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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

FDA approves new version of St. Jude Medical internet-based remote care system for implanted medical devices

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the newest version of the Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN), a secure, Internet-based remote care system for patients with implanted medical devices.

16 Mar 2009

Music lessons help children improve reading skills

Children exposed to a multi-year programme of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music, published by SAGE.

16 Mar 2009

Hyperbaric therapy for autism shows potential

Hyperbaric treatment for children with autism has reportedly led to improvements in the condition, though previous studies were uncontrolled.

15 Mar 2009

Researchers shed new light on dyslexia

By peering into the brains of people with dyslexia compared to normal readers, a study published online on March 12th in Current Biology , a Cell Press publication, has shed new light on the roots of the learning disability, which affects four to ten percent of the population.

12 Mar 2009

MRI and CT used to map intelligence in the brain

Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have conducted the most comprehensive brain mapping to date of the cognitive abilities measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the most widely used intelligence test in the world.

11 Mar 2009

Blood test predicts chance of frontal lobe dementia

Frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD) strikes people at an earlier age. After Alzheimer's disease, FTD is the form of dementia that occurs most frequently in patients younger than 65.

8 Mar 2009

Wilmington News Journal examines bilingual hospital staff serving as interpreters

With a growing population of non-English-speaking patients, many hospitals are training their bilingual staff members to be "effective communicators on health issues," the Wilmington News Journal reports.

5 Mar 2009

Supreme Court rules against Wyeth in pre-emption case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled 6-3 that consumers harmed by an FDA-approved pharmaceutical product can sue the drugmaker for liability in state courts, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/5).

5 Mar 2009

New guidelines for childhood obesity programs

The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), a global professional association committed to leadership in eating disorders research, education, treatment and prevention, issued guidelines for childhood obesity prevention programs to ensure that community- and school-based efforts are carried out with equal concern for children's physical, social and emotional health.

3 Mar 2009

Experts still recommend no television under the age of 2

A longitudinal study of infants from birth to age 3 showed TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills, according to research conducted at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School.

2 Mar 2009

fMRI captures wave of brain activity linked to anticipation

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have, for the first time, shown what brain activity looks like when someone anticipates an action or sensory input which soon follows.

26 Feb 2009

Global AIDS Alliance sounds alarm on potential budget cuts

Amid initial indications that the administration's first budget will flat-line funding for global health, the Global AIDS Alliance is calling on President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to keep their campaign commitments to scale up the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and accelerate efforts to ensure every child around the world gets a free basic education.

23 Feb 2009

Laser treatment clinical trial misses primary endpoint

Using a laser to treat cells in the brain did not significantly reduce stroke disability, according to results of the first major clinical trial of laser therapy presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.

22 Feb 2009

Racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening persist

Colorectal cancer screening among patients with Medicare coverage is increasing, but a persistent gap remains between whites - who are screened most frequently - and all other racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis and the University of Washington.

20 Feb 2009