Children's health
09 Oct 2007
As Autism Diagnoses Grow, so do Number of Fad Treatments
Ineffective or even dangerous fad treatments for autism, always a problem, seem to be growing more pervasive, according to researchers who studied the problem. “Developmental disabilities like autism are a magnet for all kinds of unsupported or disproved therapies, and it has gotten worse as more children have been diagnosed…
Children's health
09 Oct 2007
Air Pollution Linked to Cardiovascular Risk Indices in Healthy Young Adults
Researchers in Taiwan have demonstrated for the first time that urban air pollution simultaneously affects key indicators of cardiovascular risk in young adults: inflammation, oxidative stress, coagulation and autonomic dysfunction. The study, which appeared in the second issue for August of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,…
Children's health
09 Oct 2007
High Pollution Linked to Poor Lung Function Growth in Children in Mexico City
Children who are chronically exposed to higher levels of air pollution show marked deficiencies in lung growth and function, and not just short-term breathing problems, according to researchers in Mexico. “Our study revealed significant deficits in lung function growth in children with long-term exposure to air pollutants,” wrote Isabelle Romieu,…
Children's health
09 Oct 2007
Are we overlooking our children’s behaviour?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterised by hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. ADHD is the most common psychiatric disorder affecting children. A recent study found that nearly 9% of American children meet criteria for ADHD. However only 32% of these children are receiving the medications they need. Poorer children…
Children's health
08 Oct 2007
Preventing Head Lice
Six to 12 million American children are bothered by head lice each year. As kids head back to school in a matter of weeks, it’s important to know how head lice spread and the best ways to prevent them. Head lice are more commonly found on children than adults because…
Children's health
08 Oct 2007
Brain’s Control Network Splits in Two as Children Approach Adulthood
Two recently discovered control networks that govern voluntary brain activity in adults start life as a single network in children, report neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers previously showed the networks supervise most goal-oriented brain activity, enlisting the specialized talents of multiple brain regions for…
Children's health
08 Oct 2007
Does This Child have Appendicitis? Watch Out for Key Signs
A 5-year-old with abdominal pain, nausea and fever may have appendicitis or any of a number of other problems. But how does the child’s doctor decide whether to schedule an emergency appendectomy to surgically remove a presumably inflamed appendix – a procedure that carries its own risks like any surgery…
Children's health
08 Oct 2007
Youngest Girls Spirited to Brothels show Highest HIV Rates
Girls forced into the Indian sex trade at age 14 or younger show significantly higher rates of HIV infection than older girls and women similarly forced into prostitution, according to a new study that highlights for the first time the increased HIV risks faced by sex trafficked Nepalese girls and…
Children's health
08 Oct 2007
Expansion of Paediatric AIDS Programs Set for Lesotho
The Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative will increase the number of physicians it has assigned to Lesotho and build satellite clinics in scaling up its commitment to assist the country, one of the hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. Dr. Mark Kline, president of BIPAI, announced the expansion of services…
