Children’s Health

Uveitis is an inflammation of the eye and is a common extra-articular manifestation associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). It can cause vision-threatening complications, and if left uncontrolled may even lead to blindness. The majority of children develop uveitis within the first 2 years after arthritis symptom onset, but it can continue into adulthood. This

According to a recent Finnish study, higher levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity can curb arterial stiffening already in childhood. However, sedentary time or aerobic fitness were not linked to arterial health. The results, based on the ongoing Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) Study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland, were

The intestinal disease necrotizing enterocolitis is a leading cause of death among premature infants born in the U.S. and across the globe. Characterized by excessive inflammation that can cause tissue decay in the bowels, the disease provides a pathway for infectious and deadly bacteria to enter the bloodstream. Despite four decades of research, effective treatments

New study results indicate that different comorbid conditions affecting individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 may impact how long they continue to receive positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results. Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 who are aged 60+, have three or more chronic medical conditions, particularly diabetes, obesity, rheumatologic disease, or an organ transplant, have positive

With economic development, it would seem that undesirable side effects such as the mass production and consumption of highly processed junk foods, obesity, pollution and lifestyle diseases also increase in prevalence. A new paper published recently in the journal JAMA Pediatrics reports consistent and significant associations between the increased consumption of such ‘ultraprocessed foods’ by

Lucien Wiggins, 12, arrived at Tufts Children’s Hospital by ambulance June 7 with chest pains, dizziness and high levels of a protein in his blood that indicated inflammation of his heart. The symptoms had begun a day earlier, the morning after his second vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shot. For Dr. Sara Ross, chief of

Severe childhood restrictive cardiomyopathy is a condition that causes the muscles in the walls of the heart to become stiff, so that the heart is unable to fill properly with blood. A mutation in a protein called BAG3 is known to result in restrictive cardiomyopathy, muscle weakness, difficulty taking in enough oxygen, and damage to

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have developed two rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 that are nearly as accurate as the gold-standard test currently used in laboratories. Unlike the gold standard test, which extracts RNA and uses it to amplify the DNA of the virus, these new tests can detect the

Clinical evaluation of three COVID-19 vaccine candidates in 2020-21 during a worldwide pandemic that killed or sickened millions was unprecedented in terms of urgency and scope. Responsibility for the safety, integrity and scientific validity of the trials in the United States fell to 12 experts of the federally appointed COVID-19 Vaccine Data and Safety Monitoring

A group of scientists led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that the Moderna mRNA vaccine and a protein-based vaccine candidate elicited durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical research. There were no adverse effects. The research, published June 15 in Science Immunology,

This past year has been transformational in terms of not only a global pandemic but a sustained focus on racism and systemic injustice. There has been a widespread circulation of images and videos in the news and online. Just like adults, adolescents are exposed to these images with important consequences for their emotional health and

The Endocrine Society–a professional organization of more than 18,000 health care providers and scientists worldwide–praised the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates for passing a resolution opposing efforts to criminalize medical care for transgender youth. The resolution, which cites the Endocrine Society’s Clinical Practice Guidelines on transgender care, makes it AMA policy to oppose the

A recent JAMA Pediatrics paper discusses the positive association that exists between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and adiposity measurements from British children. What are ultra-processed foods? The NOVA Food Classification system classifies food products according to the extent to which industrial processing has been used to alter their physical, biological, and/or chemical composition. According

Researchers have developed a new approach to gene therapy that leans on the common pain reliever acetaminophen to force a variety of genetic diseases into remission. A paper published in Science Translational Medicine describes how the novel technique successfully treated the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia and the debilitating metabolic disease known as phenylketonuria, or PKU, in

In most nations, intermittent school closures have been implemented to varying degrees since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with children being likely transmitters of disease between one another, causing the virus to spread to homes and families. Children also bear the lowest risk of severe illness resulting from COVID-19, however, many have argued

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to sift through terabytes of gene expression data — which genes are “on” or “off” during infection — to look for shared patterns in patients with past pandemic viral infections, including SARS, MERS and swine flu. Two telltale signatures

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine. Radiation therapy to the whole brain and spine followed by an extra radiation dose to the back of the brain prevents this spread and has been the standard of

Every day, around 15000 children under the age of five die from causes that could have been prevented. But the children of highly educated parents survive more often than others. This statistic applies worldwide, according to a newly published sweeping systematic review in The Lancet. The mother’s level of education is particularly important for their

Children with documented child protection concerns are four times as likely to die before they reach their 16th birthday, according to confronting new research from the University of South Australia. The world first study identifies the extreme seriousness of familial child abuse and neglect, measuring for the first time the excess risk of death that

If a newborn is moved or becomes agitated while on a ventilator, the breathing tube also could move. Just a few seconds with the tube in the wrong position might lead to a critical lack of oxygen to the brain, possibly resulting in lifelong disability or brain damage or even ending the baby’s life. The