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UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers led by geneticists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have identified a new gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa, a form of blindness, ending one South Florida family's nearly 20-year search for what caused three of their four children to lose their sight.

4 Feb 2011

New study finds link between mealtime family interactions and children's health

The amount of time families spend eating meals together has been linked to the health and well-being of children and teens, with families who eat together regularly reporting declines in substance abuse, eating disorders, and unhealthy weight in their children. Now, a new study that looks at children with asthma has found that the quality of family interactions during mealtime affected the children's health.

4 Feb 2011

Study finds increased prescription drug abuse among teens

Illicit drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin have always been a parent's nightmare. But perfectly legal and easily accessible prescription medications are now the recreational drugs of choice for many teenagers, prompting physicians at Johns Hopkins Children's Center to urge pediatricians to screen specifically for their abuse during routine visits.

4 Feb 2011

Cardiac team implants pulmonary valve in children without open-heart surgery

The pediatric cardiac team at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital is the first in the region and one of a handful in the nation to implant a pulmonary heart valve without open-heart surgery.

4 Feb 2011

Blood clotting protein could be used as 'biomarker' for mucopolysaccharide diseases

University of Manchester scientists have shown that a protein involved in blood clotting can be used to diagnose and subsequently monitor the treatment of a group of childhood genetic diseases.

3 Feb 2011

IDF commends Florida council for recommending SCID screening for all newborns

The Florida Genetics and Newborn Screening Program Advisory Council voted unanimously to recommend that the Department of Health screen all newborns for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) – commonly known as bubble boy disease.

3 Feb 2011

PanCare Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survivor Care and Follow-up Studies to kick off in Lund, Sweden

By learning more about these late effects of treatment, the health care services can, on the one hand, improve and reduce the intensity of the treatment, and, on the other hand, find appropriate ways to care for those suffering from side-effects of the treatment in adolescence and adulthood.

3 Feb 2011

Limited school closures ineffective, strain hospital ICUs during epidemics

Selective schools closures has been considered as a means of reducing transmission between children and hence reducing the number of cases at the peak of an epidemic but new research led by researchers at the University of Warwick shows that limited school closures are ineffective and that only significant widespread school closures would have real effect on the spread of a epidemic and the strain placed on hospital intensive care units.

3 Feb 2011

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Three studies published on Tuesday in PLoS Medicine show that "intermittent use of preventive antimalarial drugs can be beneficial in curbing the spread of the disease in children," Agence France-Presse reports (2/1).

3 Feb 2011

Virginia Autism Project applauds House for historic bill requiring insurers to cover autism for children

Parents of autistic children throughout Virginia cleared a major hurdle today when the House of Delegates voted 74-24 to require insurers to provide autism coverage for children ages 2-6. The Virginia Autism Project applauds the House for its historic vote, which may signal then end of a more than decade-long fight for autism coverage in the commonwealth.

3 Feb 2011

Ritalin may help improve brain function in children with iron deficiency

Ritalin may help improve brain function in adolescent rats that were iron deficient during infancy, according to a team of Penn State neuroscientists. This may have implications for iron-deficient human infants as well.

3 Feb 2011

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

On the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, the General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) gathered to discuss the continent's progress against HIV/AIDS, Walta Info reports.

3 Feb 2011

Mothers who lose body fat before pregnancy improve health of children

Obesity among women of childbearing age is increasing worldwide. Because babies of obese mothers are themselves predisposed to obesity, society can reasonably expect the epidemic of obese and overweight people to continue through future generations.

3 Feb 2011

Poor adolescents with strong community get protection from risky health behaviors

Children who grow up in poverty have health problems as adults. But a new study finds that poor adolescents who live in communities with more social cohesiveness and control get some measure of protection; they're less likely to smoke and be obese as adolescents.

3 Feb 2011

Uterine health is more relevant for fetus to achieve normal birth weight, full gestation

For women seeking pregnancy by assisted reproductive technologies, such as in-vitro fertilization, a new study shows that the health of the uterus is more relevant than egg quality for a newborn to achieve normal birth weight and full gestation.

2 Feb 2011

Damaged heart rebuilt with heart stem cells from children with congenital heart disease

A new study, revealing that heart stem cells from children with congenital heart disease were able to rebuild the damaged heart in the laboratory, could provide a new outlet for Emerging Healthcare Solutions' NASA bioreactor.

2 Feb 2011

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Two years after the reauthorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state scorecard evaluating how the health care system is working for children finds that federal and state action on behalf of children has helped preserve, and even expand, health coverage for this group, despite the severe recession.

2 Feb 2011

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged developed nations to help him wipe out polio 'once and for all' at an event to release his third annual letter [.pdf] Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Feb 2011

Economists suggest new approach to monitor nutrition, child mortality in developing countries

In a paper published in the January issue of the journal Economics and Human Biology, a team of applied economists including William A. Masters, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, suggests a new approach to monitoring the relationship between nutrition and child mortality in developing countries.

2 Feb 2011

Conference on the Value of Play at Clemson University

More than 200 experts will gather at Clemson University's Madren Conference Center Feb. 6-9 to explore the value of play, and they already agree on one thing: Children don't get outside enough.

2 Feb 2011

Child Health News

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

New study finds link between mealtime family interactions and children's health

Study finds increased prescription drug abuse among teens

Cardiac team implants pulmonary valve in children without open-heart surgery

Blood clotting protein could be used as 'biomarker' for mucopolysaccharide diseases

IDF commends Florida council for recommending SCID screening for all newborns

PanCare Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survivor Care and Follow-up Studies to kick off in Lund, Sweden

Limited school closures ineffective, strain hospital ICUs during epidemics

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Virginia Autism Project applauds House for historic bill requiring insurers to cover autism for children

Ritalin may help improve brain function in children with iron deficiency

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

Mothers who lose body fat before pregnancy improve health of children

Poor adolescents with strong community get protection from risky health behaviors

Uterine health is more relevant for fetus to achieve normal birth weight, full gestation

Damaged heart rebuilt with heart stem cells from children with congenital heart disease

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Economists suggest new approach to monitor nutrition, child mortality in developing countries

Conference on the Value of Play at Clemson University

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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