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Options for treating IBD now include nutritional therapy, probiotics, and biologics. And even therapeutic mainstays, such as steroids and immunomodulators, have undergone improvement. The authors bring you up to date on the newest therapies, the rationale for using them, and their potential for complications.

The new conjugate vaccine MCV4 promises longer duration of immunity and, perhaps, greater clinical efficacy than the polysaccharide vaccine MPSV4. Questions remain about booster doses, vaccinating young children, and safety.

An 11-month-old boy breaks out in a rash when he eats. Is it a food allergy or something else?

A 9-year-old boy has developed an itchy vesicular rash on his left leg that has spread to his other leg and to both arms and hands. What is the diagnosis?

Regulatory bodies have demanded more rigorous assessment of medical providers.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) affects as many as 1 in 200 white adolescent girls. Mean onset of this disorder, which is characterized by dramatic weight loss, a disturbed perception of body shape, and an intense fear of weight gain, is between 13 and 14 years.

If you are reading this editorial, you've already seen the 2 special supplements to Consultant For Pediatricians that came wrapped with our October issue. The editors of those special issues and I hope that you'll find information in the vaccine and dermatology supplements that you can put to good use in your practice. We hope you'll find the same in our regular issue.

A recent study concludes that children and adolescents who are overweight are more likely than normal-weight counterparts to suffer bone fractures and have joint and muscle pain. The study, sponsored by The National Institutes of Health, also found that overweight youth were more likely than non-overweight youth to develop changes in the knee joint that make movement more difficult.

It's long been suggested by research that adolescents who have ADHD are more likely—nearly four times so—to be involved in a motor vehicle accident than unaffected drivers in the same age group. Furthermore, young adults with ADHD have a significantly higher rate of traffic violations and license suspensions than patients without ADHD.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 22 million school days are lost annually from the common cold. The CDC also reports that students who fail to practice proper hand hygiene miss, on average, 3.02 days every school year because of contagious illness. Add to that fact these two observations: One-fifth of the population of the United States attends or works in a school and some bacteria can live two hours or longer on such surfaces as cafeteria tables and desks!

A report released in June at the 17th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography in Baltimore, Md., describes how ultrasonography of the heart can identify pulmonary hypertension in children who are obese and experience sleep apnea. The finding was an outcome of a study of the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in children who have systemic hypertension.

The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation has produced a tool for school personnel, child-care providers, and others entrusted with the care of a child who has type-1 diabetes. "Facts about Diabetes: A guide for school personnel and child care providers" features information about the disease and how it is controlled; clear instructions on handling emergency situations, such as an insulin reaction; and a diabetes management form that can be personalized. The brochure can also be a useful prompt for you to talk with parents of a diabetic child during office visits about their school-day concerns.

A multi-institution study from Canada that tracks the surge in asthma emergencies after the start of the school year serves to remind clinicians that back-to-school asthma is an annual and predictable phenomenon triggered by students' return to school with viral infections. The phenomenon has been documented in previous studies, in the United States and Canada, that showed that more than six times as many asthmatic children of elementary school age are admitted to the hospital in early fall than in summer.But you can make a difference when this seasonal wave overtakes young asthmatics: Give their parents appropriate counseling to help them lessen the morbidity that arises in the classroom and cafeteria. On that point, the American Lung Association offers insight and assistance.

What's the motivation behind the increasing pressure on deans and department chairs to increase diversity among students, trainees, and faculty members?

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