Children

In a recent study published in The Lancet journal, researchers at Imperial College London quantified the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs in 185 countries and territories between December 8, 2020, and December 8, 2021. Study: Global impact of the first year of COVID-19 vaccination: a mathematical modelling study. Image Credit: Foxeel / Shutterstock 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists partnered with the University of Michigan to convene a panel of maternity care experts to determine new prenatal care delivery recommendations. Based on emerging evidence and experience, including significant changes in prenatal care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, these recommendations are published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women’s

In the largest epidemiologic study of arsenic and birth outcomes to date, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and collaborating institutions estimated arsenic levels in U.S. private well water sources by county and compared estimates to documented birth outcomes. They found an association between estimated groundwater arsenic concentration and risk of low birth weight.

In a new study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers provide additional evidence that COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps protect babies younger than 6 months from being hospitalized due to COVID-19. The risk of COVID-19 hospitalization among babies was reduced by about

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* pre-print server, researchers in the United States characterized differential host immune responses in acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) to inform future development of novel biomarkers for both diseases. Study: Nucleic acid biomarkers of immune response and cell and tissue damage

Vaccines are among some of the most effective preventative measures against infectious disease morbidity and mortality. Smallpox, for example, has been eradicated worldwide solely through a concerted global vaccination effort. Similarly, in many parts of the world, deadly diseases like poliomyelitis and measles are exceedingly rare. However, an increasing number of conspiratorial claims regarding vaccines

A recent study published in the Cell Reports journal analyzed immune ecology at the placenta in mild or asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy. Study: Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals immunological rewiring at the maternal-fetal interface following asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Image Credit: MIA Studio / Shutterstock Background The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, driven

A study analyzing prescription claims for a drug used to treat opioid addictions found that adolescents and young adults were less likely than usual to get treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially if they were covered by private, commercial health insurance. The findings of the study, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and

It’s often said that ‘the eyes tell it all’, but no matter what their outward expression, the eyes may also be able to signal neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD and ADHD according to new research from Flinders University and the University of South Australia. In the first study of its kind, researchers found that recordings

A new multidisciplinary study conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center has found that the co-development of three systems, the gut microbiome, respiratory system and immune system, is correlated with a baby’s respiratory health, and an infant can have negative respiratory outcomes if the development of one of these systems is disrupted.

Physicians at Stanford Medicine have developed a way to provide pediatric kidney transplants without immune-suppressing drugs. Their key innovation is a safe method to transplant the donor’s immune system to the patient before surgeons implant the kidney. The medical team has named the two-transplant combination a “dual immune/solid organ transplant,” or DISOT. A scientific paper

Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) encounters related to physical abuse decreased by 19 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a multicenter study published in the journal Pediatrics. While encounter rates with lower clinical severity dropped during the pandemic, encounter rates with higher clinical severity remained unchanged. This pattern raises concern for unrecognized harm, as opposed

In a recent study published in the Jama Network Open journal, researchers investigated the impact of in utero exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the neurodevelopment of infants. It is still unclear if a mother’s severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection affects her offspring’s neurodevelopment. However, the robust immune activation observed in

Determining how SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, moves from an early stage of infection, when patients are largely asymptomatic, into a later stage when people may experience life-threatening inflammation in the lungs, is a critical step in understanding how to target and treat the disease more efficiently. But that transition process is complex and cannot

Diet-related chronic diseases are now considered a global pandemic. Thus, promoting better health amongst populations necessitates curtailing faulty and deleterious dietary patterns and evidence-based recommendations. The human gut microbiota plays a crucial part in modulating chronic diseases and the expression of the physiological effects of diet. A recent Cell Host & Microbe study discusses the

Researchers have known for some time that maternal breast milk provides critical nutrients for newborns, and antibodies from mothers vaccinated against a specific disease-causing bacterium or virus can be transferred via breast milk to babies. Now a new preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators shows that one specific set of antibodies that is induced

Innovative efforts at the University of Virginia School of Medicine to use a harmless amoeba to protect children from dangerous infections has won critical financial support from The Hartwell Foundation. The Hartwell Foundation, which supports early-stage, cutting-edge biomedical research to benefit children of the United States, will provide UVA researcher Shannon Moonah, MD, $100,000 each

Transgender individuals are more likely to experience discrimination, isolation, and lack of social support. This, along with negative psychosocial challenges, such as being denied access to gender-neutral restrooms, combined with being a college student, and you have what associate professor of neurology, Shelley Hershner M.D., calls “a perfect storm” that can contribute to sleep disorders

A new study from York St John University has shown for the first time that parents of autistic children with imaginary friends report that their children are better able to understand others’ minds and have stronger social skills than those autistic children with no imaginary friend. Dr Paige Davis. Image Credit: York St John University

Analyzing brain stem cells of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Rutgers scientists have found evidence of irregularities in very early brain development that may contribute to the neuropsychiatric disorder. The findings support a concept scientists have long suspected: ASD arises early in fetal development during the period when brain stem cells divide to form

The Com-COV 3 study has been commissioned through the NIHR and backed by £2.8 million government funding, with support from both the Vaccine Taskforce and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This new stage of the study – which will look to enrol 380 volunteers – is funded entirely by the Coalition for

Several persistent yet nonspecific symptoms have been reported in individuals who have previously recovered from infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This phenomenon has been referred to as long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), post-COVID syndrome, and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Although no viral load is detected in these patients,

A recent study of Black women found that growing up in an unsafe neighborhood was associated with poorer sleep in adulthood. A total of 1,611 Black women in Detroit, Michigan, who enrolled in the Study of Environment, Lifestyle and Fibroids reported their perceived childhood neighborhood safety at ages 5, 10 and 15 years. Participants also

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital have identified potent, highly specific compounds that interfere with bromodomain (BD)-containing proteins involved in cancer. The compounds, called BET BD1-inhibitors, are a starting point in the development of potentially more effective anti-cancer drugs with less side effects. The team reports in the Proceedings of the

A smartphone app that identifies severe jaundice in newborn babies by scanning their eyes could be a life-saver in areas that lack access to expensive screening devices, suggests a study co-authored by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Ghana. The app, called neoSCB, was developed by clinicians and engineers at UCL

The National Institutes of Health has launched a clinical trial testing whether a monoclonal antibody, dupilumab, can reduce asthma attacks and improve lung function and asthma symptoms in children with poorly controlled allergic asthma who live in low-income urban neighborhoods. The investigators also aim to define the activity levels of asthma-associated gene networks that correspond

A large-scale study of U.S. children and adolescents has found that participation in a team sport is associated with fewer mental health difficulties, but that kids who are exclusively involved in an individual sport-; such as tennis or wrestling-; may face greater mental health difficulties than kids who do no sports at all. Matt Hoffmann

FINDINGS A new study in mice by UCLA scientists reveals how exposure to traffic-related air pollutants causes cellular changes in the placenta that can lead to pregnancy complications and affect the health of both mother and offspring. The researchers found that the cellular changes caused by chronic exposure to air pollutants were related to immune