Seven-year-old Mavrick Gabriel of Kenai, Alaska could be described as being “beyond his years.” He’s compassionate in a way that you don’t often see with young children, and he wants to educate others about his birth defect, craniofacial microsomia, and to help kids in the process. Mavrick was born without a left ear and with […]
Research in South America on a rare ear defect could help pinpoint risk factors for some of the most common birth defects in the United States. Some 120,000 babies in the United States are born each year with birth defects, according to the March of Dimes. The most common birth defects are heart defects, cleft […]
Kawasaki disease is a condition that can affect many parts of a child’s body, including the mucous membranes (lining of the mouth and breathing passages), skin, eyes, and lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system. The disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the U.S, and it […]
Several studies conducted in Los Angeles and New York City have identified high concentrations of air pollution as harmful to a developing fetus, but there have been few studies of traffic-related air pollution and birth outcomes in areas that have low to moderate air pollution. Now, a team led by Sheela Sathyanarayana, MD, MPH, of […]
Most children watch TV before age two, typically starting at about five to nine months. That’s despite the fact that recent guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics discourage television or video viewing by infants before the age of two. Encouraged by disputed claims that videos can benefit an infant or toddler’s educational development, the […]
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended in 2009 that primary care clinicians should screen adolescents for depression. But a positive result or screen does not mean that every young person needs active treatment—including psychotherapy and medication—for depression, based on a new study led by Laura Richardson, MD, MPH, of Seattle Children’s Research Institute. The […]
We’re approaching flu season, a time when you hear a lot about the importance of getting a flu shot, and parents get nervous about children catching the flu. Heck, even parents get nervous about being sick. Speedy testing for the flu can help ease anxiety for parents – it might be just a common cold, […]
Imagine a prowler casing a neighborhood, looking for a way into a home. That’s essentially what HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, does: It moves through the bloodstream trying to gain entry to T-cells — the primary warrior of the immune system. A special receptor on the T-cell’s surface (called CCR5) is the open door it […]
Buy one, get one for 1 cent. Be a hot tamale, eat a hot tamale. Try our new salted carmel cake pop. We see slogans like these on billboards and at restaurants on a daily basis. Would a nutrition-labeling regulation that requires restaurants to post calorie counts help spur a reduction in the use of these […]
Parents who suggest and use healthy media options with their children can improve sleep outcomes, according to a new study from Michelle Garrison, PhD, and Dimitri Christakis, MD, at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “The Impact of a Healthy Media Use Intervention on Sleep in Preschool Children,” was published online today in Pediatrics. The latest research […]
