Child Health News

RSS

Season-of-birth factors can cause celiac disease in Massachusetts children

Celiac disease is more common among Massachusetts children born in the spring or summer, and this higher incidence could be related to the intersection of key seasonal and environmental factors, according to researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.

9 May 2011

Adalimumab remains in newborn's bloodstream for at least three months

Adalimumab, a drug often prescribed for women with Crohn's disease, actively crosses the placenta during the final trimester of pregnancy and remains in a newborn's bloodstream for at least three months, researchers at the University of California San Francisco have found.

9 May 2011

Study reveals autism prevalence may be higher than current estimates in Korean children

Autism may be more common worldwide than previously thought, according to researchers from the George Washington University and Yale University.

9 May 2011

Period of observation can avoid unnecessary head CT scan use in children

Overall, roughly half of U.S. children taken to hospital emergency departments for a head injury receive a head CT scan, often to ease worried parents' concerns. Yet true traumatic brain injury is uncommon.

9 May 2011

Junk food ads to be banned to slow childhood obesity rates

Health experts and anti-obesity groups have called for a total ban on junk-food advertising during peak children's viewing times. This comes in the wake of the release of the research finding of the Obesity Policy Coalition that conducted a telephone survey of 1,521 adults says that 84 per cent of consumers believe children should be protected from unhealthy food advertising.

8 May 2011

ADHD in children linked to stress and depression during pregnancy

According to the latest research women who are depressed or severely stressed during their pregnancy have a greater chance of having children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It has been known till now that ADHD is largely inheritable but now it comes out that antenatal anxiety could contribute to 15 per cent of cases of the behavioural condition in children.

8 May 2011

KFA announces plans for charity Game-A-Thon and food allergy campaign

Kids With Food Allergies Foundation today announced plans for a charity Game-A-Thon and the Faces of Food Allergies Campaign in honor of National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, which includes Food Allergy Awareness Week from May 8-14.

7 May 2011

Study analyzes breast-feeding frequency of infants in eight inner-city Philadelphia health centers

"Breastfeeding is a hot topic. We know it is beneficial for most babies and that many are not getting breastfed," said lead study author Jessica Robbins, Ph.D., a public health epidemiologist with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

7 May 2011

Researchers report unexpected finding in Staph aureus study in child care facilities

A new strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria associated with exposure to livestock was recently discovered in one Iowa child care worker who reported no contact with livestock, according to University of Iowa researchers.

7 May 2011

U.N. officials recognize International Day of the Midwife

U.N. officials, recognizing the International Day of the Midwife on Thursday, lauded the efforts of midwives worldwide and "called for greater investment to ensure their life-saving services are available to all who need them around the world," the U.N. News Centre reports.

7 May 2011

iPads help minimize children's pain during procedures

Nurses in the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital are pioneering techniques -- including the use of iPads -- to improve the patient experience by eliminating or minimizing pain.

7 May 2011

Study shows benefits and safety of pediatric contact lens wear

After ten years of contact lens wear, patients are equally successful wearing contact lenses whether they were first fitted as children or as teenagers, new research shows.

7 May 2011

Virginia communities applaud signing of autism insurance reform into law

This afternoon, the Virginia Autism Project joined families and communities in Virginia in applauding Governor Robert McDonnell in signing House Bill 2467 and Senate Bill 1062, which will become law effective January 1, 2012.

7 May 2011

Study: 73% of Los Angeles children need dental care

In 2007, the death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver from untreated tooth decay exposed the need for better dental care in Maryland families with limited resources. However, the problem ranges beyond a single state, researchers found when they examined poor, migrant and minority children in Los Angeles.

7 May 2011

Filipino children with KD at greater risk for inflammation of heart blood vessels

While children of all ethnicities can contract Kawasaki disease (KD), a study led by researchers at the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at the University of California, San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego finds that Filipino children with KD are at a higher risk for inflammation of the blood vessels of the heart than those of other Asian and non-Asian backgrounds.

7 May 2011

CCF awards $500,000 grant to Cedars-Sinai for new kids program

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has received a $500,000 grant from the California Community Foundation that will help support the hospital's COACH for Kids and Their Families- program.

7 May 2011

NYU, LaSalle University develop new effective asthma-related anxiety tool

When children or adolescents with asthma and their parents become overly anxious about the disorder, it may impair their ability to manage the asthma effectively. A new, effective tool to assess asthma-related anxiety is described in an article in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

6 May 2011

Opinions: U.S. support for maternal, child health; infection control at borders; the AMFm model; International Affairs budget; organizations supporting women

When Mother's Day is recognized on Sunday, "let's honor motherhood itself by giving all moms the gift they want most - the chance to deliver and raise healthy children," former Sens. Bill Frist and Jon Corzine, who serve as co-chairs of the Save the Children's Newborn and Child Survival Campaign, write in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

6 May 2011

Targeting Aurora A gene could halt rhabdoid tumor growth in children

There are no effective treatments for rhabdoid tumors - aggressive childhood cancers that usually strike children under three years old and affect the brain or kidneys. The disease is extremely rare - fewer than 10 cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. - but is particularly difficult to treat and almost always fatal.

6 May 2011

Maternal exposure to BPA during pregnancy linked to decrease in birth weight of children

Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.

6 May 2011