https://medicalxpress.com/pediatrics-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Pediatrics An international study conducted through the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network, including researchers at the University of California San Diego, helped inform the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent approval of dolutegravir, a second-generation integrase inhibitor, for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in newborns from birth. The study, published in The Lancet HIV, identified a dosing regimen that achieves appropriate drug levels in full-term newborns, supporting the use of dolutegravir to treat HIV from the first days of life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-international-fda-hiv-drug-newborns.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:40:16 EDT news711903901 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 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 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 Respiratory disease in children is a major global concern. Clinicians traditionally rely on stethoscopes to detect abnormal lung sounds, but access to auscultation can be limited by the need for in-person visits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-ai-smartphone-abnormal-lung-children.html Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:20:10 EDT news711372301 New UVA Health Children's asthma research could improve care for children—especially Black children—with severe symptoms that require targeted treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-black-children-severe-asthma.html Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:20:10 EDT news711367294