Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Parents are increasingly placing their children in child safety restraints during automobile trips

Parents are increasingly placing their children in child safety restraints during automobile trips, according to a national study of children in car crashes.

3 May 2004

New technique to deliver gene therapy to soft-tissue tumors

Using new research and technology that shows bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) will engraft at the site of a tumor and contribute to the growth of stromal fibroblasts (the healthy tissue surrounding a tumor)

2 May 2004

Intranasal influenza vaccine may help induce broader immunity in children than the traditional flu shot

MedImmune, Inc. has announced clinical data showing that a live, attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV) may help induce broader immunity in children against drifted influenza strains when compared to the traditional flu shot (TIV).

2 May 2004

Once expected to die in early childhood, children born with HIV are now surviving into their teens

Once expected to die in early childhood, children born with HIV are now surviving into their teens and early adulthood thanks to research advances over the past decade. However, it's also likely these children will develop drug resistance due to sequential exposure to HIV treatments, including antiretroviral (ARV) therapies.

2 May 2004

Botox helps children with cerebral palsy

Botox, or botulinum toxin, offers a new, non-surgical option for improving the upper extremity function of children with cerebral palsy (CP), report researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. L. Andrew Koman, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Brenner Children’s Hospital, and his team recently completed a study using Botox to treat muscle spasticity of the arm and hand in children with CP.

1 May 2004

Baby's first eating habits linked to mother's eating habits

Mealtime is a nightmare, the baby won’t eat what’s on his highchair, and instead he seems to grab for whatever mom and dad have on their plates. For many parents it’s a familiar and frustrating story.

1 May 2004

Family-based diabetes self-management leads to better health

When kids with diabetes approach the teenage years, their diabetes management tends to become more challenging. It’s even more difficult for economically disadvantaged kids.

1 May 2004

Insulin pumps control diabetes better than shots

Adults and older kids with diabetes who use a pump to deliver insulin have better control of their diabetes and more flexibility during mealtimes than when they relied on daily insulin shots.

1 May 2004

Breastfeeding helps against low weight infants and infection

A new study shows that human milk protects extremely low birth weight infants from developing sepsis -- an overwhelming infection and a leading cause of illness and death in these tiny babies.

1 May 2004

Immunization back on agenda as whooping cough increases

Immunization for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, began in the mid-1940s and resulted in a sharp decline of this serious illness over the next 25 years. Over the last two decades, however, as immunity has waned, pertussis has re-emerged in the United States, with the greatest increase seen in adolescents, adults and young infants.

1 May 2004

Time matters when treating fungal infections in newborns

A new UCLA study shows that ‘time matters’ when treating fungal infections in neonates and that earlier treatment can mean the difference between life and death.

1 May 2004

Males and females respond differently to brain injury

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that males and females respond differently to brain injury and therefore, boys with brain injuries may require different life-saving treatments than girls.

1 May 2004

Telemedicine focus of symposium "Future Directions for Telemedicine"

A pediatric patient in Marquette, Michigan is being examined by a doctor— but the doctor is 365 miles away in Ann Arbor. Elsewhere in Michigan, a mental health patient, his family and psychiatrist are participating in a commitment hearing in the safe, secure environment of a psychiatric unit— but the judge is actually on the other side of town.

30 Apr 2004

Pediatric thyroid cancer is most common amongs teenage girls

Thyroid carcinoma is the third most common tumor malignancy in children. This pediatric cancer shares several characteristics with adult thyroid cancer patients including common cellular subtypes that are papillary, follicular and medullary; a female to male ratio is approximately 6:1; and a cervical nodal disease that can be observed at the time of presentation in 30-60 percent in both papillary and follicular malignancies.

29 Apr 2004

Lou Gehrig’s disease gene discovered

A gene for a rare juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) has been isolated in families in the United States, Belgium and Austria, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced today.

29 Apr 2004

88 percent of children who drown are under the supervision of another person

New research revealed today by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and Johnson & Johnson shows that 88 percent of children who drowned were under the supervision of another person, usually a family member. Supervision was defined as being in the care of another individual, not necessarily in their direct line of sight.

28 Apr 2004

$4.5 million contract to develop heart assist devices for infants

The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been awarded a five-year $4.5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a heart assist device for infants.

28 Apr 2004

Tips to avoid Lyme disease and West Nile virus

What's bugging you now that spring is here? Probably the same thing that's bugging your child -– mosquitoes, ticks and other flying, crawling, or creeping creatures of the great outdoors. Not only are these bugs' bites and stings painful and itchy, the potential health risk of insect-borne diseases -- such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus

28 Apr 2004

FDA mandates approval for all pancreatic enzyme replacements

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has announced its support of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) requirement that manufacturers of pancreatic enzyme replacements obtain FDA approval for their products within the next four years.

27 Apr 2004

The muscle supplement creatine is safe, but not effective, in pediatric neuromuscular disease

The muscle supplement creatine can be safely taken by children with neuromuscular diseases, but does not improve strength or muscle mass, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004