News

Immunization rates among children living in the inner city and enrolled in subsidized health care are just over half of national averages, a recent study has found.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a voluntary product recall of approximately 5,000 baby bottle and food warmers in cooperation with Munchkin Inc.

In a rat model of intrauterine growth retardation, which has been linked to diabetes in adulthood, a gene important for pancreatic β-cell function and development undergoes epigenetic changes that result in its silencing after diabetes onset, according to research published online May 8 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Children who lose a parent due to suicide or other unexpected sudden death are at an increased risk for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to an article published in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The risk of neurologic deficit during surgery to correct pediatric kyphosis in the spinal cord region can be minimized by using multimodality monitoring and motor tract assessment during the procedure, according to research published in the May 1 issue of Spine.

Patients aged 12 to 25 who receive non-operative treatment for a primary anterior shoulder dislocation have about a 50 percent chance of their shoulder becoming stable over time or not having a recurrent dislocation, according to a report published in the May issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Adults with greater knee height and arm span, which reflect nutrition and health status in the first two years of life, have a lower risk of developing dementia, according to study findings published in the May 6 issue of Neurology.

A smoking education program that trained influential adolescents to encourage their peers not to smoke resulted in a 22 percent lower likelihood of smoking among 12- and 13-year olds, researchers report in the May 10 issue of The Lancet.

The survival of infants born prematurely at 24 and 25 weeks' gestation has improved over the last 12 years, according to an article published May 9 in BMJ Online First.

High levels of moderate to severe periodontal disease among Pakistani women is associated with increased risks of stillbirth, neonatal and perinatal death, according to the results of a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In the treatment of sickle cell disease, hydroxyurea represents a major advance, according to a National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement published online May 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Prolonged breast-feeding appears to improve children's cognitive development, as measured by IQ scores and teacher ratings at the age of 6, researchers report in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Allowing patients to pay the additional costs of treatments not funded by the U.K.'s National Health Service is unfair and would undermine the foundation of the entire health system, argues the author of a Head to Head article published online May 6 in BMJ.

A sample of patients surgically treated for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis reported a statistically significant increase in pain between two and five years after the procedure, according to research published in the May 1 issue of Spine.

Basic health care needs are not met for more than 200 million children worldwide under the age of 5, according to Save the Children's Ninth Annual State of the World's Mothers report, issued May 6.

Maternal glucose levels that are elevated, but not high enough to warrant a diabetes diagnosis, are associated with increased birth weight and a marker of fetal hyperinsulemia, researchers report in the May 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A genomewide association study links a genetic variation at chromosome band 6p22 with a susceptibility to neuroblastoma, the most common solid cancer of early childhood, according to research published online May 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The use of metformin in women with gestational diabetes was associated with similar rates of perinatal complications as the use of insulin, according to a report published in the May 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Botulinum neurotoxin is effective in treating spasticity in adults and children, cervical dystonia, and autonomic disorders such as axillary hyperhydrosis and detrusor overactivity, according to a series of evidence-based reviews published in Neurology in May.

Maternal serum inhibin-A levels during the second trimester of pregnancy may help predict which deliveries will be complicated by meconium passage, according to research presented this week at the 56th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in New Orleans.

Advances in the field of reproductive technology offer couples wishing to conceive unprecedented choices, such as the ability to avoid inherited disease in their offspring, but also create new ethical dilemmas, according to a speech delivered during the opening session of the 56th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists held this week in New Orleans.

Infants with a lower birth weight have an increased risk of elevated systolic blood pressure in late adolescence and early adulthood, according to research from China presented this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies and Asian Society for Pediatric Research Joint Meeting in Honolulu.

Patients with bipolar disorder and high BMI may respond more poorly to medication and have a more severe course of illness than those with lower BMI.

In infants who receive flu vaccinations, immunogenicity is higher in those who receive live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) than in those who receive trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine. Also, viral shedding is more common among younger children who receive LAIV than in older children, according to two studies presented this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies and Asian Society for Pediatric Research Joint Meeting in Honolulu.

The use of adjuvant corticosteroid therapy in children with bacterial meningitis wasn't associated with survival or length of hospital stay, according to research published in the May 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Popular obstetrics and gynecology textbooks lack the most current information on breast-feeding, and often omit key content such as normal breast-feeding patterns and strategies to improve breast-feeding rates, according to research findings presented at the 56th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists held this week in New Orleans.

Compared to the licensed quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine Menactra, the novel MenACWY-CRM vaccine has similar tolerability and reactogenicity, but its immunogenicity is higher at one month post-vaccination, according to research presented this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies and Asian Society for Pediatric Research Joint Meeting in Honolulu.

Rising medical malpractice premiums may be related to increasing rates of Caesarean delivery and declining rates of operative vaginal delivery at a Connecticut hospital between 1991 and 2005, according to research findings presented at the 56th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists held this week in New Orleans.