Tag Archives: children

India developing cheap vaccine against major cause of diarrhea deaths in kids

The Indian government announced Tuesday the development of a new low-cost vaccine proven effective against a diarrhea-causing virus that is one of the leading causes of childhood deaths across the developing world. The Indian manufacturer of the new rotavirus vaccine pledged to sell it for $1 a dose, a significant discount from the cost of the current vaccines on the market. That reduced price would make it far easier for poor countries to vaccinate their children against the deadly virus, health experts said. Rotavirus, spread through contaminated hands and surfaces, kills about half a million children across the world each year, 100,000 of them in India. At a conference Tuesday, the government announced that Phase III trials of Rotavac proved that it was safe as well as effective. The clinical trial of 6,799 infants at three sites in India showed the vaccine reduced severe cases of diarrhea caused by rotavirus by 56 percent during the first year of life. “The clinical results indicate that the vaccine, if licensed, could save the lives of thousands of children each year in India,” said Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, the secretary of the Department of Biotechnology. The vaccine still needs to be licensed before it can be distributed in India and would require further approval by the World Health Organization before it could be distributed globally. Two other vaccines have proven effective against rotavirus, but they are significantly more expensive. The GAVI Alliance, which works to deliver vaccines to the world’s poor, negotiated a significant discount last year with GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, obtaining the rotavirus vaccines from those pharmaceutical companies for $2.50 a dose. The alliance has programs for delivering those vaccines in 14 countries and plans to expand them to 30 countries. Dr. Seth Berkley, the GAVI Alliance’s CEO, said the announcement Tuesday was “a big deal.” “The cheaper the price the more children you can immunize,” he said, adding that it will still take some time before the vaccine is approved for use. In addition, having a third manufacturer for the vaccines would ease supply shortages and could drive down the costs charged by the other manufacturers, he said. “That would make a big difference in terms of changing the marketplace,” he said. Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among young children in the world after pneumonia. A study of 22,568 children at sites in seven African and south Asian countries that was published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet showed that rotavirus was the leading cause of moderate to severe diarrhea in children under the age of two. The new vaccine was developed from a weakened strain of the virus taken from a child hospitalized in New Delhi more than a quarter century ago. It was the result of a broad global partnership that included the government, the Indian company Bharat Biotech, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among many others. Those involved said the broad cooperation reduced research costs for the manufacturer and helped keep the vaccine inexpensive. “This public-private partnership is an exemplary model of how to develop affordable technologies to save lives,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/india-developing-cheap-vaccine-against-major-cause-diarrhea-deaths-in-kids/

CNN anchor says she has breast cancer, is getting mastectomy

CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin says she has breast cancer and is getting a double mastectomy. Sambolin, who anchors CNN's “Early Start” morning show, talked about her condition on the show Tuesday while discussing the recent double mastectomy of actress Angelina Jolie. Sambolin said wanting to be there for her children helped her make the decision. In a New York Times op-ed, Jolie announced she has had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer. Jolie writes that she made the choice with thoughts of her six children after watching her own mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, die too young from cancer.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/cnn-anchor-is-getting-mastectomy/

Doctors should ask patients about alcohol misuse, panel says

Primary care doctors should ask adults how much and how often they drink alcohol and counsel those with risky and dangerous drinking habits, a government-backed panel said today. Based on a review of studies conducted since 1985, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) determined there is good enough evidence both that screening can accurately detect alcohol misuse and that counseling can reduce heavy drinking in people age 18 and older. Screening “takes hardly any time at all, and it works pretty well,” said Dr. Michael LeFevre, co-vice chair of the Task Force and a family medicine doctor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia. “From my point of view as a family physician, the shorter and easier the better,” he said. Risky drinking is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as more than four drinks in a single day or 14 drinks per week for men and more than three drinks in a day or seven in a week for women. Research suggests about one third of U.S. adults misuse alcohol. Asking men the last time they had five drinks in one sitting, and women the last time they had four, is a good start, according to LeFevre. “If they can name a time, that means we should be talking to them more about what their alcohol consumption looks like,” he said. If that time was for the patient's birthday, and the only time in years the patient had binge drank, it's probably not a big deal. But if that happens on a regular basis, he said, that would point toward alcohol misuse. The review behind the new recommendations included 23 trials that randomly assigned risky drinkers to behavioral counseling or normal care. Overall, counseling interventions led to a 12 percent absolute increase in the proportion of people who reported no heavy drinking episodes one year later, and an average reduction in weekly drinks from 23 to 19. Brief counseling sessions, the USPSTF noted, are more likely to help people who have a few too many drinks on occasion than those who abuse or are dependent on alcohol. People with a serious drinking problem may need more specialty treatment, according to the Task Force, which published its recommendations Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. “A brief intervention as applied by, say, a primary care physician in practice is probably not going to be adequate intervention for people on the alcohol dependence end of the spectrum,” LeFevre said. The USPSTF said there weren't enough data for it to weigh the possible benefits and harms of asking younger teenagers about their alcohol use. “The Task Force felt that it would be inappropriate to assume that what we have learned about the best ways to screen and manage adults (is) in fact applicable to adolescents,” LeFevre said. However, he added, that's not a recommendation against asking teens about their alcohol use - it's just a call for more studies to figure out the most effective way to do that. Dr. Sharon Levy said she hoped doctors didn't choose not to talk to teens about alcohol based on the new recommendations. “We recognize that there's not a lot of data, but we also recognize that alcohol use is one of the most significant contributors to (illness) and mortality in adolescents,” said Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at Children's Hospital Boston. “There's no question that alcohol use is a serious problem for this age group,” she said. Levy, who wasn't involved in drafting the new guidelines, co-authored a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending that doctors screen adolescents for drug and alcohol use. She said the type of brief interventions recommended for adults who drink too much are also “developmentally appropriate” for teens. “They work with adults and they seem really adaptable,” Levy said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/doctors-should-ask-patients-about-alcohol-misuse-panel-says/

Student with cerebral palsy named prom queen

In many ways, Desaray Carroll is a typical high school teenager. She texts nonstop, hangs out with her friends, goes to the movies and out to eat. The 19-year-old Coahulla Creek High School student is surrounded with a family and friends who love and support her, so much so they campaigned for the student body to elect her prom queen a few weeks ago. Everyone except Carroll seemed sure she would win. But after a lifetime of being picked on for being different, she never thought she could be the same as those around her. “At my old school, I got made fun of,” she said. “I didn't want to go to school. It was really hard. At one point I quit school, but I came back.” Carroll has cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and posture. People with cerebral palsy can have exaggerated movements, rigidity of the limbs, involuntary movements, unsteadiness while walking or any combination of those symptoms. She struggles with her speech — though after a few minutes with her, she becomes easier to understand — and movements on the right side of her body. So going from the person being picked on to the point of quitting school to being given a title that comes with such an implication of popularity seemed like a stretch for her. When her name was called out on prom night announcing she had been named prom queen, Carroll was naturally and genuinely shocked. “I didn't believe it,” she said. “I really like it here. They don't look at me like I have cerebral palsy.” Carroll's friends and her teachers said they believe it is a great testimony to the student body at Coahulla Creek. “Their heart is in the right place,” said Josh Swiney, Carroll's math inclusion teacher. “They've been around her and wanted that for her. She's awesome.” Andy Toth, a sign language interpreter of the school and adviser to the sign language club, of which Carroll is a member, said he knew the student body was rallying for Carroll. “I prayed all weekend she'd get it since I couldn't vote,” Toth said. “She is a perfect pick for it. We've got a good student body. They're not caught up in stereotypes. We realize what's real.” As a very young girl, Carroll fit in with other children, including her foster family. “She was accepted by them, and they love her,” said Jennie Byars, Carroll's foster mother, who became her legal guardian in 1997. Byars had four children naturally, has adopted several and has even more that refer to her as “mom,” including Carroll. “I didn't want her when they first called me,” Byars said. “Then I thought, 'Why am I doing this if I can't help the ones that really need it?' When they brought her to me (when Carroll was 16 months old), I saw a handicapped child. But then I saw a girl with a lot of determination. She bonded with us quickly. After a couple of weeks, I didn't see her as handicapped.” Byars and her late husband, Slim, encouraged Carroll's independence from an early age. “I tried to let her do what she could,” Byars said. “They wanted to give her a walker, and I said, 'No. She doesn't need one.' They wanted to give her a board to talk for her, but I wouldn't let them. We treated her like one of the kids. I tried not to limit her. You have a tendency to want to coddle her, but she didn't want you helping her.” Byars spent many hours taking Carroll to physical therapy and working with her to make sure she could walk and talk and live a normal life. Byars believed in her daughter, pushed her where she needed to be pushed, and comforted her when she needed to be comforted. “Her therapist said she was stubborn, but I said she was determined,” she said. “If she hadn't been determined, she wouldn't be where she is now.” As a child, Carroll could only walk on flat surfaces, not inclines. But she used a mulch pile to learn to walk on an incline. “She was determined, struggled, but she climbed that mountain — in more ways than one,” said family friend Nancy Reynolds. Carroll says many things in her life have been hard. “But it could be worse,” she said. “It's hard talking, but when people get to know me, they understand me better.” She can't even pull her hair back in a ponytail because she doesn't have full use of her right hand. She knows she's made it as far as she has because of the support from her foster parents. “They've been there for me,” Carroll said. “I'm lucky to have them.” When Carroll hit middle school, she faced bullying. Her friends sat at her side talking about how they were all bullied throughout middle school and into their early high school years. Zenaida Torres remembers other students being especially mean to Carroll. The two became friends passing each other in the counselor's office where they went to talk through the problems they each faced. Three years ago Slim Byars died. Jennie Byars was diagnosed with stomach cancer soon after. (She recently had a PET scan, which came back clean of cancer.) Carroll hit a really hard time facing so many trials in just a few years. “She was really a daddy's girl,” Byars said. “These last two years (when she enrolled at Coahulla Creek), she has really come out of her shell. The kids are great. They're more accepting here.” Carroll said she changed her outlook on life and those who were mean to her after her dad died. That's when she found a strong faith in God. “I know God won't put me in anything I can't go through,” she said. Now if a student picks on her or if she's having an especially hard day, she simply “doesn't let it bother” her. She has been inspired by Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker and author who has no limbs. He is a reminder to Carroll that she is not the only one who faces struggles or who is different. Her hope and positive outlook serves as an inspiration to not only the student body and faculty at Coahulla Creek, but to many who have met her. “Today I had a bad day,” Torres said. “She sends me excerpts from Nick Vujicic's book. It helps me a lot. Even though she had a bad day, she never got sad.” Carroll is someone Savannah McCraw looks up to and thinks more people should become friends with. “We had some classes together,” she said. “A lot of people are too shy to talk to her. I decided I wanted to get to know her. She's really an awesome friend. She always knows how to make me feel better.” Even if Carroll is having a terrible day, she is sweet and kind to everyone. “I never hear her say anything mean about anyone,” McCraw said. “You can never tell if she's having a bad day.” Carroll may struggle with some everyday tasks, but she possesses many traits her friends don't. “She's able to do stuff we're not able to,” Torres said. “She stays strong. She has people here that love her and support her.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/13/student-with-cerebral-palsy-named-prom-queen/

Teen who text and drive also likelier to take other risks in car

Teenagers who text while driving are also more likely to engage in other risky activities, such as riding with an intoxicated driver or not wearing a seatbelt, a new study suggests. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found four in every nine high school students had sent or received texts while driving in the past month. “Considering it's against the law for teens to be texting while driving in 45 states, it's a little concerning,” said Emily Olsen, a health statistician in the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health and the report's lead author. Past studies conducted in single states have found anywhere from one quarter to almost three quarters of teenagers text while driving, the study team wrote Monday in Pediatrics. To get a more nationally representative picture, Olsen and her colleagues analyzed responses to the CDC's annual youth risk survey. On the 2011 survey, conducted in public and private schools across the country, 8,505 high school students ages 16 and older were asked about potentially dangerous driving behaviors they had engaged in over the past month. Just under 45 percent had texted while driving at least once during that span, and close to 12 percent of teens said they texted behind the wheel every day. Although the study team didn't measure how cell phone use may have affected safety in the car, past research shows that texting while driving can slow reaction times and impair a driver's ability to stay in one lane. The more frequently students reported texting and driving, the more likely they were to also answer “yes” to other risky behaviors, the researchers found. For example, 3 percent of teens who didn't text at the wheel had recently driven after drinking alcohol. That compared to 19 percent who reported texting and driving at least once in the past month and 34 percent who said they texted in the car daily. Likewise, 19 percent of non-texters had ridden in a car with another driver who had been drinking, versus 33 percent of high school students who reported texting and driving themselves. “It's concerning that kids are participating in these multiple behaviors, either while they're driving or while they're a passenger,” Olsen said. “Each one of these things is quite dangerous (on its own).” Jessica Mirman, who has studied teen motor vehicle cell phone use at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Center for Injury Research and Prevention, agreed. “That just really highlighted that as far as prevention goes, we really need something comprehensive,” Mirman, who wasn't involved in the new research, said. “It's not just about texting. It's not just about drinking.” Olsen said parents have the best chance of being able to curb unsafe activities in the car by continuing to talk with their children about safe driving even after they have their license. Teens, she pointed out, are already more likely to get into - and have trouble getting out of - dangerous situations on the road, due to their inexperience. “Anything that takes their attention away from the task of driving, it can wait,” she said. Parents who are worried about their teens' driving behavior should reach out to their pediatrician or a school counselor, Mirman advised, as that risk-taking might reflect other underlying problems.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/13/teen-texting-at-wheel-tied-to-more-driving-risks/