Kids News

NIH Study To Test Treatment For Fatty Liver Disease in Children

With the launch of a new clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health, researchers are working to determine whether treating children diagnosed with the most severe form of fatty liver disease with a drug called cysteamine will help improve the liver. 

The trial, called Cysteamine Bitartrate Delayed-Release for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children (CyNCh),will enroll 160 boys and girls ages 8 to 17 with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).  The participants will receive cysteamine or placebo by mouth twice a day for a year.  There are no weight cutoffs or percentiles for the children participating in CyNCh.  However, more than 90 percent of the children are expected to be overweight or obese.  Participants need a baseline biopsy that confirms severe NAFLD to be eligible for the study.   Children with poorly managed diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic liver diseases will be excluded.

Poor sleep linked to increased health and behavior problems in young diabetics

Lighter sleep and breathing problems lead to trouble controlling blood sugar, despite adherence to diabetic health guidelines

DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that young diabetics may be struggling to get a good night's sleep, resulting in worse control of their blood sugar, poorer school performance and misbehavior.

"Despite adhering to recommendations for good diabetic health, many youth with Type 1 diabetes have difficulty maintaining control of their blood sugars," said Michelle Perfect, PhD, the principal investigator in the study. "We found that it could be due to abnormalities in sleep, such as daytime sleepiness, lighter sleep and sleep apnea. All of these make it more difficult to have good blood sugar control."

Turn Down the iPod to Save Your Hearing

Tel Aviv - December 2011 - Using MP3 players at high volume puts teens at risk for early hearing loss, say TAU researchers

Today's ubiquitous MP3 players permit users to listen to crystal-clear tunes at high volume for hours on end — a marked improvement on the days of the Walkman. But according to Tel Aviv University research, these advances have also turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group.

One in four teens is in danger of early hearing loss as a direct result of these listening habits, says Prof. Chava Muchnik of TAU's Department of Communication Disorders in the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center. With her colleagues Dr. Ricky Kaplan-Neeman, Dr. Noam Amir, and Ester Shabtai, Prof. Muchnik studied teens' music listening habits and took acoustic measurements of preferred listening levels.

Childhood Hypersensitivity Linked to OCD

Adult onset could be connected to oral and tactile sensitivities in childhood, Tel Aviv University research finds.

Tel Aviv - In childhood, rituals like regular schedules for meal, bath, and bed times

are a healthy part of behavioral development. But combined with oral and tactile sensitivities, such as discomfort at the dentist or irritation caused by specific fabrics, these rituals could be an early warning sign of adult Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

According to Prof. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychology, hypersensitivity and excessive adherence to childhood rituals may foreshadow the onset of OCD as the child ages. He first suspected the link while working with OCD patients who reported sensitivity to touch and taste as children. Now, in the first comprehensive study of its kind, Prof. Dar and his fellow researchers have established a direct correlation between sensory processing — the way the nervous system manages incoming sensory information — and ritualistic and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. 

Undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) key reason for time off school

[Unidentified Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/myalgic encephalitis (CFS/ME) is a major cause of school absence: surveillance outcomes from school based clinics 2011; doi 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000252]

Undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome, known as CFS/ME, may account for up to one per cent of non-truanting children who take extended time off from school, suggests research published in BMJ Open.

Kids born just a few weeks early at risk of behavioural problems

[Higher rates of behavioural and emotional problems at preschool age in children born moderately preterm doi 10.1136/adc.2011.300131]

Children born just a few weeks too early are significantly more likely to have behavioural and/or emotional problems in the pre-school years, suggests research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

It is well known that children born very premature (under 32 weeks) tend to have significantly more behavioural and/or emotional problems than children born full term, but it has not been clear what impact birth just a few weeks too early might have.

Training peers improves social outcomes for some kids with ASD

NIH-funded study finds engaging peers in social skills intervention may be more helpful than training children with ASD directly

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the children with ASD are taught such skills. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a shift away from more commonly used interventions that focus on training children with ASD directly may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD. The study was published online ahead of print on November 30, 2011, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Neurons grown from skin cells may hold clues to autism

Rare syndrome's workings could help explain how brain wiring goes awry — NIH-funded study

Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge “disease-in a-dish” technology, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have grown patients' skin cells into neurons to discover what goes wrong in the brain in Timothy Syndrome. Affected children often show symptoms of autism spectrum disorders along with a constellation of physical problems.

New Government Data Finds Sharp Decline In Teen Births

Increased Contraceptive Use and Shifts to More Effective Contraceptive Methods Behind this Encouraging Trend

The U.S. teen birth rate declined 9% between 2009 and 2010 to a record low of 34 births per 1,000 teens aged 15–19. This marks the third straight year in which birth rates declined for this age-group, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. Young adults saw similar declines in birthrates, with a 6% decline from 2009 to 2010 among women in their early twenties. Meanwhile, newly released 2008 abortion data from the CDC show that the decline in births is accompanied by a decline in abortions, suggesting that the overall teen pregnancy rate is going down, as well.

Violent video games alter brain function in young men

CHICAGO – A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of long-term effects of violent video game play on the brain has found changes in brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control in young adult men after one week of game play. The results of the study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Teen birth rate hit record low in 2010

CDC report also notes first decline in C-section rate in over a decade

The birth rate for U.S. teens aged 15–19 years hit a record low in 2010, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Births: Preliminary Data for 2010,” from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics is based on an analysis of nearly 100 percent of birth records collected in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. 

Exposure to BPA, Chemical Used to Make Plastics, Before Birth Linked to Behavioral, Emotional Difficulties in Young Girls

Boston, MA – Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA) – a chemical used to make plastic containers and other consumer goods – is associated with behavior and emotional problems in young girls, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Wood Stove Intervention Can Reduce Childhood Pneumonia

NIH-funded study shows 30 percent decline in severe cases   

Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

NIH-funded study shows pre-birth brain growth problems linked to autism

Children with autism have more brain cells and heavier brains compared to typically developing children, according to researchers partly funded by the National Institutes of Health. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Nov. 9, 2011, the small, preliminary study provides direct evidence for possible prenatal causes of autism.

FDA Drug Safety Communication:Use of long-term, high-dose Diflucan (fluconazole) during pregnancy may be associated with birth defects in infants

Safety Announcement

[8-03-2011] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public that chronic, high doses (400-800 mg/day) of the antifungal drug Diflucan (fluconazole) may be associated with a rare and distinct set of birth defects in infants whose mothers were treated with the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy. This risk does not appear to be associated with a single, low dose of fluconazole 150 mg to treat vaginal yeast infection (candidiasis). 

CDC finds 60 percent increase in youth athletes treated for TBIs

Greatest numbers of visits caused by bicycling, football, and playground activities

Emergency department visits for sports– and recreation–related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents increased by 60 percent during the last decade, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC experts believe much of the increase occurred because more adults realized the youngsters needed to be seen by health care providers.

More Teen Males Using Condoms

The percentage of teen males aged 15–19 years in the United States who used a condom the first time they had sex increased between 2002 and 2006–2010, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC Announces New Effort To Boost Number Of Baby-Friendly Hospitals

Project aims to improve maternity care practices to support breastfeeding

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded nearly $6 million over three years to the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality to help hospitals nationwide make quality improvements to maternity care to better support mothers and babies to be able to breastfeed.  The goal of the project is accelerate the number of U.S. Baby-Friendly hospitals.

HHS Agencies Express Support For Infant Safe Sleep Recommendations

New recommendations based on research identifying risks for all infants

Representatives of the agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with a focus on infant health and safety today expressed their support for the new infant safe sleep recommendations issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

CDC Takes New Steps to Combat Childhood Obesity

Research project will focus on doctors, communities and families to help children make healthy choices

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today launched a new effort to address childhood obesity using successful elements of both primary care and public health. Funding made available through the Affordable Care Act will support a four year Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project.  Supported by $25 million in funding awards, the project will build on existing community efforts and will work to identify effective health care and community strategies to support children’s healthy eating and active living and help combat childhood obesity. 

Complications of chronic kidney disease occur earlier in children NIH-funded study finds intensive management should begin early

In what may lead to a shift in treatment, the largest prospective study of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has confirmed some experts’ suspicions that complications occur early. The findings suggest the need for earlier, more aggressive management of blood pressure, anemia and other problems associated with kidney disease, according to Dr. Marva Moxey-Mims, a pediatric kidney specialist at the NIH.

Down syndrome consortium formed

NIH, Down syndrome groups to meet regularly for exchange of information, ideas

National Institutes of Health has joined with organizations interested in Down syndrome to form a consortium that will foster the exchange of information on biomedical and biobehavioral research on the chromosomal condition.

"The idea is to have an open channel of communication between the NIH and those organizations intimately involved with Down syndrome," said Yvonne T. Maddox, deputy director of the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the agency that will chair the new consortium. "The consortium will allow NIH to inform the Down syndrome community of advances in the field, ongoing studies, and potential avenues for future research. In turn, those who work in Down syndrome research and patient care can share their experiences and ideas for potential research opportunities with NIH."