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Maternal gluten sensitivity may increase risk of schizophrenia in children

Babies born to women with sensitivity to gluten appear to be at increased risk for certain psychiatric disorders later in life, according to research by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

11 May 2012

Rituximab does not appear to benefit children with INS

The drug rituximab, an antibody that targets the immune system and is often used to treat immune disorders such as lymphoma and arthritis, has recently emerged as a potential treatment for a childhood kidney disorder known as idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

11 May 2012

Efforts to stem childhood mortality in Ghana will not be enough to reach MDG, UNICEF official says

Anirban Chatterjee, chief of health and nutrition for UNICEF in Ghana, said the country "is doing a lot" to fight child mortality -- referring to a recently launched vaccination campaign and an initiative to educate mothers about nutrition -- but "I don't think it's enough" to reach the fourth U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by 2015, Inter Press Service reports.

11 May 2012

TherapeuticsMD introduces third prescription prenatal vitamin

TherapeuticsMD, Inc., parent company of vitaMedMD, LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that on May 10, 2012 it launched its third prescription prenatal vitamin, vitaMedMD RediChew Rx, following the successful launch of vitaMedMD One Rx earlier this month and vitaMedMD Plus Rx last month.

11 May 2012

Rice University students invent device to help children with cerebral palsy

With the aid of multiple force sensors and a digital dinosaur, a team of Rice University seniors known as Helping Hands hopes to restore strength and flexibility to the hands and wrists of children with cerebral palsy.

11 May 2012

Review finds 74% decline in annual ICU admissions for asthma

A review of 30 years of life-threatening asthma cases in a San Antonio intensive care unit found that annual ICU admissions for the condition have dropped 74 percent. The study, by UT Medicine San Antonio physicians who reviewed cases at University Hospital between 1980 and 2010, also showed intubation in the emergency department to help patients breathe did not result in longer hospital stays.

11 May 2012

Children with private, public and no insurance may receive differing levels of treatment in ED

In 2009, children with public insurance were three times more likely and children with no insurance were eleven time more likely not to have a primary care physician, compared with children with private insurance. Without a primary care physician, the Emergency Department (ED) often becomes the primary point of contact for treatments and diagnoses. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics reports that children with private, public, and no insurance may receive differing levels of treatment in EDs.

11 May 2012

Government, development sector leaders should turn to Bangladesh program for solutions to avoidable childhood death

For solutions to help end avoidable child deaths, "government and development sector leaders should heed the lessons of a massive-yet-innovative program" in Bangladesh, called SHOUHARDO, a Bangla word for "friendship," "that is not only helping children ... reach their fifth birthdays but also ensuring they grow healthier, and in many cases, taller," Faheem Khan of CARE Bangladesh, who heads the SHOUHARDO program, writes in this Christian Science Monitor opinion piece.

11 May 2012

New University of Florida research center to focus on rare genetic illness

With the support of a Major League Baseball star, a new University of Florida research center on an island settled by the Vikings could lead to breakthroughs about a rare genetic disorder and potentially change the course of care for high blood pressure and other common conditions.

10 May 2012

USAID launches five-year initiative in Nigeria to strengthen HIV, TB services

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Terence McCulley on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria, launched a five-year, $224 million USAID program, titled Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS), that aims to "increase access to high-quality comprehensive HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis prevention, treatment, care and related services through improved efficiencies in service delivery," the Daily Trust reports.

10 May 2012

McDonald’s introduces “healthy” fruit drink for kids – but experts say it contains too much sugar

McDonald’s is all set to introduce a ‘healthy’ fizzy drink for children that promises one of their five-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables. However the drink is packed with sugar and calories.

10 May 2012

Hospital midwife inadvertently spreads whooping cough to up to 170 people

A Middlemore Hospital midwife could have infected up to 170 people with whooping cough. If passed onto babies or women in the last three months of pregnancy, the disease can lead to severe illness or even death. Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease caused by bacteria which is easily spread through coughing and sneezing, much like the common cold. Also known as pertussis, it is distinguishable by a “whooping” sound at the end of coughing attacks.

10 May 2012

Best and worst mothers worldwide

Right in time for Mother’s day comes a report on the best and worst mothers worldwide. U.S. moms have moved up six places - from 31st to 25th - in the 13th annual Save The Children State of the World's Mothers report. That puts the U.S. right between Belarus and the Czech Republic. Norway is No. 1, just ahead of Iceland and Sweden.

10 May 2012

States grapple with inadequacies in mental health services

Advocates hope the fatal beating of a California homeless man by police, captured by a security camera, may spur changes. In the meantime, a D.C. report says thousands of children who need mental health services aren't getting them, and New York state fines insurers over mental health notices.

10 May 2012

Research with infant twins shows that environmental conditions determine testosterone levels

By comparing the testosterone levels of five-month old pairs of twins, both identical and non-identical, University of Montreal researchers were able to establish that testosterone levels in infancy are not inherited genetically but rather determined by environmental factors. "Testosterone is a key hormone for the development of male reproductive organs, and it is also associated with behavioural traits, such as sexual behaviour and aggression," said lead author Dr. Richard E. Tremblay of the university's Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment.

10 May 2012

UNAIDS launches campaign aimed at ending new HIV infections among children by 2015

UNAIDS on Tuesday launched a new campaign "aimed at ending new HIV infections among children by 2015 and ensuring mothers living with HIV remain healthy," Xinhua reports.

10 May 2012

Millennium Villages Project research yields positive results, but some researchers question methods used

"Death rates among children under five at the [Millennium Villages Project (MVP)] -- set up in Africa to demonstrate what is possible if health, education, agriculture, and other development needs are tackled simultaneously -- have fallen by a third in three years compared with similar communities, according to the project's first results," published in the Lancet on Tuesday, the Guardian reports.

10 May 2012

UAB’s First Episode Schizophrenia Clinic rapidly treats patients with new diagnosis

Like the "golden hour" of trauma care that increases the odds of a person's survival, some clinicians are now applying that philosophy to the treatment of schizophrenia, one of the most puzzling mental health disorders.

10 May 2012

Article evaluates benefits and costs of screening programs for prevention of SCD

An article, published in Circulation by Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH from the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and colleagues from Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, has evaluated the lifesaving benefits and costs of screening programs for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in children and adolescents.

10 May 2012

California school rationing leads to overall less calorie consumption in kids

Researchers have found that California high school students eat less fat and sugar and fewer calories at school than their peers in states that allow the sale of snacks with more of those.

9 May 2012

Child Health News

Maternal gluten sensitivity may increase risk of schizophrenia in children

Rituximab does not appear to benefit children with INS

Efforts to stem childhood mortality in Ghana will not be enough to reach MDG, UNICEF official says

TherapeuticsMD introduces third prescription prenatal vitamin

Rice University students invent device to help children with cerebral palsy

Review finds 74% decline in annual ICU admissions for asthma

Children with private, public and no insurance may receive differing levels of treatment in ED

Government, development sector leaders should turn to Bangladesh program for solutions to avoidable childhood death

New University of Florida research center to focus on rare genetic illness

USAID launches five-year initiative in Nigeria to strengthen HIV, TB services

McDonald’s introduces “healthy” fruit drink for kids – but experts say it contains too much sugar

Hospital midwife inadvertently spreads whooping cough to up to 170 people

Best and worst mothers worldwide

States grapple with inadequacies in mental health services

Research with infant twins shows that environmental conditions determine testosterone levels

UNAIDS launches campaign aimed at ending new HIV infections among children by 2015

Millennium Villages Project research yields positive results, but some researchers question methods used

UAB’s First Episode Schizophrenia Clinic rapidly treats patients with new diagnosis

Article evaluates benefits and costs of screening programs for prevention of SCD

California school rationing leads to overall less calorie consumption in kids

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

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