Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Simple tips to keep families safe from flu

The flu, or seasonal influenza virus, is extremely unpredictable. Its severity can vary widely from one season to the next depending on many things, including the strains of flu spreading, availability of vaccines, how many people get vaccinated and how well the flu vaccine is matched to the flu viruses circulating each season.

10 Dec 2014

Infant mortality rates for RSV much lower than previously thought

It's a virus that has long been characterized as dangerous and even deadly, but new research shows infant deaths from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are actually quite uncommon in the 21st century.

9 Dec 2014

Nationwide Children's Hospital receives ANCC Magnet Recognition for third time

The American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program for excellence in nursing services has granted Nationwide Children's Hospital ANCC Magnet Recognition for a third time. This prestigious recognition is the ultimate benchmark in nursing excellence and is awarded to only about seven percent of the nation's more than 6,000 hospitals across the country.

8 Dec 2014

Researchers discuss effects of mother-infant bedsharing

Recommendations by physician groups to avoid bedsharing among mothers and their babies are intended to reduce sleep-related infant deaths. But evidence suggests that the risks of bedsharing have been over-emphasized, advice never to bedshare is unrealistic, and avoiding bedsharing may interfere with breastfeeding, according to an article in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

8 Dec 2014

Corrective information can successfully reduce false beliefs about flu vaccines

With health systems in the U.S., U.K., and around the world trying to increase vaccination levels, it is critical to understand how to address vaccine hesitancy and counter myths about vaccine safety. A new article in the journal "Vaccine" concludes, however, that correcting myths about vaccines may not be the most effective approach to promoting immunization among vaccine skeptics.

8 Dec 2014

Study provides insights into genetic underpinnings of childhood epilepsies

Technological advances in genetic analysis have uncovered changes in single genes that account for a surprising number of infantile and early-childhood epilepsies. Though some of the affected genes have been identified, the physical manifestations of these alterations remain largely uncharacterized.

7 Dec 2014

Innovative cell therapy shows highly promising results in pediatric patients with ALL

An innovative cell therapy against a highly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) continues to show highly promising results in children treated in a pilot study. Ninety-two percent of the 39 children receiving bioengineered T cells had no evidence of cancer at one month after treatment, with this complete response persisting in some cases for more than two years.

7 Dec 2014

Researchers assess efficiency and safety of breast milk stimulant

Most women can make all the milk their baby needs, but some mothers turn to medications to help increase their supply. While some specialists encourage the off-label use of domperidone to stimulate breast milk production, some studies have suggested it may be related to negative side effects, including irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac death.

6 Dec 2014

New study finds link between birth weights and academic performance in school

It's no secret that low-birth-weight babies face significantly greater risks for certain health problems early on, such as respiratory distress or infection. Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Florida and Northwestern University shows that lower weights at birth also have an adverse effect on children's performance in school, which is likely due to the early health struggles small babies often face.

5 Dec 2014

Study examines rate of psychotropic medication prescribed to children in Kentucky

Researchers with the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit (CAHRDS Unit) at the University of Louisville have begun a study to examine one of Kentucky's most vexing children's health issues: the higher-than-average rate of psychotropic medication being prescribed to children in the Bluegrass State.

2 Dec 2014

Identifying infant and toddler injuries that require emergency medical care

Bianca Edison, MD, MS is an attending physician in the Children's Orthopaedic Center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and is assistant clinical professor of Orthopaedics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Edison is a licensed, Board-Certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics who completed a fellowship in Primary Care SportsMedicine. Her interests and experience include orthopaedic conditions affecting young children, teens, and athletes. Here she reviews common infant and toddler injuries, and how parents can determine if emergency medical care is needed.

2 Dec 2014

Study: Heavier newborns do better in school

Birth weight makes a difference to a child's future academic performance, according to new Northwestern University research that found heavier newborns do better in elementary and middle school than infants with lower birth weights.

2 Dec 2014

Kentucky governor, Lt. governor unveil multidisciplinary health care home for children

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen today (Dec. 1) announced an innovative public/private partnership between Community Dental, a nonprofit of Kentucky, and University of Louisville Pediatrics to provide a multidisciplinary health care home for Kentucky children enrolled in the Medicaid program.

2 Dec 2014

Commonly used osteoporosis medications may also prevent lung, breast and colon cancers

The most commonly used medications for osteoporosis worldwide, bisphosphonates, may also prevent certain kinds of lung, breast and colon cancers, according to two studies led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2 Dec 2014

New study details weight loss patterns of breastfed newborns

Using weights obtained from over 100,000 Northern California babies, a new study is the first to detail the weight loss patterns of exclusively breastfed newborns. The results show that some breastfed babies lose weight faster and for a longer period than was previously recognized.

2 Dec 2014

‘Optimal degree’ of catch-up growth defined for SGA babies

A growth trajectory in which small for gestational age babies achieve catch-up growth to a defined degree within the first few months of life appears to be best for their subsequent health, say researchers.

1 Dec 2014

Rate of toy-related injuries in children increases nearly 40% from 1990 through 2011

'Tis the season for toys. Children are writing lists full of them, and parents are standing in lines (or tapping on computers) trying to find them. Playing with toys this season or any other is an important way for children to develop, learn, and explore. But anyone planning to buy new toys, or anyone with toys already at home, should know that many toys pose an injury risk to children.

1 Dec 2014

Unsafe infant bedding increases risk of sudden infant death syndrome

Nearly 55 percent of U.S. infants are placed to sleep with bedding that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, despite recommendations against the practice, report researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other institutions.

1 Dec 2014

Pathology specialist publishes invited commentary on breast cancer gene screening

There has been much recent debate on the benefits and risks of screening for breast cancer using BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in the general adult population.

27 Nov 2014

New NIH funding to help researchers develop drug delivery system to prevent HIV infection in women

The University of Texas Medical Branch is part of a collaboration led by the Oak Crest Institute of Science that received a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a novel intravaginal ring capable of delivering powerful antiretroviral drugs to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted HIV in women. The total award to UTMB is approximately $2.5 million.

26 Nov 2014