News

Adding cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to a single selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) mildly improves symptoms of depression compared to the effect of the SSRI alone, a new study shows. But the full potential and effect of CBT may have been weakened by a reduction in subjects' use of SSRIs, according to Gregory Clarke, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, where the study was performed.

The "Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active"! program is now available to help young people 11 to 13 years old, first, become aware of how the media can influence their dietary choices and, second, make smart decisions about what they eat and how they spend their time. Developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the after-school program offers fun, hands-on activities that teach critical thinking skills.

An evidence-based clinical practice guideline aimed at identifying, reducing, and preventing childhood overweight was recently released by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. The goal of the NAPNAP initiative, "Identifying and Preventing Overweight in Children" is to slow, and even reverse, the rapid increase in overweight among children.

New research reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Toronto in May shows that Shire Pharmaceutical Group's methylphenidate transdermal system (Daytrana) appears a safe and well-tolerated alternative to OROS methylphenidate, and is equally efficacious.

Because states now test for 30 or more metabolic disorders at or soon after birth, false-positive results are on the rise in newborns. This can cause considerable parental stress-even when a baby's results prove negative on retesting. Now, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston report that the stress could be alleviated by better educating parents and pediatricians. The findings appear in the June 2006 issue of Pediatrics.

How much should you know about the background of those who handle your office payments, payroll, and finances-before you hire them?

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a complex of diagnostic contradictions, tangled parental interactions, charged emotions, and significant clinical discomfort. It's a problem that takes you beyond pathophysiology into shades of gray of the mind. The central goal of intervention is, always, the child's well-being.

A careful history, thorough physical examination, and limited diagnostic studies often point the way to the cause and successful treatment of this distressing disorder.

Vulnerable child syndrome distorts parents' perceptions of their child's health, disrupts the parent-child relationship, and can harm development and behavior in an otherwise healthy child. Here are steps you can take to recognize problems early and improve family interactions.

What's causing chronic, intermittent abdominal pain radiating to both flanks in a 15-year-old girl?

A solicitation of medical advice over dinner with a new acquaintance is cause for discomfort.

The April issue of Consultant For Pediatricians included a case of a 12-year-old girl with poliosis. The author, Bhagwan Das Bang, MD, noted that poliosis is associated with ocular chronic staphylococcal blepharitis, Waardenburg syndrome, Marfan syndrome, vitiligo, and Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome.

Several asymptomatic, erythematous papules and plaques had appeared on the hands of an otherwise healthy 11-year-old girl. The personal and family medical histories were noncontributory. A punch biopsy from the largest lesion on the palm confirmed the clinical diagnosis of localized granuloma annulare, a self-limited inflammation of the dermis

The "A" in the title stands for acrodermatitis enteropathica, an uncommon underlying cause of diaper dermatitis (DD). The "Pee," the colloquial term for urine, is probably the most common irritant (along with feces) that contributes to the breakdown of skin in the diaper area.

A 5-year-old African girl, whose family lived in France, was brought to the emergency department of our hospital during a family visit to the United States. The child had a 1-week history of difficulty in swallowing, a temperature of up to 38.3°C (101°F), and rhinorrhea. She had lost 4 lb during the week. According to her mother, the patient had no history of cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or sick contacts.

Pediatricians are getting fed up with how much they still seecharacters smoking in motion pictures, reports Stanton A. Glantz,PhD, professor of medicine at the University of San Francisco.Speaking at a podium session at the Pediatric Academic Societies2006 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, on April 29, Dr. Glanz wenton to call smoking in films "a continuing danger to today'syouth."

AstraZeneca announced earlier this month that the FDA hasapproved the use of esomeprazole magnesium (sold as Nexium)delayed-release capsules for short-term treatment ofgastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in children 12 to 17 yearsof age.