News

A gene linked to obesity may also have a hand in influencing appetite in children, according to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of diabetes mellitus, while increased consumption of fruit drinks may increase risk, and diets low in fat have no effect on development of diabetes, according to three articles published in the July 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Sustaining a 10 percent or more weight loss requires fairly high levels of physical activity in combination with reduced energy intake, according to an article published in the July 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

After six months of a gluten-free diet, calcium metabolism defects returned to normal in a study of children with celiac disease, as reported in the August Journal of Pediatrics.

In HIV-infected mothers, risk of HIV transmission to their uninfected breast-feeding infants may be reduced by a prolonged postpartum course of nevirapine, according to an article published in the July 26 issue of The Lancet.

The age at which the protective effect of maternal measles antibodies wears off varies widely from region to region and should be taken into account when formulating optimum immunization strategies, according to an editorial published online July 24 in BMJ.

There were 43 cases of West Nile virus reported from 14 states this year up to July 22, according to a report published in the July 25 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

A school-based vaccination clinic was set up to control an outbreak of pertussis in a Cook County, Ill., high school after multiple recommendations to get vaccinated went unheeded, according to a report published in the July 25 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

ADHD diagnoses for children ages 6 to 17 have on average increased 3% per year from 1997 through 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that the highest rates of tuberculosis come from immigrants and refugees from Africa, Asia, and South America, according to Reuters.

The emergence of a fourth tier of copayment for expensive drugs calls into question how Americans are going to handle the rising costs of health care, according to a perspective article in the July 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA), recently signed into U.S. law, creates a troublesome distinction between those at genetic risk for a disease and those with other characteristics that predispose them to a condition, according to a perspective article published in the July 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors using an electronic prescriptions system will be eligible for a bonus from Medicare from 2009 onwards for four years, according to U.S. health officials.

Prophylactic antibiotics administered to children an hour or less before spinal surgery may reduce the subsequent risk of infections, according to the online Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

The use of topiramate as monotherapy or as an adjunct to other treatment for epilepsy during pregnancy raises some concerns about the increased risk of congenital malformation, according to a report published in the July 22 issue of Neurology.

Many adolescent boys with a varicocele will have "catch-up" growth that reduces their testicular size discrepancy without requiring surgical repair, according to research published in the July issue of Urology.

A review of studies published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health has found a link between bullying, being bullied, and suicide among children.

Offspring of obese mother rats or those overfed after birth are considerably heavier and are more likely to be fatter, glucose intolerant, have high lipid levels and have changes in appetite hormones, according to study findings published online July 17 in Endocrinology.

Infants of low-income women who are predominantly breast-fed have a lower risk of gastrointestinal infection but a higher risk of iron deficiency than infants who are partially or entirely formula-fed, according to the results of a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

Pediatricans may be less susceptible to subconscious racial attitudes and stereotypes than other doctors, according to a report in the July Medical Care.

Routine vaccination of 12-year-old girls against human papillomavirus, combined with an initial catch-up campaign to cover girls up to the age of 18, would likely be cost-effective, according to research published online July 17 in BMJ.

The U.S. health system is operating poorly compared to its potential, with America falling further behind other nations that are leading on performance indicators, according to a report released by The Commonwealth Fund on July 17.

Implicit racial bias is present in pediatricians, but is not associated with differences in treatment decisions, according to an article published in the July issue of Medical Care.

Five new changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) yearly recommendations to fight the flu call for more and earlier immunizations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that while smoking prevalence among high school students declined from 1997 to 2003, it has remained stable between 2003 and 2007.

Children ages 3 to 13 with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori may be less likely to have asthma, according to the online Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Childhood infection with Helicobacter pylori reduces the likelihood of developing asthma and related illnesses, according to an article published online July 3 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. A related review in the May issue of Gut discusses the current evidence and possible mechanisms linking H. pylori infection, asthma and allergy.

Pay-for-performance programs benefit from use of exclusion reporting, whereby certain patients are excluded from quality calculations, and the practice of excluding patients to disguise missed targets, known as gaming, is rare, according to study findings published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Medical schools must adapt their admission requirements and curricula to changes in scientific theory, and are also facing a challenge to the traditional definition of who is suited to the study of medicine, according to two articles published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

More than 80 percent of breech infants in the United States are born by Caesarean section, although rates vary widely by state, researchers report in the July issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.