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Deadly danger of babies sleeping in bed with parents

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), has hit the headlines again with a Tasmanian coroner having to remind parents of the dangers of sharing their bed with their baby.

1 Jul 2008

Fatty liver disease may raise heart disease risk in overweight, obese kids

A fatty liver disease that is not well-known in overweight and obese children may be a precursor of cardiovascular disease, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

30 Jun 2008

Poor diet while pregnant can harm your baby

We all know that smoking and drinking when pregnant can harm the baby, but new research published in The Journal of Physiology suggests that poor diet may also cause long-lasting, irreversible damage in offspring from heart disease to diabetes.

30 Jun 2008

Experts say some children are fit and fat and BMI may be misleading

Scientists have questioned UK and U.S. guidelines on children's physical activity levels and say they need revising.

30 Jun 2008

A spoonful of sugar helps manage pain in newborns undergoing painful medical procedures

While the fictional character Mary Poppins may have been trying to charm her young wards into the unpleasant task of cleaning their room by singing 'A Spoonful of Sugar', her message apparently rings true to life.

30 Jun 2008

Many adults distrust youngsters

A survey carried out in the UK has revealed mounting concern regarding the moral values of children.

30 Jun 2008

Children today are happier, less anxious and more sociable

According to new research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, children today are less anxious, more sociable and are happier than children were 20 years ago.

30 Jun 2008

Children with lower IQs are more likely to suffer dementia later in life

Children with lower IQs are more likely decades later to develop vascular dementia than children with high IQs, according to research published in the June 25, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Jun 2008

Premature babies feel pain but don't show it

Brain scans of premature babies undergoing a simple medical procedure have revealed though they may appear to be pain free, they are experiencing pain.

24 Jun 2008

Severe retinal hemorrhaging in young children linked to severe motor vehicle crashes

The severity of retinal hemorrhaging for young children in motor vehicle crashes is closely correlated to the severity of the crash, according to a new study by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Retinal hemorrhages occur when the blood vessels lining the retina rupture, resulting in bleeding onto the surface of the retina.

24 Jun 2008

Currently used pain assessment tools may be underestimating the pain response in infants

Dr Slater and colleagues (University College London, UK) studied the association between cortical pain responses in young infants and currently used pain assessment tools which are based on behavioural and physiological measures, such as change in facial expression.

24 Jun 2008

Genetic mutation and cat exposure at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema

A gene mutation and cat exposure at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema during their first year according to a study published in PLoS Medicine. Researchers led by Professor Hans Bisgaard (University Hospital Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark) studied the association between mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) and exposure to environmental factors with the development of eczema.

24 Jun 2008

How mothers interact with their babies related to how children behave later on

The way mothers interact with their babies in the first year of life is strongly related to how children behave later on. Both a mother's parenting style and an infant's temperament reliably predict challenging behavior in later childhood, according to Benjamin Lahey and his team from the University of Chicago in the US. Their findings have just been published online in Springer's Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

23 Jun 2008

Childhood prognosis of heart disease in later life

Heart diseases are one of the major causes of death in the western world. Research is under way in the University of Leicester Engineering Department, in collaboration with The Leicester Royal Infirmary, to analyse the heart rate variability of 10 year- old children, in an attempt to identify heart diseases at an early stage.

23 Jun 2008

British teens top the league in alcohol and drug abuse

According to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), when it comes to abusing alcohol and drugs, British teenagers are right up there, with Wales at the top of the league, ahead of Scotland, Estonia, England and Lithuania.

19 Jun 2008

Link between soy milk and peanut allergies dispelled

The suspicion that drinking soy milk or soy-based formula is a factor in children developing a peanut allergy has been dispelled by Australian scientists.

19 Jun 2008

Furore over brochure on taking illegal drugs

A controversial brochure from a New South Wales Department of Health which offers advice to young people on the use of drugs such as cannabis, has caused a major furore.

17 Jun 2008

Prenatal nutrition and nutrition during childhood interact to alter puberty

A high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing may lead to the child having an early onset of puberty and subsequent adulthood obesity, according to a new animal study. The results were presented Monday, June 16, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

Concerns over placebo pill for kids

Responding to reports in the media that Obecalp, a placebo pill for children, is due to be made available on the UK market, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's (RPSGB) Chief Scientist, Jayne Lawrence said:

16 Jun 2008