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Medicineworld.org: Archives of pediatric news blog
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Archives Of Pediatric News Blog From Medicineworld.Org
Keep Kids Safe From Lawn Mower Injuries
To help prevent injures, the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) have teamed up to educate parents, adults and children about the importance of lawn mower safety during National Safety Month, June 2006. "The power lawn mower is one of the most dangerous tools around the home, but a number of children view it as a potential toy - resulting in thousands of debilitating injures every year," said ASRM President L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS. "Lawn mower injuries often include deep cuts, loss of fingers and toes, limb amputations, broken and dislocated bones, burns, and eye injuries. Most of these injuries can be prevented by following a few simple safety tips."........ Posted by: JoAnn Permalink Source How accommodating is our society to women who breastfeed?
The U.S. Healthy People 2010 target is to increase the proportion of mothers who choose to breastfeed their babies for at least six months to 50%; the World Health Organization recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first six months. However, these goals may be difficult to meet since some mothers in the U.S. face challenges to breastfeeding. A number of women view their return to work as a cause for ending their breastfeeding regime early. Even women who use a breast pump require 30 minutes of privacy each workday to expel breast milk. In the recent issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, a commentary by Dr. Tonse Raju from the National Institutes of Health reflects on the continued barriers for breastfeeding mothers. Most industrialized nations guarantee maternity leave for up to 16 weeks at 75-100% of pay. Norway exceeds that by providing up to 42 weeks of maternity leave with full pay or 52 weeks with 80% pay. The U.S., however, allows a woman 12 weeks of unpaid leave, without the risk of losing her job, during any 12-month period. Allowing new mothers more time off work may encourage the continuation of breastfeeding, potentially minimizing societal limitations. Eventhough it might be difficult to enact a policy similar to that of Norway, the U.S. should consider what is needed to support women who choose to breastfeed......... Posted by: JoAnn Permalink Source Tobacco Smoke Linked to Allergic Rhinitis in Infants
Usually known as hay fever, allergic rhinitis occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly reacts to allergens (aggravating particles) in the air. The body then releases substances to protect itself, causing the allergy sufferer to experience persistent sneezing and a runny, blocked nose. This is the first study to show a relationship between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and allergic rhinitis in year-old infants, the UC team reports in the recent issue of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and an early online edition May 17. "Prior studies have addressed risk factors for allergic rhinitis, but they failed to examine multiple environmental exposures, and some yielded contradictory results," says Jocelyn Biagini, lead author and an epidemiologist in UC's environmental health department. The study evaluated the effects of numerous indoor exposures to such things as environmental tobacco smoke, visible mold, pets, siblings and the day-care environment on 633 infants under age one. "We found that infants who were exposed to 20 or more cigarettes a day were three times more likely to develop allergic rhinitis by their first birthday than those who were not exposed," says Biagini......... Posted by: JoAnn Permalink Carcinogens Found In Their Babies' Urine
Image courtesy of Blogs.globalink.org
"The take home message is, 'Don't smoke around your kids,'" said Stephen S. Hecht, Ph.D., professor and Wallin Chair of Cancer Prevention at The Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. As per a research studyof 144 infants, reported in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Hecht and colleagues found detectable levels of NNAL* in urine from 47 percent of babies exposed to environmental tobacco carcinogens from cigarette smoking family members. NNAL is a cancer-causing chemical produced in the human body as it processes NNK**, a carcinogenic chemical specific to tobacco. "The level of NNAL detected in the urine of these infants was higher than in most other field studies of environmental tobacco smoke in children and adults," Hecht said. "NNAL is an accepted biomarker for uptake of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK. You don't find NNAL in urine except in people who are exposed to tobacco smoke, whether they are adults, children, or infants." A prior study by Hecht and colleagues indicated that the first urine from newborns whose mothers smoked during pregnancy contained as much as one-third more NNAL compared to the babies in the current study. The newborn infants, however, took in the carcinogen directly from their mothers through their placentas rather than by breathing second-hand smoke in the air in their family homes and cars......... Posted by: Janet Permalink Source Inducing Labor Carries Risks
Elisabeth Erekson, M.D., a resident in obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, presented her research at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in May. Her advice to women who are tired of being pregnant and thinking of speeding things along by asking their doctors to induce labor? Let nature take its course. "Induction is not a non-malignant process and is associated with risk factors, one of them being an infection inside the uterus. Women who are tired of being pregnant and looking at induction for elective reasons need to closely consider that an elective induction may have more risk than spontaneous labor," she said. "So, enjoy the pregnancy. You won't be getting lots of rest after delivery." Chorioamnionitis can lead to severe infections in the mother with risks of sepsis, abnormal bleeding and future infertility, as well as infections in the newborn baby......... Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Genetic Insights Into Retinoblastoma
A key finding of the new study is that humans are more susceptible to developing retinoblastoma than mice, because mice can compensate for the loss of a gene critical to normal retinal development while humans cannot. The results of the study appear in the open-access journal BMC Biology. "Our study gives us important new information on the normal development of the retina and suggests new studies that could lead to the design of more effective drugs to treat retinoblastoma," said Michael Dyer, Ph.D., an associate member of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude and senior author of the paper. The scientists discovered that during the development of the retina in mice, three genes that belong to the Rb gene family are expressed at different times. Specifically, the p107 gene is active before birth in cells that are going to become the retina. This gene ensures that the retinal cells stop multiplying at the proper time during development of this tissue. The Rb gene is expressed after birth in those cells that are actively multiplying as they also help form the retina......... Posted by: Janet Permalink Source Embryos In 3-D
Three-dimensional computer image of a mouse embryo
"Our method provides a fast, high-quality and inexpensive way to visually explore the 3-D internal structure of mouse embryos so scientists can more easily and quickly see the effects of a genetic defect or chemical damage," says Chris Johnson, a distinguished professor of computer science at the University of Utah. A study reporting development of the new method - known as "microCT-based virtual histology" - was published recently in PLoS Genetics, an online journal of the Public Library of Science. The study was led by Charles Keller, a pediatric cancer specialist who formerly worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of University of Utah geneticist Mario Capecchi. Keller now is an assistant professor at the Children's Cancer Research Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. University of Utah co-authors of the study are Johnson - who directs the university's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute - Capecchi, medical student Mark S. Hansen and several members of Johnson's institute: computer science undergraduate Thomas Johnson III, research assistant Lindsey Healey and former associate director Greg M. Jones, who now is state science advisor to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr......... Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Embryos In 3-d D
Three-dimensional computer image of a mouse embryo
"Our method provides a fast, high-quality and inexpensive way to visually explore the 3-D internal structure of mouse embryos so scientists can more easily and quickly see the effects of a genetic defect or chemical damage," says Chris Johnson, a distinguished professor of computer science at the University of Utah. A study reporting development of the new method - known as "microCT-based virtual histology" - was published recently in PLoS Genetics, an online journal of the Public Library of Science. The study was led by Charles Keller, a pediatric cancer specialist who formerly worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of University of Utah geneticist Mario Capecchi. Keller now is an assistant professor at the Children's Cancer Research Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. University of Utah co-authors of the study are Johnson - who directs the university's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute - Capecchi, medical student Mark S. Hansen and several members of Johnson's institute: computer science undergraduate Thomas Johnson III, research assistant Lindsey Healey and former associate director Greg M. Jones, who now is state science advisor to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr......... Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Newborns With Jaundice At No Greater Risk
The study, by scientists from the University of California, San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research, is good news for parents because about 60 percent of newborns develop jaundice, and it is one of the most common reasons babies are re-hospitalized after birth. "These are reassuring results" said Thomas B. Newman, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics and biostatistics at UCSF and the lead investigator of the study. "Our research shows that when severe jaundice is detected and treated properly, we can prevent long-term neurological problems." The study appears in the May 4, 2006 issue of NEJM. Jaundice is a common condition in newborns. It refers to the yellow color of the skin and eyes caused by excess levels of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal recycling and replacement of red blood cells. In adults the liver processes the bilirubin, but in newborns the liver is still immature and often is unable to break bilirubin down fast enough, so levels build up. In a newborn the bilirubin rises rapidly in the first few days after birth, peaking below 15 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) in about 90 percent of babies. Levels of 30 mg/dL or more can lead to a condition called kernicterus, which can cause deafness, cerebral palsy, brain damage or even death......... Posted by: JoAnn Permalink Source Neighborhood Safety May Play Role In Obesity
Scientists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Mathematica Policy Research and the University of Pennsylvania analyzed perceived neighborhood safety and obesity in women with young children. Connection with one's neighbors, characterized as neighborhood cohesion, did not have a significant relation to the mother's obesity. "The characteristics of neighborhoods can influence how and where people spend their time, and unsafe neighborhoods are often thought to contribute to the obesity epidemic by decreasing outdoor activity," said study leader Hillary Burdette, M.D., a pediatrician at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Despite a hypothesized link between neighborhood safety and obesity, this was the first study to evaluate this association among adults." Using data collected in 20 large U.S. cities in 15 states for the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, scientists focused on 2400 women with preschool children and found that mothers who perceived their neighborhoods to be safer had a lower body mass index (BMI) and were less likely to be obese, even after accounting for multiple measures of socioeconomic status. The percentage of mothers who were obese increased from 37 percent in the safest neighborhoods to 46 percent in the least safe neighborhoods......... Posted by: JoAnn Permalink Source Older Blog Entries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Did you know?
Adolescents who suffer physical injuries are vulnerable to emotional distress in the months following their hospitalization, yet almost 40 percent of hospitalized adolescents interviewed for a new study had no source for the follow-up medical care that could diagnose and treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress. These young trauma survivors are at risk for high levels of post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of alcohol use, according to research by researchers at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center.
Medicineworld.org: Archives of pediatric news blog
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