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Low-cost antibiotic co-trimoxazole should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries

Results of a randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how the low-cost antibiotic co-trimoxazole should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries to help reduce illness and death from opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.

18 Nov 2004

Smacking legislation is unworkable for doctors

The recent Commons' decision not to outlaw the physical punishment of children means that the law will offer its most vulnerable citizens (children) less protection from assault than is offered to adults, says an editorial in this week's BMJ.

18 Nov 2004

The United States has seen a steep rise in caesareans to women with no reported medical risk

Researchers analysed information on four million births per year between 1991 and 2001, identifying mothers with no medical risk or labour and delivery complication noted on the birth certificate. From this group of mothers, they examined those cases where mothers had a first-time caesarean.

18 Nov 2004

Children get their dose of violence from nursery rhymes, not TV

The amount of violence depicted in children's nursery rhymes is 10 times greater than what is broadcast on British television before 9pm, suggests a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

17 Nov 2004

Dummies increase likelihood of crooked teeth

Babies who are given pacifiers/dummies and bottle fed are twice as likely to have misaligned milk or "baby" teeth as babies who are breastfed, suggests research in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

17 Nov 2004

High levels of stress double the risk of painful periods

Primary dysmenorrhoea, otherwise known as painful periods without any organic cause, is one of the most common gynaecological problems among women of childbearing age.

17 Nov 2004

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants and other drugs designed to calm or stimulate the brain, finds research in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Prescription rates increased the most in the UK, the research suggests.

17 Nov 2004

Early infection in low-birth-weight infants linked with poor neurodevelopmental

Extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants who have an infection during their hospitalization following birth are more likely to have adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes than those infants who do not have an infection, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA.

17 Nov 2004

Pediatricians not comfortable with complementary and alternative therapies

Many pediatricians know their patients use complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) to improve their health, yet most do not feel comfortable discussing or recommending these therapies, according to a study published in the November issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics.

16 Nov 2004

White Paper aims to reduce the number of people who smoke

Health Secretary John Reid today published Choosing Health – the Government’s White Paper on improving public health in England.

16 Nov 2004

Hong Kong hospital activates infectious disease procedures

The Caritas Medical Centre situated in Shamshuipo, Hong Kong has activated infectious disease procedures following the admission of four more children with respiratory illness symptoms. This brings the total number of cases at the hospital to 28.

16 Nov 2004

Cotinine not linked to hearing loss

Levels of cotinine, a chemical that is made by the body from nicotine, which is found in cigarette smoke, does not appear to be linked to hearing loss, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Nov 2004

Brain inflammation is a sign of autism

A new study by scientists at Johns Hopkins shows that brain inflammation is a sign of autism. The findings are reported in the online edition of Annals of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Neurological Association.

15 Nov 2004

Vegetable lovers should be viewed as different from fruit aficionados

Health educators and dietitians ought to be more precise the next time they advise Americans that "vegetables and fruit are good for you," according to a study by a nutritional expert at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

14 Nov 2004

Vaccine provides new hope to the millions of people who suffer from food allergies

A team led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has developed vaccines that vastly reduce or eliminate dogs' allergic reactions to three major food allergens: peanuts, milk and wheat. The vaccines' benefits lasted at least three months.

14 Nov 2004

New study has found that, even with prolonged sobriety, alcoholics will have difficulties completing tasks such as putting pieces of a puzzle together or map reading

A new study has found that, even with prolonged sobriety, alcoholics show deficits in visuoperception and frontal executive functioning of the brain. Furthermore, alcoholics utilize a more complex higher-order cognitive system, frontal executive functions, to perform the same tasks as individuals without a history of alcoholism. Results are published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

14 Nov 2004

Prenatal alcohol exposure has effects far beyond fetal alcohol syndrome

Numerous studies have documented IQ deficits in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Little research, however, has found IQ deficits in children with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), who generally exhibit less severe neurobehavioral deficits than children with FAS.

14 Nov 2004