Children

Cardiovascular genetic testing in children presents unique challenges, requiring pre- and post-test counseling with an individualized approach for families, ideally with the involvement of a specialized interdisciplinary team, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association’s journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine. Scientific statements represent the synthesis of data

With a new school year three weeks away and cases of COVID-19 on the rise again, vaccination rates in the households of school-age children will play an important role in how school districts weigh their options for returning to the classroom. A new University of Michigan survey finds that only about one-third (34%) of Detroit

The child had just started kindergarten. Or, as her mother called it, “Russian roulette.” That’s because her school district in Grand Junction, Colorado, experienced one of the nation’s first delta-variant outbreaks last spring, and now school officials have loosened the rules meant to protect against covid-19. The mother, Venessa, who asked not to be named

While access to mental health services may be limited by financial, logistical and/or practical factors among recently migrated families, a new study by University of Houston psychology researchers suggests that maximizing sleep can offer psychological benefit to adolescents in this at-risk group. The current study takes an important first step in identifying that short sleep

Concerned about relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates among U.S. Blacks and Latinos, Glenn Flores, M.D., chair of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is helping to guide a faith-based initiative addressing one of the nation’s most pressing healthcare challenges. “We must raise the vaccination rates for persons of color, as they

There are a number of simple, practical steps that families can take-;including reducing passive screen time and news consumption, having a structured daily schedule and getting enough sleep-;that can promote resilience against mental health problems in youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE

Since reopening campus at the University of California-San Diego last summer, university officials have relied on the tried-and-true public health strategies of testing and contact tracing. But they have also added a new tool to their arsenal: excrement. That tool alerted researchers to about 85% of cases in dorms before they were diagnosed, according to

Most children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) don’t outgrow the disorder, as widely thought. It manifests itself in adulthood in different ways and waxes and wanes over a lifetime, according to a study published Aug.13 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It’s important for people diagnosed with ADHD to understand that it’s normal

In 2019, the Rockville Centre school district in Long Island, New York, was shaken by a string of student deaths, including the suicides of a recent graduate and a current student. “When you get these losses, one after the other, you almost can’t get traction on normalcy,” said Noreen Leahy, an assistant superintendent at the

Throughout development, life and the processes of aging, all human cells accumulate mutations, resulting in what is called mosaicism, a condition in which different cells in the same person have different DNA sequences or genetic makeup. Mosaicism occurs in every human but is mostly unnoticeable. If abnormal cells begin to outnumber normal cells, however, diseases

As the spread of the delta variant threatens the safety of classrooms, a poll released Wednesday found nearly two-thirds of parents support schools’ requiring unvaccinated students age 5 or older and teachers to wear masks. A majority of parents, however, oppose requiring students now eligible for a covid vaccine to get one, with one Black

Children’s Hospital Colorado today announced it has joined the Xplore2/Pivotal trial, and is actively enrolling patients for the first-ever pivotal trial of a synthetic restorative pulmonary valve. To date, pediatric patients requiring right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction have been successfully implanted as part of the global, FDA-approved study. RVOT reconstruction is a procedure needed

The risk that both tobacco and electronic cigarettes can pose to regular smokers’ health has been well documented, but a new UCLA study illustrates just how quickly vaping can affect the cells of even healthy younger nonsmokers. The findings, published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, show that a single 30-minute vaping session can significantly increase

Engineers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a small tabletop device that can detect SARS-CoV-2 from a saliva sample in about an hour. In a new study, they showed that the diagnostic is just as accurate as the PCR tests now used. The device can also be used to detect specific viral mutations linked

Young cancer patients face unique challenges. That’s why the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center started an Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Program in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, which was unfolding just as the AYA program launched, only strengthened the resolve of cancer center staff members to provide support quickly to cancer patients in their

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Nexviazyme (avalglucosidase alfa-ngpt) for intravenous infusion to treat patients 1 year of age and older with late-onset Pompe disease. Patients with Pompe disease have an enzyme deficiency that leads to the accumulation of a complex sugar, called glycogen, in skeletal and heart muscles, which cause muscle weakness

The use of e-cigarettes (vaping) during pregnancy poses a significant health risk for the offspring, impairing blood vessel function even into adulthood, according to a new study by researchers at West Virginia University’s (WVU) School of Medicine. Diminished blood vessel capacity increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular problems. The research article

An investigational treatment pioneered by a Duke Health pediatrician resulted in a one-year survival rate of 77% among children born with a rare condition in which they lack an immune system. The treatment, using cultured thymus tissue (CTT), has been studied at Duke since 1993 for babies born without a thymus gland, which produces the

A potential predictor of complications during pregnancy and birth is fetal birth weight. For example, macrosomia (which is defined as a birth weight greater than 4,000 grams) makes it more difficult for the baby’s shoulders to pass through the mother’s vagina, and this effect can increase the mother’s risk of experiencing vaginal tearing and postpartum

As children made fewer visits to health facilities and engaged in social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation measures, a smaller number of them also received prescription drugs, a new study suggests. Overall, medications prescribed for children dropped by more than a quarter during the first eight months of the pandemic compared to the previous year,

Antibiotics shouldn’t be given to children as a preventative measure to try to avoid another urinary tract infection (UTI) for kids who have already had one infection, as it’s unlikely to prevent another UTI and also contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. This is the new advice from the Australian and New Zealand

Up to 2,000 children and young adults will be enrolled in a study from Children’s National Hospital in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that will examine the long-term effects of COVID-19 and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) after these patients have recovered from a COVID-19 infection. This $40

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, in collaboration with national and international researchers, have identified a genetic mutation in a small number of children with a rare type of inflammatory bowel disease. The discovery of the mutation, which weakens the activity of a protein linked to how the immune system fights viruses in the gut, may help

People with type 2 diabetes diagnosed during youth have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years after diagnosis. The findings are the culmination of a first-of-its-kind trial funded largely by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part

With the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), scientists began an intensive effort to develop vaccines against the virus. These efforts were largely fueled by predictions that public health interventions would inevitably cripple the global economy if continued indefinitely. In the United States,

Adolescents who set goals for their future and those with strong parental support are less likely to use e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, according to a study by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists. The research, published today in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that strategies to prevent youth

Rising number of children have long-haul COVID, especially in Black and Latino communitiesPlay The vast majority of the pandemic’s 4.1 million covid infections in children have been mild. However, doctors are concerned about a growing number of long-haul covid cases and a rare but dangerous inflammatory disease, particularly among Black and Latino children. KHN correspondent

Diagnosing a rare medical condition is difficult. Identifying a treatment for it can take years of trial and error. In a serendipitous intersection of research expertise, an ill patient in this case a child and innovative technology, Bachmann-Bupp Syndrome has gone from a list of symptoms to a successful treatment in just 16 months. The