Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Australian discovers gene for deadly Kawasaki disease

An Australian researcher has identified genes which could make some children more susceptible to the deadly Kawasaki disease - an inflammatory condition in young children that can damage blood vessels.

12 Jan 2009

Novel low-cost immunotherapy for cancer cells

Molecules of sugar sitting on the surface of cancer cells are keys to the development of a new vaccine aimed at both treating and stopping the spread of certain types of cancers called carcinomas, which include prostate, breast, ovarian and lung, among others.

8 Jan 2009

New nasal spray vaccine shown to be effective against botulism

A preclinical study found a new nasal spray vaccine to provide complete protection against a major botulism toxin, according to a study published today in the Nature journal Gene Therapy .

8 Jan 2009

Gene abnormality found to predict childhood leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

8 Jan 2009

Gene mutations found to predict acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

7 Jan 2009

Fighting childhood obesity should be a family affair

Fighting childhood obesity, which is a serious concern in our country, should be looked upon as a family affair.

7 Jan 2009

New drug being tested for Fragile X syndrome

A pilot trial of an oral drug therapy called fenobam has shown promising initial results and could be a potential new treatment option for adult patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS).

6 Jan 2009

Many babies with simple febrile seizures can avoid spinal tap

When babies develop a fever high enough or abrupt enough to cause a seizure, frightened parents often rush them to the emergency room, where their workup frequently includes a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out bacterial meningitis.

6 Jan 2009

Hand-held game devices lower fitness in children

If videogames like "Madden NFL" didn't exist, 12-year-old Tom might go outside and toss around a real football - and he'd have a better chance of sprinting for a touchdown without getting winded.

6 Jan 2009

Maternity leave appears to decrease cesarean deliveries and increase breastfeeding

Two new studies led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggest that taking maternity leave before and after the birth of a baby is a good investment in terms of health benefits for both mothers and newborns.

5 Jan 2009

Prolonged nevirapine in breast-fed babies prevents HIV infection but leads to drug-resistant HIV

Babies born to HIV-positive mothers and given the antiretroviral drug nevirapine through the first six weeks of life to prevent infection via breast-feeding are at high risk for developing drug-resistant HIV if they get infected anyway, a team of researchers report.

5 Jan 2009

Many teens discuss health risk behaviors on social networking websites

In a pair of related studies released by Seattle Children's Research Institute and published in the January 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine , researchers found that 54 percent of adolescents frequently discuss high-risk activities including sexual behavior, substance abuse or violence using MySpace, the popular social networking Web site (SNS).

5 Jan 2009

Researchers engineer pancreatic cell transplants to evade immune response

In a finding that could significantly influence the way type 1 diabetes is treated, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a technique for transplanting insulin-producing pancreatic cells that causes only a minimal immune response in recipients.

1 Jan 2009

Medication errors among adults and children with cancer in the outpatient setting common

Seven percent of adults and 19 percent of children taking chemotherapy drugs in outpatient clinics or at home were given the wrong dose or experienced other mistakes involving their medications, according to a new study supported in part by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality through its Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics program.

1 Jan 2009

Need another reason to add "Quit Smoking" to your New Year's resolutions list?

How about the fact that even if you choose to smoke outside of your home or only smoke in your home when your children are not there - thinking that you're keeping them away from second-hand smoke - you're still exposing them to toxins?

30 Dec 2008

Family rejection of lesbian, gay and bisexual children linked to poor health in early childhood

For the first time, researchers have established a clear link between family rejection of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adolescents and negative health outcomes in early adulthood.

30 Dec 2008

90% of overweight children may not be properly diagnosed

Despite recent widespread media attention given to studies that have indicated one-third of American children have a weight problem, a new study shows just one-third of children who are overweight or obese actually receive that diagnosis by a pediatrician.

30 Dec 2008

Targeted nanoparticles deliver therapeutic DNA to cancer cells

Given that cancer is a disease caused by gene mutations, cancer researchers have been striving to develop gene therapies aimed at correcting these mutations. However, these efforts have been hobbled by the difficulty in safely and efficiently delivering anticancer genes to tumors. Nanoparticles, however, may solve these delivery issues, and two recently published studies, using two different types of nanoparticles, lend credence to that hypothesis.

29 Dec 2008

Partnerships take aim at improving children's asthma

Asthma is one the main causes of pediatric hospital admissions, both nationally and locally. Last year, there were 900 asthma-related visits to the Pediatric Emergency Department at Golisano Children's Hospital. Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong is working to lower that number.

29 Dec 2008

Foreign-born workers report lower rate of non-fatal work-related injuries than U.S.-born workers

A new study funded by U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that foreign-born workers reported a lower rate of non-fatal work-related injuries than U.S.-born workers, based on data collected from the National Health Interview Survey from 1997 to 2005.

22 Dec 2008