Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Coalition's guidelines on fish consumption for pregnant women 'misleading,' opinion piece says

The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition's recent recommendations for fish and seafood consumption for pregnant and breast-feeding women are "misleading" and a "classic example of industry-driven marketing under the cloak of scientific research," Andrea Kavanagh, director of the National Environmental Trust's Pure Salmon Campaign, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece (Kavanagh, Los Angeles Times, 10/31).

31 Oct 2007

Watching TV found to be linked to obesity and now hypertension in kids

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego; the Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of South Alabama determined that television viewing is not only linked to childhood obesity, but also to hypertension in children, according to a study published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

31 Oct 2007

Pre-op antibiotics prevent infection for wisdom teeth surger

Patients who have their wisdom teeth pulled and do not take antibiotics before surgery are twice as likely to get an infection after the surgery than those who take a single dose of antibiotics shortly before surgery, says Eastman Dental Center researchersYan-Fang Ren, DDS, PhD, MPH and Hans Malmstrom, DDS.

30 Oct 2007

Experts say screen for autism twice before age two

The American Academy of Pediatrics says children should be screened for the disorder twice before the age of two, as early intervention can lessen the severity of the symptoms.

30 Oct 2007

Does no TV mean increased physical activity in teens?

If young teenagers can't watch TV or play computer games, will they fill that time with physical activity?

29 Oct 2007

Epilepsy-induced brain cell damage blocked in lab experiments

For some epilepsy patients, the side effects of epilepsy can be as troubling as the seizures.

29 Oct 2007

Early autism detection

In an attempt to spot autism earlier, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently recommended that all children be screened for autism twice by age 2 - advice that many St. Louis families already heed thanks to a partnership between Saint Louis University and Parents as Teachers.

29 Oct 2007

Ten tips to help asthma-proof your home

The onset of winter cold and flu season combined with colder, short days unfortunately all contribute to increased asthma symptoms for many children.

28 Oct 2007

What is a critical lab value? it depends, Hopkins researchers find

When it comes to lab tests, interpreting the clinical importance of an out-of-range result depends on how much experience a physician has, suggests research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

28 Oct 2007

Vaginal reconstruction not needed for most inter-sex females

Dispelling a common myth, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center say vaginal reconstruction should be a matter of preference for most teens or adult women born with a type of inter-sex condition marked by the presence of both female and male genitals.

28 Oct 2007

The pediatric office of the future

A new exhibit at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition will be the “Pediatric Office of the Future.”

28 Oct 2007

Survival of newborns with abdominal holes differs according to hospital

A newborn's chance for surviving a low-risk version of a condition called gastroschisis varies greatly by hospital, according to a study by Johns Hopkins surgeons. Babies with the condition have a hole in their abdomen near the umbilical cord.

28 Oct 2007

Quality-of-life yardstick needed for children with serious urologic conditions

A small but revealing study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center suggests that a widely used tool to measure physical, emotional and psychological functioning and well-being in children may fail to accurately gauge these quality-of-life indicators in the children with some of the most severe bladder conditions, such as spina bifida and bladder exstrophies.

28 Oct 2007

Military youth coping with separation: when family members deploy

The effects of military deployment can be challenging and stressful on children. Reactions can range from depression, anger, sadness, fear of abandonment and anxiety.

28 Oct 2007

Obesity-related hormone is higher in children with Down syndrome

Children with Down syndrome are more likely than their unaffected siblings to have higher levels of a hormone associated with obesity, according to pediatric researchers.

28 Oct 2007

Men with bladder exstrophy report robust sex lives, but women fare worse

Adult men born with a severe urological anomaly in which the bladder forms outside of the abdomen report much more robust sexual lives than women born with the same condition, according to a small study led by urologists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

28 Oct 2007

Psychiatrists, parents significantly differ in ADHD, psychiatric comorbidities perceptions

According to a small-scale, in-office, observational study, psychiatrists and parents have significantly different perceptions of the importance of pediatric ADHD and psychiatric comorbidities, particularly regarding the patients' most concerning behavior.

25 Oct 2007

Medical College of Wisconsin receives grant to study infantile hemangiomas

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee a three-year, $1 million Orphan Products Development grant to study infantile hemangiomas – a vascular tumor of the skin or internal organs.

25 Oct 2007

Many medical disorders may be languishing in mountains of discarded gene data

Previously hidden obesity-related genes have been uncovered from old experiments by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

24 Oct 2007

HIV combination antiretroviral drug therapy key to saving the lives of African children

Letting nurses and other trained health care workers deliver that therapy and monitor patients, especially when doctors are in short supply, is just as important to saving lives, according to a new study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

24 Oct 2007