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Study offers hope for treatment of Krabbe disease

In one out of 100,000 infants, a mutation in the GALC gene causes an incurable, always fatal disorder known as infantile Krabbe disease, or globoid cell leukodystrophy. Most children with the condition die before they turn 2.

26 Aug 2020

More evidence mask wearing works to contain COVID-19 spread

A team of American researchers has looked at the effects of wearing face masks and the prevention of the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) between individuals. As of today, over 5.8 million people in the USA have been infected with the virus. This new study titled, “Mask Wearing and Control of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United States,” is published on the preprint server medRxiv*.

26 Aug 2020

$1.2 million grant will help researchers to develop AI tools for improving adolescents' diets

With a $1.2 million grant from Fondation Botnar, an international team of researchers will assess the feasibility of creating and launching a global-scale artificial intelligence (AI) app for mobile devices that diagnoses diet-related problems and offers nutritional advice to adolescent girls living in urban settings in Ghana and Vietnam.

26 Aug 2020

Global survey reveals hesitancy in potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine

A recent study, currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, shows that willingness to vaccinate against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is insufficient in 19 countries that were surveyed – highlighting the need for targeted interventions to increase and sustain public acceptance of an incoming COVID-19 vaccine.

26 Aug 2020

New computational methods help find genetic causes of severe childhood brain disorders

A team of researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia affiliated with the CHOP Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative have combined clinical information with large-scale genomic data to successfully link characteristic presentations of childhood epilepsies with specific genetic variants.

26 Aug 2020

Depressed adolescents at greater risk of having a heart attack in mid-life

Depression or anxiety in adolescence is linked with a 20% greater likelihood of having a heart attack mid-life, according to research released today at ESC Congress 2020.1

26 Aug 2020

No safe level of caffeine consumption for pregnant women

A new study shows that caffeine consumption by pregnant mothers could harm the fetus and baby. The new study titled, "Maternal caffeine consumption and pregnancy outcomes: a narrative review with implications for advice to mothers and mothers-to-be," was published in the latest issue of the journal British Medical Journal Evidence Based Medicine.

26 Aug 2020

Children born at high altitude smaller at birth and have stunted growth

A new study released this week by Ethiopian researchers shows that children who are born at higher altitudes, such as 1,500m (4,921 ft) above sea level, are more at risk of being smaller at birth and have a stunted growth compared to their counterparts born at lower altitudes. The research is published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

25 Aug 2020

Study examines safety and early outcomes of gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy

In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a gene replacement therapy for the inherited, progressive neuromuscular disease 5q-linked spinal muscular atrophy.

25 Aug 2020

Vitamin D supplements do not prevent severe asthma attacks in children

Contrary to earlier results, vitamin D supplements do not prevent severe asthma attacks in at-risk children, according to the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to test this relationship.

25 Aug 2020

Perspective: COVID-19 human milk research should be conducted without disrupting lactation

Scientists have launched a number of human milk and lactation studies to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted to infants through human milk.

25 Aug 2020

Assessing the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks once schools reopen

A study conducted by researchers at the London School Of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and Leiden University, suggests that only reopening schools to specific age groups would reduce the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being transmitted between schools and subsequently households.

25 Aug 2020

Parental problems are strongly associated with childhood sexual abuse, shows study

A new study has found that adults who had parents who struggled with substance dependence, intimate partner violence and mental illness are more than 10 times more likely to have been victims of childhood sexual abuse than those whose parents did not have these problems, once age and race are taken into account.

25 Aug 2020

Google searches for anxiety skyrocket amid coronavirus pandemic

Just like physical health, it is important to check one’s mental health amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. When countries announced lockdown orders, many people were confined to their homes, away from family and friends.

25 Aug 2020

Living at higher altitudes linked with greater rates of stunting

Residing at higher altitude is associated with greater rates of stunting, even for children living in "ideal-home environments" according to a new study from researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute and Addis Ababa University.

24 Aug 2020

A better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 in children

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, have conducted a study showing that Hispanic ethnicity is associated with an increased risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among children.

24 Aug 2020

COVID-19 mother transmitted virus to baby during pregnancy, report physicians

A pregnant mother who tested positive for COVID-19 transmitted the virus causing the disease to her prematurely born baby, UT Southwestern physicians report. Both were treated and recovered.

24 Aug 2020

Researchers study the impact of school environment on young people's mental health

Younger teenagers in the South West of England felt less anxious and more connected to school when they were away from it during the COVID-19 global pandemic public lockdown, a first-of-its-kind study has found.

24 Aug 2020

Air quality in China improved during COVID lockdown

With the onset of COVID-19 in China, the government placed drastic restrictions on travel and work. This action led to a huge reduction in the number of vehicular movements and factories running. Now, a recent study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment in August 2020 shows this change had an unintended benefit – it cleared the air over northern China dramatically.

23 Aug 2020

Scientific review on on link between air pollution and COVID-19

Researchers at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have conducted a “state-of-the-science” review of the evidence available on potential associations between exposure to air pollution and health outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Aug 2020