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Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Sep 2006

Prevention programs for teens can reduce methamphetamine abuse

New research supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, shows that prevention programs conducted in middle school can reduce methamphetamine abuse among rural adolescents years later.

4 Sep 2006

Link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores

University of Florida researchers have discovered a link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores, cognitive delays and brain lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease patients, a new study shows.

4 Sep 2006

Mature muscle fibers can revert to become cancerous

Mature muscle fibers, rather than their less-developed neighbors, are the tissues that turn malignant in a soft-tissue cancer that strikes children and teens, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas have found.

4 Sep 2006

Sanofi pasteur begins shipping influenza vaccine

Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, began shipping influenza vaccine (Fluzone, Influenza Virus Vaccine) to the U.S. market for the 2006-2007 season.

4 Sep 2006

Childhood asthma linked to low vitamin E intake during pregnancy

Researchers in Britain believe that children whose mothers had a low intake of vitamin E during pregnancy are more likely to develop wheezing and asthma by age five.

4 Sep 2006

STIs cause infertility, social stigma in sub-Saharan Africa

Sexually transmitted infections are the main cause of infertility in sub-Saharan Africa, where the condition often brings stigma and social consequences to women who do not have children, according to Helen Pilcher, author of a article published in the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Nature, PRI's "The World" -- a production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston -- reports.

4 Sep 2006

More fat people than starving in the world

At an International Congress on Obesity, in Sydney, Australia, chairman Professor Paul Zimmet has said that obesity is no longer a problem limited to America and other developed countries but has reached the scale of a global epidemic.

4 Sep 2006

Vaccine for severe malaria

The most severe form of malaria hits pregnant women and children the hardest.

1 Sep 2006

All pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

Human beings are directly responsible for more than 110,000 chemical substances which have been generated since the Industrial Revolution.

1 Sep 2006

New technique to statistically analyze results of clinical trials

Statisticians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a new technique that allows researchers to statistically analyze results of clinical trials.

1 Sep 2006

Kansas AG Kline says request for late-term abortion records motivated by protecting children; opponent says it violated medical privacy

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R), who is running for re-election in November, on Friday said he not was trying to further a political agenda but to protect children when he sought access to the medical records of 90 women and girls who in 2003 underwent late-term abortions at two clinics, the Dodge City Daily Globe reports.

1 Sep 2006

Some parents have difficulties gaining access to insurance coverage for HPV vaccine Gardasil

Some parents seeking to vaccinate their daughters with Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil have experienced difficulty in obtaining it or getting it covered by health insurance, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Tanner, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/29).

1 Sep 2006

Sen. Durbin, Rep. Davis criticize plan to end Medicaid reimbursements for special education services

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) on Tuesday warned that a plan to end Medicaid reimbursements for transportation and special education administration would affect the ability of schools to provide mandated services to low-income students with disabilities, the Chicago Tribune reports.

1 Sep 2006

Human rights abuses frequent in Haiti's capital

Human rights violations - including murders, sexual assaults, and kidnapping - were common in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city, after the departure of the democratically elected President in 2004, according to an Online/Article published by The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Pediatricians not doing enough to stop parental smoking

Parental smoking is a pediatrician's business, experts say, yet many are reluctant to tell parents to stop smoking and offer little support for efforts to quit, a new study suggests.

31 Aug 2006

A wake-up call for parents of children with sleep apnea

In what is believed to be the first study showing neural changes in the brains of children with serious, untreated sleep apnea, Johns Hopkins researchers conclude that children with the disorder appear to suffer damage in two brain structures tied to learning ability.

31 Aug 2006

Kids will eat more fruits and less fat

School lunches and vending machines aren't the only places to look for ways to improve students' nutrition. Modest changes in the kinds of snacks offered at after-school programs can also have a significant positive impact on children's diets.

30 Aug 2006

Rates of eczema and hay fever falling

After having risen year on year in recent decades, the rates of eczema and hay fever seem to have stabilised, and may even be falling, suggests research published ahead of print in Thorax.

30 Aug 2006

Vitamin D supplements should be given to Asian children from birth up to the age of two years

Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, poor tooth formation, convulsions, general ill health, and stunted growth. And it has been linked to an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and mental health problems in later life.

30 Aug 2006