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Winnie Palmer Hospital plans to expand neonatal intensive care unit

Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies is announcing plans to expand its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The $13 million expansion will add 30 beds to the unit, making it the largest NICU in the United States.

20 Mar 2012

Disruptions in immune system regulation may play a role in NEC

Despite advances in neonatal care, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) - the most common gastrointestinal emergency in premature infants - continues to be a deadly disease. "We haven't made a lot of progress in identifying babies early who may be at risk for NEC, preventing it or treating it," said J-rn-Hendrik Weitkamp, M.D., a neonatologist and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

20 Mar 2012

New three-step process for DMD newborn screening

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital, working with the DNA Sequencing Core Facility at the University of Utah, have developed an approach to newborn screening (NBS) for the life-threatening genetic disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and potentially other muscular dystrophies.

20 Mar 2012

ADHD diagnosis on the rise among American children

The number of American children leaving doctors' offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Over this same timeframe, specialists, instead of primary care physicians, have begun treating an increasing number of these young patients, the study found.

20 Mar 2012

Americans not adhering to the 7 healthy heart recommendations

A new study of nearly 45,000 adults showed that participants who met more of seven recommended cardiovascular health behaviors or factors (such as not smoking, having normal cholesterol levels, eating a healthy diet), had a lower risk of death compared to participants who met fewer factors. The study was published in Journal of American Medical Association. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at a specialty meeting of the American Heart Association.

19 Mar 2012

Highmark Healthy High 5 initiative benefits Pennsylvania children

The Highmark Foundation today announced that Highmark Healthy High 5, a five-year $100 million initiative, successfully influenced change regarding children's health issues in the 49-county region Highmark serves across Pennsylvania.

19 Mar 2012

Eating salmon benefits pregnant women and their babies

University of Granada researchers have proven that eating two servings of salmon reared at a fish farm (enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and only slightly contaminated) a week during pregnancy is beneficial both for the mother and child.

19 Mar 2012

Largest ever academic-industry research project to find new drugs for ASD

An international consortium of scientists, led by Roche, King's College London, and Autism Speaks, is collaborating on one of the largest ever academic-industry research projects to find new methods for the development of drugs for autism spectrum disorder.

From CSL Ltd 19 Mar 2012

Paper describes results of BMT in models of Rett Syndrome

A paper published online today in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models.

19 Mar 2012

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB).

17 Mar 2012

ACEP urges public to learn how to prevent poison during 50th anniversary of NPPW

The American College of Emergency Physicians urges the public to learn how to "prevent poison" during the 50th Anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 18-24, 2012.

17 Mar 2012

Results from AspenBio Pharma's AppyScore trial on appendicitis to be presented at SAEM meeting

The results from AspenBio Pharma's 503-patient pilot study of AppyScore will be presented from the podium the upcoming West Region meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) being held in Las Vegas, March 16-17.

17 Mar 2012

Extremely contagious RSV virus can lead to serious illness in young children

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common virus that infects the lungs and breathing passage ways. Though it may only produce minor cold symptoms in adults, it can lead to serious illness in young children and those with compromised immune systems.

17 Mar 2012

Infants' faces evoke species-specific patterns of brain activity in adults

Distinct patterns of activity-which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants-- appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face-even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

17 Mar 2012

Food-insecure mothers more likely to develop obesity

Mothers who financially struggle to provide food for their families tend to put themselves at risk for obesity while trying to feed their children, according to Penn State sociologists.

16 Mar 2012

Less than 2% of low-income moms meet their own goals for breastfeeding duration

Less than 2 percent of low-income mothers met breastfeeding recommendations in a recent study - a drastic decline compared with a more affluent population - and a lack of support and available resources appears to play a key role.

16 Mar 2012

New textbook about child and adolescent behavioral health, primary care

Within the health care system, children and adolescents with mental health and psychiatric conditions often go undiagnosed.

16 Mar 2012

Childhood passive smoke exposure doubles risk of COPD in adulthood

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that children who are exposed to passive smoke have almost double the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood compared with non-exposed children.

16 Mar 2012

ARV given to HIV-positive children boosts preventive power of key malaria drug, study shows

An antiretroviral (ARV) drug given to HIV-positive children "can boost the preventive power of a key malaria drug," according to a study conducted in Uganda and presented last week at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, ScienceNow reports.

16 Mar 2012

CDC takes critical step to reinvigorate fight against tobacco use

The following is a statement by Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today has taken a critical step to reinvigorate the fight against tobacco use – the nation's leading preventable cause of death – by launching the government's first-ever paid, nationwide media campaign to encourage smokers to quit and prevent children from starting to smoke.

16 Mar 2012