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Genes and obesity link found in kids

The team of researchers used genome-wide association techniques and found that several genetic variants associated with adult obesity are also active in childhood obesity, according to Struan Grant of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and colleagues. The analysis found two new genetic variants that had not been previously associated with obesity, Grant and colleagues reported online in Nature Genetics. The findings show that “there is indeed a genetic signature of childhood obesity,” Grant said. “It's not purely lifestyle.”

10 Apr 2012

USAID Administrator credits reduction in Ethiopia's child mortality rate to effective use of aid

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah "says development assistance to Ethiopia's health sector has helped save thousands of children's lives in the past year," VOA News reports, noting, "The progress came even as the Horn of Africa was hit by the worst drought in more than half a century."

10 Apr 2012

Gates Foundation co-chair Melinda Gates delivers TEDxChange speech on access to contraceptives

On Thursday at the TEDxChange conference in Berlin, Germany, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "delivered a powerful case for universal access to contraception for women around the world who need and want it," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

10 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Health law seeks to remedy broken insurance market; Overhaul was sunk by its complexity

Commentators look at some of the underlying issues of the health law which is being considered by the Supreme Court.

10 Apr 2012

Studies determine how geographic location affects physical health

The neighborhoods in which children and adolescents live and spend their time play a role in whether or not they eat a healthy diet, get enough exercise or become obese, concludes a collection of studies in a special theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

10 Apr 2012

ASPO to hold pediatric otolaryngology meeting from April 18 - April 22

The American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) will hold its annual meeting, April 18 - April 22, during the 2012 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings (COSM) - a joint meeting of eight otolaryngological societies in San Diego, CA. The meeting will feature dozens of scientific presentations highlighting research in progress in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

10 Apr 2012

U.S. children would need to eliminate an average of 64 excess calories per day to prevent obesity

In order for the nation to achieve goals set by the federal government for reducing obesity rates by 2020, children in the United States would need to eliminate an average of 64 excess calories per day, researchers calculated in a study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

10 Apr 2012

Medicaid: Ariz. gets federal OK to expand kids coverage; Docs want to share Minn. insurer rebates; Medi-Cal faces adult day-care injunction

States around the nation are grappling with Medicaid issues ranging from expanding coverage and making deals with new managed care providers to sharing insurer rebates, forging budget cuts, waiting on court action and admitting large data breaches.

10 Apr 2012

States roundup: Aetna goes ahead with small biz coverage hike; 1.2M Texas kids without insurance; Legal immigrants join Mass. health plan

Despite criticism from the state insurance commissioner and several statewide consumer groups, Aetna said Thursday it's going ahead with a recent hike in health care premiums for small businesses. Aetna's new increases, which average 8 percent annually and took effect April 1, were deemed "unreasonable" this week by state Department of Insurance Commissioner David Jones.

10 Apr 2012

Australia-first meeting tackles unacceptable maternal and child health in Burma

Unacceptably high maternal and infant mortality rates in Burma are being addressed for the first time in Australia at a conference at the University of Sydney today.

9 Apr 2012

UK tobacco display ban to reduce youngsters taking up the habit

A ban on displays of tobacco is coming into force in England. Ministers hope it will help curb the number of young people taking up smoking. Cigarettes and other products will have to be kept below the counter in large shops and supermarkets, while small outlets are exempt until 2015. Other parts of the UK are planning similar action to drive down smoking rates.

9 Apr 2012

First study to examine links between neurodevelopmental disorders and maternal metabolic conditions

A major study of the relationships between maternal metabolic conditions and the risk that a child will be born with a neurodevelopmental disorder has found strong links between maternal diabetes and obesity and the likelihood of having a child with autism or another developmental disability.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers identify new gene variants linked with common childhood obesity

Genetics researchers have identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk of common childhood obesity.

9 Apr 2012

Nearly one-third of under 5 children in Vietnam are malnourished, survey shows

"Nearly a third of pre-school children in Vietnam suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth, while in urban areas rates of childhood obesity are rising," according to a report released Thursday by the country's National Institute of Nutrition, Agence France-Presse reports.

7 Apr 2012

Study explores link between intraoperative blood loss and pediatric patients' underlying condition

The relative risk of blood loss during corrective spine surgery in children appears linked to the underlying condition causing the spinal deformity, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

7 Apr 2012

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

In the largest multicenter clinical trial of children undergoing early-stage surgery for single-ventricle heart defects, differences in intraoperative management did not significantly affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 14 months of age. Instead, the strongest influences were innate patient characteristics and general medical morbidity during the child's first year of life.

6 Apr 2012

'Political will, dogged organization' needed to maintain momentum of deworming campaigns

In this New York Times opinion piece, journalist Amy Yee examines the cost-effectiveness of and challenges to deworming treatment campaigns in the developing world, highlighting campaigns in India and Kenya.

6 Apr 2012

GAVI announces HPV, rubella vaccines will be available to developing countries

"The GAVI Alliance has announced that it will include human papillomavirus (HPV) and combined measles-rubella vaccines in its portfolio for the first time" to help protect women from cervical cancer and children from disability or premature death, Africa Science News reports.

6 Apr 2012

Contraception, abortion, fetal care issues flare up in state legislatures

Women's health issues continue to roil politics in Texas, Mississippi and Nebraska.

6 Apr 2012

New NewYork-Presbyterian autism center to open in early 2013

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, today celebrated the start of construction on the new Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at the Hospital's Westchester campus in White Plains.

5 Apr 2012

Child Health News

Genes and obesity link found in kids

USAID Administrator credits reduction in Ethiopia's child mortality rate to effective use of aid

Gates Foundation co-chair Melinda Gates delivers TEDxChange speech on access to contraceptives

Viewpoints: Health law seeks to remedy broken insurance market; Overhaul was sunk by its complexity

Studies determine how geographic location affects physical health

ASPO to hold pediatric otolaryngology meeting from April 18 - April 22

U.S. children would need to eliminate an average of 64 excess calories per day to prevent obesity

Medicaid: Ariz. gets federal OK to expand kids coverage; Docs want to share Minn. insurer rebates; Medi-Cal faces adult day-care injunction

States roundup: Aetna goes ahead with small biz coverage hike; 1.2M Texas kids without insurance; Legal immigrants join Mass. health plan

Australia-first meeting tackles unacceptable maternal and child health in Burma

UK tobacco display ban to reduce youngsters taking up the habit

First study to examine links between neurodevelopmental disorders and maternal metabolic conditions

Researchers identify new gene variants linked with common childhood obesity

Nearly one-third of under 5 children in Vietnam are malnourished, survey shows

Study explores link between intraoperative blood loss and pediatric patients' underlying condition

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

'Political will, dogged organization' needed to maintain momentum of deworming campaigns

GAVI announces HPV, rubella vaccines will be available to developing countries

Contraception, abortion, fetal care issues flare up in state legislatures

New NewYork-Presbyterian autism center to open in early 2013

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

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