked to subsequent teen pregnancy

Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

4 Nov 2008

Study finds fears of HIV transmission in families with infected parent

Despite ongoing efforts to educate the public about HIV, a new study by researchers from UCLA, the RAND Corp., Harvard University and Children's Hospital Boston has found that two-thirds of families with an HIV-infected parent experience fears about spreading HIV in the home.

4 Nov 2008

Researchers look at spread of dengue virus in rural Thai villages

In a new study reported in PLoS Medicine, Mammen P. Mammen Jr. of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) in Bangkok and colleagues investigated the spread of dengue virus infection in rural Thai villages.

4 Nov 2008

Rain may be linked to autism

Children living in counties with higher levels of annual precipitation appear more likely to have higher prevalence rates of autism, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Nov 2008

Parents comfortable with alcohol screening in pediatricians' offices

Parents are surprisingly receptive to being screened for alcohol problems during a visit to their child's pediatrician, including those who have alcohol problems.

4 Nov 2008

Parasites that live inside cells use loophole to thwart immune system

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body's key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide.

4 Nov 2008

Two different approaches used to correct clubfoot both bring positive outcomes for most children

Two non-surgical treatments most commonly used to correct the condition known as clubfoot have similarly high levels of success, according to a new study published in the November 2008 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

4 Nov 2008

Pre-treatment MRI eliminates unnecessary surgery for children with suspected musculosketal infections

Pre-treatment MRI can eliminate unnecessary diagnostic or surgical procedures for children with suspected musculoskeletal infections (septic arthritis and osteomyelitis) according to a study performed at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN.

4 Nov 2008