New research from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne has shown why mutation in a single gene can cause epilepsy in infants.

Scientists in California are reporting an advance toward rapid testing for pre-natal detection of Down syndrome and other birth defects that involve an abnormal number of chromosomes.

Teenage pregnancy is widely recognized to be a major public health concern. These young mothers face many life challenges and they have an increased risk for becoming depressed.

The soy isoflavone genistin--at concentrations present in soy infant formula-- may reduce a baby’s susceptibility to rotavirus infections by as much as 74 percent, according to a University of Illinois study published in September’s Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers have uncovered ethnic differences in the risk of neonatal mortality and morbidity (disease) in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Of grave concern is the noted elevation in mortality rate in the NICU among infants of South Asian (East Indian) origin, which is over three times that of Caucasian infants.

New research suggests that an eyedrop used to diagnose a rare syndrome in infants can cause severe lethargy lasting up to 10 hours and requiring hospital admission and oxygen administration.

In Africa, millions of pregnant women and children under five die because of poor maternal and pre-natal care. But health care specialists say those numbers can be dramatically reduced by following a few easy and inexpensive methods to ensure the good health of mothers and their newborns. From Washington, reporter William Eagle tells us about one – breast-feeding.

In Africa, experts say the deaths of thousands of infants each year from low body temperature, or hypothermia, pneumonia and other illnesses that can strike a child within days of delivery. One way that’s gaining in popularity in the southern African country of Malawi is keeping a child close to the chest of the mother and other adults. From Washington, reporter William Eagle has the story.

A sleep related breathing disorder among infants and toddlers born prematurely occurs earlier than expected in this population, and at higher rates than among full-term infants, according to a research abstract that will be presented Monday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

There is renewed hope for treatment of a rare genetic condition that causes rapidly accelerated aging and leads to an average life expectancy of 13 years.

New evidence shows that drug-resistant virus passed from mother-to-child can quickly establish itself in infants' CD4+ T cells where it can hide for years, likely limiting their options for future treatment. The study is published in the May 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

A vaccine has been shown to help reduce the number of infants and toddlers developing frequent ear infections, according to new research from Katherine A. Poehling, M.D., a pediatrician at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Results from her study are published in the April issue of Pediatrics.