Flash floods have "worsened an already chronic humanitarian crisis caused by drought" in central Africa where aid agencies have warned that "10 million people are already facing severe food shortages, particularly in the landlocked countries of Chad and Niger, after a drought led to the failure of last year's crops," the Independent reports...

MDGs Are Less About Timeline, More About Identifiable Progress "Between the catastrophes of the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods, there was actually some good news this spring on the global health front, which offers hope that the United Nations' ambitious Millennium Development Goals might not be at a standstill...

A new study from Hasbro Children's Hospital finds visits to emergency departments for concussions that occurred during organized team sports have increased dramatically over a 10-year period, and appear to be highest in ice hockey and football. The number of sports-related concussions is highest in high school-aged athletes, but the number in younger athletes is significant and rising...

The number of sport-related concussions is highest in high-school aged athletes, but the number in younger athletes is significant and on the rise...

Athletes often joke about "getting your bell rung" after taking a hit on the playing field, but adolescent concussions can cause serious long-term injury or death, and should always be taken seriously...

Today there are more reasons than ever to pay attention to media messages about sexuality and contraception. Teens spend more than seven hours a day on average with various forms of media, often without adults around. Television shows and Web sites that are popular with teens-and the way sex is portrayed in those venues-could be important factors in the initiation of sexual intercourse. The U.S...

Medical experts are concerned about the significant number of elective deliveries (C-sections and induced labor) that are being scheduled for non-medical reasons prior to 39 weeks of pregnancy. This troubling trend can lead to serious health consequences for the baby, as well as potential dangers for the mother. Many expectant mothers are not aware of the dangers of delivering too soon...

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued updated recommendations for the use of trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine and antiviral medications for the prevention and treatment of influenza in children...

Pediatricians who provide primary care to adolescent girls will often address gynecologic issues, including questions related to puberty, menstrual disorders, contraception, sexually-transmitted infections and other infections. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) promotes the inclusion of the gynecologic exam in the primary care setting...

Bone marrow from a matched Aboriginal Canadian donor may be the best chance Harold and Lindsey Bost's daughter, Leona, has for survival. The five-month-old was born with Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia (CHH). CHH is a rare genetic disorder characterised by short stature, fine, sparse hair, and immunodeficiency requiring bone marrow or stem cell transplantation...

Diagnostic imaging leader Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has installed its 1,000th MR system worldwide. Kosair Children's Medical Center - Brownsboro, the only pediatric outpatient facility of its type in Kentucky, is the site of Toshiba's milestone installation. The new facility, dedicated to the care of children, is located in the eastern suburbs of Louisville, Ky...

Canadian teenagers enjoy more freedom than French and Italian peers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescence. The investigation, which examined how parents fashion emotional bonds and exert behavioural control with adolescents, was led by scientists from the University of Montreal, the Universite de Rennes in France and the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy...

Medical experts point to a disturbing trend of expectant mothers who are choosing to deliver their babies for non-medical reasons before 39 weeks of pregnancy. Research published in the July 2010 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reveals just how prevalent elective deliveries are in the U.S. In that study of 7,804 women giving birth for the first time, labor was induced in 43...

Schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders are a chronic and often disabling condition. Despite modern treatment techniques they still present an enormous burden to the patients and their relatives and take a serious toll in terms of human suffering and societal expenditure...

The incidence of psychotic disorders varies greatly across places and demographic groups, as do symptoms, course, and treatment response across individuals. High rates of schizophrenia in large cities, and among immigrants, cannabis users, and traumatised individuals reflect the causal influence of environmental exposures...

Many children are being put at risk by parents' over-use of widely-available over the counter (OTC) medicines for fever, coughs and colds, says a study from Australia to be presented to the annual conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). The researchers, led by Dr...

A new national study not only has confirmed that children who have been exposed to disasters from earthquakes to fires are more prone to emotional problems, but many of those children may already have been experiencing maltreatment, domestic abuse or peer violence that could exacerbate those issues...

The rate of cesarean deliveries in the United States continues to rise.
Medscape Medical News

Background: Infant formulas are sophisticated milk-based feeds for infants which are used as a substitute for breast milk. Historically they are known to be contaminated by aluminium and in the past this has raised health concerns for exposed infants. We have measured the aluminium content of a number of widely used infant formulas to determine if their contamination by aluminium and consequent issues of child health persist. Methods: Samples of ready-made milks and powders used to make milks were prepared by microwave digestion of acid/peroxide mixtures and their aluminium content determined by THGA. Results: The concentration of aluminium in ready-made milks varied from ca 176 to 700 microgrammes/L. The latter concentration was for a milk for preterm infants. The aluminium content of powders used to make milks varied from ca 2.4 to 4.3 microgrammes/g. The latter content was for a soya-based formula and equated to a ready-to-drink milk concentration of 629 microgrammes/L. Using the manufacturer's own guidelines of formula consumption the average daily ingestion of aluminium from infant formulas for a child of 6 months varied from ca 200 to 600 microgrammes of aluminium. Generally ingestion was higher from powdered as compared to ready-made formulas. Conclusions: The aluminium content of a range of well known brands of infant formulas remains high and particularly so for a product designed for preterm infants and a soya-based product designed for infants with cow's milk intolerances and allergies. Recent research demonstrating the vulnerability of infants to early exposure to aluminium serves to highlight an urgent need to reduce the aluminium content of infant formulas to as low a level as is practically possible.

Clinical misdiagnoses very seldom lead to enucleation and such outcomes have decreased over the last half century, researchers report in the August Archives of Ophthalmology.
Reuters Health Information