Children

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may cause severe disease in high-risk people, including the elderly, people with underlying health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and those with weakened immune systems. Though most children and adolescents seem to be spared by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, a

New research from the CHILD Cohort Study has shed light on the influence of vitamin D supplementation on a baby’s developing gut microbiome. The study, published in the journal Gut Microbes, found that vitamin D supplementation is associated with compositional changes in a baby’s microbiome–notably a lower abundance of the bacteria Megamonas–at three months of

One of the most intensively researched areas today is the creation of an effective universal vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is the best single tool to help the world revert to a more normal situation by extinguishing viral spread without the need for lockdowns and travel

A new study by Californian researchers has shown that youth and teenagers who use electronic cigarettes are five times more likely to be affected by COVID-19 disease, and those that use both electronic and traditional cigarettes are seven times more likely to get the infection. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the world since the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 15 2020 Past discriminatory housing practices may play a role in perpetuating the significant disparities in infant and maternal health faced by people of color in the U.S., suggests a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. For decades, banks and other lenders used redlining maps to

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 14 2020 New research supported by the National Institutes of Health delineates how two relatively common variations in a gene called KIF3A are responsible for an impaired skin barrier that allows increased water loss from the skin, promoting the development of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema. This finding could

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 shows that the placenta in pregnant women infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) does not show any signs of abnormality that can be attributed to the infection. The current COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading in many parts of the world,

A single intravenous dose of MRG-110, an anti-microRNA drug, significantly reduced miR-92a levels in the blood of healthy humans. Inhibition of miR-92a has shown beneficial effects in animal models, including improved vascularization after myocardial infarction, and accelerated wound healing, according to the peer-reviewed journal Nucleic Acid Therapeutics. “Based on documented, promising therapeutic potential, locked nucleic

A team of researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) affiliated with the CHOP Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative (ENGIN) further bridged the gap between genomic information and clinical outcome data by systematically linking genetic information with electronic medical records, focusing on how genetic neurological disorders in children develop over time. The findings were published today in

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening intestinal disease of prematurity. Characterized by sudden and progressive intestinal inflammation and tissue death, it affects up to 11,000 premature infants in the United States annually, and 15-30% of affected babies die from NEC. Survivors often face long-term intestinal and neurodevelopmental complications. Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the University

With the rapid and extensive spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USA witnessed an almost universal closure of schools in March 2020. Now, after months of enforced online schooling, federal authorities are impatient for schools to re-open. However, how should this be done without endangering the lives of teachers, administrative and other non-teaching staff, and

Research has shown that a mutation in the ATAXIN-1 gene leads to accumulation of Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) protein in brain cells and is the root cause of a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). How healthy cells maintain a precise level of ATXN1 has remained a mystery, but now a study

The current global climate of misinformation and myths about the origin, cure of, and measures required to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic has mired public acceptance of and compliance with governmental interventions and personal precautions. Now, a new study published in the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 examines the prevalence of and reasons for

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 6 2020 Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Ludmila Belayev, MD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery, has unlocked a key fundamental mechanism in the communication

The review, published in the British Ecological Society Journal People and Nature, is the first to focus on nature connection in children and adolescents. In the article Dr. Chawla comprehensively reviews the full scope of literature on the topic, covering peer-reviewed articles, books and studies by environmental organizations. The review finds that connecting with nature

Aug 5 2020 Neutrolis, a biotechnology company developing therapeutics that target neutrophils, the most abundant immune cells in the body, today announced the development of NTR-441, a first-in-class DNASE1L3 enzyme analog that has the potential to rapidly and systemically clear neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) for severe cases of COVID-19. NETs are a fundamental arm of

A mother’s own breast milk has infection-fighting factors and nutrients to help fuel growth and development in babies and may be easier to digest than formula. Providing this nourishment is particularly important for infants born prematurely, both while they are receiving care in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and after they are able

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Jul 31 2020 Researchers led by a team at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have devised a new therapeutic approach to treating a rare but deadly neurodegenerative genetic disease in children. The study, published this week in Nature Medicine, addresses the urgent need to discover treatments for Batten disease,

A new study by researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Brookhaven National Laboratory and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 discusses the effect of a factor called persistent contact heterogeneity on the final epidemic size of COVID-19. The researchers say that using estimates based on this measure reduces the herd

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc across the globe, it has been thought that children mostly seemed to be spared by severe illness. In the majority of cases, children infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) only develop a mild illness, with some tagged as asymptomatic. Now, new evidence

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Jul 30 2020 In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus seemed only rarely to have serious complications in children. However, by April 2020, pediatricians had begun recognizing a syndrome in children who tested positive for COVID-19 involving hyperinflammation and some other attributes found in Kawasaki disease (KD).

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named two outstanding young scientists as recipients of the Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award, committing nearly $500,000 to help address a critical shortage of funding for pediatric cancer research. The Fellowship Award provides funding to basic scientists and clinicians who conduct research with the potential to significantly

Whether returning to a school building, online learning, or a hybrid school environment, it is normal for children and adolescents to have some stress or anxiety about going back to school. This year, fears of getting sick, school safety protocols for COVID-19 or heightened tensions around racism may make the transition even more difficult. “There

L-type calcium channel blockers (LCCBs) — the most widely used drugs for treating hypertension — may harm the heart as much as help it, according to a new study. The research team, led by Penn State, found that in rats and human cells in vitro, LCCBs cause changes in blood vessels — known as vascular

Over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) have long been a staple in households for managing pain, fevers, and other common ailments. However, the accessibility of these medications can make them easy to take in dangerous amounts. In a new study, researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the

UC San Diego Health and the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, part of UC San Diego School of Medicine, will be sites for an accelerated national clinical trial to assess the efficacy and immunogenicity of a vaccine intended to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The trial, sponsored by the National

The ongoing disruptive changes from efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are having a substantial negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of parents and their children across the country, according to a new national survey published today in Pediatrics. Families are particularly affected by stressors stemming from changes in work, school and

Adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy is one of the most promising new treatments for people with hard-to-treat cancers. However, the process is complex and needs fine-tuning in order to develop more treatment strategies that will work for more people. In a new study looking at adoptive cell transfer products bearing a transgenic T-cell receptor (TCR), researchers