Children News and Research

RSS

New insights into mental health problems in Pakistan

This exploratory study highlights the importance of socio-economic determinants of child mental health problems and points out the necessity of planning and establishing service networks to meet children's mental health needs in Pakistan.

21 May 2009

Toddler’s mysterious meningitis trumps cancer threat

Brooklynn Spencer's mother Samantha knew something wasn't right. The 8 month old had the flu recently, but it had been four weeks. She should have been better. The Elmira mother of four pushed for blood tests in early October 2007. A few hours later, there was a knock at the door.

21 May 2009

Telemedicine may improve care for school children with diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the most common chronic childhood disease. The management of this serious medical condition includes regular fingerstick glucose measurements, multiple daily injections of insulin, and frequent insulin dose adjustments. Because children spend a great deal of their time in school, school nurses often supervise medical decisions and diabetes care.

21 May 2009

AstraZeneca granted preliminary injunction against Apotex in Pulmicort Respules patent litigation

On May 20, 2009, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted the request of AstraZeneca for an injunction barring Apotex (Apotex, Inc. and Apotex Corp.) from launching a generic version of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort Respules (budesonide inhalation suspension) in the US. No trial date for the patent litigation has been set.

20 May 2009

United States should increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, IOM report says

To fulfill America's humanitarian obligations as a member of the international community and to invest in the nation's long-term health, economic interests, and national security, the United States should reaffirm and increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

20 May 2009

Robotic therapy for cerebral palsy

Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to help children with cerebral palsy.

20 May 2009

People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes.

20 May 2009

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll Back Malaria Initiative."

20 May 2009

Parents needed to help curb teenage births among Hispanics, group says

A coalition of Hispanic organizations on Tuesday urged parents of Hispanic teenagers to talk with their children about sex to curb the high teenage birth rate among the group, the McClatchy/Miami Herald reports.

20 May 2009

Senate HELP panel begins mark up of bill placing tobacco under FDA oversight

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday began marking up a bill (S 982) that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco products, CongressDaily reports.

20 May 2009

Cambodian health officials expand HIV/AIDS prevention education to primary schools

The Cambodian Ministry of Health has begun training primary education teachers in 12 provinces on HIV/AIDS prevention education, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

20 May 2009

Twins born after fertility treatment have a higher risk of problems at birth and in the first three years of life

Twins born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and to be hospitalised in their first three years of life than spontaneously conceived twins, according to new research published online today (Wednesday 20 May) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction.

20 May 2009

Good advice for a healthy pregnancy

Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.

20 May 2009

Take control of your asthma, EPA advises

Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for millions of people; but it can be managed if people know what it is and understand how the environment can affect asthma patients.

20 May 2009

Autism and employment

A unique event to discuss Autism and employment was held at Goldsmiths, University of London this week. For the first time charities, researchers, business and government were brought together to look at how people with Autism, and related disorders, can be supported effectively into employment.

20 May 2009

Siblings of cancer victims often feel left out

Siblings of cancer victims often feel left out and have nobody to share their grief with. However, the illness may help strengthen the bond between a healthy and a cancer-stricken sibling. This is shown in a doctoral thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

20 May 2009

Autism discovery may explain why disorder strikes boys four times more than girls

UCLA scientists have discovered a variant of a gene called CACNA1G that may increase a child's risk of developing autism, particularly in boys. The journal Molecular Psychiatry publishes the findings in its May 19 advance online edition.

19 May 2009

Smoking during pregnancy increases likelihood offspring will smoke

Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and their early childhood years may be predisposed to take up smoking as teens and young adults, compounding the physical damage they sustained from the smoke exposure.

19 May 2009

Discovery of mutant genes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A research team has pinpointed a new class of gene mutations, which identify cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that have a high risk of relapse and death. The finding suggests specific drugs that could treat this high-risk leukemia subtype in children, particularly because such drugs are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults.

19 May 2009

Obese mothers, asthmatic kids

Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study to be presented on May 19 at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

19 May 2009