child health

75 % of athletes' parents let their child skip exams for game

harminka — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:36:11 -0500

Three quarters of parents of young athletes let their child forgo an exam for an important game, a new study conducted at the University of Haifa has found. In comparison, only 47% of parents of young musicians will agree to their child choosing a performance over an exam.

Trigger for brain plasticity identified

harminka — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:02:35 -0500

Researchers have long sought a factor that can trigger the brain's ability to learn – and perhaps recapture the "sponge-like" quality of childhood. In the August 8 issue of the journal Cell, neuroscientists at Children's Hospital Boston report that they've identified such a factor, a protein called Otx 2.

Blame underlying chest infection more than antibiotics

harminka — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:29:09 -0500

Children who are given antibiotics in their first three months often wheeze at 15 months of age. However, this wheezing is probably more due to the presence of chest infections than to the use of antibiotics.

Risk of unintentional injury death is high for young children

harminka — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:25:46 -0500

Injuries are the leading cause of death among children after the first year of life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a new study, a University of Missouri professor found that children living in households with unrelated adults are six times more likely to die of maltreatment-related unintentional injuries, compared to children living with two biological parents.

1 in 10 children using cough, cold medications

harminka — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:41:19 -0500

Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that approximately one in ten U.S. children uses one or more cough and cold medications during a given week. These findings appear in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics.

School Bully – Does It Run In the Family?

harminka — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:51:30 -0500

A shove, a taunt or name-calling on the playground or in the hall, away from the eyesight, earshot and authority of the teacher – childhood bullying can involve physical contact, spreading rumors and other negative behaviors committed over and over again to intimidate, humiliate and isolate the receiver of the behavior.

Positive safety results for ginseng extract

harminka — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:43:59 -0500

Positive findings of a safety study involving children and a highly touted botanical extract (COLD-fX) show promise for its future development for kids as a Canadian cold and flu remedy. The results appear in the August, 2008 issue of Pediatrics – the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Childhood obesity tipping point?

harminka — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:57:50 -0500

Over the last decade, childhood obesity has grown into an epidemic, reflected in soaring rates of type 2 diabetes and recommendations that pediatricians check toddlers for elevated cholesterol.

Outdoor Activity and Nearsightedness in Children

harminka — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:55:57 -0500

A growing number of the world's children are mildly to severely nearsighted (myopic), with rates especially high among urbanized East Asians. In addition to coping with poor distance vision, children with severe myopia are more prone to visual impairment and later in life

Antiviral therapy helps children at risk for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease

harminka — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:22:18 -0500

The antiviral drug, valganciclovir, can lower the levels of Epstein-Barr virus in children with liver transplants, according to a new study. About half of young transplant recipients with detectable levels of the virus in their blood responded to a long course of the therapy, with 60 percent maintaining their response when they stopped taking the drug. These findings are in the August issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons.

Antibiotics to cure sick apples, or sick children?

harminka — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:14:14 -0500

A federal decision to permit the State of Michigan to spray the state's apple orchards with gentamicin risks undermining the value of this important antibiotic to treat blood infections in newborns and other serious human infections, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Immune system protein accurate predictor of survival in pediatric septic shock

harminka — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:37:47 -0500

About 4,000 children in the United States die every year from uncontrolled infections of the body known as septic shock, and researchers are pushing the boundaries of molecular science to find new therapies that can stem the condition.