Children's health
23 May 2008
No link between antidepressants and birth defects
Expectant mothers can safely use prescribed antidepressants during their first trimester, according to a new study from the Université de Montréal and Ste. Justine Hospital published in the May edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Anick Bérard and her team found that antidepressants have no effect on foetal…
Children's health
18 May 2008
Separation linked with learning trouble in kids
In the wake of divorce, illness, violence and other problems that can unsettle homes, countless young children are liable to experience temporary separations from one or both parents before packing their knapsack for kindergarten. Published in the May/June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, a new, community-wide study from Rochester, New York,…
Blood
18 May 2008
New drug combination brings 1-2 punch against acute leukemia
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a drug combination that kills leukemia cells by shutting down their energy source and hastening cell starvation. In a preclinical study, Lauren Akers, D.O., postdoctoral fellow from the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson, found that…
Children's health
16 May 2008
Global call to tackle hidden epidemic – chronic viral hepatitis B & C
The World Hepatitis Alliance has called on governments around the world to drive improvements in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support for the one in 12 people worldwide infected with either chronic viral hepatitis B or C.Helen Tyrrell, CEO of Hepatitis Australia and founding member of the World Hepatitis Alliance says…
Bone
15 May 2008
Study confirms link between mothers’ depression, young children’s injuries
Infants and toddlers whose mothers are severely depressed are almost three times more likely to suffer accidental injuries than other children in the same age group, according to a new study. The study’s findings, published today in the Advanced Access edition of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, suggest that proper…
Bone
11 May 2008
Falls a leading cause of injury-related emergency department visits for infants each year
Half of the estimated 328,500 infants 12 months of age or younger who were treated for injuries in hospital emergency departments each year from 2001 to 2004 were injured as a result of a fall, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first national…
Children's health
10 May 2008
New technique determines that the number of fat cells remains constant in all body types
The radioactive carbon-14 produced by above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s and ’60s has helped researchers determine that the number of fat cells in a human’s body, whether lean or obese, is established during the teenage years. Changes in fat mass in adulthood can be attributed mainly to changes in…
Children's health
10 May 2008
Study supports reason for concern in childhood and adolescent obesity
Study findings presented at the May 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies and Asian Society for Pediatric Research Joint Meeting indicate that childhood and adolescent obesity negatively impacts vascular endothelial function, which relates to cardiac health. Obesity has been increasing rapidly in the U.S. during the past 20 years and obesity in…
Cancer
08 May 2008
Researchers find gene location that gives rise to neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer
Using advanced gene-hunting technology, an international team of researchers has for the first time identified a chromosome region that is the source of genetic events that give rise to neuroblastoma, an often fatal childhood cancer. The investigators found that the presence of common DNA variations in a region of chromosome…
