February 7, 2012
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) — Despite earlier research that suggested the rotavirus vaccine increased the risk of intussusception — when a portion of the intestine slides forward into itself — a large new study finds this is not the case.
“The findings of our study are reassuring and add to the evidence that the benefits of rotavirus vaccine, in terms of reducing doctor’s visits hospitalizations and deaths from rotavirus disease, is far greater than any low-level risk for intussusception that may exist,” said lead researcher Irene Shui, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston.
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January 24, 2012
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By Anne Harding
TUESDAY, January 24, 2012 — Certain vaccines may not work as well in children who have been exposed to high levels of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a family of chemicals used to make everything from microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes to carpets and nonstick cookware, new research suggests.
In a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the higher the level of PFCs in a child’s blood, the fewer antibodies the child produced after receiving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. In addition, kids with higher PFC exposure were more likely than their peers to have antibody levels too low to provide protection against those infectious diseases. Read More
January 5, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) — More than half of U.S. jails didn’t receive any vaccine to protect inmates during the 2009-10 outbreak of H1N1 swine flu, a new study says.
Jail and prison inmates are at increased risk for exposure to infectious diseases. The steady stream of new arrivals can introduce new types of infectious diseases to facilities, and close confinement makes it easy for diseases to spread, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained.
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December 16, 2011
FRIDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) — Infants born to mothers who use inhaled glucocorticoids — a class of steroids — to treat asthma during pregnancy may be at risk for endocrine and metabolic disorders, a new study indicates.
Researchers looked at more than 65,000 mother-child pairs from the Danish National Birth Cohort who were followed from early pregnancy into childhood.
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November 30, 2011
By Lisa Esposito
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — New research shows how a concussion can cause damage in a young athlete’s brain that may last longer than thought.
In a preliminary study of 12 children with sports-related concussions, the majority experienced immediate decreased blood flow to their brains. Nearly two-thirds showed persistent, significant differences compared to non-injured athletes after two weeks, and one-quarter still had low blood flow to the brain more than a month after the injury occurred.
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November 30, 2011
By Denise Mann
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — As many parents can attest, a rough night may follow when their baby has been to the doctor for their first shots, due to increased fussiness or fever from the immunizations. But a new study suggests that the time of day that the shots are given may make a difference in both sleep and immune response.
Research has shown that immunizations “take hold” more strongly when an infant has a long, deep sleep afterward, which is why some parents give acetaminophen (Tylenol) proactively.
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November 28, 2011
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) — Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request “alternative” schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots.
And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests — up to a point.
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November 14, 2011
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) — Although the number of teens getting three new recommended vaccines is growing, there’s still room for improvement, government researchers report.
The three vaccines were added to the recommended list of vaccines in 2005 through 2007. They include the TdaP vaccine, which shields against tetanus, diptheria and whooping cough (pertussis); the meningitis vaccine (MenACWY) and the human papillomavirus (HPV) shot for girls, which prevents about 70 percent of cervical cancers and vaginal warts.
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November 11, 2011
FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) — Although it can be prevented with a vaccine, roughly 90 million children worlwide who are younger than 5 get the flu each year, resulting in about 1 million hospital admissions, a new study indicates.
Published in the Nov. 11 online edition of The Lancet, the research also revealed that flu-related pneumonia claimed the lives of up to 111,500 children in 2008. According to the report, 99 percent of these deaths occurred in developing countries.
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November 11, 2011
FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) — Vaccination has greatly reduced the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) among young children in the United States over the past 20 years, a new study finds.
That strain of flu was once the most common cause of bacterial meningitis. The Hib vaccine was introduced in the mid-1980s.
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