News

Although the majority of British children are immunized with the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, a substantial proportion remain susceptible to infection due to the conscious decision of their parents not have them immunized, according to an article published Feb. 28 in BMJ Online First.

In the diagnosis of solid organ injuries in children, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography is almost as accurate as contrast-enhanced computed tomography and may confer less risk, researchers report in the March issue of Radiology.

AstraZeneca's Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium) has received approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the short-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children ages 1 to 11.

Overweight Hispanic children and adolescents with normal glucose tolerance have higher levels of plasma markers of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation as well as high blood pressure, high triglycerides and insulin resistance, researchers report in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's immunization advisory committee voted this week to expand influenza vaccination recommendations to include all children aged 6 months to 18 years.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) expanded the age range of which children should get a flu shot, including everyone from six months to adulthood...

Fewer newborns are being born with cystic fibrosis in Massachusetts, a decrease that researchers attribute to increased preconception and prenatal screening for the genetic disease, according to an article published in the Feb. 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Anesthesia providers should be aware of perioperative complications that are more likely to occur with children who are obese, including major oxygen desaturation and critical airway events, according to research published in the March issue of Anesthesiology.

Abbott's Humira (adalimumab) had been approved by the food and Drug Administration for its sixth indication, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis...

The first reported North American cluster of ciprofloxacin-resistant meningoccocal disease occurred in 2007-2008 in North Dakota and Minnesota, according to a report published in the Feb. 22 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Many of the commercials on Spanish-language television during after-school hours are for food and drink, with many of them sodas and fast food...

Chronically depressed adolescents who fail to respond to a first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) may be successfully treated with cognitive behavioral therapy and a switch in antidepressant medication, a combination that appears to be more efficacious than switching medications alone, researchers report in the Feb. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The Food and Drug Administration has made the approval of GlaxoSmithKline's rotavirus vaccine all but official, having its advisory panel vote in favor of the vaccine...

Nearly half of patients with severe congenital neutropenia, a rare genetic disorder, possess mutations in the gene encoding granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor, and new research elucidates how stem cells bearing this mutation gain clonal advantage over other bone marrow cells, leading to leukemia, according to an article published online Feb. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Low expression of the mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) gene appears to increase cystic fibrosis severity in part due to its association with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection at a younger age, and MBL2's effects are increased in patients with a high-producing genotype of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1), according to a report published online Feb. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The Food and Drug Administration has made the approval of GlaxoSmithKline's rotavirus vaccine all but official, having its advisory panel vote in favor of the vaccine...

Supplementation with antioxidants and folinic acid has no impact on the psychomotor and language development of children with Down syndrome, according to a study published Feb. 21 in BMJ.

The active recruitment of health care workers from Sub-Saharan Africa is a violation of the human rights of African people and should be viewed as an international crime, according to an article in the Feb. 23 issue of The Lancet, which is a special issue on human resources for health.

There is a wide variation in cholera incidence rates across regions where the disease is endemic, but children are always the worst affected, according to research published in the January issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

So few children have strokes that it's been difficult to study them. But a new report released by the American Stroke Association said that boys are more likely to suffer a stroke as girls...

Due to new types of flu strains that have spread in the past weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to scrap last year's vaccine and start from scratch...

In children and adolescents, salt intake is strongly associated with total fluid and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption, which supports public-health measures to limit salt content in foods, researchers report in the March issue of Hypertension.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced this week that it has approved a new treatment for hemophilia A, a rare, hereditary, blood-clotting disorder that mostly affects males.

In developing countries, the cause of maternal death is rarely investigated by autopsy, making it impossible to estimate the indirect causes and therefore make informed decisions on the best use of resources targeted at reducing maternal mortality, according to an editorial published in the February issue of PLoS Medicine.

Antidepressant medications can improve a range of depression-related symptoms, but not all of the effects of depression subside at the same rate, according to a report published in the January/February issue of General Hospital Psychiatry.

Infant formula enriched with extra proteins, fat, and nicronutrients like calcium and copper increased preterm infants' cognitive abilities. The study was published in Pediatric Research...

A pair of studies for the Scottish government shows that, as the costs of cocaine drop, more and more teenagers are trying it.

In rural Ethiopian villages severely affected by ocular chlamydial infections that cause trachoma, mass antibiotic distribution can eliminate the infections. But biannual distribution may be the most effective strategy, according to the results of a study published in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Two Orlando children's hospitals have come to terms with the group that wants to build a third hospital.

Printed educational materials and brief audiovisual presentations are both effective in increasing adolescents' knowledge about acne, researchers report in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.