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Exercise reverses signs of artery disease in obese children

Healthy but obese adolescents display abnormal responses to tests of blood vessel function, but after a short course of exercise their test results match those of lean youngsters, even though they remain heavy, according to a new study in the May 19, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

19 May 2004

Parents overestimate their children's use of bicycle helmets and seatbelts

Parents think their children use bicycle helmets and seatbelts more often than children say they use them, according to a new study by a University of Michigan Health System pediatric surgeon.

19 May 2004

Canadian Statement to the World Health Assembly focuses on AIDS

The WHO's leadership is particularly important in the fight to combat HIV/AIDS. Last week, Canada bolstered its financial commitment to this effort with contributions of $100 million for WHO's '3 by 5 initiative', and $70 million to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Canada and Canadians are proud to take these actions against HIV/AIDS.

19 May 2004

Fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children has distinct characteristics different from those found in adults

Potentially life-threatening non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children has distinct characteristics, often different from those found in adults, according to a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine study led by Jeffrey Schwimmer, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics.

19 May 2004

Blood pressure screening for children should start at age 3, according to the latest government diagnosis and treatment guidelines

Blood pressure screening for children should start at age 3, according to the latest government diagnosis and treatment guidelines that were presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting.

19 May 2004

Inactivating a protective molecule may help chemotherapy for leukemia but harm bone marrow

Inactivating a protective molecule in leukemic cells to make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy might also make healthy blood-forming cells more sensitive to the toxic effects of those same drugs.

19 May 2004

Report rejects childhood vaccines as a cause of autism

A pivotal report issued today by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) rejects childhood vaccines as a cause of autism. The findings, based on reviews of current scientific evidence, are a significant affirmation of vaccine safety, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

19 May 2004

Study helps to visualize how brain develops with age

The brain's center of reasoning and problem solving is among the last to mature, a new study graphically reveals. The decade-long magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of normal brain development, from ages 4 to 21, by researchers at NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that such "higher-order" brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, don't fully develop until young adulthood.

18 May 2004

New joint UK-Slovak health collaboration

A new joint UK-Slovak programme to boost collaboration into a range of medical conditions was announced by Health Minister John Huttontoday.Mr Hutton signed a joint agreement between the UK and Slovak Republic covering medicine and public health.

17 May 2004

Study examines impact of cochlear implants

Cochlear implants are small electronic devices that are surgically implanted in the ear, aiding those deaf people not helped by traditional hearing aids. Approximately 90 percent of parents who have deaf children are not deaf, and generally have had little, if any, experience with deaf persons or understanding of deafness. However, perceptions may be changing, partially due to new research on the implants, the article states.

17 May 2004

Discovery of the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome

An international team of researchers has discovered the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a disabling, multisystem genetic disease that affects an estimated one in 10,000 children. The finding is expected to lead to a genetic test, enabling rapid and definitive diagnosis of the syndrome, as well as prenatal testing for families who already have one child with the disease.

17 May 2004

Higher rate of cardiac complications from smallpox vaccinations for US military

While adverse reactions from smallpox vaccinations given to military personnel in the wake of renewed threats of bioterrorism remain minimal, the rate of cardiac complications has been higher than expected, according to a clinical review presented at an American Medical Society media briefing on cardiology today.

16 May 2004

CDC announces new goals and organizational structure

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Gerberding announced today new goals and integrated operations that will allow the federal public health agency to have greater impact on the health of people around the world.

15 May 2004

Influenza vaccine does provide protection against influenza in most asthma patients taking inhaled steroids

The influenza vaccine protected asthma patients who use inhaled steroids against type A flu, although its protection against type B flu was significantly reduced in those taking high doses of inhaled steroids, said a researcher from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent publication.

15 May 2004

Ireland's new European health insurance card

Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Health and Children has given further details of the new European Health Insurance Card.

15 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

Cancer-causing gene identified that may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers

Using genetically engineered mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center have identified a gene that functions as a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) and may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers in children and adults.

15 May 2004

Health care status in the United States leaves 44 million children, women and men without health insurance

"The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiated Cover the Uninsured Week so that millions of Americans could join together to say that the health care status quo in the United States, which leaves 44 million children, women and men without health insurance, is unacceptable, and that we cannot allow this situation to continue.

15 May 2004

John Kerry says families are being squeezed by the high cost of health care

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry Wednesday traveled to Orlando, Fla., where he held a town hall meeting at Englewood Neighborhood Center with families who are being squeezed by the high cost of health care.

15 May 2004

Australian researchers identify potential target to fight tumours

Dr Guishui Zhang and Associate Professor Levon Khachigian, from the Centre for Vascular Research, and Dr Nick Di Girolamo of the School of Medical Sciences were part of a team which suppressed a protein in the cells lining blood vessels.

14 May 2004