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Study investigates EEGs as potential diagnostic tool for autism

Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test.

26 Jun 2012

PeriGen’s patient safety campaign raises awareness about shoulder dystocia

PeriGen, Inc., the leading innovator of fetal surveillance systems, is launching a patient safety campaign designed to inform pregnant women about shoulder dystocia, a serious childbirth complication.

26 Jun 2012

Sinovac provides update on EV71 vaccine Phase III trial on HFMD

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today provided an update on its Phase III clinical trial progress and commercialization preparation for its proprietary inactivated Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine against hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

26 Jun 2012

Uncontrolled symptoms of pediatric asthma found in 50% of children

Asthma is a serious disease that when left undertreated, can be deadly. In fact, asthma accounts for 4,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. And according to a new International Consensus (ICON) on Pediatric Asthma, an alarming 50 percent of children worldwide have uncontrolled symptoms, despite today's available treatments.

25 Jun 2012

Self-harm and suicide in young people: the role of new media

In the first Series paper, Self-harm and suicide in adolescents, Professor Keith Hawton, Dr Kate Saunders of the University of Oxford’s Centre for Suicide Research, and Professor Rory O’Connor of University of Stirling’s Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory, UK, examine existing research to look at the connections between self-harm and suicide in young people.

25 Jun 2012

Study reinforces importance of educating parents and other caregivers of children with food allergy

A team of researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and four other institutions have found that young children with documented or likely allergies to milk and/or eggs, whose families were instructed on how to avoid these and other foods, still experienced allergic reactions at a rate of almost once per year. Of severe cases, less than a third received epinephrine, a medication used to counter anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic condition.

25 Jun 2012

STARS study receives £1.7m funding to test effectiveness of TCM course

Disruptive behaviour in the classroom has an adverse effect on both teachers and pupils. It is a common source of stress for teachers and often a catalyst for leaving the profession. For pupils it may affect mental health, academic attainment and adversely impact on all children in a classroom.

25 Jun 2012

Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy increases risk of serious complications

Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of serious complications, underscoring the need for universal screening in the first trimester, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

25 Jun 2012

De novo somatic gene mutations likely to cause hemimegalencephaly

Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though frequently diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the cause of hemimegalencephaly is unknown and current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all of the diseased half of the brain.

25 Jun 2012

Smoking of fathers before conception can damage genetic information of their offspring

As you decide what to get dad for Father's Day, you might want to consider what he gave you when you were conceived. If he smoked, your genes are likely damaged, and your odds for cancers and other diseases throughout your life could be increased. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal, scientists show for the first time in humans that men who smoke before conception can damage the genetic information of their offspring.

23 Jun 2012

GlobalPost blog series examines PMTCT program in South Africa

In the third of a series of entries in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, titled "A Daughter's Journey," Tracy Jarrett, a GlobalPost/Kaiser Family Foundation global health reporting fellow, visits a USAID-funded HIV clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.

23 Jun 2012

Study reveals decline in number of babies born with birth defects across Europe

The number of babies born with birth defects (major congenital anomalies) across Europe has fallen over the decade (2000-2009), University of Ulster research has revealed.

23 Jun 2012

Alcohol during pregnancy can be harmful for the developing baby

Experts at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine disagree with a series of new studies from Denmark that suggest consumption of up to 8 alcoholic drinks a week or occasional binge drinking during pregnancy is generally safe for the developing baby.

23 Jun 2012

Ten-year-old kid to participate in annual Arthritis Walk on June 23

Ten-year-old Cheyanne Campo has achieved a lofty goal, despite - and because of - a sometimes painful disease. She has raised more than $500 for the Arthritis Foundation and will be participating in the organization's annual Arthritis Walk on June 23 in Battery Park.

23 Jun 2012

Young children have higher prevalence of mental health problems: Study

A study published in the June 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that young children who have been investigated for maltreatment by child welfare agencies have a higher prevalence of mental health problems and that very few receive treatment for those problems.

23 Jun 2012

Parents play a major role in children's TV time

Researchers at Oregon State University have confirmed what we knew all along - children in this country are increasingly sedentary, spending too much time sitting and looking at electronic screens.

22 Jun 2012

Global initiative to improve quality of midwifery care

Researchers from across the world have joined forces to improve the quality of midwifery care and reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality.

22 Jun 2012

Researchers identify genes that cooperate in development of medulloblastoma

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project lifts lid on the most aggressive subtype of medulloblastoma and finds genes that cooperate in tumor development.

22 Jun 2012

Addressing the need for a new global roadmap for reducing child mortality

"In mid-June, representatives of 80 governments, the private sector, NGOs, civil society and faith-based organizations met to launch the Child Survival Call to Action: a sustained, global effort to lower child mortality rates, especially in high-risk countries," a VOA editorial reports.

22 Jun 2012

Protein in blood can predict improper growth of fetus

Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) have found a protein in the blood of pregnant women that can predict if they are likely to have a fetus that doesn't grow properly, and thus has a high risk of stillbirth and long-term health complications.

22 Jun 2012