Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Uncertainty over efficacy of clopidogrel in hemolytic uremic syndrome

Clinical outcomes for children hospitalized with diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome are comparable between those treated with clopidogrel and those who are not, show study findings.

12 Jun 2012

Accumulated CT radiation dose triples pediatric cancer risk

The use of computed tomography scans should be minimized in children, recommend researchers who have found a significantly increased risk for malignancy with repeated imaging.

11 Jun 2012

Urban children more likely to have food allergies

Children living in urban centers have a significantly higher prevalence of food allergies than those living in rural areas, US study data show.

11 Jun 2012

Adolescent mental disorders have repercussions for addiction

Adolescents with mental health disorders are significantly more likely to become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers than those without mental disorders, experts say.

8 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new function for thrombospondin protein

Scientists have discovered a new function for a protein that protects cells during injury and could eventually translate into treatment for conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to Alzheimer's.

8 Jun 2012

Food allergies more prevalent among urban children

Children living in urban centers have a much higher prevalence of food allergies than those living in rural areas, according to a new study, which is the first to map children's food allergies by geographical location in the United States. In particular, kids in big cities are more than twice as likely to have peanut and shellfish allergies compared to rural communities.

8 Jun 2012

Fluency therapy may improve stuttering in Down syndrome

Stuttering among children with Down syndrome may be substantially improved with fluency shaping therapy and parental contingency measures, leading to greater self-confidence, self-esteem, and school participation, suggest Canadian researchers.

7 Jun 2012

BRF to fund research that focuses on sports-related concussive injuries among young children

The Brain Research Foundation (BRF) today announced it will fund research that aims to improve pediatricians' ability to evaluate and manage sports-related concussive injuries among young children, and guide future research regarding the diagnosis, treatment and long term effects of these events.

7 Jun 2012

Young adults, adolescents with mental health disorders more likely to become long-term opioid users

Long-term use and abuse of opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, has markedly increased in the United States in the last two decades. Of note, prescription opioids constitute 86.9 percent of prescription drug misuse among high school students. And last week in a two-day U.S. Food and Drug Administration public meeting, officials questioned the use of long-term opioids for chronic pain due to a lack of evidence for the effectiveness and concerns about the potential risk for addiction.

7 Jun 2012

Novel guidelines manage youth maladaptive aggression

Recommendations for the engagement, assessment, treatment, and management of maladaptive aggression in youth have been developed by US experts to improve treatment planning and selection.

6 Jun 2012

Infants, children ‘susceptible to acetaminophen overdose’

Acute acetaminophen overdose is the most common identifiable cause of acute liver failure in children, warn researchers in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

6 Jun 2012

Cardio-protective drug during cancer treatment may prevent heart damage in children

About 75 percent of children with leukemia who take chemotherapy face life-threatening heart problems as they age, but an international study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center investigator shows that giving a cardio-protective drug during cancer treatment may prevent the damage.

6 Jun 2012

Family members of children with staph infections often harbor drug-resistant germs

Family members of children with a staph infection often harbor a drug-resistant form of the germ, although they don't show symptoms, a team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found.

5 Jun 2012

Survivors of childhood cancers are at increased risk for GI cancers

Survivors of childhood cancers are at an increased risk of another battle with cancer later in life, according to new research published online June 4 by the Annals of Internal Medicine. In the largest study to date of risk for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers among people first diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21, researchers found that childhood cancer survivors develop these malignancies at a rate nearly five times that of the general population.

5 Jun 2012

Algal DHA supplementation benefits during pregnancy and infancy

Positive results from clinical trials exploring algal DHA supplementation during pregnancy and infancy were presented this week at the 10th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) – an international scientific society focused on research of dietary fats, oils and lipids.

2 Jun 2012

‘Fruteros’ outside schools could help improve children’s diet

Allowing mobile fruit and vegetable vendors or “fruteros” to sell their produce outside schools could help children increase their fruit and vegetable consumption, and reduce the risk for childhood obesity, suggest results from a US study.

31 May 2012

Obstetric, perinatal difficulties ‘not linked to bipolar disorder risk’

Results from a US study indicate that obstetric and perinatal difficulties are not associated with an increased risk for bipolar disorder in children.

31 May 2012

Juvenile Arthritis patients may have difficulties achieving educational success

As children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) grow into adulthood, disability due to disease may adversely affect their ability to achieve educational success. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that functional disability impacts educational attainment, which is key to successful employment in adulthood.

31 May 2012

UCLA research projects aim to improve lives of children with serious illnesses

New hope for deadly pediatric brain tumors; opening the door to improved diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in children; and advanced genetic testing to better understand the causes of autism and cancer in kids. These research projects are currently underway at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA under the umbrella of the UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute (CDI), and aim to dramatically improve the lives of children with serious illnesses.

31 May 2012

New guidelines for management of childhood aggression

Mayo Clinic researchers, in collaboration with other research institutions and youth mental health experts, are publishing new guidelines for primary care providers and mental health specialists to manage the common but often complex problem of childhood aggression. The goals include improving diagnosis and care and avoiding inappropriate use of medication.

31 May 2012