Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Obstructive sleep apnea starts from the first year of life

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in very young children may cause some of the adverse cardiovascular health consequences seen in older children and adults with the condition, according to researchers in Israel, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

21 May 2008

FDA approves Entereg (alvimopan) to restore bowel function

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Entereg (alvimopan) today to accelerate the restoration of normal bowel function in patients 18 years and up who have undergone partial large or small bowel resection surgery. Entereg will be used in hospitalized patients who can receive no more than 15 doses.

20 May 2008

Ideal treatment for potentially fatal heart condition changes with age

Doctors now make more informed decisions on how to treat an electrical disorder of the heart - be it with drugs, an implanted device or nothing - thanks to a series of decades-long, Rochester-based studies.

20 May 2008

Chemically modified protein may help people with hard-to-treat hemophilia

Pathologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have developed a chemically modified protein that may help people with a hard-to-treat form of a genetic bleeding disorder known as Hemophilia A. The discovery and the results of pre-clinical tests appear in the May 2 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

19 May 2008

An improved gene therapy agent from University of Florida

Replacing one amino acid on the surface of a virus that shepherds corrective genes into cells could be the breakthrough scientists have needed to make gene therapy a more viable option for treating genetic diseases such as hemophilia, University of Florida researchers say.

19 May 2008

Ashwell receptor plays key role in reducing coagulation abnormalities during infection and sepsis

In research that solves the longest-standing mystery in glycobiology - a field that studies complex sugar chains called glycans - researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a molecule in the liver of all animals, called the Ashwell receptor, is critical in helping the body fight off the abnormal and lethal blood clotting caused by bacterial infection.

19 May 2008

Separation from parents linked with learning trouble in kids

In the wake of divorce, illness, violence and other problems that can unsettle homes, countless young children are liable to experience temporary separations from one or both parents before packing their knapsack for kindergarten. Published in the May/June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, a new, community-wide study from Rochester, New York, warns that such kids are at increased risk for learning difficulties and that these separations are good predictors of which children may require special educational interventions to succeed.

18 May 2008

Too much water raises seizure risk in babies

It's a recurrent summer-time scenario in the pediatric emergency room and doctors from Johns Hopkins Children's are sounding the alarm on it: An otherwise healthy infant is brought in by panicked parents after suffering a seizure, which turns out to be caused by drinking too much water.

15 May 2008

Pediatric obesity program effectively improves outcomes for kids

A multidisciplinary pediatric weight management program can improve the weight status of high-risk patients, according to Joseph Skelton, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist and Director of the Pediatric Weight Management program (called Brenner FIT) at Brenner Children's Hospital.

15 May 2008

Pediatric society leaders, health policy experts consider sisparities in children's health as top priority for political candidates

Top policy and research experts and leaders of seven pediatric societies last week convened in Hawaii at a public symposium about health care and poverty issues facing U.S. children and adolescents as part of an effort to make the issues a top priority for national and state election candidates this year, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports.

13 May 2008

Chicago Tribune magazine examines HIV/AIDS among children, adolescents in U.S.

The Chicago Tribune Magazine on Sunday examined HIV/AIDS among children and adolescents in the U.S. According to the Tribune, there are about 6,000 children and young adults living with HIV/AIDS in the country.

13 May 2008

Three quarters of child car deaths could have been prevented in Australia

In what will come as quite shocking news, Australian researchers say that almost three-quarters of child deaths in car accidents could have been prevented if seatbelts had been properly fitted.

13 May 2008

Would you let your child participate in medical research?

Advances in medicine - new treatments, cures, vaccines and medicines - are driven by research involving humans. But when it comes to medical research that requires children to be involved, researchers often struggle to find participants.

13 May 2008

CQ's Carey looks at new Medicare marketing guidelines, health care provisions added to supplemental war spending bill, House panel approval of health care bills

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines proposed marketing guidelines for private Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare and Medicaid provisions that Republicans want removed from a supplemental war spending bill, and a House panel's approval of several health care-related measures in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

13 May 2008

Implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios laws in California is successful, says American Society of Registered Nurses

In a national online survey conducted by the American Society of Registered Nurses (ASRN.org), 56% of the 761 Registered Nurses surveyed on March 26 that worked under nurse-to-patient ratios said that due to the implementation of the ratios, they had more time for breaks. In a separate survey, 69% said they had more time for personal care of their patients.

11 May 2008

Childhood and adolescent obesity impacts cardiac health

Study findings presented at the May 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies and Asian Society for Pediatric Research Joint Meeting indicate that childhood and adolescent obesity negatively impacts vascular endothelial function, which relates to cardiac health.

11 May 2008