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People should be concerned about flu every year

As temperatures begin to cool, coughing and sneezing inevitably follow. So begins flu season in the United States — and preventable deaths, says David Kimberlin, M.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham professor of pediatrics and president-elect of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

21 Sep 2011

Test to properly diagnose fever in children needed 'desperately'

"[F]ar too many children in Kenya and other African countries continue to suffer unnecessarily each year due to the misdiagnosis of fever, which contributes to the deaths of nearly three million children of less than five years of age from malaria and pneumonia," Willis Akhwale, head of Kenya's Department of Disease Prevention and Control in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, writes in a Daily Nation opinion piece.

21 Sep 2011

Combination of SRIs and cognitive behavior therapy reduces pediatric OCD symptoms

Children and teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who were receiving some benefit from treatment with medication had a significantly greater reduction in OCD symptoms with the addition of cognitive behavior therapy, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Sep 2011

Study examines link between gestational age at birth and mortality in young adulthood

In a study that included more than 600,000 individuals born in Sweden between 1973-1979, those born preterm had a higher risk of death during early childhood and young adulthood than persons born at term, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Sep 2011

Study reveals possible new treatment targets for diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas

Study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists points to possible new treatment targets for diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas; may tip the scales in the current debate about tumor biopsies.

21 Sep 2011

Three reports evaluate global progress to meet MDGs 4 and 5

Three recent reports -- a one-year assessment released by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health of the WHO on Tuesday, an analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington published on Tuesday in the Lancet, and a Save the Children report released on Monday entitled "No Child out of Reach" -- examine the progress of the global campaign to save mothers and children under five in developing nations and evaluate whether Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 and maternal deaths by three-quarters over the same period, can be met.

21 Sep 2011

World leaders should commit to closing health care worker gap

Recent U.N. statistics showing a drop in child mortality are both good and bad, because the number of child deaths continues to drop, but "progress isn't reaching all families around the world, and it isn't reaching newborn babies as often as older children," Joy Lawn, director of Global Evidence and Policy for Save the Children's Saving Newborn Lives program, writes in a GlobalPost opinion piece.

21 Sep 2011

Yoghurt consumption whilst pregnant linked to asthma and hay fever in offsping

Women who eat low-fat yoghurt while pregnant increase their chances of having children who develop asthma and hay fever, a study has found. Belief till now was completely the opposite.

21 Sep 2011

Polio in Pakistan prompts India to implement border crossing vaccination campaign

Officials in Pakistan on Monday "announced targeted, three-day anti-polio campaigns in affected areas, which include Karachi and districts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas," the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog reports.

21 Sep 2011

UIC wins HRSA-MCHB grant to expand disabilities training program

A successful University of Illinois at Chicago-based interdisciplinary effort to train leaders in programs that help children with developmental disabilities and autism has won a $3.3 million five-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration-Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

21 Sep 2011

Survey confirms low BPA exposure levels in food packaging

Today's supermarket survey of a handful of canned food products by the Breast Cancer Fund offers further confirmation that only a very small amount of bisphenol A (BPA) is found in food packaging, and those levels are well within the safety recommendations of government agencies.

21 Sep 2011

Financial and political commitments to improve health of women and children

In only one year, more than 100 countries, foundations, multilateral organizations, the UN, the private sector, and academic and professional associations have made unprecedented financial and political commitments to greatly improve the health of women and children.

21 Sep 2011

Tips for parents to keep their family physically fit and healthy

Pick up any newspaper, magazine or online publication and news about obesity is everywhere. While some parents feel helpless in the fight to keep their family physically fit and healthy, other parents are taking action. Studies show that exercising as a family not only promotes good health but also helps strengthen the emotional bonds between family members.

21 Sep 2011

Women with prior infant death more likely to have subsequent stillbirth

Women whose first pregnancy ended in infant death are significantly more likely to have a subsequent stillbirth finds new research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

21 Sep 2011

Maternal exposures to BPA are not transmitted to fetus: FDA study

The North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc. (NAMPA) applauds the publication of yet another government-funded and conducted study that provides reassuring evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) is not harmful to infants, children, or adults.

21 Sep 2011

Sleep deprivation may disrupt insulin secretion and glucose levels in obese teens

Obese teenagers who don't get the proper amount of sleep may have disruptions in insulin secretion and blood sugar (glucose) levels, say pediatric researchers. Their study suggests that getting a good night's sleep may stave off the development of type 2 diabetes in these adolescents.

21 Sep 2011

Collectible toy influences children's perceptions of food taste

The thought of toys being given out as part of children's meal deals might be easier to swallow, and better for you, if the toys are part of a collectible set and tied to healthy, nutrition-rich food choices. Who says? Kids and their parents do.

20 Sep 2011

Common symptoms of pediatric feeding disorder

Catering to a child who is a picky eater is like being a short-order cook: chaotic. Dinnertime becomes a war zone, leading to hopeless battles fought over vegetables and macaroni and cheese.

20 Sep 2011

Children with false-positive screening results do not have more health care visits

There has been longstanding concern among physicians and policymakers that false-positive results may cause parents to believe that their children are vulnerable to illness, leading them to overuse health care services as their children grow older.

20 Sep 2011

Autism Speaks and Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation select apps to help people with ASD

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism today announced technology applications ("apps") to be developed to benefit people with autism as part of the "Hacking Autism" initiative.

20 Sep 2011