Children’s Health

Using data from the national register in Denmark, researchers studied how likely persons infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmit it within their households. The study found additional household members tested positive in 17% of cases after one person in the household was infected. The research is published on the preprint

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 11 2020 In a study published in JAMA today, Mount Sinai researchers report findings that shed some light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks, who have experienced rates of infection and death that are much greater, in some areas twice and three times more, than their proportion of

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 10 2020 The death of a family pet can trigger a sense of grief in children that is profound and prolonged, and can potentially lead to subsequent mental health issues, according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In a paper appearing in European Child &

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association have come up with a joint report on the number of children affected by COVID-19 across the United States. Over half a million children have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), they point out. Their report titled, “Children and COVID-19:

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 10 2020 Psychologists at the University of Birmingham are working with The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to help the charity in its response to children who are at risk of suicide. The NSPCC has funded a research program at the University that will enable experts

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 9 2020 Results of a clinical trial released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine indicate that a combination of stem cell therapy and educational intervention can significantly help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social communication, language, and daily skills improved markedly within 18 months after stem cell transplantation. Conversely,

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 9 2020 Food allergies are on the rise, with more than five million children, about two kids in every school classroom, now suffering from allergy to at least one food. Researchers at National Jewish Health are working to discover what is responsible for this increase and have determined that many

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 9 2020 Early findings from researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) show that convalescent plasma appears to be a safe and possibly effective treatment for children with life-threatening cases of COVID-19. The results were published online Friday by the journal Pediatric Blood and Cancer. To date, no therapies have

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 8 2020 As your preschooler plays an alphabet game, does a puzzle or dresses up a favorite character through an app on a phone or tablet, companies may be stealthily collecting their personal information for marketing purposes. Just like adults, children often leave digital footprints disclosing what websites they use

Globally, millions of people have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Cases are skyrocketing in many countries, including the United States, India, and Brazil. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is mainly a respiratory illness. It spreads by infectious respiratory droplets when someone sneezes, coughs,

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 8 2020 As the fall approaches, pediatric hospitals will start seeing children with seasonal influenza A and B. At the same time, COVID-19 will be co-circulating in communities with the flu and other respiratory viruses, making it more difficult to identify and prevent the novel coronavirus. With little published data

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 8 2020 A team of pediatric oncologists led by PD Dr. Anton G. Henssen has set out to further improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in cancer development and disease progression. PD Dr. Henssen, a researcher at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) – a facility jointly operated

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 8 2020 As co-director of school-based health centers at Bassett Healthcare Network, the pediatrician oversees about 21 school-based health clinics across the region — a poor, rural area known for manufacturing and crippled by the opioid epidemic. From ankles sprained during recess to birth control questions, the clinics serve as

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 8 2020 The University of Glasgow’s Sir Graham Teasdale, co-creator of the Glasgow Coma Scale, once again has teamed with Paul M. Brennan and Gordon D. Murray of the University of Edinburgh. The object: to create a simple and practical tool for use in assessing impaired consciousness in the clinical

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 7 2020 Infants and young children have brains with a superpower, of sorts, say Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists. Whereas adults process most discrete neural tasks in specific areas in one or the other of their brain’s two hemispheres, youngsters use both the right and left hemispheres to do the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 7 2020 Like wrenches made of Legos, SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes tighten or loosen DNA in our cells to control how genes are turned on and made into proteins. When assembled correctly, these complexes play a crucial role in the development of normal tissues, and when broken, they can lead

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 5 2020 Early identification and treatment is vital to avoid long-term mental health consequences from COVID-19 among children and young people, say researchers. Writing in the Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy Journal, the psychologists from the University of Bath highlight how health anxieties can be triggered by changes like returning to

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 5 2020 Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), believed to be linked to COVID-19, damages the heart to such an extent that some children will need lifelong monitoring and interventions, said the senior author of a medical literature review published Sept. 4 in EClinicalMedicine, a journal of The Lancet. Case

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 1 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has brought a number of challenges to schools, which were forced to close in the spring to help slow the spread of infection. One major challenge for schools was ensuring that students’ nutritional supplementation needs were met when they were not attending school in person.

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause severe abnormalities in the fetus, including malformations such as microcephaly. In a small proportion of cases, the disease may lead to miscarriage and perinatal death. A network of more than 30 Brazilian researchers set out to find the causes of these