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Roundup: Fla., Texas, Minn., Ga., Conn., Mass. officials examine state health programs

Nullification - the legal theory that says a state can prevent enforcement of federal laws within its borders -- is the latest attempt to block Obama's health-care law at the state level. And brings with it new controversies and considerable confusion. For example, supporters and opponents of nullification reference the same language in the Constitution.

3 Feb 2011

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

On the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, the General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) gathered to discuss the continent's progress against HIV/AIDS, Walta Info reports.

3 Feb 2011

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Two years after the reauthorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state scorecard evaluating how the health care system is working for children finds that federal and state action on behalf of children has helped preserve, and even expand, health coverage for this group, despite the severe recession.

2 Feb 2011

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged developed nations to help him wipe out polio 'once and for all' at an event to release his third annual letter [.pdf] Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Feb 2011

Bill Gates argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization in his third annual letter released today. The letter, a personal account of his priorities, also calls on governments to invest in foreign aid, even in the face of a tough economic climate.

1 Feb 2011

Vitamin D deficiency linked to lung disease, poor lung function: Study

For the study lead researcher Dr. Graeme Zosky a research fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Subiaco, WA, compared two-week-old mice with vitamin D deficiency to normal mice. He noted that mice with a vitamin D deficiency had weaker lungs and that the difference was substantial.

1 Feb 2011

U.K., Gates Foundation announce extra funding for global polio eradication as WEF wraps up

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, announced "extra financing for polio eradication, easing a shortfall in funding that hinders a global effort to stop the crippling virus," Bloomberg reports.

1 Feb 2011

New study links vitamin D deficiency with deficits in altered lung structure and function

Previously linked to the severity of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in humans, vitamin D deficiency has now been shown to alter lung structure and function in young mice. The new study, conducted by researchers in Australia, offers the first concrete evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with deficits in lung function and altered lung structure.

28 Jan 2011

Study suggests newborn diagnosis can improve survival in SCID patients

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency occurs in just one out of every 50,000 to 100,000 births in the United States, yet it is the most serious primary immunodeficiency disorder. A study published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology, demonstrates that babies with SCID who are diagnosed at birth and receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, which is the transplantation of blood-forming stem cells, have significantly improved survival.

28 Jan 2011

Reduction in secondhand smoking associated with fewer cases of middle ear infection among children

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers and colleagues from Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society have found that a reduction in secondhand smoking in American homes was associated with fewer cases of otitis media, the scientific name for middle ear infection. The study appears on January 26, 2011, as an online first article on the website of the journal Tobacco Control.

28 Jan 2011

Tobacco smoke exposure still a major cause for asthma attacks in kids: National Poll

Exposure to smokers is still a major cause of asthma attacks in kids, according to results of a poll released today by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

28 Jan 2011

Lancet series examines health issues facing populations in Southeast Asia

"Southeast Asia's 600 million people are facing a raft of new health challenges as the disaster-prone region undergoes some of the world's fastest social change," according to a series of papers and commentary pieces, published Tuesday in the Lancet, Agence France-Presse reports (O'Brien, 1/25).

27 Jan 2011

Canadian PM, Tanzanian President open meeting to develop framework for $40b maternal and child health initiative

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete were in Geneva on Wednesday to open a meeting aimed at "developing a framework" to monitor the implementation of a $40 billion U.N. maternal and child health initiative, according to CBC News. Harper and Kikwete are co-chairs of a commission that is charged with ensuring accountability for the pledges.

27 Jan 2011

Arizona State University sponsored forum addresses child health crises in America

Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the U.S. (2002-2006), said there is "no choice but to act" today to find solutions to the child obesity epidemic and mental health problems in the nation at a forum attended by more than 200 health leaders at the National Press Club. Dr. Carmona made his remarks at "America's Children at Peril: Solving the Child Obesity and Mental Health Epidemics," a forum sponsored by Arizona State University and its College of Nursing & Health Innovation.

25 Jan 2011

UB's therapeutic program helps teens with ADHD to become better drivers

A University at Buffalo researcher's work with a state-of-the-art driving simulator is making better drivers among those considered to be the most risky motorists on the road: teens with ADHD.

25 Jan 2011

U.N. commission to establish benchmarks for $40B maternal, child health initiative commitments

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday to co-chair a commission that aims to establish benchmarks for the U.N.'s $40 billion maternal and child health initiative that was establish at last year's Millennium Development Goal summit, the Canadian Press/Toronto Star reports (1/23).

25 Jan 2011

Adolescent girls may engage in substance use due to bullying-related depression

Both boys and girls who are victims of bullying, including bullying through e-mail and the internet, are at elevated risk for depression. However, according to a new study, adolescent girls may engage in substance use as a result of bullying-related depression.

20 Jan 2011

Australians urged to vaccinate babies and care givers against whooping cough

The number of cases of the deadly whooping cough in the Hume region in Victoria, including Wodonga, last year increased fivefold from those diagnosed in 2008. A total 67 cases were reported in Albury last year but across the Greater Southern region there were more than 1,000 cases. The outbreak reached its peak in September. In the last three years 1,416 West Australians contracted the disease, three of whom died.

18 Jan 2011

Women's Health Congress to explore mammography controversy

The ongoing controversy about the appropriate age, frequency, and patient benefit of mammography will be explored at the upcoming 19th Annual Congress on Women's Health, April 1-3, 2011 in Washington DC.

18 Jan 2011

Opinions: U.S. HIV funding; Global fund accountability; World food supply

President Barack Obama's Global Health Initiative is "pitting AIDS against other diseases by making investments in new areas of global health contingent on flat funding for efforts to fight the HIV epidemic," HIV/AIDS advocate and Yale College student Gregg Gonsalves writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

18 Jan 2011

Child Health News and Research

Roundup: Fla., Texas, Minn., Ga., Conn., Mass. officials examine state health programs

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Bill Gates argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization

Vitamin D deficiency linked to lung disease, poor lung function: Study

U.K., Gates Foundation announce extra funding for global polio eradication as WEF wraps up

New study links vitamin D deficiency with deficits in altered lung structure and function

Study suggests newborn diagnosis can improve survival in SCID patients

Reduction in secondhand smoking associated with fewer cases of middle ear infection among children

Tobacco smoke exposure still a major cause for asthma attacks in kids: National Poll

Lancet series examines health issues facing populations in Southeast Asia

Canadian PM, Tanzanian President open meeting to develop framework for $40b maternal and child health initiative

Arizona State University sponsored forum addresses child health crises in America

UB's therapeutic program helps teens with ADHD to become better drivers

U.N. commission to establish benchmarks for $40B maternal, child health initiative commitments

Adolescent girls may engage in substance use due to bullying-related depression

Australians urged to vaccinate babies and care givers against whooping cough

Women's Health Congress to explore mammography controversy

Opinions: U.S. HIV funding; Global fund accountability; World food supply

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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