Infectious Diseases

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Children of older fathers may have a higher risk of bipolar disorder, and family-focused therapy along with medication is effective in treating bipolar-related depression in adolescents, according to the results of two studies published in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Moderate-to-severe ear infections in children may damage a taste-sensing serve that could pave the way for overeating and adult obesity, reported researchers at the American Chemical Society Fall 2008 meeting.

A discussion of influenza vaccines, inactivated and live cold adapted attenuated virus; influenza virus and the immune response in children; and the differences in immune response elicited by both types of vaccine.

Five new changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) yearly recommendations to fight the flu call for more and earlier immunizations.

Infections during the first year of life may increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis later in life, according to new findings.

Two doses of a whole-virus vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza produced on Vero cell cultures induced neutralizing antibodies against multiple H5N1 strains, indicating its usefulness against this virus with pandemic potential, according to research published in the June 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A 4-day-old girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) for evaluation of a copious discharge from the right eye with associated swelling and redness of the eyelid (Figure 1). The discharge began 2 days earlier and had become profuse and yellow-green. Chemosis and injection of the conjunctiva of the right eye were also noted (Figure 2).

ABSTRACT: Children who present with rash and fever can be divided into 3 groups: the first group includes those with features of serious illness who require immediate intervention. The second and third groups include those with clearly recognizable viral syndromes and those with early or undifferentiated rash. The morphology of lesions among children with symptoms of serious illness offers clues to the underlying cause. Purpura or ecchymoses in a well-appearing child may not be associated with serious illness; a large percentage of children who present with fever and purpura have Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Kawasaki disease typically manifests with blanching rash and fever. Vesicular or bullous lesions and fever are the hallmark of erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. Umbilicated papules and pustules are the sine qua non of molluscum contagiosum and varicella.

With all the talk over the past year about preventing human papilloma virus in girls, the fact that boys get HPV as well is often downplayed. A small study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, provided new insight into the under-recognized issue of HPV infection in young males.

Neonatal viral infections are four to eight times more common than systemic bacterial diseases, but often go unrecognized. “Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common causes of infant death and permanent disability in America,” said Michael Cannon, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Nosocomial infections are a growing problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) along with methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug- resistant gram negative organisms, Candida and respiratory virii.

The electromagnetic fields produced in incubators may create changes in newborns' heart rate variability, according to research published online May 1 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal & Neonatal Edition.

Vital signs were normal. The patient had left-sided periorbital edema with slight ecchymosis and enophthalmos. There was conjunctival injection of the left eye, but no hyphema was noted. Pupils were equal, round, and reactive. Extraocular muscles revealed some restriction with upward gaze. Tympanic membranes were intact without hemotympanum. Nasal and oral examination findings were normal.

A mother's diet around the time of conception may play a role in determining the gender of her baby, findings published April 22 in the online Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggest.