https://medicalxpress.com/childrens-health-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Children's Health Human neural stem cells that help form the brain and spinal cord are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, including omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2, according to new research from the University of California, Riverside. The findings raise concerns about the potential effects of maternal COVID-19 infection on early nervous system development and underscore the importance of monitoring children exposed to the virus before birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-human-neural-stem-cells-susceptible.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:01 EDT news711888721 During the first weeks of pregnancy, developing cells are already laying the foundation for the brain. Iron plays a major role in the organization and shaping of cells during this stage of gestation. Epidemiological studies suggest that mothers with low iron levels during the first trimester of pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to a child who develops cognitive impairments like autism, ADHD and learning disabilities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-prenatal-iron-deficiency-brain.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:00:13 EDT news711872821 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins Children's Center report that bone marrow transplant using half-matched family donors achieved a 96% survival rate among child, adolescent and young adult patients with severe aplastic anemia, a rare, life-threatening disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough healthy blood cells. The approach expands access to potentially curative treatment for patients who do not have a fully matched donor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-bone-marrow-transplant-options-children.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:40:10 EDT news711814377 Researchers from Newcastle University and Great Ormond Street Hospital have identified new predictors of relapse in children and young people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with the immunotherapy drug blinatumomab, as part of a U.K.-wide study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-personalized-medicine-breakthrough-childhood-leukemia.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news711806799 Routine vaccine program disruptions and under-resourced health systems are driving a global decline in childhood measles vaccination rates post-COVID-19, a new study has found. University of Queensland researchers examined measles cases, deaths and vaccine gaps in children under 5 across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, finding estimated cases rose 40% from 11.1 million in 2019 to 15.6 million in 2023. The findings are published in Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-childhood-measles-vaccination-fall-worldwide.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:20:04 EDT news711800749 Researchers have identified two common drugs that may, when given together during pregnancy, prevent premature births. The finding is the fruit of a new Stanford Medicine–led, artificial intelligence–powered technique for screening drugs to prevent early labor. It uses a comprehensive atlas of the immune system, which the researchers built to be accurate at a cell-by-cell level, to create "digital twins" of the immune systems of individual pregnant women for virtual drug testing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-digital-twins-immune-pregnancy-drugs.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:16 EDT news711792902 Teens who use their phones late into the evening suffer from delays in falling asleep, shorter total sleep time and sleep that's more restless and broken, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-smartphones-teens.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 10:40:05 EDT news711794632 A nutritional supplement taken during pregnancy may support fetal brain development and improve children's cognitive performance and social behavior, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-prenatal-supplement-linked-child-cognition.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:50:01 EDT news711729241 Scientists co-led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified a potential therapeutic vulnerability in some forms of osteosarcoma. A combination approach described today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival in preclinical models of this pediatric bone cancer. The therapies degraded EP300 (a protein that is co-opted to express oncogenes in many cancers) and inhibited AKT (a well-known cancer drug target), highlighting the combination's clinical potential. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-combination-therapy-reveals-potential-vulnerability.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:20:19 EDT news711720280 Social transition for trans young people is an evolving process involving changes in names, pronouns and appearance, according to new research. The research, led by Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), reinforces the need for families, schools and health care providers to support young people in finding the form of gender expression that feels right for them, rather than expecting a single gender affirmation journey. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-social-transition-trans-young-people.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:20:11 EDT news711718742 Children of parents who have melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer that starts in the cells that make pigment, have twice the lifetime risk of developing the disease themselves. A researcher from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) has developed a successful program to teach melanoma patients and their children behaviors that will help prevent the onset of melanoma later in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-young-skin-approach-melanoma-children.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:40:02 EDT news711711061 Preschool students who received supplemental instruction to build their social, emotional and language skills reported a higher quality of life almost two decades later than peers who did not receive the same instruction, according to an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-social-emotional-skills-preschool-life.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:20:07 EDT news711706794 Despite millions of years of evolution, the development of the human fetus remains a complex process that is vulnerable to genetic, environmental and metabolic disruptions. These disruptions could result in developmental abnormalities, starting with one of the first organs to begin developing in the fetus that continues to develop after birth: the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-ai-symmetry-prenatal-diagnosis-reliable.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:20:39 EDT news711705301 A modeling study suggests that replacing universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth with delayed vaccination or a shared decision-making approach, as recommended by the U.S. federal government this year, could lead to substantially more chronic hepatitis B infections among U.S. children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hepatitis-vaccination-significantly-infections.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:05 EDT news711621223 One in five pediatric cancer patients in a large national cohort lived more than 90 minutes away from their treatment center, and patients with the highest social vulnerability were least likely to access out-of-state medical care, according to research presented at the 19th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Oct. 18–21, 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-interstate-barrier-pediatric-cancer-patients.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:08 EDT news711640802 A new genetic testing approach for sick children with immune conditions could slash diagnosis waiting times from 12 months to as little as two weeks, University of Queensland research has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-fast-tracked-genetic-sick-kids.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:00:16 EDT news711621526 At 2 to 4 months of age, infants share on average just over a third of their gut microbiome—an ecosystem seeded at birth that plays a role in shaping their future health—with their mother's gut or vaginal microbiome. That microbial sharing is notably higher when a mother has a vaginal birth as opposed to a C-section delivery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-mother-microbiome-baby-clues.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:40:18 EDT news711619065