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Parents must step up as role models against childhood obesity, says physical education teacher

Over the past 20 years, physical education teacher Terry Wade has seen a dramatic change in her students. Childhood obesity is rampant, and lack of exercise and overeating is leading to serious health problems in kids. What to do? Step up as role models and lead by example, says Wade, who is also a volunteer coordinator for the youth fitness and nutrition program Marathon Kids.

13 May 2010

Children and young adults account for as many as 10% of all stroke cases

The news that Vice President Joe Biden's 41-year-old son has suffered a stroke is highlighting the problem of strokes in young people.

13 May 2010

Childhood sexual or emotional abuse associated with greater body dissatisfaction in BED: JGH

Imagine stuffing yourself with a day's worth of food in two hours or less. Imagine feeling disgusted, depressed and guilty once you finally stop. Then imagine doing it again, repeatedly and uncontrollably, once a week or more for months on end.

13 May 2010

New Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary valve helps congenital heart defect patients avoid multiple surgeries

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of major birth defect in the U.S., affecting about 25,000 babies each year. Now, a new valve being used at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Congenital Heart Center can help patients delay or avoid multiple surgeries.

13 May 2010

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases accounted for two-thirds of the 8.8 million deaths in 2008 among children under age 5 around the world, according to a Lancet study published on Wednesday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The highest numbers of childhood deaths were in Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million), according to the news service (5/11).

13 May 2010

Survey shows alarming increase of peanut allergies in children

Results of a nationwide telephone survey have shown that the rate of peanut allergies in children more than tripled from 1997 to 2008. The data are reported in the May 12 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

13 May 2010

Tracking genes in infant's intestine helps compare early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies

Is breast milk so different from infant formula? The ability to track which genes are operating in an infant's intestine has allowed University of Illinois scientists to compare the early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies. They say the difference is very real.

13 May 2010

Art therapy benefits children with persistent asthma: Researchers

In the first randomized trial of art therapy for asthma, National Jewish Health researchers found that children with persistent asthma enjoyed decreased anxiety and increased quality of life after seven weekly art-therapy sessions.

13 May 2010

Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Vitamin A is critical to maternal health and child survival, yet in most developing countries Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness and increased child mortality. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has long been a leader in vitamin A research, and scientists at the School recently discovered a link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation.

13 May 2010

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

USA Today: "First lady Michelle Obama unveiled a plan today to 'reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity' and called for help from governments, schools and businesses as well as the families themselves. ... Obama and her aides released a task force report titled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. The goal, she said, is to 'ensure that our children can have the healthy lives and the bright futures that they deserve'" (Jackson, 5/11)

13 May 2010

FDA approves Sagent's bacitracin for pneumonia and empyema

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced FDA approval of bacitracin for injection, USP (bacitracin), an anti-infective product used to treat pneumonia and empyema. Bacitracin will be offered in a 50,000 MU, AP-rated, preservative-free, latex-free, single-dose vial packaged both individually and in packages of ten.

13 May 2010

NIH awards PLx Pharma multiple grants for development of GI safer NSAIDs

PLx Pharma, a pharmaceutical company developing safer formulations of proven non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), today announced that it has been awarded multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling approximately $2,000,000. This funding has been awarded to support further advancement of a range of products currently under development by PLx.

12 May 2010

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

So often the rare informs the common. Penn researchers investigating a regulatory protein involved in a rare genetic disease have shown that it may be related to epileptic and autistic symptoms in other more common neurological disorders.

12 May 2010

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is among the most common of childhood cancers and fortunately, some children will get better spontaneously. Yet for children with high-risk disease the outlook is poor: more than half will relapse despite chemotherapy.

12 May 2010

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

A new Mayo Clinic study has found that Gamma Knife™ stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe and effective option for selected children with arteriovenous malformations. This study was presented at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Philadelphia last week.

12 May 2010

Children who eat lunch as part of NSLP have increased likelihood of becoming overweight: Research

With obesity becoming an epidemic among school-aged children in this country, a Georgia State University professor has found a link between overweight children and federal school nutrition programs.

12 May 2010

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

An estimated one in 20 kids suffer from breath-holding spells, which come when they are upset, in pain or surprised. In some cases, the children twitch and jerk around involuntarily, as if they are having a seizure. Their faces sometimes turn blue or pale and they often faint.

12 May 2010

International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

The International Dairy Foods Association issued the following statement by Connie Tipton, president and CEO, regarding today's Report to the President by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity:

12 May 2010

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay examines the ongoing debate over whether Canada's G8 child and maternal health initiative should include abortions, which according to a 2006 Oxford University Press-World Bank report, are "one small chunk of a bigger puzzle. A much larger problem, in terms of the number of female lives affected, is the decidedly less headline-grabbing subject of hemorrhages - which include antepartun hemorrhages … and primary postpartum hemorrhages.

12 May 2010

TFAH commends Childhood Obesity Task Force's report

Trust for America's Health commends the Childhood Obesity Task Force's report, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, which includes proposed recommendations for reducing the rate of childhood obesity from 17% to 5% by 2030. The report includes a total of 70 recommendations for specific action steps, many of which can be implemented right away and are minimal or no-cost.

12 May 2010

Child Health News

Parents must step up as role models against childhood obesity, says physical education teacher

Children and young adults account for as many as 10% of all stroke cases

Childhood sexual or emotional abuse associated with greater body dissatisfaction in BED: JGH

New Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary valve helps congenital heart defect patients avoid multiple surgeries

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Survey shows alarming increase of peanut allergies in children

Tracking genes in infant's intestine helps compare early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies

Art therapy benefits children with persistent asthma: Researchers

Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

FDA approves Sagent's bacitracin for pneumonia and empyema

NIH awards PLx Pharma multiple grants for development of GI safer NSAIDs

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

Children who eat lunch as part of NSLP have increased likelihood of becoming overweight: Research

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

TFAH commends Childhood Obesity Task Force's report

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

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