Hormone relaxin helps treat heart failure: study

Relaxin — a naturally occurring hormone that helps women adapt to pregnancy — is showing promise as a treatment for acute heart failure, a new study has found. The research, conducted by scientists from the United States and Italy and presented here Sunday at an annual conference of the American College of Cardiology, said the hormone helped patients to breathe more easily. Given in addition... Read more

Tonsillectomy linked to excess weight gain in kids

Children who undergo the surgical removal of their tonsils (tonsillectomy) with or without the removal of their adenoids (adenoidectomy) are at increased risk for becoming overweight in the years after surgery, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics. Prior research has linked tonsillectomy to accelerated weight gain, but whether it is a risk factor for becoming overweight was unclear, note... Read more

Child’s Food Allergies Take Toll on Family Plans

Two new reports show that food allergies can be a burden on a family’s finances and even its vacation plans. The studies, expected to be presented in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, demonstrate how these common conditions can have a wide impact on a family’s quality of life. In looking at the lives of thousands of caregivers... Read more

Contact Lenses Boost Kids’ Self-Image

Compared to glasses, contact lenses improve how children feel about their appearance, their ability to play sports and their acceptance among friends, a study of 484 nearsighted children finds. “Many studies have examined the effect of spectacle wear on self-perception and the perception of others, but the majority of this research has been conducted on adults,” study leader Jeffrey J.... Read more

Watching R-Rated Movies Boosts Kids’ Smoking Risk

Children who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to smoke, say researchers who analyzed data from a four-year study of more than 1,200 Massachusetts youngsters. “We don’t know why this is so. It may have to do with a parenting style that is permissive of activities that are not age-appropriate. Or it may be an outcome of all the smoking scenes in R-rated movies,” lead... Read more

Are Internet-Addicted Kids More Violent?

A new study from Taiwan links aggression in teens to heavy Internet use, but its findings are being questioned by some American researchers. The research, based on questionnaires about Internet use and behavior filled out by 9,405 adolescents, classified 25 percent of the boys and 13 percent of the girls as Internet addicts. Of that group of Internet addicts, 37 percent reported showing aggression,... Read more

Eye Problems, Hearing Loss May Be Linked

About 20 percent of children with sensorineural hearing loss also have eye disorders, a new study has found. Sensorineural hearing loss, caused by damage to the inner ear or to the nerves that link the ear to the brain, affects up to three of every 1,000 children, according to background information in the study. Half of all cases in children are due to genetics, and one gene, GJB2, accounts for a... Read more

Parents Blamed for Childhood Obesity

Children tend to eat what their parents eat, finds a new study that suggests a parental contribution to the growing obesity problem among young children and teenagers. Researchers found adolescents are more likely to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day if their parents do. Contrarily, teens whose parents eat fast food or drink soda are more likely to do the same. Every day, more... Read more

Pregnancy May Not Affect Breast Cancer Survival

Developing breast cancer during or within a year of pregnancy may not — as previously thought — affect the severity of the disease or the chance of surviving it, according to new research. Of 652 women, 35 or younger, with breast cancer participating in a University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center study, about 16 percent had the rare pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). Rates... Read more

Kids a possibility for girls with Turner syndrome

Girls born with a genetic defect that leads to infertility may yet be able to have children when they reach adulthood, according to researchers in Sweden. Turner syndrome occurs when a female is born with one X chromosome instead of two. Usually they stop growing prematurely and their ovaries shut down at an early age. In some cases, however, it may be possible to retrieve ovarian tissue containing... Read more

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