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Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Vitamin A is critical to maternal health and child survival, yet in most developing countries Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness and increased child mortality. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has long been a leader in vitamin A research, and scientists at the School recently discovered a link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation.

13 May 2010

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

USA Today: "First lady Michelle Obama unveiled a plan today to 'reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity' and called for help from governments, schools and businesses as well as the families themselves. ... Obama and her aides released a task force report titled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. The goal, she said, is to 'ensure that our children can have the healthy lives and the bright futures that they deserve'" (Jackson, 5/11)

13 May 2010

FDA approves Sagent's bacitracin for pneumonia and empyema

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced FDA approval of bacitracin for injection, USP (bacitracin), an anti-infective product used to treat pneumonia and empyema. Bacitracin will be offered in a 50,000 MU, AP-rated, preservative-free, latex-free, single-dose vial packaged both individually and in packages of ten.

13 May 2010

NIH awards PLx Pharma multiple grants for development of GI safer NSAIDs

PLx Pharma, a pharmaceutical company developing safer formulations of proven non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), today announced that it has been awarded multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling approximately $2,000,000. This funding has been awarded to support further advancement of a range of products currently under development by PLx.

12 May 2010

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

So often the rare informs the common. Penn researchers investigating a regulatory protein involved in a rare genetic disease have shown that it may be related to epileptic and autistic symptoms in other more common neurological disorders.

12 May 2010

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is among the most common of childhood cancers and fortunately, some children will get better spontaneously. Yet for children with high-risk disease the outlook is poor: more than half will relapse despite chemotherapy.

12 May 2010

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

A new Mayo Clinic study has found that Gamma Knife™ stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe and effective option for selected children with arteriovenous malformations. This study was presented at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Philadelphia last week.

12 May 2010

Children who eat lunch as part of NSLP have increased likelihood of becoming overweight: Research

With obesity becoming an epidemic among school-aged children in this country, a Georgia State University professor has found a link between overweight children and federal school nutrition programs.

12 May 2010

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

An estimated one in 20 kids suffer from breath-holding spells, which come when they are upset, in pain or surprised. In some cases, the children twitch and jerk around involuntarily, as if they are having a seizure. Their faces sometimes turn blue or pale and they often faint.

12 May 2010

International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

The International Dairy Foods Association issued the following statement by Connie Tipton, president and CEO, regarding today's Report to the President by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity:

12 May 2010

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay examines the ongoing debate over whether Canada's G8 child and maternal health initiative should include abortions, which according to a 2006 Oxford University Press-World Bank report, are "one small chunk of a bigger puzzle. A much larger problem, in terms of the number of female lives affected, is the decidedly less headline-grabbing subject of hemorrhages - which include antepartun hemorrhages … and primary postpartum hemorrhages.

12 May 2010

TFAH commends Childhood Obesity Task Force's report

Trust for America's Health commends the Childhood Obesity Task Force's report, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, which includes proposed recommendations for reducing the rate of childhood obesity from 17% to 5% by 2030. The report includes a total of 70 recommendations for specific action steps, many of which can be implemented right away and are minimal or no-cost.

12 May 2010

LifeCodexx AG develops test using Next Generation Sequencing technologies for prenatal diagnostics

LifeCodexx AG has started operational research and development work on clinically validated diagnostic tests by using Next Generation Sequencing technologies. The work currently focuses on the field of prenatal diagnostics.

12 May 2010

New research shows British Indian children have better mental health than British Whites

British Indian children have substantially better mental health than British Whites, new research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine shows.

12 May 2010

Most breastfeeding mothers do not follow proper diet, study reveals

The study conducted at the University of Granada revealed that 94% of nursing mothers did not follow a proper diet, as they did not consume the recommended diary intake of fat, vitamins A, E and iron, and the intake of proteins was too high. The results obtained will serve to enhance breastfeeding mothers' diet and increase nutritional supply to the newborn.

12 May 2010

Vaccination of infants with Rotarix reduces rate of rotavirus infection: Researchers

Vaccination of infants with Rotarix or RotaTeq significantly reduces the rate of severe rotavirus diarrhoea, hospitalizations, medical attention due to rotavirus and severe diarrhoea from all causes. The vaccines are not associated with increased numbers of serious adverse events.

12 May 2010

Prenatal screening, genetic counseling essential for preventing alpha-thalassemia: Researchers

Researchers from Mahidol University have developed a rapid, high-throughput screening method for prevention and control of thalassemia. The related report by Munkongdee et al, "Rapid diagnosis of α-thalassemia by melting curve analysis," appears in the May 2010 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

12 May 2010

Parents of autistic children say health reform should help them

The Dallas Morning News: Parents and families of autistic children and adults are hoping that the federal health law will help them. "The new federal regulations will prohibit spending caps, prevent insurers from excluding pre-existing conditions and behavioral health care, and extend dependent care to age 26.

12 May 2010

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

For the first time in three decades, the nation - and most states - saw a two-year decline in preterm birth rates, indicating that strategies implemented over the past seven years have begun to pay off, according to the March of Dimes.

12 May 2010

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

More individualized therapy and better supportive care helped push the survival for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to 71 percent three years after diagnosis, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and reported in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. The survival rate of 71 percent is 20 percent better than previously reported U.S. rates and is similar to the success achieved in a 2009 Japanese study, said Jeffrey Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Oncology department.

11 May 2010

Child Health News

Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

FDA approves Sagent's bacitracin for pneumonia and empyema

NIH awards PLx Pharma multiple grants for development of GI safer NSAIDs

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

Benefits outweigh risks in myeloablative therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery safe for treating children with arteriovenous malformations: Study

Children who eat lunch as part of NSLP have increased likelihood of becoming overweight: Research

Daily dose of iron reduces breath-holding spells in children by 90%: Studies

International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

TFAH commends Childhood Obesity Task Force's report

LifeCodexx AG develops test using Next Generation Sequencing technologies for prenatal diagnostics

New research shows British Indian children have better mental health than British Whites

Most breastfeeding mothers do not follow proper diet, study reveals

Vaccination of infants with Rotarix reduces rate of rotavirus infection: Researchers

Prenatal screening, genetic counseling essential for preventing alpha-thalassemia: Researchers

Parents of autistic children say health reform should help them

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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