Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Homesickness prevention and treatment

A new report urges parents and children's doctors to change their thinking about homesickness among children, to see it as a nearly universal but highly preventable and treatable phenomenon -- rather than an unavoidable part of childhood.

2 Jan 2007

Chronic cough and phlegm means greater risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Young adults (ages 20 to 44) with normal lung function who later develop chronic cough and phlegm have a fourfold higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

2 Jan 2007

City kids with asthma lose out on preventive treatment

A new study by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere suggests that only one in five inner-city children with chronic asthma gets enough medicine to control dangerous flare-ups of the disease.

4 Dec 2006

Internet exacerbates problems of anorexia and bulimia in teens

The Internet is being blamed by researchers in the U.S. for exacerbating the problems of anorexia and bulimia in young people.

4 Dec 2006

Cipla, Ranbaxy to cut pediatric antiretroviral drug prices

Indian pharmaceutical companies Cipla and Ranbaxy under an agreement with the Clinton Foundation will reduce the prices of 19 different pediatric antiretroviral drugs in 62 developing countries to an average of 45% less than what treatments currently cost in the countries, former President Clinton announced on Thursday ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the AP/Forbes reports.

2 Dec 2006

TB drug isoniazid could reduce AIDS-related illnesses among children

The inexpensive tuberculosis drug isoniazid could help reduce by half the number of deaths from AIDS-related illnesses among children, according to a study published earlier this month in BMJ, the Pretoria News reports.

23 Nov 2006

Adolescent girls who live near parks more physically active

Adolescent girls who live within half a mile of a public park are significantly more physically active than other girls, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have found.

20 Nov 2006

Risk to childhood cancer survivors for late-occurring strokes

Children who are successfully treated for brain tumors or leukemia are more likely to have strokes later in life, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

20 Nov 2006

Novel drug boosts platelets in ITP

Attacking a platelet-depleting autoimmune disease in a whole new way, an experimental drug is helping patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) once again produce healthy amounts of platelets -- with no major side effects.

14 Nov 2006

Researchers use gene therapy to reduce the development of epileptic seizures

For the first time, researchers have inhibited the development of epilepsy after a brain insult in animals. By using gene therapy to modify signaling pathways in the brain, neurology researchers found that they could significantly reduce the development of epileptic seizures in rats.

8 Nov 2006

Toyota builds employee health clinic in new factory to reduce health care costs

In an effort to contain health care spending, Toyota Motor will construct a $9 million medical clinic for employees and their families at its new San Antonio truck factory, the Detroit News reports.

8 Nov 2006

Survey reveals Americans disagree with Bush's abstinence-only sex education programs

A new survey in the United States has revealed that the majority of American adults, regardless of their political affiliation, support a more balanced approach to sex education in schools.

7 Nov 2006

Tubby tummies in kids increase the risk of serious disease later on

A new study by American researchers has found that between 1988 and 2004 abdominal obesity increased more than 65 percent among boys and almost 70 percent among girls.

7 Nov 2006

New device for busting nits

A team of biologists in the U.S. have come up with a device which eradicates head lice infestations in children.

7 Nov 2006

New evidence says SIDS caused by abnormality in the brainstem

According to a new study by researchers in the U.S. some babies who die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) do so because of an abnormality in the serotonin system in their brains.

1 Nov 2006

Weill Cornell findings could foil two potential bioterror agents - viral peptide prevents deadly Hendra, Nipah viruses from infecting cells

Two lethal and easily transmitted viruses -- both potential bioterror agents -- may soon be much less dangerous, thanks to research led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

31 Oct 2006

Health care IT bill could increase costs by $416 million

America's Health Insurance Plans released a new study that found a provision in a health care information technology bill (HR 4157) passed earlier this year by the House could increase U.S. health care costs by as much as $416 million, CQ HealthBeat reports (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 10/27).

30 Oct 2006

Birth of conjoined twins a medical and practical challenge

Another set of conjoined twins are expected to be born this week in Canada.

25 Oct 2006

Remote-control software that enables off-site MRI imaging via the Internet

UCLA radiologists and Siemens Medical Solutions have developed remote-control software that enables an off-site imaging expert to operate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine via the Internet.

From Siemens Healthineers 24 Oct 2006

Popular ADHD drug Ritalin safe and effective for pre-schoolers

A new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and five other medical centers concludes that carefully measured, low doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) are safe and effective for attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers.

23 Oct 2006