Children News and Research

RSS

Parents are a powerful influence in keeping their teens off of drugs

And according to new data, the majority of teens say the greatest risk in using marijuana is upsetting their parents (69%), followed by losing the respect of friends and family (67.2%).

1 Mar 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

Night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease

"This is a new observation, a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease," said Levin, head of the Laboratory of the Molecular Biology of Chagas Disease at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Levin and colleagues report their findings in the March 2006, issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Mar 2006

Girls drinking more sodas and less milk

According to researchers in the U.S. concerns that teens are drinking too many sodas and fruit drinks are well founded.

28 Feb 2006

Premature babies pre-disposed to psychiatric problems in teens

According to British researchers, being born very premature can affect a child's personality into adulthood.

28 Feb 2006

Eating seafood still beneficial in many ways

Though some species of fish around the world's are likely to be contaminated with mercury, PCBs and other toxins, the benefits of eating seafood continue to outweigh the risks, a panel of scientists recently said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

27 Feb 2006

Depression increases ecstasy use in children

Children with symptoms of anxiety and depression may have an increased tendency to use ecstasy in adolescence or young adulthood, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

27 Feb 2006

Bangladesh launches measles vaccination campaign

The Bangladesh measles vaccination campaign to be held for three weeks between February 25 and March 16 will mark the Measles Initiative's expansion into Asia after recently celebrating the success of the Initiative's original goal of reducing measles deaths by vaccinating 200 million children in more than 40 African countries

24 Feb 2006

Project could lead to fall in prescribing errors for children

Initiatives aimed at cutting the number of errors made when prescribing medicines to children are the focus of a project being led by researchers at The University of Nottingham and The School of Pharmacy, University of London.

24 Feb 2006

Link found between morphine addiction and the tendency to explore

The tendency to use drugs depends on each individual person. Not all those who have access to drugs become addicts, therefore there may be personality characteristics that influence their use.

24 Feb 2006

Trial of intermittent malaria treatment in children leads to 86% reduction in cases

A team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, working in partnership with colleagues from Senegal, has found that intermittent preventive malaria treatment of children under five has a dramatic impact on malaria frequency.

24 Feb 2006

BAT lobbied to kill off groundbreaking tobacco legislation in Uzbekistan

A paper in the British Medical Journal reveals for the first time how British American Tobacco actively undermined and eventually overturned groundbreaking legislation that would have served to protect the health of the Uzbek population.

24 Feb 2006

Effect of artificial sweeteners in weight control and energy intake

It is widely believed by the public that replacing sugars with artificial sweeteners will help reduce calorie (energy) intake and aid weight loss. As a result sales of foods and drinks sweetened with artificially sweeteners are at an all time high, as are rates of overweight and obesity.

24 Feb 2006

Dyslexic children exhibit a different pattern of brain activity while reading

Brain images of children with dyslexia taken before they received spelling instruction show that they have different patterns of neural activity than do good spellers when doing language tasks related to spelling. But after specialized treatment emphasizing the letters in words, they showed similar patterns of brain activity.

24 Feb 2006

Hand-held device brings speech to impaired

A middle-aged woman makes plans over the telephone to get together with a friend, even though she cannot talk after suffering a stroke.

24 Feb 2006

Research points to a novel approach to treating serious Strep infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered that so-called flesh-eating "Strep" bacteria use a specific enzyme to break free of the body's immune system, a finding which could potentially lead to new treatments for serious infections in human patients.

24 Feb 2006

National survey reveals most hospitals do not require board certification of pediatricians

A survey of 200 hospitals found that nearly 80 percent do not require board certification of pediatricians at the time of initial granting of hospital privileges, although most hospitals do require board certification at some point in the pediatrician's tenure

24 Feb 2006

Scientists discover genetic profile eosinophilic esophagitis

Though many parents may never have heard of it, a severe and chronic condition called eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is recognized by doctors as an emerging health problem for children.

24 Feb 2006

Intensive support programmes help children with rare diseases

Intensive support programmes can help parents of children with rare diseases reduce their stress levels and improve their quality of life, according to research published in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

24 Feb 2006

Girls' approach to school may give them an edge in math

More women are pursuing higher education and doctoral degrees than ever before, but women still are rare in the math-oriented professions. Yet, researchers say, girls perform just as well as boys on achievement tests and tend to earn better grades in math than do boys during the earlier school years.

23 Feb 2006