Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Simple blood test could help detect serious bacterial infections in babies

A simple blood test may help detect serious bacterial infections (SBIs) like urinary tract infections and blood stream infections in young infants who come to the emergency department (ED) with fevers that have no clear cause.

6 Oct 2008

Better air ventilation in infants' bedrooms linked to reduced SIDS risk

Infants who slept in a bedroom with a fan ventilating the air had a 72 percent lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome compared to infants who slept in a bedroom without a fan, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study appears in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

6 Oct 2008

Parents' expectations influence children's asthma

According to new research children with asthma whose parents have high expectations for their ability to function normally, are less likely to have symptoms than other children dealing with the condition.

6 Oct 2008

Reading the right book helps obese kids lose weight

Researchers at Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina have looked at the effect of literature on obese adolescents and discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

6 Oct 2008

Canadian program provides care to HIV-positive pregnant women, aims to reduce mother-to-child transmission

The CP/Yahoo! News on Tuesday examined the Positive Pregnancy Programme, a Canadian initiative created to provide HIV-positive pregnant women with care, resources and support.

5 Oct 2008

Medicines for Malaria venture launches five-year plan for new drugs

Medicines for Malaria Venture has outlined a $600 million, five-year plan to develop new malaria drugs, SciDev.net reports. The plan was launched in conjunction with the release last week of the Global Malaria Action Plan, which aims to eradicate malaria worldwide.

5 Oct 2008

Statin-induced muscle disorders are focus of $2.5 million in grants from NIH

Approximately 200,000 of the 38 million people in the U.S. who take statins to treat high cholesterol may develop life-threatening muscle disease.

2 Oct 2008

Obsessive compulsive disorder evident as early as age four

Researchers in the U.S. say children as young as four can develop full-blown obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

1 Oct 2008

Kids' hectic activity programs stress out parents

In an age when many parents are struggling to find a balance between their offspring's out of school activities and their own needs and pleasures, new research has found that as far as middle-class children are concerned, these organized activities are linked to positive outcomes in school, emotional development, family life and behaviour.

30 Sep 2008

New way to control protein activity could lead to cancer therapies

Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to quickly and reversibly fine-tune the activity of individual proteins in cells and living mammals, providing a powerful new laboratory tool for identifying - more precisely than ever before - the functions of different proteins.

28 Sep 2008

Abortion rate declines to lowest level since 1974; disparities persist, study finds

Although abortion rates have declined among all racial and ethnic groups and are at the lowest level since 1974, the rate for black and Hispanic women remains three to five times higher than that of whites, according to an analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, the Washington Post reports.

24 Sep 2008

Discovery of promising new chemotherapy target for a deadly form of leukemia

Cancer researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a promising new chemotherapy target for a deadly form of leukemia. Their discovery hinges on a novel "double agent" role for a molecular signal that regulates cell growth.

17 Sep 2008

Trabectedin shows promise for ovarian cancer

Women with recurrent ovarian cancer can be helped by an experimental therapy using a drug already touted for its ability to fight other cancers, a finding that provides hope for improved treatment of this deadly disease.

15 Sep 2008

Parents of dying newborns need clearer explanation of options

Parent-doctor discussions about whether to maintain or withdraw life support from terminally ill or severely premature newborns are so plagued by miscommunication and misunderstanding that they might as well be in different languages, according to a small but potentially instructive new study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center reported in the September issue of Pediatrics.

15 Sep 2008

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

Depression is common among teenage and young adult orphans in Rwanda who head households and provide care for younger children, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Tulane University that was published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the New York Times reports.

11 Sep 2008

Houston Chronicle examines Baylor pediatric HIV/AIDS program in Burkina Faso

The Houston Chronicle on Saturday examined the Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

10 Sep 2008

Mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight

A mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight in low income households with sufficient food, according to a new Iowa State University study published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the professional journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

9 Sep 2008

Pfizer to withdraw global marketing applications for Dalbavancin to conduct a new trial

Pfizer Inc today announced it will globally withdraw all dalbavancin marketing applications for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections in adults, including the U.S. new drug application (NDA) and the European marketing authorization application (MAA).

9 Sep 2008

Bullying parents' top concern for obese kids

As the new school year begins, many parents with overweight and obese children are worried about how their kids will be treated by other students on the playground and in the classroom.

8 Sep 2008

Low-birth-weight children should have their blood pressure checked

Blood pressure in low-birth-weight children younger than 3 years of age not only can be measured but should be, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

4 Sep 2008