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'Helping Babies Breathe' program may help save newborns' lives, studies show

"Training midwives and other birth attendants to help babies start breathing immediately after birth may prevent stillbirths and newborn deaths in the developing world, two new studies suggest," Reuters reports, noting, "So-called birth asphyxia -- when babies are born not breathing -- is one of the major causes of newborn death in regions with limited resources, researchers said."

24 Jan 2013

Parents not very concerned about misuse of narcotic pain medicines by children and teens

Despite data on rising rates of abuse and overdoses of narcotic pain medicines across all age groups, in a new poll from the University of Michigan, most parents said they are not very concerned about misuse of these medicines by children and teens.

24 Jan 2013

Increased resources needed to continue progress lowering child mortality rates

"The last decade has seen extraordinary progress with child mortality rates coming down significantly all over the world. Yet 6.9 million children still die each year, most from preventable causes," Raymond Chambers, founder and co-chair of Malaria No More and the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for malaria, writes in a Forbes opinion piece, published in conjunction with the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

24 Jan 2013

Smoking could be reduced by plain packaging of tobacco products: Study

Experts believe that plain packaging of tobacco products would cut smoking, a new study has found. Tobacco control experts from around the world estimate that two years after the introduction of generic packaging the number of adult smokers would be reduced by one percentage point (in the UK - from 21 to 20%), and the percentage of children trying smoking would be reduced by three percentage points (in the UK - from 27 to 24%).

24 Jan 2013

Researchers pinpoint several inherited mutations in autism

While autism clearly runs in some families, few inherited genetic causes have been found. A major reason is that these causes are so varied that it's hard to find enough people with a given mutation to establish a clear pattern. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have pinpointed several inherited mutations—among the first to be identified—through an unusual approach: using whole-exome sequencing to study large Middle Eastern families with autism.

23 Jan 2013

Taking antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children

Research published in The Lancet Neurology shows that taking the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children up to the age of six.

23 Jan 2013

Strong link between mortality and reduced innate immune responsiveness in critically ill patients

Investigators from 15 children's medical centers, including Nationwide Children's Hospital, observed and evaluated critically ill children with influenza to evaluate the relationships between levels of systemic inflammation, immune function and likelihood to die from the illness. The study appears in the January issue of Critical Care Medicine.

23 Jan 2013

New targeted enzyme replacement therapy can treat X-linked myotubular myopathy

A collaborative research team including a Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) pediatric neuropathologist successfully mitigated some of the effects of a muscular disease by using a new targeted enzyme replacement therapy strategy from 4s3 Bioscience.

23 Jan 2013

Gene therapy does not slow or halt progression of cell loss in Leber congenital amaurosis

Independent clinical trials, including one conducted at the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine, have reported safety and efficacy for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a congenital form of blindness caused by mutations in a gene (RPE65) required for recycling vitamin A in the retina. Inherited retinal degenerative diseases were previously considered untreatable and incurable.

23 Jan 2013

Exposure of human f-tal testicles to bisphenol A reduces testosterone production

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound that is included in the composition of plastics and resins. It is used, for example, in the manufacture of food containers such as bottles and babies' feeding bottles. It is also found in the protective films used inside food and drink cans and on till receipts where it used as a discloser. Significant levels of BPA have also been found in human blood, urine, amniotic fluid and placentas.

23 Jan 2013

Study finds 70% increase in type 1 diabetes among very young Philadelphian children

Over the past two decades, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in very young children under age 5 has increased by 70 percent in the city of Philadelphia, according to research from a University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing researcher who currently maintains the only US registry of diabetes in children that has collected data continuously since 1985.

23 Jan 2013

African health officials, child health experts gather for child survival summit in Ethiopia

"Representatives from African health ministries, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and child health experts gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 16-18 to share strategies to increase child survival rates," IIP Digital reports.

23 Jan 2013

Health workers resume polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan; Bill Gates discusses polio efforts in interview

"Health workers are back on the streets of Peshawar in Pakistan, defying death threats so they can vaccinate children against polio," Al Jazeera reports. "Nine of their colleagues were killed last month, and now they have been given extra security," the news service notes. "Despite the risks, many health workers say they must carry out this important task," Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid states in an accompanying video.

23 Jan 2013

Research on dystrophin gene sequence could lead to treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is caused by the largest human gene, a complex chemical leviathan that has confounded scientists for decades. Research conducted at the University of Missouri and described this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified significant sections of the gene that could provide hope to young patients and families.

23 Jan 2013

Single dose of seasonal flu vaccine is safe for egg allergic children

Egg allergic children, including those with a history of anaphylaxis to egg, can safely receive a single dose of the seasonal influenza vaccine, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.

23 Jan 2013

Nationwide Children's to establish EC145 helicopter for neonatal and pediatric transports

Nationwide Children's Hospital is expanding their critical care transport services by establishing a fully dedicated helicopter for neonatal and pediatric transports.

23 Jan 2013

Anatomy of certain brain areas can predict children's language abilities at 1 year of age

Using a brain-imaging technique that examines the entire infant brain, researchers have found that the anatomy of certain brain areas - the hippocampus and cerebellum - can predict children's language abilities at 1 year of age.

22 Jan 2013

CHLA, House Research Institute receive FDA approval to begin pediatric ABI clinical trial

L.A.-based House Research Institute and Children's Hospital Los Angeles announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given final approval to begin a clinical trial of an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) procedure for children.

22 Jan 2013

Suppression of immune system function can occur in influenza patients

22 Jan 2013

Physical activity policies: an interview with Dr Nick Cavill

Our bodies were designed to be active. The human body is not meant to spend long periods of time sitting but that’s what our modern lives have led us to do. The result has been the increase in obesity seen across the world, and up to 20 other conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

22 Jan 2013

Child Health News

'Helping Babies Breathe' program may help save newborns' lives, studies show

Parents not very concerned about misuse of narcotic pain medicines by children and teens

Increased resources needed to continue progress lowering child mortality rates

Smoking could be reduced by plain packaging of tobacco products: Study

Researchers pinpoint several inherited mutations in autism

Taking antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children

Strong link between mortality and reduced innate immune responsiveness in critically ill patients

New targeted enzyme replacement therapy can treat X-linked myotubular myopathy

Gene therapy does not slow or halt progression of cell loss in Leber congenital amaurosis

Exposure of human f-tal testicles to bisphenol A reduces testosterone production

Study finds 70% increase in type 1 diabetes among very young Philadelphian children

African health officials, child health experts gather for child survival summit in Ethiopia

Health workers resume polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan; Bill Gates discusses polio efforts in interview

Research on dystrophin gene sequence could lead to treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Single dose of seasonal flu vaccine is safe for egg allergic children

Nationwide Children's to establish EC145 helicopter for neonatal and pediatric transports

Anatomy of certain brain areas can predict children's language abilities at 1 year of age

CHLA, House Research Institute receive FDA approval to begin pediatric ABI clinical trial

Suppression of immune system function can occur in influenza patients

Physical activity policies: an interview with Dr Nick Cavill

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

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