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BIT Companies support Rays of Hope organization to help South African children

BIT Companies, developer/manufacturer of in-vitro diagnostic, clinical and hematology instrumentation, has announced its role as a supporter of Rays of Hope, a non-profit organization in South Africa which offers sustainable aid to underprivileged children in a small village on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa.

19 May 2012

The Millennium Village Project: a correction

Paul Pronyk, lead author of the Millennium Village paper, releases the following statement about the paper, Pronyk PM, Muniz M, Nemser B, et al, for the Millennium Villages Study Group. The effect of an integrated multisector model for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and improving child survival in rural sub-Saharan Africa: a non-randomised controlled assessment. Lancet 2012; published online May 8. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60207-4.

18 May 2012

Health Canada approves Osiris’ Prochymal to treat acute GvHD in children

Osiris Therapeutics Inc. announced today it has received market authorization from Health Canada to market its stem cell therapy Prochymal (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children.

18 May 2012

Study demonstrates impact of epilepsy on child and parent sleep patterns

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston have determined that pediatric epilepsy significantly impacts sleep patterns for the child and parents. According to the study available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), sharing a room or co-sleeping with their child with epilepsy decreases the sleep quality and prevents restful sleep for parents.

18 May 2012

Simple pull-to-sit task could predict risk of ASD in infants

A new prospective study of six-month-old infants at high genetic risk for autism identified weak head and neck control as a red flag for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and language and/or social developmental delays.

18 May 2012

Scientist develops cutting edge medical-setting waiting room for children

Elaine Biddiss, Professor at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and Scientist at the Holland Bloorview Research Institute, has developed a cutting edge medical-setting waiting room for children.

18 May 2012

Researchers develop Bluetooth fetal heart rate monitoring system

Checking the heart of the unborn baby usually involves a stethoscope. However, an inexpensive and accurate Bluetooth fetal heart rate monitoring system has now been developed by researchers in India for long-term home care.

18 May 2012

AVMA offers tips to avoid dog bites

Of the 4.7 million Americans victimized annually by dog bites, more than half are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Veterinarians, the U.S. Postal Service, the medical community and the insurance industry are working together to educate the public that dog bites are preventable.

18 May 2012

Researchers identify 57 SNPs associated with autism

By focusing on the identification of common genetic variants, researchers have identified 57 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that predict-with a high degree of certainty--the risk that siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will also develop the condition. The findings were presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research.

18 May 2012

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. And babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life.

18 May 2012

Common risk factors for behavioral problems in US, Great Britain children

Children in the United States and Great Britain share a number of common risk factors that increase the likelihood that they will have behavioral problems-and Britain's broader social welfare programs don't appear to mitigate those risks, according to a new study in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior (JHSB).

17 May 2012

Nottingham researchers lead largest ever research project into genetics of pre-eclampsia

Researchers from The University of Nottingham are leading the largest ever international research project into the genetics of the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia.

17 May 2012

MSF report criticizes Global Vaccine Action Plan

In a report released on Tuesday, "the international humanitarian relief organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has said a new $10 billion global vaccination plan "fails to address the 20 percent of babies -- some 19 million infants -- who never receive basic, life-saving shots," and that, "rather than pushing for novel vaccines, the plan should focus more concretely on strategies to get existing vaccines to children," Nature's "News Blog" reports.

17 May 2012

CHOP researcher leads trial of ALK inhibitor in neuroblastoma, lymphoma

A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma.

17 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

Insecticide resistance threatens malaria control efforts, WHO warns

"Malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa and India are becoming resistant to insecticides, putting millions of lives at greater risk and threatening eradication efforts, health experts said on Tuesday," Reuters report.

17 May 2012

CCH, BGU launch collaboration to address lack of pediatric-specific medical devices

A collaboration to address the lack of medical devices designed specifically for children is being launched by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCH) in Ohio and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer-Sheva, Israel. The goal is to improve health outcomes for children by ensuring device design that is customized to meet childrens' unique physiological differences and medical needs.

17 May 2012

MDG Health Alliance introduced at GBCHealth Conference

The MDG Health Alliance, an innovative new private sector organization created and led by eminent business leaders to tackle urgent global health problems, was introduced today in the United States at the GBCHealth Conference.

17 May 2012

Self-harm study of Miss. youth finds highest rate in African-American males

A study of Mississippi youth who deliberately hurt themselves, and one of the first to examine self-harm across several demographics, found behaviors such as hitting, burning, biting, banging and cutting extend to African-American teens, boys in particular.

17 May 2012

Dangerous, complex migraines linked to high risk for stroke

Nicole Soriano had headaches before but nothing like the one that struck in the middle of one summer night. A coincidence led nine days later to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where a rare type of migraine was diagnosed and treated - but any moment during that time could have been disastrous.

16 May 2012