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Innovation in contact lenses for children wins Donald Korb Award

Earl L. Smith III, O.D., dean of the College of Optometry at the University of Houston (UH), recently received an award for his work in slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children.

30 Jun 2011

Genes in Tasmanian Devil give new hope to children with cancer

Cancer researchers have generated a genetic blueprint of the Tasmanian Devil genome, revealing cancer-associated genes that may answer important questions about adult and childhood cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Children and adolescents should not consume sports drinks

“Caffeine-containing "energy" drinks should never be used by children and adolescents, and carbohydrate-rich "sports" drinks should be restricted or avoided completely,” according to an American Academy of Pediatrics report in the journal Pediatrics.

29 Jun 2011

NPR examines maternal, child health in Mozambique

NPR's All Things Considered reports on efforts to improve maternal health in Mozambique. The piece, which is part of a summer series, looks at the challenges involved with getting pregnant women to hospitals and shortages of trained health worker (Block, 6/27).

29 Jun 2011

Early musical interventions may benefit children with dyslexia having difficulties in learning to read

Children with dyslexia often find it difficult to count the number of syllables in spoken words or to determine whether words rhyme. These subtle difficulties are seen across languages with different writing systems and they indicate that the dyslexic brain has trouble processing the way that sounds in spoken language are structured.

29 Jun 2011

Some adult survivors of childhood cancer are at risk for multiple cancers

The largest study yet of adult childhood cancer survivors found that the first cancer is just the beginning of a lifelong battle against different forms of the disease for about 10 percent of these survivors.

29 Jun 2011

Study proves efficacy of cellulose powder, without any adverse effects, in treatment of hay fever for children

A cellulose powder has been used increasingly for many years against allergic rhinitis. Still, there has been a shortage of scientific evidence for its efficacy in seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever), particularly in children. Now, however, scientists from the Sahlgrenska Academy and the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg have proven that the cellulose powder reduces symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis in children, without any adverse effects.

29 Jun 2011

Asperger syndrome characteristics evident during child's first two years

People with Asperger syndrome have problems with social interaction and attentiveness, and are also sensitive to noise and light. Several of these characteristics were evident to parents during their child's first two years, reveals Petra Dewrang's thesis in psychology at the University of Gothenburg.

29 Jun 2011

Direct incentives for vaccination would increase rates

In its first decade, the GAVI Alliance has helped prevent the deaths of more than five million children by introducing more widespread vaccination in low-income countries, "[b]ut, going forward, the alliance is going to have to think more about getting parents to vaccinate their kids - the demand side of health - especially if it wants to repeat the huge victory of wiping out a disease" such as smallpox, Charles Kenny writes in his weekly column for Foreign Policy.

29 Jun 2011

Nine-year-old recovers with experimental heart pump

Nine-year-old Greer Underwood was healthy until February 2011. What seemingly began as sinusitis on a Tuesday became almost fatal by the weekend when her heart began to fail. Now, after a historic series of events at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she's the only child in the country to have used the experimental heart pump, Heartware, as a bridge to transplant.

28 Jun 2011

Australian Medical Association calls for ban on junk food ads aimed at kids

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the federal government to ban fast food ads to help solve the problem of childhood obesity in Australia.

28 Jun 2011

TrialNet presents Diamyd Phase II study results on type 1 diabetes at ADA 2011

The American research consortium Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet presented their results of a Phase II study with the antigen-based diabetes therapy Diamyd yesterday, June 27, at the American Diabetes Association 71st Scientific Sessions (ADA) in San Diego, California, USA, after the closing of the stock market.

28 Jun 2011

UNICEF representative warns Filipino children displaced after flooding face disease risk

About 450,000 children, displaced by severe flooding in the southern Philippines, could face an outbreak of diarrhea and pneumonia, Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF's representative in the Philippines, said on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reports.

28 Jun 2011

Tips for keeping children safe around water

Doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center want to make sure children are safe this summer when they are playing in or around water.

28 Jun 2011

New strategies for minimising the consequences of preterm babies

Babies born prematurely could be at greater risk of developing kidney diseases later in life according to a landmark study investigating the impacts of preterm birth on kidney development.

28 Jun 2011

Study finds increase in life expectancy for people with type 1 diabetes

The life expectancy of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes dramatically increased during the course of a 30-year, long-term prospective study, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

27 Jun 2011

Former U.S. Surgeon General calls for intensive effort to promote child health

David Satcher, MD, PhD, former U.S. Surgeon General, describes childhood obesity as "one of the greatest threats to child and adult health that we are facing today," calling for an intensive effort to promote child health, in an editorial in the June issue of Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The editorial is available online.

27 Jun 2011

Study finds no adverse effects of vitamin D supplements in pregnant women, newborns

Use of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy has long been a matter of concern but now researchers writing in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research report that even a high supplementation amount in healthy pregnant women was safe and effective in raising circulating vitamin D to a level thought by some to be optimal.

27 Jun 2011

Maternal MS not linked with poor pregnancy or birth outcomes

Canadian researchers have found that maternal multiple sclerosis (MS) is generally not associated with adverse delivery outcomes or risk to their offspring. Full findings now appear in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association.

27 Jun 2011

Vaccination against rotavirus decreases hospitalization rates among infants

[Vaccination against rotavirus, a major cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in children, dramatically decreased hospitalization rates for the infection among infants in three U.S. counties, according to a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online.

27 Jun 2011