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Nigeria can eradicate polio with international support

"Nigeria is one of only three countries -- along with Afghanistan and Pakistan -- that remains blighted by polio," Aliko Dangote, founder and CEO of the Dangote Group and chair of the Dangote Foundation, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Blogs respond to attacks against polio workers in Pakistan

The following blog posts were published in response to a series of attacks against polio workers in Pakistan this week, which have left eight dead since Monday.

21 Dec 2012

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting.

21 Dec 2012

Improvements in child survival a 'sweeping accomplishment'

"There is reason for optimism about the health of the world's youngest," columnist Tina Rosenberg writes in the New York Times "Opinionator" blog, noting, "A massive study published last week called the Global Burden of Disease report found that in the past 20 years, the death rate of children under five has dropped in every country in the world save three -- Kuwait, Tonga and Zimbabwe."

21 Dec 2012

New Nationwide Children's exercise program for pediatric cancer survivors

There are many health effects that a patient may need to overcome after winning a battle against cancer. Cancer treatments can affect the patient's balance, agility, coordination, prompt weight gain and other physical ailments. At Nationwide Children's Hospital, beating cancer doesn't mark the end of a child's treatment regimen. A new exercise program at the hospital helps pediatric cancer survivors and those in remission regain both physical strength and confidence.

21 Dec 2012

CMS awards $306M to states for enrolling more kids in Medicaid

The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday awarded $306 million in bonuses to 23 states for enrolling more children in Medicaid. The move is meant to help offset the expense of covering more kids in the state-federal health care program.

21 Dec 2012

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the killing of health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio in a U.N.-backed campaign 'cruel, senseless and inexcusable,'" the Associated Press reports, noting, "Ban said at his year-end news conference on Wednesday that the eight killed were among thousands across Pakistan 'working selflessly to achieve the historic goal of polio eradication.'"

21 Dec 2012

Report: States underprepared to meet public health needs during a crisis

The report by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that although some states have improved their preparedness, gaps persist largely because of state budget cuts.

21 Dec 2012

Mayo Clinic to receive Biomarkers of Gut Function grant

Mayo Clinic announced today that it will receive funding through the Biomarkers of Gut Function and Health program within the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative. This initiative was launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to overcome persistent bottlenecks preventing the creation of new and better health solutions for the developing world. William Faubion, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, will continue to pursue a research project titled "Gut Permeability in Environmental Enteropathy."

21 Dec 2012

Exercise and mental health: an interview with Professor Nanette Mutrie

Perhaps we should first of all clear up the definition of exercise. In public health terms it is more common to use the phrase ‘physical activity’ because this phrase encompasses all kinds of movement- indeed anything we do above sitting and resting levels.

21 Dec 2012

New technique may prevent inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children

A joint team of scientists from The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has developed a technique that may prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children.

21 Dec 2012

Kenya working to integrate PMTCT services into maternal, child health care clinics

"Health programs integrating services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV into regular maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) clinics, rather than operating PMTCT services as stand-along programs, are showing positive results in Kenya, experts say," PlusNews reports.

21 Dec 2012

USAID releases Action Plan on Children in Adversity

On Wednesday, USAID, "along with representatives from seven government agencies and departments, launched the first-ever, whole-of-government strategic guidance on international assistance for children in adversity," a USAID press release reports.

21 Dec 2012

New technique to directly image biological structures at atomic levels

Investigators at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have invented a way to directly image biological structures at their most fundamental level and in their natural habitats. The technique is a major advancement toward the ultimate goal of imaging biological processes in action at the atomic level.

21 Dec 2012

Maternal vitamin D deficiency could cause low birth weight

Women deficient in vitamin D early in their pregnancies are more likely to deliver babies with lower birth weights, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health research reveals.

20 Dec 2012

Proteins detected in urine may enable diagnosis of Kawasaki disease

A set of proteins detected in urine by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital may prove to be the first biomarkers for Kawasaki disease, an uncommon but increasingly prevalent disease which causes inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to enlarged coronary arteries and even heart attacks in some children.

20 Dec 2012

Misdiagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD can jeopardize patient care

On the surface, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear very similar, with impaired attention, memory, or behavioral control. But Prof. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's School of Psychological Sciences argues that these two neuropsychological disorders have very different roots - and there are enormous consequences if they are mistaken for each other.

20 Dec 2012

Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan

"Three workers in a polio eradication campaign were shot in Pakistan on Wednesday, and two of them were killed, the latest in an unprecedented string of attacks over the past three days that has partially halted the U.N.-backed campaign," Reuters reports.

20 Dec 2012

Science supports early interventions for children in adversity

Neil Boothby, U.S. government special adviser and senior coordinator to the USAID administrator on children in adversity, writes in a USAID "IMPACTblog" post that the international community has scientific evidence and empirical data "that sho[w] investments made early in the lives of children yield greater returns than at any other point in the life cycle."

20 Dec 2012

Household rules can help parents resolve conflicts and guard children's mental health

Holiday presents will soon be under the tree for millions of adolescents. With those gifts may come sibling squabbles over violations of personal space, such as unwanted borrowing of a fashionable clothing item, or arguments over fairness, such as whose turn it is to play a new video game. Those squabbles represent two specific types of sibling conflict that can have different effects on a youth's emotional health, according to a multi-year study by a University of Missouri psychologist.

20 Dec 2012