Children’s Health

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Octapharma has launched a phase 3, multi-center superiority study to compare the effectiveness of PANZYGA® (immune globulin intravenous, human – ifas) 10% Liquid Preparation versus placebo in patients with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS). PANS is a condition defined by sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and/or severe eating

The coronavirus pandemic, which is wreaking havoc across the globe, has now infected more than 26.2 million people worldwide and claimed over 867,000 lives. With the growing number of cases, many countries have imposed lockdown orders and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Since the pandemic began, the prevalence of depression symptoms

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 4 2020 David Gonzalez’s “a-ha” moment came when a physician-colleague, George Sakoulas, MD, shared with him one of the biggest problems faced in clinical practice: How long it takes to diagnose a patient. The faster we know what’s going to happen to our patients, the better we can treat them.”

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Adolescence is a difficult period of development, made more complex for those with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The challenges of managing multiple doses of daily insulin administration, blood glucose monitoring, dietary and exercise requirements, can make self-care difficult and complicate outcomes. Adolescents with T1DM often have poorer

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Foodborne pathogens are very common and usually benign, but certain virulent strains of pathogens can result in severe disease and even death. Distinguishing specific strains of pathogens can help scientists better understand them and develop biomarkers to help detect them in patients, expediting diagnosis and treatment. University at

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Researchers from Boston Medical Center’s Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases have identified properties in placenta tissue that may play an important role in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 from a mother with the virus to her fetus. The study results demonstrate that the COVID-19 virus universally invades

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic swiftly and substantially worsened mental health among U.S. hourly service workers and their children – especially those experiencing multiple hardships, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University and Barnard College. The study

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 Less screen time and more green time are associated with better psychological outcomes among children and adolescents, according to a study published September 2 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Tassia Oswald of the University of Adelaide, and colleagues. The prevalence of mental illness among children and

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 With many questions remaining around how children spread COVID-19, Children’s National Hospital researchers set out to improve the understanding of how long it takes pediatric patients with the virus to clear it from their systems, and at what point they start to make antibodies that work against the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 2 2020 Children and adolescents who speak more than one language may reach adulthood with more grey matter, according to a new study. In a paper published in Brain Structure and Function, an international team of academics led by the University of Reading and Georgetown University looked at detailed scans

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 2 2020 Misfiring brain cells that control key parts of the mouth and tongue may be creating swallowing difficulties in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, according to neuroscientists with Virginia Tech and George Washington University. In research using a mouse model of a genetic childhood disorder known as DiGeorge syndrome, scientists

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 2 2020 Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have added to evidence that a gene responsible for turning off a cell’s natural “suicide” signals may also be the culprit in making breast cancer and melanoma cells resistant to therapies that use the immune system to fight cancer. A summary of the research,

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 1 2020 When girls reach puberty at an unusually early age, they face a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Now, experts at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati offer a new, unified explanation for why that increased risk occurs. Detailed findings were published online

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 31 2020 Three anticonvulsant drugs commonly used to stop prolonged, potentially deadly seizures each work equally well, according to a national study led by physicians at UT Southwestern. The results provide reassurance to patients who may have drug allergies and to physicians and hospitals that may not have supplies of

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 1 2020 A new study published in the journal Pediatrics found that young adults aged 18-26 who used legal performance-enhancing substances were significantly more likely to report several problematic alcohol use and drinking-related risk behaviors seven years later. This relationship was especially strong among men. The study, which analyzed a

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 1 2020 The September issue of Neurosurgical Focus looks at anterior approaches to thoracolumbar spinal surgery. According to the topic editors, Paul Park, Juan Uribe, Tokumi Kanemura, and Dean Chou, “The procedures highlighted in this issue of Neurosurgical Focus broaden the scope of possibilities for the anterior approach, enabling spine

Research has shown that telomeres (TL) are markers of biological age in the genetic material. These are the non-coding regions of chromosomes. As well as genetic factors, several lifestyle factors can affect telomeres, such as physical activity and smoking. There have also been studies that show an association between diet and telomere length. Now, a

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 1 2020 Newly approved drugs in Canada lack important pediatric drug information in their product monograph, according to an analysis led by McMaster University and McMaster Children’s Hospital. This absence of pediatric information perpetuates “off-label” drug use which could be dangerous for this vulnerable population, say the authors. They add

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 31 2020 Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to readily switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands. For example, when our brains are processing one task, an external stimulus is present, requiring us to switch our mental processes to attend to this external stimulus.

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 31 2020 More than 13% of women and 3.6% of men on college campuses have an eating disorder of some kind, but fewer than 20% of those affected ever receive treatment due to lack of available clinicians and the stigma associated with seeking help. New research led by eating disorders