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African-American children tend to be diagnosed later for autism

The rate of diagnosis for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the same among all racial groups — one in 110, according to current estimates. However, a study by a Florida State University researcher has found that African-American children tend to be diagnosed later than white children, which results in a longer and more intensive intervention.

16 Feb 2012

Researchers develop first 'newborn weight curves' for specific ethnic groups across Canada

One of the first things people ask new parents is how much does their baby weigh. For some immigrant parents, especially South Asians, the question may be stressful. Many of their newborns are incorrectly diagnosed as being significantly underweight, meaning they could be at higher risk of developmental issues.

15 Feb 2012

Pregnant mothers who are vitamin D deficient raise risk of language difficulties in kids: Study

The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research study is the first to show low levels of the vitamin in utero can harm a child's language development, including the ability to pick up new words and string together sentences.

15 Feb 2012

IOM recommendations for healthful diet to children and adolescents not fully implemented

New research has found that the US government and schools have made mixed progress to comprehensively address food and beverage marketing practices that put young people's health at risk.

15 Feb 2012

Surgeons fix plumbing in the heart of newborn 5 days old

Keyota Cole was born with a bad heart. The 33-year-old from of Bakersfield, Calif., suffers from a congenital heart disease called Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve, and from abnormal pulmonary veins. She has undergone multiple surgeries over her lifetime, including one to repair a hole in her heart, a valve replacement and the implantation of a pacemaker.

15 Feb 2012

Study to examine relationship between oral and silent reading in children

When a beginning reader reads aloud, her progress is apparent: Hunched over a book, little index finger blazing the way, she moves intently from sound to sound, word to word. I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am! But when that same child reads silently, it's much harder to measure how much she is reading -- or understanding. Yet as she advances through school, teachers will expect her to learn increasingly through silent rather than oral reading.

15 Feb 2012

Higher levels of MVPA may improve cardiometabolic risk factors in children, adolescents

In a study that included data for more than 20,000 children and adolescents, higher amounts of time with moderate to vigorous physical activity were associated with better cardiometabolic risk factors (such as measures of cholesterol, blood pressure and waist size), regardless of the amount of time spent sedentary, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA.

15 Feb 2012

Mass spectroscopy identifies total of 1,210 UCB proteins

Blood tests have been a mainstay of diagnostic medicine since the late 19th century, offering a wealth of information concerning health and disease. Nevertheless, blood derived from the human umbilical cord has yet to be fully mined for its vital health information, according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

15 Feb 2012

AMCHP honors LSUHSC's professor for excellence in maternal and child health care

Rebekah E. Gee MD MPH FACOG, Assistant Professor, LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Schools of Public Health and Medicine, has been chosen to receive a Recognition of Distinction for Excellence in State Maternal Child Health Leadership Award from the Association of Maternal & Child Health (MCH) Programs.

15 Feb 2012

Mylan responds to current preservative-free Methotrexate Injection shortage

Mylan Inc. today commented on its response to the current shortage of preservative-free Methotrexate Injection.

15 Feb 2012

Scientists identify and describe molecular mechanism behind holoprosencephaly

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now identified and described a molecular mechanism underlying the most common malformation of the brain in humans. In holoprosencephaly (HPE), the forebrain (prosencephalon) is only incompletely formed.

14 Feb 2012

First large-scale investigation into diabetes risk among young people in South Asia

Scientists at King's College London and the National Diabetes Centre (Sri Lanka) have found evidence of a high number of risk factors for type 2 diabetes among the young urban population in Sri Lanka. The study is the first large-scale investigation into diabetes risk among children and young people in South Asia, and provides further evidence that the region is rapidly becoming a hotspot in the growing international diabetes epidemic.

14 Feb 2012

Babies could be understanding more than we think: Study

New research shows that although babies do not more than babble for the first six to nine months of life, they understand the meaning of many spoken words. The finding by American psychologists overturns conventional thinking that young infants can only process the sound patterns of their native language, such as vowels and consonants.

14 Feb 2012

Juvenile arthritis affected kids are at a high risk of cancer: Study

A new study shows that kids with juvenile idiopathic arthritis develop cancer four times more often than children without the disease, but the treatments they receive - including biologic treatments like Enbrel - may not explain their increased risk. If confirmed, researchers say the findings should ease fears that biologic treatments known as TNF inhibitors cause cancer in children and young adults.

14 Feb 2012

What is the optimum amount of sleep for kids?

New research shows that children are getting less sleep than they need. According to an article published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics, 32 sets of sleep guidelines for kids – containing 360 distinct recommendations for children of specific ages – were published between 1897 and 2009. During that time, the amount of recommended sleep fell by an average of 0.71 minutes per year. That added up to about 70 fewer minutes of suggested nightly sleep over the course of the 20th century.

14 Feb 2012

National Library of Medicine acquires papers of sickle cell disease expert

The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest medical library, announced recently the acquisition of the papers of Charles F. Whitten, M.D., distinguished professor of pediatrics and associate dean of medicine emeritus at Wayne State University. Whitten passed away in 2008.

14 Feb 2012

Gaming and technology may help control weight and promote health in children

Children are naturally drawn toward gaming and other types of technology, creating an ideal opportunity to design interactive media tools to encourage physical activity and promote healthy eating habits, according to an article in a special issue of the journal Childhood Obesity celebrating the second anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative.

14 Feb 2012

Unstructured free play, recess need to be reinstated in schools

Evaluating the Let's Move! Initiative, Dr. Melinda Sothern, Professor of Public Health and Jim Finks Chair of Health Promotion at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, calls First Lady Michelle Obama brave for taking on the challenge of childhood obesity and suggests that she now consider working to move it up to the policy level.

14 Feb 2012

Children living near coal-tar-sealed pavement likely to ingest PAHs

Children living near coal-tar-sealed pavement are likely to receive a far higher dose of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from incidental ingestion of house dust than do children living near unsealed pavement, and that dose is more than two times higher than the PAH dose children are estimated to receive from food.

14 Feb 2012

Oxygen deprivation disrupts insulin and glucose regulation in rat pups

Premature infants' immature lungs and frequent dips in blood pressure make them especially vulnerable to a condition called hypoxia in which their tissues don't receive enough oxygen, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage. New animal research suggests that a common practice in caring for these babies might in fact exacerbate this condition, increasing the chances for long-term neurological deficits.

14 Feb 2012