Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Pediatrics / Children's Health News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/pediatrics/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171705.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171705.php HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of up to $10 million in grants to help reach American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children who qualify for, but are not yet enrolled, in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These new grants are part of a broader effort to find and enroll uninsured children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled. Pediatrics / Children's Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171704.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171704.php A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, she explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein. Nutrition / Diet Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171709.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171709.php A new study on pediatric H1N1 influenza admissions has found that asthma is a significant risk factor for severe disease in children with pandemic H1N1 compared with the seasonal flu. The study (http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/rapidpdf/cmaj.091724), led by researchers from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, is published online in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Swine Flu Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171714.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171714.php Asthma symptoms can worsen in children with depressed mothers, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Depression Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171624.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171624.php A New Jersey public high school student last week filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her free-speech and religious-freedom rights were violated when her school's administrators prohibited her from participating in an antiabortion-rights protest last month, the AP/Google News reports. Abortion Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171672.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171672.php Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have a number of cognitive deficits, but mathematical ability seems particularly damaged. Little is known about the brain structures related to mathematical deficits in children with FASD. A new study that used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the relationship between mathematical skills and brain white matter structure in children with FASD supports the importance of the left parietal area for mathematical tasks. Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171597.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171597.php A pediatric immunologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has received a prestigious annual award from the American Philosophical Society, an organization founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. Jordan S. Orange, M.D., Ph.D., received the Society's Judson Daland Prize on Nov. 13 for his contributions to research and treatment of inherited immune deficiency diseases. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171552.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171552.php Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 10 to 1 that the data presented support the safety and effectiveness of its 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate candidate vaccine, Prevnar 13™ (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and young children. Immune System / Vaccines Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171525.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171525.php Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today testified in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Environment on the opportunities to combat child hunger and improve the health and nutrition of children across the country during the upcoming reauthorization of USDA's Child Nutrition Programs. Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171522.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171522.php A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly - or the development of flat spots on an infant's head - according to findings reported by Arizona State University scientists in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171537.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171537.php At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171509.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171509.php The "co-ordinated buying policy" of the GAVI Alliance has driven down "[t]he price of a vaccine that helps babies fight off killer diseases," according to data released by the group, Reuters reports. In 2010, the price of pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis B, will fall "below $3.0 - a drop of almost $0. Immune System / Vaccines Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171516.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171516.php Toddlers and obese children suffer more than other youth when exposed to secondhand smoke, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. "Secondhand smoke in children is not just bad for respiratory issues, as has been previously described by other researchers," said John Anthony Bauer, Ph.D. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171482.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171482.php Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports on the future of the Children's Health Insurance Program. One of its staunchest backers, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, "isn't ready to see it swallowed up by a new health insurance marketplace designed by Congress" (11/17). This information was reprinted from Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171406.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171406.php Parental nurturing is backfiring, and as a result a generation of teens is growing up less independent, less skilled at common tasks - from doing laundry to choosing college classes - and increasingly unprepared for adulthood, studies show. Even young adults often are highly reliant on their parents; more than 60 percent of 23-year-olds and 30 percent of 25-year olds are still financially supported by their parents. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171410.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171410.php Studying drugs in pediatric populations is challenging because drugs often affect children differently than they do adults. The scarcity of pediatric studies limits the ability of doctors and scientists to predict drug dosing, safety and efficacy in children. To address this gap, the National Institutes of Health has announced 18 grants to help determine outcome measures and increase the likelihood of success of future trials of treatments for children. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171423.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171423.php Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Single-ventricle defects are a collection of cardiac malformations that impair the heart's ability to pump blood. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171384.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171384.php Parents have long suspected that the brains of their teenagers function differently than those of adults. With the advent of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, we have begun to appreciate how the brain continues to develop structurally through adolescence and on into adulthood. High emotionality is a characteristic of adolescents and researchers are trying to understand how 'emotional areas' of the brain differ between adults and adolescents. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171420.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171420.php Research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood reports that if UK swine flu resurges during the winter months, there may not be a sufficient amount of intensive care beds for one of the most seriously affected groups: children. More than half of admissions to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are unplanned. Respiratory illness is the second largest cause of admission. Swine Flu Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171378.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171378.php Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) announced it has submitted pediatric data for Lipitor® (atorvastatin) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). Pfizer has also developed a new chewable form of Lipitor, including a pediatric-appropriate 5 mg dose, which is part of this submission. Pediatrics / Children's Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171335.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171335.php WLBT: "The White House Office of National AIDS Policy chose Jackson [Mississipppi] to host an HIV/AIDS town hall meeting Monday night. The community discussion allowed Mississippians to give feedback that will be included in a national strategy to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ... Many asked for sex and STD education in the schools, more doctors and transportation funding in rural areas and health insurance" (Anderson, 11/17). HIV / AIDS Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171306.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171306.php German school students - especially those with low socioeconomic status (SES) - significantly improved their exercise capacity and body leanness after a year of daily physical activity classes, according to research presented today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. In a study of German school children with high SES and one with low SES students, researchers examined specific cardiac risk factors. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171345.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171345.php "More than 24,000 infants die daily from preventable diseases in developing countries," and child deaths have fallen in countries where governments "have shown a high level of political leadership on child health," World Vision International said in a new report (.pdf) released on Monday as part of a five-year campaign to reduce child deaths worldwide, the Pediatrics / Children's Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171360.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171360.php Following the increasing impact of the GAVI Alliance on the vaccine market, the price of one of the major combination vaccines, the pentavalent, is falling considerably, enabling GAVI's partners to vaccinate millions of more children in the developing world. Immune System / Vaccines Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171307.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171307.php For the second consecutive year, the United States earned only a "D" on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, demonstrating that more than half a million of our nation's newborns didn't get the healthy start they deserved. In the 2009 Premature Birth Report card, seven states improved their performance by one letter grade and two fared worse. Pregnancy / Obstetrics