Children's health
09 Nov 2013
Brain scans may aid in diagnosis of autism
Joint research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Psychology and Auburn University indicates that brain scans show signs of autism that could eventually support behaviour-based diagnosis of autism and effective early intervention therapies. The findings appear online today in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience as part of a…
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…
Infections
27 Oct 2013
Protease inhibitors (PIs)
Protease inhibitors (PIs) act on the HIV viral enzyme protease, which is responsible for assembling new virus particles. Blocking viral protease slows the production 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…
Infections
13 Oct 2013
NRTIs (Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors)
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the cornerstone of treating the HIV infection. Nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) try to inhibit the key viral enzyme…
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…
