Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

FDA expands use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approved use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as part of a multiple drug chemotherapy regimen.

25 Jul 2006

Researchers identify potential ovarian cancer stem cells

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified potential ovarian cancer stem cells, which may be behind the difficulty of treating these tumors with standard chemotherapy.

21 Jul 2006

Hyperactive girls more likely to develop heart problems later in life

Hyperactive girls are more likely to develop hints of heart problems later in life, according to a new Finnish study that tracked 708 kids into young adulthood. However, it's not clear if there's a direct cause-and-effect link.

21 Jul 2006

School-based programmes for preventing smoking

It may take more than anti-smoking lessons in the classroom to keep school-age children and teens from lighting up, according to a recent review of studies.

19 Jul 2006

Conjugate vaccines for preventing meningococcal C meningitis and septicaemia

A new systematic review suggests that a certain kind of vaccine may help to protect babies and small children from a devastating killer: meningococcal meningitis.

19 Jul 2006

Cleaning water at household is best diarrhea prevention

Clean water can prevent diarrhea and save lives, but among the world's most susceptible populations, it is cleaned best at its point of use rather than its source, researchers report in a large new review of studies.

19 Jul 2006

Research shows which sex differences are developmental vs. sociological vs. hormonal

Differences in the way men and women perform verbal and visuospatial tasks have been well documented in scientific literature, but findings have been inconsistent as to whether men and women actually use different parts of their brains.

19 Jul 2006

Highly active antiretroviral therapies associated with reduced infections in HIV-infected children

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies, there has been a substantial reduction of opportunistic infections and other infections in HIV-infected children, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

19 Jul 2006

Researchers isolate rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston and their colleagues have isolated rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia in a mouse model of the human disease.

18 Jul 2006

$26 billion dollar bill for prem babies each year

According to experts one in every eight babies now is born prematurely and they are calling for earlier ultrasound examinations during pregnancy and tighter guidelines for infertility treatment as essential in the battle to control what they say is a growing problem.

17 Jul 2006

Children with chronic otitis media have biofilms in their middle ears

Direct evidence of bacterial biofilms has been found on the middle ear tissue of children who suffer from chronic ear infections

12 Jul 2006

Fombonne's autism research is dangerously inaccurate

Fombonne, a thimerosal litigation expert witness on behalf of various pharmaceutical companies, will reportedly state that it is "very clear" there is no relationship between mercury-based thimerosal and the onset of autism.

11 Jul 2006

Latest March of Dimes Newborn Screening Report Card

Nearly two-thirds of all babies born in the United States this year will be screened for more than 20 life-threatening disorders - at nearly twice the rate as in 2005, according to the latest March of Dimes Newborn Screening Report Card.

11 Jul 2006

Anti-herpes drug reduces need for Caesarean sections in infected women

Giving an anti-viral drug to pregnant women who have a history of genital herpes significantly lowers the rate of Caesarean sections needed to protect the infant from becoming infected with the virus, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

11 Jul 2006

New findings on cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

A growing number of cystic fibrosis patients are battling a second, often deadly complication: a unique form of diabetes that shares characteristics of the type 1 and type 2 versions that strike many Americans.

10 Jul 2006

Popular antihistamine used to help young children sleep is ineffective

Although about half of pediatricians recommend that children under age 2 can be given diphenhydramine to help them sleep, the first study to look at effectiveness of the agent in children who are that young found no benefit.

4 Jul 2006

Benadryl does not improve infant sleep

An antihistamine often recommended to parents whose infants do not sleep through the night may not be effective in reducing nighttime awakenings or improving parents' happiness with their children's sleep.

3 Jul 2006

Early drinking lifetime risk

Data from a survey of 43,000 U.S. adults heighten concerns that early alcohol use, independent of other risk factors, may contribute to the risk of developing future alcohol problems.

3 Jul 2006

Listeriosis and pregnancy

For years, doctors have puzzled over why pregnant women are 20 times more likely than others to be infected by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they have the answer, and it isn't pretty.

3 Jul 2006

Drinking alcohol early in life increases alcohol dependence throughout life

Individuals who are younger when they begin drinking alcohol may face a higher risk of alcohol dependence throughout life, at a younger age and consisting of multiple episodes.

3 Jul 2006