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Racial disparities in risk and survival among children with neuroblastoma: Study

Black, Asian, and Native American children are more likely than white and Hispanic children to die after being treated for neuroblastoma, according to new research on the pediatric cancer. The study, of more than 3,500 patients with the disease, is the largest ever to look at racial disparities in risk and survival for the most common solid cancer found in young children.

23 Nov 2010

Aggressive surgery for brain tumors increases survival in children

A new Mayo Clinic study found that children with low-grade brain tumors (gliomas) who undergo aggressive surgery to completely remove the tumor have an increased chance of overall survival. If complete removal is not possible, adding radiation therapy to a less complete surgery provides patients with the same outcomes as a complete removal.

23 Nov 2010

GFAP levels predict brain injury, death in critically ill children on ECMO

Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists have discovered that high blood levels of a protein commonly found in the central nervous system can predict brain injury and death in critically ill children on a form of life support called extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO.

23 Nov 2010

Largest genomic study of human medulloblastomas

Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors of childhood, with 40 to 50 percent overall mortality. One of the greatest challenges in treating them is that they vary substantially from patient to patient. In the largest genomic study of human medulloblastomas to date, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, together with collaborators, have identified six subtypes with distinct molecular "fingerprints" that will improve doctors' ability to direct and individualize treatment.

23 Nov 2010

Mother’s high-fat diet alters fetal genes that regulate circadian rhythm: Study

The link between sleeping and obesity is drawn tighter as a new research published online in the FASEB Journal study shows that what your mother ate when she was pregnant may make you obese or overweight by altering the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm.

23 Nov 2010

Late-preterm babies at increased risk for cognitive, emotional problems

Late-preterm babies - those born between 34 and 36 weeks - are at an increased risk for cognitive and emotional problems, regardless of maternal IQ or demographics, according to new research published by Michigan State University researchers in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics.

23 Nov 2010

Different digestive tract bacteria helps infants digest milk more effectively than adults

Infants are more efficient at digesting and utilizing nutritional components of milk than adults due to a difference in the strains of bacteria that dominate their digestive tracts. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and Utah State University report on genomic analysis of these strains in the November 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology identifying the genes that are most likely responsible for this difference.

23 Nov 2010

Sugar in breast milk promotes colitis in newborn: Study

A sugar found in mouse breast milk promotes the generation of colitis in offspring, according to a study published online on November 22 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine

23 Nov 2010

FDA grants ACT clearance for Phase I/II clinical trial of hESC derived retinal cells in patients with SMD

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application to immediately initiate a Phase I/II multicenter clinical trial using retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat patients with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD), one of the most common forms of juvenile macular degeneration in the world. The decision removes the clinical hold that the FDA had placed on the trial.

22 Nov 2010

Parental divorce during childhood linked to stroke in adulthood

Children who experience a parental divorce are over twice as likely to suffer a stroke at some point in their lives, according to new research presented in New Orleans at The Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

22 Nov 2010

Research shows association between childhood CKD and maternal diabetes, obesity

Children with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are more likely to have mothers who were obese or had diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 43rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition, by Christine W. Hsu, MD (University of Washington, Seattle) and colleagues.

22 Nov 2010

Dollar General joins St. Jude Children's Hospital for Thanks and Giving campaign

This holiday season, Dollar General again joins St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the Thanks and Giving campaign by asking customers to "give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not."

20 Nov 2010

BCIA issues statement regarding CPSC's assertion on safe babywearing

“Our members agree with the CPSC on the importance of educating consumers about proper, safe babywearing techniques. BCIA is currently developing a babywearing safety education program with Health Canada and we hope to do the same with CPSC.”

20 Nov 2010

Children's Surgical Centre offers no-cost surgery for children with frontoethmoidal meningoencephalocele

Frontoethmoidal meningoencephalocele is a type of facial malformation that is rarely seen in developed countries, but is quite common in many Southeast Asian countries, occurring in 1 of every 5,000 live births.

20 Nov 2010

Tips to improve obese children's surgical outcomes and health

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is taking action to educate parents about the increased risk of complications faced by obese children undergoing anesthesia. The number of obese children has doubled in the past two decades and tripled among adolescents and the ASA encourages parents to help improve both the surgical outcomes and long-term health of America's youth.

20 Nov 2010

PaedRegCliNet promotes development of medications for children

Many of the medications used to treat children have been developed almost exclusively for adults and approved for them. This is why pediatricians have been demanding for decades that medications be tailored specifically to the needs of the child's body and adequately tested on children. A regulation from the European Commission called the Pediatric Regulation has set out to solve this problem. Clinical studies involving children should ultimately give way to medications tailored for this age group.

20 Nov 2010

Online interactive world map of maternal health

Researchers from the University of Southampton have helped construct an online interactive world map which gives stark facts and figures about the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and following the birth of their child.

20 Nov 2010

Children with higher waist circumferences more likely to have heart-related disorders: Researchers

In a study of more than 4,500 children, researchers found those with higher waist circumferences had significantly higher pulse pressures, which is known to increase the risk of heart-related disorders, according to an abstract presented today at the American Society of Nephrology's Renal Week conference in Denver.

20 Nov 2010

Researchers develop social competence curriculum for autistic children

As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders continues to increase, the one thing that won't change is the need for those children to develop social skills. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are developing an effective social competence curriculum, with a virtual classroom component, that could help educators meet the demand of this growing population.

20 Nov 2010

Doctors provide tips to protect children from seasonal flu

Doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center want to make sure children are protected from influenza this flu season. The flu is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs caused by a variety of strains of influenza viruses. While the flu typically causes mild symptoms, it can be severe enough to cause hospitalization or even death. Flu most commonly occurs in the winter and early spring.

20 Nov 2010