Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

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

Health care professionals seeing more children with fatty liver disease; condition prevalent among Hispanics

As many as 2% to 5% of children older than age five -- most of whom are obese -- are thought to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and the condition seems to be most prevalent among Hispanic children, the AP/San Mateo Daily Journal reports.

4 Sep 2008

Ondansetron helps reduce vomiting, hospital admissions in children with gastroenteritis

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have demonstrated that a drug called ondansetron helps reduce vomiting, the need for intravenous fluids and hospital admissions in children with acute gastroenteritis.

3 Sep 2008

Human herpes virus 6 weaves itself into the DNA transferred from parents to babies

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes.

2 Sep 2008

Discovery of novel candidate gene for inflammatory bowel diseases

A study of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in children has identified a gene that influences whether children get these diseases early in life, and points to a potential new target for treatment.

2 Sep 2008

New guidelines for dealing with earwax

Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists in the U.S. have come up with new guidelines for dealing with earwax.

2 Sep 2008

Most vaccine-allergic children can still be safely vaccinated

With close monitoring and a few standard precautions, nearly all children with known or suspected vaccine allergies can be safely immunized, according to a team of vaccine safety experts led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Writing in the September issue of Pediatrics, the multicenter research team offers pediatricians a step-by-step tool for quickly identifying children with allergic reactions to vaccines, and a much-needed guide, they say, to safely immunize those who are allergic.

2 Sep 2008

Earwax removal - new guidelines

The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue the first comprehensive clinical guidelines to help health care practitioners identify patients with cerumen (commonly referred to as earwax) impaction. The guidelines emphasize evidence-based management of cerumen impaction by clinicians, and inform patients of the purpose of ear wax in hearing health.

1 Sep 2008

New genetic link to inflammatory bowel diseases discovered

A study which entailed scientists trawling through the genetic code of thousands of people, has revealed two new genes involved in childhood inflammatory bowel disease, a painful condition that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).

1 Sep 2008

Discovery of new genes for inflammatory bowel disease in children

Researchers have discovered two new genes that increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood.

31 Aug 2008

Highly active antiretroviral therapy might increase risk of asthma in young children

Highly active antiretroviral therapy might increase the risk of asthma among children because of the therapy's effect on the immune system and CD4+ T cell levels, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Reuters reports.

29 Aug 2008