Child Health News

RSS

Early life exposure to green space could have beneficial effects on cognitive function

Primary schoolchildren who have been raised in homes surrounded by more greenspace tend to present with larger volumes of white and grey matter in certain areas of the brain.

23 Feb 2018

Asthmatics have lower degree of DNA methylation in certain immune cells

Children with asthma have epigenetic DNA changes in certain cells of their immune system, a major international study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows. The finding, which is presented in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, can one day lead to improved diagnostics and treatment.

23 Feb 2018

Smart Cells launches social campaign to support Rare Disease Day 2018

There are more than 6000 known rare diseases and over 30 million people living daily with them. 28th February marks Rare Disease Day 2018, a date that highlights awareness around these conditions and the need for more research into them.

From Smart Cells International Ltd 23 Feb 2018

Researchers describe important step toward gene therapy for patients with Sandhoff disease

Babies with the rare, deadly genetic disorder Sandhoff disease begin to miss developmental milestones just months after birth. Lacking muscle tone, they never learn to sit up, develop heads too large to lift and eventually suffer uncontrollable seizures. There is no cure.

22 Feb 2018

C-sections and gut bacteria linked to childhood obesity risk

New CHILD Study research has found that overweight and obese women are more like to have children who are overweight or obese by three years of age--and that bacteria in the gut may be partially to blame.

22 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on biological mechanisms that drive rare pediatric neurogenetic disorders

Researchers studying a rare genetic disorder that causes severe, progressive neurological problems in childhood have discovered insights into biological mechanisms that drive the disease, along with early clues that an amino acid supplement might offer a targeted therapy.

22 Feb 2018

After shooting, ‘honor how kids want to deal with their feelings’

With so much coverage of last week's grisly school shooting in Parkland, Fla., students, parents and others are struggling to cope.

22 Feb 2018

Scientists discover new treatment approach to curb severe myocarditis

The outcome of viral myocarditis is closely associated with the immune response of the affected individual. An inhibitor of the immunoproteasome, a protein degradation complex in immunocompetent cells, reduces the extent of the inflammation and thus also the damage to the heart during myocarditis.

22 Feb 2018

New study identifies novel molecular biomarkers of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia, a sudden pregnancy complication that can interfere with the blood flow to the placenta and possibly to the fetus, can lead to low birth weight, prematurity and even death.

22 Feb 2018

First African child vaccinated with new typhoid conjugate vaccine

Today the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development is proud to be part of vaccine history in Africa.

22 Feb 2018

Study shows effects of emotions on children's eating habits

A University of Texas at Dallas psychologist has examined the preconceptions about the effects of emotions on children's eating habits, creating the framework for future studies of how dietary patterns evolve in early childhood.

22 Feb 2018

Iron deficiency early in life can have long-lasting consequences for the brain

Iron deficiency in the first four weeks of a piglet's life - equivalent to roughly four months in a human infant - impairs the development of key brain structures, scientists report. The abnormalities remain even after weeks of iron supplementation begun later in life, the researchers found.

22 Feb 2018

Study reveals increased disease risk after early heart surgery

Infections and autoimmune diseases are more common among people who have undergone heart surgery as children and had their thymus removed at the same time, which is often done to get access to the heart. This is evident in a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

21 Feb 2018

Researchers target abnormal epigenetic mechanisms involved in childhood cancers

Several childhood cancer cell types show features of immature neural cells, and there is evidence suggesting that these tumors may arise from neural crest stem cells that underwent abnormal changes during embryonic development.

20 Feb 2018

Postnatal depression impacts mother-child relationships for longer time frame

PND is well-known to have an adverse effect on mothers' relationships with their children. This has a subsequent impact on child development from early infancy to adolescence and influences emotional, cognitive, and physical development in children.

20 Feb 2018

New computational method helps narrow down genetic targets for autism diagnosis

Autism is a spectrum of closely related symptoms involving behavioral, social and cognitive deficits. Early detection of autism in children is key to producing the best outcomes; however, searching for the genetic causes of autism is complicated by various symptoms found within the spectrum.

20 Feb 2018

Father's age can affect offspring lifespan, mice study shows

How does the father's age at conception affect his children? Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease and fellow scientists have studied this question in mice.

20 Feb 2018

Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy could protect against childhood obesity

Every parent wants to give their child the best start in life, but what if that consideration needed to happen before the baby was even born?

From BetterYou Ltd 20 Feb 2018

Autism could be predicted from blood or urine tests soon

Thousands of children are being diagnosed with autism on the basis of tests that are mainly based on the behaviour of the child and his or her responses to the tests and behavioural assessments. In short, there are no blood tests or urine tests that can be used to diagnose autism.

19 Feb 2018

Safe sleep recommendations for parents that may help reduce child’s risk of SUID

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) is the leading cause of death among infants one month to one year of age, with more than 3,500 infants dying unexpectedly each year. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a major contributor.

19 Feb 2018