http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Pacifiers may stunt the emotional development of baby boys by robbing them of the opportunity to try on facial expressions during infancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pacifiers-emotional-consequences-boys.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:07:47 EST news267199651 (HealthDay)—Getting some babies to sleep can test a parent's sanity, but bleary-eyed mothers and fathers can be reassured that popular sleep training techniques have no long-lasting positive or negative effects on children's sleep quality, mental and behavioral health, or parent-child attachment, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-multiple-methods-safely-babies.html Pediatrics Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:40:01 EST news266497177 After waking up, the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva rises considerably; this is true not only for grown-ups but for babies as well. A research team from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and from Basel has reported this finding in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-method-team-stress-biology-babies.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:15:55 EST news265371227 (HealthDay) -- There is considerable variation in the neuropsychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes of individuals with cleft lip and palate, as the outcomes are affected by developmental level, sex, and cleft type, according to a study published in the July issue of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-considerable-variation-outcomes-cleft-lippalate.html Health Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:50:01 EST news264428086 (HealthDay) -- Children who had significant prenatal exposure to alcohol may have delayed weight gain during infancy and alcohol-related growth restriction from early infancy until 9 years of age, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-pregnancy-child-growth.html Addiction Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:29:54 EST news264259719 Strawberry-shaped birthmarks called infantile hemangiomas grow rapidly in infants much earlier than previously thought, Mayo Clinic and University of California, San Francisco, researchers found. Their study, published online in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that babies with complication-causing hemangiomas should be immediately referred to dermatologists for further evaluation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-strawberry-birthmarks-rapidly-babies-weeks.html Cancer Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:09:55 EST news264182977 (Medical Xpress) -- In the United States, one in 10 children suffers from asthma but the potential environmental factors contributing to the disease are not well known. Cincinnati-based researchers now report new evidence that exposure to three types of mold during infancy may have a direct link to asthma development during childhood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-infants-exposed-specific-molds-higher.html Immunology Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:19:32 EST news263125165 Noah Jackson was born without a voice. Because of a rare genetic disease, his airway was so narrow he couldn't cry at birth. In fact, he could scarcely breathe, and had surgery when he was 5 days old to implant a tracheostomy tube that let air pass through a hole in his throat. Cuddling their newborn, parents KC and Rebecca knew Noah's only hope for someday speaking and breathing normally lay in the possibility that his voice box could be surgically reconstructed later on. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-surgery-packard-children-boy-airway.html Surgery Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:47:19 EST news261650818 Contraceptive use saves the lives of more than a quarter of million women each year, either from death in childbirth or unsafe abortions, according to estimates published on Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-contraception-year.html Health Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:30:06 EST news261116289 The commonly-used epilepsy drug, valproic acid (VPA), can have a highly beneficial effect on some babies born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the number one genetic killer during early infancy. But in about two-thirds of such cases it is either damaging or simply has no effect. Now, for the first time, researchers have found a way to identify which patients are likely to respond well to VPA prior to starting treatment. Their results have major implications, not just for SMA patients, but for other conditions treated with the drug such as migraine and epilepsy, and may even provide the conditions for turning VPA non-responders into responders, the researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-treatment-response-central-nervous-diseases.html Genetics Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:17:25 EST news259651029 A new study in the journal Circulation packs a powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure. The leading blow: Identification of a unique alliance of proteins that plays a major role in the development of the disease. The second but equally powerful hit: Drugs that interfere with this axis already exist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-heart-failure-route-disease-drugs.html Cardiology Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:59:16 EST news258285543 National data show that currently more than 10 percent of preschoolers in the United States are obese, and an additional 10 percent are overweight. In a recently published article, a researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with peers and colleagues from across the nation, says that effective strategies to target pregnancy, infancy, and toddlers are urgently needed to stop the progression of childhood obesity. The call to action comes just weeks after the release of a recent report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and an HBO documentary, "The Weight of the Nation," both of which focused on the nation's growing obesity epidemic. The full text of the article is available in the June issue of Childhood Obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-obesity-efforts-focus-community-wide.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 31 May 2012 10:59:49 EST news257680771 American parents may want to think again about how much they want to protect their children from everyday germs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-links-inflammation-chronic-disease.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:01 EST news257607814 The number of viral infections during infancy is not associated with wheezing later in childhood, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. While viral illnesses with wheezing in infancy predicted wheezing later in childhood, this association was due in part to decreased neonatal lung function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-viral-infections-infancy-wheezing-symptoms.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 23 May 2012 09:50:00 EST news256985384 The typical naked mole rat lives 25 to 30 years, during which it shows little decline in activity, bone health, reproductive capacity and cognitive ability. What is the secret to this East African rodent's long, healthy life? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-long-lived-rodents-high-brain-protecting-factor.html Medical research Thu, 10 May 2012 13:01:59 EST news255873612 Scientists have confirmed that mutations of a gene are responsible for some cases of a rare, inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness: spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, also known as SMA-LED. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-genetic-mutation-rare-spinal-muscular.html Neuroscience Thu, 10 May 2012 10:33:37 EST news255864811 By comparing the testosterone levels of five-month old pairs of twins, both identical and non-identical, University of Montreal researchers were able to establish that testosterone levels in infancy are not inherited genetically but rather determined by environmental factors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-testosterone-fuelled-infantile-males-product-mom.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 10 May 2012 04:43:23 EST news255843709 Results of a new study reported recently by psychology researcher Lisa Scott and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst confirm that although infants are born with equal abilities to tell apart people within multiple races, by age 9 months they are better at recognizing faces and emotional expressions of people within groups they interact with most. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-infants-year.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 02 May 2012 15:20:01 EST news255190433 (HealthDay) -- Children born in the fall have an increased risk of food allergy, with a significantly increased risk seen only for Caucasians and those with eczema, according to a study published online April 19 in Allergy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-food-allergy-children-born-fall.html Health Tue, 01 May 2012 16:10:01 EST news255102805 Early life emotional trauma may stunt intellectual development, indicates the first long term study of its kind, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-life-emotional-trauma-stunt.html Health Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:30:02 EST news252590847 Results from two studies presented today at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle demonstrate the importance of identifying and treating HIV-infected infants within the first year of life both to prevent harm to the immune system and to enable normal neurological development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-nih-funded-benefits-antiretroviral-treatment-hiv-infected.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:26:39 EST news250273568 (HealthDay) -- A mother's exposure to tobacco smoke during the last three months of pregnancy may increase the risk that her child will develop the allergic skin condition eczema during infancy, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-exposure-late-pregnancy-boost-baby.html Health Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:08:41 EST news250002515 A new study analyses the influence that certain birth and infancy characteristics have on mammographic density – an important indicator of breast cancer risk. The results reveal that women born to mothers aged over 39 years and women who were taller and thinner than the average girl prior to puberty have a higher breast density. This brings with it an increased risk of developing breast cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-women-born-older-mothers-higher.html Cancer Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:49:33 EST news247747765 Breastfeeding is associated with improved lung function at school age, particularly in children of asthmatic mothers, according to a new study from researchers in Switzerland and the UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-breastfeeding-lung-function-school-age.html Health Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:22:54 EST news247465355 Babies don't learn to talk just from hearing sounds. New research suggests they're lip-readers too. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-babies-lip-reading.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:03:17 EST news245952178 (Medical Xpress) -- After a challenging two-decade hunt, scientists have pinpointed the gene responsible for a rare disease that causes seizures in infancy and sudden, uncontrollable movements in adolescence and early adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-gene-hunters-rare-movement-disorder.html Genetics Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:10:02 EST news243248263 The ability to trust, love, and resolve conflict with loved ones starts in childhood—way earlier than you may think. That is one message of a new review of the literature in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science. "Your interpersonal experiences with your mother during the first 12 to 18 months of life predict your behavior in romantic relationships 20 years later," says psychologist Jeffry A. Simpson, the author, with University of Minnesota colleagues W. Andrew Collins and Jessica E. Salvatore. "Before you can remember, before you have language to describe it, and in ways you aren't aware of, implicit attitudes get encoded into the mind," about how you'll be treated or how worthy you are of love and affection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ability-root-earliest-infancy.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:14:11 EST news243090723 Mothers with jobs tend to be healthier and happier than moms who stay at home during their children's infancy and pre-school years, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-moms-stay-at-home.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:15:03 EST news242910891 Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant peptide hormone of the central nervous system. It is involved in various processes including stress management, the development of anxiety behaviour and body weight regulation. A collaborative research group including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg has demonstrated using mice that intensive maternal care during infancy promotes the effect of NPY in the brain. As a result of receiving such care, the animals were also less anxious in adulthood and weighed more than their counterparts who had received less affection. The research group was able to show that the effect is explained by the maternal care which stimulated the persistent formation of certain NPY receptors in the forebrain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-maternal-brain-chemistry-adulthood.html Medical research Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:59:03 EST news242485135 A University of Cambridge study, which set out to investigate DNA methylation in the human heart and the 'missing link' between our lifestyle and our health, has now mapped the link in detail across the entire human genome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-environment-diet-heart.html Medical research Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:01 EST news241715168