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New polio strategy builds on 99% drop in Nigeria cases but faces 50% funding shortfall

In Geneva this Friday, a broad range of stakeholders will formally launch the new Strategic Plan 2010-2012 for eradicating wild poliovirus.

18 Jun 2010

University of Utah makes progress against SMA with support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

18 Jun 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia first in region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves

Signaling a new frontier in the treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the first hospital in our region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves in children with heart defects. This minimally invasive procedure gives patients a non-surgical option in their ongoing treatment.

18 Jun 2010

Researchers make significant headway in fight against SMA

Researchers at the University of Utah are making strides in understanding and combating a motor neuron disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The spinal muscular atrophies are a group of inherited diseases that cause progressive degeneration of motor nerves resulting in muscle weakness. The most common form of the disorder, due to the deletion of a critical gene on chromosome 5, is currently the leading cause of inherited infant and child mortality.

18 Jun 2010

Laboratory mouse study shows cold sensing neural circuits develop well after birth

Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active, according to a new study. The finding adds to understanding of the cold sensing protein TRPM8 (pronounced trip-em-ate), first identified in a Nature paper in 2002 by David McKemy of the University of Southern California.

18 Jun 2010

Maternal, infant ART drives down mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast-feeding, studies show

According to two new studies, "giving pregnant and nursing women triple antiretroviral drug therapy, or treating breast-fed infants with an antiretroviral medication, can dramatically cut transmission rates, enabling moms to both breast-feed and to protect nearly all children from infection," HealthDay News/Bloomberg Businessweek reports (Goodwin, 6/16).

18 Jun 2010

Paternal involvement in pregnancy reduces infant deaths

Studies have shown fathers who are active in their children's upbringing can significantly benefit their children's early development, academic achievement and well being. Now, a new study by University of South Florida researchers suggests that a father's involvement before his child is born may play an important role in preventing death during the first year of life - particularly if the infant is black.

18 Jun 2010

Neonatal diarrhea may lead to life threatening dehydration and malnutrition: Research

Diarrhea represents a major condition responsible for pediatric mortality worldwide. The onset of neonatal diarrhea may rapidly lead to life threatening dehydration and malnutrition. Clinical and epidemiologic studies defining severity and etiology are needed in order to improve diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the management of neonatal diarrhea.

18 Jun 2010

Forget play school for infants, sex school proposed in UK health guidelines

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK has come up with its latest health proposal for the improvement of public health. The latest guidance proposal from NICE says sex education should be taught to children from the age of five. This they say is important to help them make the right decisions about delaying sexual intimacy until they are mature enough.

18 Jun 2010

Constipation prophylaxis in sickle cell patients needs increased attention

Not all patients with sickle cell disease receive laxatives after being treated with narcotics, despite recommendations from a collaborative panel of pediatric experts. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study examining patients from 29 pediatric hospitals, and appearing in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

17 Jun 2010

Infant nevirapine more effective in preventing HIV transmission than maternal antiretroviral therapy

The largest study to date to examine methods to prevent HIV infection among breastfeeding infants concludes that giving antiretroviral drugs to HIV-infected breastfeeding mothers in sub-Saharan Africa or giving an HIV-fighting syrup to their babies are both effective.

17 Jun 2010

Studies suggest role for IL-10 in prevention and treatment of neurological disease in newborns

This bacterium, Escherichia coli K1, is the most common cause of meningitis in premature infants and the second most common cause of the disease in newborns. "The ineffectiveness of antibiotics in treating newborns with meningitis and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria require new strategies," explains Nemani V. Prasadarao, PhD, associate professor of infectious disease at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

17 Jun 2010

Researchers identify first genetic risk factors for development of CM in Angolan children

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, remains one of the main causes of death worldwide. An international team of researchers lead by Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, IGC, scientist Carlos Penha-Gonçalves, has identified the first genetic risk factors for the development of cerebral malaria in Angolan children, a severe manifestation of malaria infection.

17 Jun 2010

FDA: Potential risk of overdosing infants with liquid vitamin D

Some liquid vitamin D supplement products come with droppers that could allow parents and caregivers to accidentally give harmful amounts of the vitamin to an infant. These droppers can hold a greater amount of liquid vitamin D than an infant should receive.

17 Jun 2010

Fertility drugs cause multiple and premature births

The widespread use of fertility drugs, not just high-tech laboratory procedures, plays a major role in causing multiple births and contributes to the problem of premature birth in the United States, experts said today at the March of Dimes National Communications Advisory Council luncheon.

17 Jun 2010

VOA News examines countdown to 2015 report calling for additional 700,000 midwives to reduce maternal, newborn deaths worldwide

VOA News examines the Countdown to 2015 report, which says that a lack of trained birth attendants is contributing to more than two million stillbirths, maternal and newborn deaths annually (Smith, 6/15).

17 Jun 2010

Financial Times examines how GAVI's $2.6B shortfall might affect new vaccine programs in developing countries

GAVI Alliance's plan to introduce new vaccine projects in the developing world "is under threat amid the international economic downturn," the Financial Times reports. "Subsidies to extend the use of vaccines against rubella, HPV to tackle cervical cancer, cholera and Japanese encephalitis in the developing world are among those likely to be cancelled or delayed," according to GAVI's CEO Julian Lob-Levyt, the newspaper writes.

17 Jun 2010

Young canvassers part of nationwide health care drive

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes: "On a cool weekday afternoon, a small group of young adults gathers outside Covenant House, a homeless shelter where some of them live or go to school.

17 Jun 2010

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

A team of researchers from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Universit- de Montr-al have defined for the first time the mechanism behind three cancer-causing genes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Published in the journal Genes and Development, the findings offer insight on the complex interaction between the genes and their contributions to leukemia, thereby providing the foundation for the design of targeted therapies.

17 Jun 2010

Highlands Hospital, Cleveland Clinic collaboration promises brighter future for children with autism

A unique collaboration in one of Pennsylvania's most medically underserved regions promises a brighter future for children with autism and their families. Highlands Hospital, a not-for-profit community hospital in Connellsville, Pa., has entered into a consultation agreement with the Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic to develop state-of-the-art services for children with autism in southwestern Pennsylvania.

17 Jun 2010

Child Health News

New polio strategy builds on 99% drop in Nigeria cases but faces 50% funding shortfall

University of Utah makes progress against SMA with support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia first in region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves

Researchers make significant headway in fight against SMA

Laboratory mouse study shows cold sensing neural circuits develop well after birth

Maternal, infant ART drives down mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast-feeding, studies show

Paternal involvement in pregnancy reduces infant deaths

Neonatal diarrhea may lead to life threatening dehydration and malnutrition: Research

Forget play school for infants, sex school proposed in UK health guidelines

Constipation prophylaxis in sickle cell patients needs increased attention

Infant nevirapine more effective in preventing HIV transmission than maternal antiretroviral therapy

Studies suggest role for IL-10 in prevention and treatment of neurological disease in newborns

Researchers identify first genetic risk factors for development of CM in Angolan children

FDA: Potential risk of overdosing infants with liquid vitamin D

Fertility drugs cause multiple and premature births

VOA News examines countdown to 2015 report calling for additional 700,000 midwives to reduce maternal, newborn deaths worldwide

Financial Times examines how GAVI's $2.6B shortfall might affect new vaccine programs in developing countries

Young canvassers part of nationwide health care drive

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

Highlands Hospital, Cleveland Clinic collaboration promises brighter future for children with autism

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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