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A certain type of heart defect found in newborns appears to be strongly linked to the time of year the baby is born, according to research presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology yesterday.
Dr. Pirooz Eghtesady from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital studied 1,500 newborns from 38 children’s hospitals throughout the United States born between 1996 and 2006 who had congenital heart diseases that affected the left side of the heart only. They found that one disease, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, was much more common in babies born in April through July. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a serious birth defect that usually requires at least three surgeries to correct.
They concluded that environmental factors, likely an infection in the mother, was to blame. Continue reading »
Children who suffer from asthma symptoms even while being treated with low-dose inhaled corticosteroids can benefit from either increasing the dose or from using one of two types of anti-asthma drugs, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis.
The study by pediatric asthma specialists Robert C. Strunk, M.D., and Leonard B. Bacharier, M.D., aimed to see which of the three step-up theories recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute was most effective for children whose asthma was not well-controlled. Continue reading »
A new study out of New Zealand shows a correlation between the amount of time teenagers spend in front of a screen and a lack of attachment to their parents and their friends.
Researchers at the University of Otego in Dunedin asked 3,043 New Zealand teens aged 14 to 15 about how they spent their free time and what their relationships were like. A report on the study was published in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Continue reading »
It’s been disproven a hundred ways from Sunday, but a new survey shows at least a quarter of American parents still believe that vaccines cause autism.
Hello, parents? Reality is out there somewhere. Continue reading »
Just about the time you stop worrying about when your kids will start eating “real” food comes a new worry – what will make them choke? Now the American Academy of Pediatrics wants to take the worry out of your hands.
The AAP is calling for an added line to nutritional fact labels. They want you to know ahead of time if something poses a choking hazard to your child. And that’s not all. Continue reading »
Does it seem like kids are getting unhealthier? According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association today, they are. Researchers from MassGeneral Hospital for Children found that the prevalence of chronic health conditions like obesity, asthma and behavior or learning problems rose from 12.8 percent in 1994 to 26.6 percent in 2006.
The reasearchers followed 3 consecutive cohorts of children from 1988 to 1994, 1994 to 2000, and 2000 to 2006. Children were ages 2 to 8 at the start of each study period, and the numbers in each cohort ranged from 2337 in the first group to 905 in the second. Continue reading »
Here’s some much-needed good news for those afflicted with autism: a study by the National Center for Scientific Research in France found that a nasal spray containing oxytocin, the love hormone, may help them function better.
The Washington Post reported that thirteen adults suffering from Asperger’s or high-functioning forms of autism were studied in tests involving recognizing faces and games of tossing the ball to others. The results showed the patients scored significantly better when administered the oxycontin spray.
Scientists are hoping that not only adults, but autistic kids will benefit from these findings as well. Angela Sirigu, the director of the study, feels that administering the hormone soon after a child is diagnosed may be key.
“It’s possible it can become a cure, if it’s given early when the problems are detected in the little kids,” Sirigu said. “We can change the way these patients interact with people from childhood.”
While this study is not particularly wide-ranging, it does bring hope to parents and their autistic offspring, which is always a good thing. More research needs to be conducted, obviously, but as oxytocin has been used as an alternative treatment for autism, this seems like it has possibilities. It’s a nice start.
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