News

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor haploinsufficiency is associated with onset of childhood obesity in patients with Wilms' tumor, aniridia, genitourinary abnormalities and mental retardation (WAGR) syndrome, and may be related to energy homeostasis in humans, researchers report in the Aug. 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Use of magnesium sulfate in mothers at high risk of early preterm delivery was associated with less occurrence of moderate or severe cerebral palsy in surviving offspring, according to study findings published in the Aug. 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Heritable mutations of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene appear to be the main cause of familial neuroblastoma, a finding that may offer a therapeutic target for the disease, according to research published online Aug. 24 in Nature.

Bacteria or fungi in a mother's amniotic fluid may play a larger role in premature birth than previously believed, according to the August 26 PLoS One.

The blood pressure of teens newly diagnosed with hypertension can be reduced with allopurinol, but the potential for the drug to become a new treatment depends on the outcome of larger clinical trials to better understand the potential side effects of the drug, according to a report published in the Aug. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a handbook for educators and caregivers on how to tackle electronic aggression, including cyber-bullying and harassment, toward young people in their care.

Perioperative care for preschoolers must take into account their stage of emotional and psychological development as well as their unique physical and medical needs, according to an article published in the August issue of AORN Journal.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would revise criteria for over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children, according to The Washington Post.

Recent measles outbreaks in the United States have primarily occurred among unvaccinated school-aged children, often after exposure to people from other countries with ongoing outbreaks, according to a report published in the Aug. 22 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Parents who self-report frequently spanking children and spanking children with an object also report other punishments that are consistent with physical abuse, according to an article released online Aug. 20 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Programs that reduce risk-taking, improve social capital, and improve levels of affluence would work best to improve adolescent health, researchers reported in the September Journal of Adolescent Health.

Radiation damage can spread to unirradiated parts of the body and cause cancer in mice via a bystander effect that induces cellular damage and death, according to a report published online Aug. 18 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

Measles cases occurring in 2008 through July 31 were the highest reported year-to-date since 1996, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s August 22 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Pain treatments that contain codeine may not be safe for all mothers who breastfeed their infants, according to a report in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

The media play a crucial role in either encouraging or discouraging young people to start smoking, according to a monograph presented by the National Cancer Institute.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis seems to be multifactorial and the role of physical activity remains controversial, according to an article published in the August issue of Spine.

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.

Adalimumab was associated with improved symptoms in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, according to the results of a study published in the Aug. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Optimizing the cost effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination depends on several factors: the duration of vaccine immunity, achieving universal coverage in pre-adolescent girls, targeting catch-up vaccinations among young women and revising screening guidelines, according to a report published in the Aug. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The health care plans proposed by John McCain and Barack Obama would have uncertain effects on health care coverage in America, but potential problems with each plan are evident, according to a perspective piece in the Aug. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Among children with ependymoma, conformal radiation therapy leads to better long-term academic results compared to conventional radiation therapy approaches, according to a report in the Aug. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to NeoChild for alleged misbranding of its neonatal devices and procedural errors.

Ralph D. Feigin, MD, Physician-in-Chief at Texas Children's Hospital for more than three decades and an internationally renowned expert in pediatric infectious diseases, died on August 14 of lung cancer. He was 70.

Even older adults with computer skills may have difficulty using the Medicare.gov Web site to determine eligibility for services and enroll in a drug plan, according to a research letter published in the Aug. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Adolescent acne patients prefer a treatment strategy that would offer 100 percent acne clearance without scarring, and would be willing to pay more money to achieve this outcome, according to a study published in the August issue of the Archives of Dermatology.

Allowing local health facilities in developing countries to treat children with severe pneumonia rather than referring them to hospitals results in better disease management and fewer deaths, according to a report published online Aug. 19 in The Lancet.

Healthy adolescents with poor quality of sleep are more likely to have prehypertension, according to research published online Aug. 18 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Postpubertal females with asthma have more severe airway responsiveness compared with males and the responsiveness is associated with gender-specific factors, researchers report in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.