News

Fixation preference testing in infants and toddlers may not be reliable in detecting amblyopia, according to a study published in the October Opthalmology.

A mouse model of chronic early stress demonstrated acute and long-lasting neuroendocrine and cognitive changes, according to research published in the October issue of Endocrinology.

The ideal way to encourage big businesses to respond to public health problems could involve compelling them with performance-based regulations or, conversely, fostering an atmosphere of collaboration with them, according to two Head-to-Head articles published Oct. 2 in BMJ.

Birth size, particularly birth length, is associated with the risk of breast cancer, according to a report published online Sept. 30 in PLoS Medicine.

The fixation preference test, widely used by eye specialists to test vision in preschoolers, fails to accurately identify interocular differences in visual acuity, according to an article published in the October issue of Ophthalmology, while a related article concludes that the incidence of decreased visual acuity among children aged 30 months through 71 months is very low.

Deletion of one form of the protein targeted by lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, causes congenital cardiac defects in developing mice, according to research published online Oct. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Adolescents with conduct disorder have higher basal levels of cortisol than their counterparts without the condition, but they secrete less of the hormone under stressful conditions, according to study findings published in the Oct. 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Wheezing illnesses due to rhinovirus infection are a strong predictor of developing asthma in high-risk children, according to a report in the Oct. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used to diagnose influenza, including the H5N1 flu virus.

Books on autism and ASD

A description of 11 books for children with autism and autism spectrum disorders.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, kids started their preparations for Halloween after dinner on October 31. We would find an old mask, or make one out of a paper bag; wealthier kids might buy one. I would grab a pillowcase to hold my "loot" and take off. Neighbors would give us store-bought candy or homemade cookies or cupcakes. It didn't occur to anyone that an unwrapped, unsealed item could be dangerous. Older kids were the real danger: they would steal our goodies and often beat us up.