Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Precautionary guidelines on flu vaccine safety for allergic children

With the flu season looming and health officials calling for across-the-board immunization, some parents may wonder just how safe the egg-based flu vaccine is for children with allergies. Pretty safe, say pediatricians from Johns Hopkins Children's Center: Even though the flu vaccine contains egg protein, most children with egg and other food allergies can be immunized safely with a few basic precautions.

30 Sep 2010

Breakthrough neuroblastoma treatment

According to a new study the addition of an experimental immunotherapy drug to the standard regimen of care extended the lives and decreased the risk of a disease recurrence in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. This tumor most frequently originates in one of the adrenal glands, but can also develop in nerve tissues in the neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis. It forms 12 percent of cancer-related deaths in children under the age of 15 and half of patients with this type of malignancy have the high-risk form.

29 Sep 2010

Swine flu no longer a threat to Americans: Report

According to the latest research most Americans are immune to the swine flu virus. Results of the study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, published in the journal mBio show that around 59 percent of the 310 million U.S. population has developed immunity to H1N1 either from exposure to similar viruses, vaccination, or natural H1N1 infection.

29 Sep 2010

New program offers options for fertility preservation in children with cancer

It is estimated that 1 in 500 children will be diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer. Fortunately, with the use of aggressive treatment modalities, more than 75% of these children will be cured. Therefore, many of these children and parents are looking beyond the cancer at important quality of life issues and guiding their treatments to assure "normal" post-cancer survivorship.

29 Sep 2010

Children younger than 5 years account for over half of bathtub- and shower-related injuries

Bathtubs and showers are frequently associated with injuries to children. Although interventions have been initiated to prevent injuries due to submersions and hot water scalds, little attention has been paid to slips, trips and falls, which account for more than 80 percent of bathtub- and shower-related injuries.

29 Sep 2010

HHS Secretary announces $320M ACA grants to strengthen health care workforce

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $320 million in grants under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to strengthen the health care workforce. Of those grants, $253 million will go to improve and expand the primary care workforce under the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act.

29 Sep 2010

Misperceptions about flavored and sports beverages

Children who practice healthy lifestyle habits such as eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical activity may be negatively impacting their health because they tend to consume large amounts of flavored and sports beverages containing sugar, according to research at The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

29 Sep 2010

National Jewish Health's liposome-based vaccine receives US patent

National Jewish Health has received a US patent for a new kind of vaccine, which uses a small lipid bubble to deliver an antigen and DNA adjuvant. Chairman of Pediatrics Erwin Gelfand, MD, and former National Jewish Health Professor of Medicine Steve Dow, PhD, developed the new liposome-based adjuvant.

29 Sep 2010

c-Met could be a potential personalized target for metastatic HCC

Targeting c-Met may be a promising personalized treatment method for approximately 45 percent of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have c-Met-positive tumors, according to study results presented at the Fourth AACR International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

29 Sep 2010

National survey shows 60% of U.S. adults not familiar with sepsis

Sixty percent of U.S. adults are not familiar with sepsis, despite the fact that more than 200,000 Americans die from it every year, making sepsis one of the leading causes of death in the nation. Lack of awareness is even higher among adults over age 65, who are at greater risk of sepsis, according to a new national survey sponsored by The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, NY, part of the North Shore–LIJ Health System.

28 Sep 2010

Children with food allergies experience bullying: Study

In the first ever study to assess the social impact of food allergies in children, Mount Sinai researchers have found that approximately 35 percent of children with food allergies, who are over the age of five, were reported to have experienced bullying, teasing, or harassment as a result of their allergies.

28 Sep 2010

Women & Infants Hospital receives $2.1M NIH grant to continue work under COBRE for Perinatal Biology

Women & Infants Hospital has recently received a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue work under the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for Perinatal Biology. Of the 108 COBREs across the country, Women & Infants is the only one specifically focused on developmental research.

28 Sep 2010

BCBC awards $5 million for cell therapy research in type 1 diabetes

Maike Sander, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and cellular & molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has been awarded nearly $5 million by the Beta Cell Biology Consortium (BCBC) to lead an interdisciplinary team in cell therapy research for type 1 diabetes.

28 Sep 2010

Baby formula with genetically modified material condemned by Mums

After controversies regarding the use of genetically modified material in the infant formula S-26, the manufacturer is defending it as activists are storming supermarkets in Melbourne and Sydney.

27 Sep 2010

GBS pathogen suppresses immune cell function in newborn infants: Research

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a bacterial pathogen that causes sepsis and meningitis in newborn infants, is able to shut down immune cell function in order to promote its own survival, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers find daycare increases chronic lung disease in children

Exposure to common viruses in daycare puts children with a chronic lung condition caused by premature birth at risk for serious respiratory infections, according to a study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published in the October issue of Pediatrics.

27 Sep 2010

Double-Balloon Enteroscopy shows potential benefits in children

The use of device assisted enteroscopy, a technique that allows complete examination of the small bowel, may be just as successful pediatrics as it has been in adult medicine, according to a study from Nationwide Children's Hospital.

27 Sep 2010

Study finds inconsistent surveillance method for CA-BSI infections

A new study looking at how hospitals account for the number of pediatric patients who develop catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) found substantial inconsistencies in the methods used to report the number of patients who develop these infections.

27 Sep 2010

Concerted effort yields significant progress in reducing depression, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis in women

A concerted effort to boost research on women's health over the last two decades has lessened the burden of disease and reduced deaths among women due to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and cervical cancer, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The effort has yielded less but still significant progress in reducing the effects of depression, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis on women, added the committee that wrote the report.

24 Sep 2010

Center for Prenatal Pediatrics: A comprehensive care center for women and children

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center today announced the opening of The Carmen and John Thain Center for Prenatal Pediatrics. The new unit will provide high-risk pregnant women and their babies the most comprehensive care currently available, all in one location.

24 Sep 2010