Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

New, previously unrecognized source of heart stem cells discovered

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston are continuing to document the heart's earliest origins. Now, they have pinpointed a new, previously unrecognized group of stem cells that give rise to cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells. These stem cells, located in the surface of the heart, or epicardium, advance the hope of being able to regenerate injured heart tissue.

23 Jun 2008

New findings show obesity-related complications improve six months following gastric banding procedure

Teenagers' obesity-related medical complications improve just six months after laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, according to outcomes data presented this week.

19 Jun 2008

Children often neglected in HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, Rwandan official says

Children should be placed at the center of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, Agnes Binagwaho, executive secretary of Rwanda's National AIDS Control Commission, said recently, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports.

17 Jun 2008

Compound in grapes and red wine may help battle obesity

Resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, reduces the number of fat cells and may one day be used to treat or prevent obesity, according to a new study. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

FDA advisory panel voices concern over risks of HIV vaccine trials in teenagers

An FDA advisory panel on Monday voiced concern over the potential risks of conducting early HIV vaccine trials among teenagers in the U.S., Bloomberg reports. According to the panel, although such trials are justified in countries where HIV/AIDS is spreading more quickly, the risks might not outweigh the benefits in the U.S.

11 Jun 2008

Oxygen-rich lifesaving efforts pose risk for respiratory infections

Each year, thousands of premature infants battle to breathe. Thanks to life-saving interventions developed in the past couple decades - steroids given to their mothers to stall pre-term labor, mechanical ventilation, air enriched with extra oxygen, and surfactant, a crucial wetting agent that makes breathing less work - most of these newborns survive with enough lung function to grow and go home.

11 Jun 2008

Children in non-English-speaking households experience multiple health disparities

Children in U.S. households where English is not the primary language experience multiple disparities in health care, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

11 Jun 2008

Study recommends development of standards for pediatric doses in nuclear medicine

Results of a recent survey of 13 pediatric hospitals in North America show a lack of universally applied standards for administering radiopharmaceutical doses to children undergoing nuclear medicine examinations, according to an article in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

11 Jun 2008

St. John's wort not effective for treating ADHD

Children and teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were treated with the herb St. John's wort did not have any greater improvement in ADHD symptoms compared to those who received placebo, according to a study in the June 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

11 Jun 2008

Is your tween ready to stay home alone this summer?

Whether it be for two hours or an entire day, millions of tweens - children ages 11 to 13 - will be left home alone this summer, despite their parents' concerns that they may not have the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe at home.

10 Jun 2008

IRIN/PlusNews examines issues surrounding HIV-positive teenagers in Burkina Faso

IRIN/PlusNews on Thursday examined issues surrounding HIV-positive teenagers in Burkina Faso, who are living longer because of antiretroviral treatment and are "expecting to become sexually active" and have children.

10 Jun 2008

Administration proposes additional funding for FDA for fiscal year (FY) 2009

HHS Secretary Leavitt today announced that the Administration is amending its budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to include an additional $275 million for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He called on Congress to act quickly on this budget amendment and pending Administration legislative proposals to strengthen FDA.

9 Jun 2008

Maternal depression, breastfeeding affect infants' sleep

Maternal depression during pregnancy, breastfeeding and a lower socioeconomic status are all associated with less infant sleep duration in the first six months of life, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

9 Jun 2008

FDA grants pediatric exclusivity for UCB's Keppra

UCB has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted pediatric exclusivity for Keppra (levetiracetam). The decision was based on pediatric data submitted to the FDA following a written request in 2001.

8 Jun 2008

Rochester probes drug therapy, parent training for kids with both autism, ADHD

A National Institutes of Health grant awarded earlier today will empower a team of University of Rochester investigators studying if a blend of drug and behavioral therapy can bring relief to the nearly one-fourth of children with autism who also live with symptoms of ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

5 Jun 2008

Role of breastfeeding in preventing infant death, HIV infection in developing countries

In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk - or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries.

5 Jun 2008

New grant to enable University of Rochester to increase HIV research by 25 percent

The University of Rochester today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a team of more than 50 researchers a five-year, $3.2 million grant.

4 Jun 2008

Human stem cells show promise against fatal children's diseases

Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

4 Jun 2008