Cancer
06 Nov 2013
Shortage of medical volunteers means children living with cancer miss out
Camp Quality, Australia’s major children’s cancer charity, is experiencing a severe shortage of medical volunteers. This leads to many children living with cancer missing out on essential support services that they offer. Camp Quality camps provide children living with cancer and their families, with an essential break from hospital, and…
Children's health
25 Oct 2013
Diagnosing and treating sore throat should be part of overall strategy to prevent rheumatic heart disease
Diagnosing and treating sore (strep) throat (primary prevention) in children and adolescents to prevent such cases developing into acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) should be a cornerstone in any overall RHD strategy. The issues around primary prevention are discussed in one of the papers in the…
Children's health
25 Oct 2013
Viral infection disrupts neural development in offspring, increasing risk of autism
Activating a mother’s immune system during her pregnancy disrupts the development of neural cells in the brain of her offspring and damages the cells’ ability to transmit signals and communicate with one another, researchers with the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Neurology have found. They said the…
Children's health
23 Oct 2013
Emergency Asthma Medication Available through Community Pharmacies
With fires continuing to burn across NSW and a thick cloud of wood smoke present in many areas, Asthma Foundation NSW is urging people with asthma to make sure they have their asthma medication at hand as symptoms can quickly escalate and become extremely dangerous. “It is vital that all…
Children's health
19 Oct 2013
Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren
Folic acid deficiency can cause severe health problems in offspring, including spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities. A study out today reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on…
Children's health
10 Oct 2013
Cocaine exposure in the womb: The brain structure is intact but development is off track
Prenatal cocaine exposure affects both behavior and brain. Animal studies have shown that exposure to cocaine during in utero development causes numerous disruptions in normal brain development and negatively affects behavior from birth and into adulthood. For ethical reasons, similar studies in humans have been more limited but some research…
Children's health
10 Oct 2013
Measles cases on the rise in US, vaccine encouraged
Prior to the use of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, hundreds of those infected with the measles would die yearly, tens of thousands would be hospitalized and around 1,000 cases would result in chronic disability. Decades later, after believing that endemic transmission of this highly contagious illness was eradicated in the United…
Children's health
03 Oct 2013
Diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acids a problem for youngsters
In the first study to closely examine the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake among U.S. children under the age of 5, Sarah Keim, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, has found what might be a troubling deficit in the…
Children's health
03 Oct 2013
Youth more likely to be bullied at schools with anti-bullying programs
Anti-bullying initiatives have become standard at schools across the country, but a new UT Arlington study finds that students attending those schools may be more likely to be a victim of bullying than children at schools without such programs. The findings run counter to the common perception that bullying prevention…
