Pediatrics News and Research

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Protein cleavage mechanism sheds light on severe childhood ciliopathies

New research by Sumeda Nandadasa, PhD, reveals how a key protein associated with Meckel-Gruber syndrome, nephronophthisis, Joubert syndrome and other ciliopathies is cut in half to perform two separate functions, both of which are fundamental to the healthy development of children.

27 Jun 2025

Kennedy’s vaccine advisers sow doubts as scientists protest US pivot on shots

As fired and retired scientists rallied outside in the Atlanta heat, an advisory panel that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handpicked to replace experts he'd fired earlier met inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's headquarters to plan a more skeptical vaccine future.

27 Jun 2025

New expandable heart valve offers hope for young children with heart defects

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have successfully performed preclinical laboratory testing of a replacement heart valve intended for toddlers and young children with congenital cardiac defects, a key step toward obtaining approval for human use.

23 Jun 2025

Cannabidiol may help reduce problematic behaviors in autistic boys

Researchers at the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound found in cannabis, could help reduce problematic behaviors in autistic boys.

23 Jun 2025

Teen screen time linked to poor sleep and brain changes

In this digital era, both kids and adults are often glued to smartphone screens. Digital technology keeps users entertained, connected to friends, and in tune with important news.

23 Jun 2025

New lab method accelerates diagnosis of genetic disorders of the immune system

A new laboratory method developed by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons may now help physicians more quickly diagnose patients with suspected genetic disorders of the immune system, many who have been trapped in diagnostic limbo for years.

20 Jun 2025

Cord blood proteins help detect early sepsis in preterm infants

Scientists from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and colleagues identified several proteins from the umbilical cord blood of preterm newborns that signal acute systemic inflammation as an immune response to infection, providing objective and noninvasive means to diagnose early onset sepsis.

20 Jun 2025

Bedtime screen habits linked to poor sleep in tweens

Good sleep is vital for adolescents' physical health, mental well-being, and academic success - yet many don't get enough rest. Now, a new study reveals bedtime screen habits may be to blame.

20 Jun 2025

Study links gestational hypertension to increased seizure risk in offspring

A new study led by researchers at University of Iowa Health Care has revealed a significant association between high blood pressure during pregnancy (gestational hypertension) and an increased risk of seizures in children.

16 Jun 2025

Paternal mental health found to impact child development

Experts from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago affirm the need to screen new fathers for mental distress, recognizing the mounting research that underscores the importance of fathers in child development.

16 Jun 2025

A revolutionary drug for extreme hunger offers clues to obesity’s complexity

Ali Foley Shenk still remembers the panic when her 10-year-old son, Dean, finished a 20-ounce box of raisins in the seconds the cupboard was left unlocked. They rushed to the emergency room, fearing a dangerous bowel impaction.

16 Jun 2025

Kennedy’s HHS sent Congress ‘junk science’ to defend vaccine changes, experts say

A document the Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to change U.S. policy on covid vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others.

13 Jun 2025

3D bioprinting takes major step forward with realistic blood vessel structures

There are more than 100,000 people on organ transplant lists in the U.S., some of whom will wait years to receive one – and some may not survive the wait. Even with a good match, there is a chance that a person's body will reject the organ.

13 Jun 2025

Low-dose vitamin D supplements can increase effectiveness of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

A study conducted at the Botucatu School of Medicine at São Paulo State University (FMB-UNESP) in Brazil has shown that low-dose vitamin D supplementation can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment in women with breast cancer.

13 Jun 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': RFK Jr. upends vaccine policy, after promising he wouldn’t

After explicitly promising senators during his confirmation hearing that he would not interfere in scientific policy over which Americans should receive which vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the group of experts who help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make those evidence-based judgments.

12 Jun 2025

Digital marker could enhance accuracy of pediatric asthma risk prediction

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have developed a more accurate and cost-effective method to predict asthma diagnoses in children by using readily available electronic health records.

11 Jun 2025

New hypothesis links caffeine to lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome

After decades of stalled national progress in reducing the rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), a category of infant mortality that includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Rutgers Health have proposed an unexpected solution: Caffeine might protect babies by preventing dangerous drops in oxygen that may trigger deaths.

11 Jun 2025