Children's health
29 Nov 2007
New Leads in Treating Lung Disease of Premature Newborns
Some 20 to 40 percent of extremely premature infants suffer abnormal lung development leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems. Little is known about how to predict whether a premature infant will develop BPD in the weeks after birth, much less how to…
Blood
27 Nov 2007
Ozone Shuts Down Early Immune Response in Lungs and Body
As policy makers debate what levels of ozone in the air are safe for humans to breathe, studies in mice are revealing that the inhaled pollutant impairs the body’s first line of defence, making it more susceptible to subsequent foreign invaders, such as bacteria. While it has long been known…
Children's health
20 Nov 2007
Hayfever (seasonal rhinitis)
Seasonal rhinitis or hay fever is an exaggerated response to an allergen (e.g. pollen), causing inflammation of the nose, itchy eyes and sneezing.
Children's health
16 Nov 2007
Annual Flu Shot Cuts Need for Doctors’ Visits, Hospitalization among Children
Children under the age of 5 who receive an annual flu shot have a greatly reduced risk of needing to see their doctor or be admitted to the hospital because of flu-related illness. A new study in the September issue of Pediatrics that analyses how many outpatient visits or hospitalizations…
Children's health
16 Nov 2007
Link between Asthma and Depressive and Anxiety Disorders
Young people with asthma are about twice as likely to suffer from depressive and anxiety disorders than are children without asthma, according to a study by a research team in Seattle. Previous research had suggested a possible link in young people between asthma and some mental health problems, such as…
Children's health
13 Nov 2007
Significant Shift in Reason for Tonsillectomies over Last 35 Years
A new Mayo Clinic study indicates tonsillectomies are increasingly being performed to treat airway obstructions evidenced by snoring and sleep disorders as opposed to tonsil infections. “This research shows that obstructive airway problems causing sleep-disordered breathing are now the primary reason children and young adults are having their tonsils and…
Children's health
30 Oct 2007
Allergies, Asthma and Wealth
Children in richer nations are more likely to have allergy-related asthma than their counterparts in poorer nations. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after studying more than 50,000 kids from 22 countries, ranging from wealthy European nations to poor nations in Africa. Overall, children from rich countries who suffered from allergies…
Children's health
30 Oct 2007
Research Shows New Risks from Seeing Movie Smoking
Exposure to smoking in movies is not only likely to influence adolescents to start smoking, but it also appears to be closely associated with adolescents’ risk of becoming established smokers, according to a new study by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Established smokers are defined as…
Children's health
23 Oct 2007
COPD is Worldwide Threat, Expected to Worsen
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a deadly lung disease primarily attributed to smoking. As a result, it receives fewer research dollars and not a lot of sympathy, according to international COPD expert Sonia Buist, M.D., Oregon Health and Science University. But a new study to be published in…
