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UIC receives $9.6 million grant for autism research

The University of Illinois at Chicago has been awarded a $9.6 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish an Autism Center of Excellence.

7 Aug 2007

The power of McDonald's over tiny tots food preferences

A study with pre-school children has revealed just how potent and effective the power of advertising is.

7 Aug 2007

Fast-food branding influences kids' choices

Preschool children preferred the taste of foods and drinks in McDonald's packaging to the same foods and drinks in unbranded packaging, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Aug 2007

Early-childhood intervention improves well-being through young adulthood

Minority preschoolers from low-income families who participated in a comprehensive school-based intervention fared better educationally, socially and economically as they moved into young adulthood, according to a report by University of Minnesota professors Arthur Reynolds and Judy Temple.

7 Aug 2007

Statin drugs may delay progressive artery damage in children

Starting statin therapy as young as age 8 safely and effectively delays the early artery damage caused by familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), according to a Dutch study reported in the Aug.7th print issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Aug 2007

Study links changes in brain function directly to the recovery of athletes from sports concussion

Concussions are common in young athletes but the underlying changes in brain function that occur have been poorly understood.

7 Aug 2007

Even young children are swayed by brand preferences

Asked to sample two identical foods from the fast-food giant McDonald's, children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant's familiar "Golden Arches" to one extracted from unmarked paper packaging, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

7 Aug 2007

Maternal obesity and birth defects

Mothers of babies born with some structural birth defectsincluding missing limbs, malformed hearts and underdeveloped spinal cordsappear more likely to be obese prior to becoming pregnant than mothers whose children are born without such defects, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Inhaled nitric oxide safe for very premature infants

A nationwide study led by researchers at UCSF provides evidence that inhaled nitric oxide is safe and effective for the prevention of the most common type of long-term lung disease of very premature infants.

7 Aug 2007

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Brain areas that control attention thinnest in children with ADHD

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

7 Aug 2007

Age-related hearing loss very common

For many people, hearing loss is part of aging. Hearing loss affects approximately one-third of people over age 65. Among people age 75 and older, 40 percent to 50 percent experience hearing loss.

7 Aug 2007

ADHD linked to depressed dopamine activity in the brain

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a blunted response to the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin), which increases brain dopamine levels, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Autistic intelligence

Autistic children are doubly stigmatized. On the one hand, they are often dismissed as low functioning or mentally retarded, especially if they have poor speaking skills as many do.

6 Aug 2007

Suntanorexics know they are damaging their health

Hardcore sunbathers who plan to get burnt on the beach this summer will do so in the full knowledge that they are permanently damaging their skin â€“ according to a survey* commissioned by Cancer Research UK.

6 Aug 2007

Promoting child safety with computers

Computer technology that provides parents with customized safety information can be an effective way to help their children avoid injury, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

6 Aug 2007

Life around newborn discharge

A landmark nationwide study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is the first ever to prospectively examine the decision-making process of over 4,000 mothers and their physicians around the readiness of mothers and their infants to leave the hospital after childbirth.

6 Aug 2007

As we mature, we are able to create more contextually rich memories

MIT neuroscientists exploring how memory formation differs between children and adults have found that although the two groups have much in common, maturity brings richer memories.

6 Aug 2007

Living with food allergies

Mealtime should be an enjoyable experience. Yet, for 12 million children with food allergies, eating a meal can be a frightening activity.

6 Aug 2007

New tool for use in addressing lead poisoning

Lead in goat blood might not be on the top of your shopping list, but for U.S. medical personnel who each year perform more than 2 million human blood measurements, Standard Reference Material (SRM) 955c from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can't be beat.

6 Aug 2007