Children's health
02 Sep 2013
Glue ear mystery solved
The sleepless nights families face when painful ear infections strike kids may be over if a researcher associated with The University of Western Australia has her way. Dr Ruth Thornton of UWA’s School of Paediatrics and Child Health is part of a team whose findings could reduce the need for…
Children's health
05 Aug 2013
Scientists silence extra chromosome in Down syndrome cells
Scientists at UMass Medical School are the first to establish that a naturally occurring X chromosome “off switch” can be rerouted to neutralize the extra chromosome responsible for trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by cognitive impairment. The discovery provides the first evidence that the…
Cancer
02 Aug 2013
Missing piece of paediatric cancer puzzle found
Most of the time, it takes decades of accumulating genetic errors for a tumor to develop. While this explains the general occurrence of cancer in adults, it leaves a gap in understanding of the cause of pediatric tumors. In a study published in the July issue of the Proceedings of the…
Children's health
26 Jul 2013
Want kids to eat healthier? Don’t tell them, show them
If given the choice between eating a salad loaded with veggies or a burger and fries, most kids — and for that matter, most adults — would likely pick the less healthful option. But instead of telling kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, Iowa State University researchers found the…
Children's health
22 Jul 2013
Splitting donated livers shown to be safe, allowing doctors to save two lives from single organ
Split liver transplantation carries no increased risk of failure in either recipient, allowing surgeons to safely save two lives from a single donated organ (graft), according to new research from Boston Children’s Hospital published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Due to their regenerative nature, livers donated by a deceased adult…
Children's health
11 Jun 2013
Oral vaccine against diarrhoea developed
Entertoxigenic Escherichia col (ETEC) bacteria are the primary cause of diarrohea in children living in low and middle income countries result in 400million diarrheal episodes and approximately 300,000 deaths among children per year. ETEC is also the leading cause of illness among inrernational travelers to developing countries. Among the 65…
Children's health
07 Jun 2013
Non-inherited mutations account for many heart defects
New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine. The analysis of all the genes of more than 1800 individuals found hundreds of…
Children's health
31 May 2013
Improving whooping cough vaccine
Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made novel discoveries concerning the current vaccine against whooping cough that may lead to the development of an improved future vaccine. The findings could help reduce the incidence of the disease which is increasing in developed countries including Ireland. The research led by Professor…
Bone
31 May 2013
Vitamin D for preemies
Preterm infants may need to be given 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day to ensure they develop strong bones, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC. Preemies are known to be at…
