Month: February 2023

More children and adolescents are identifying as transgender and offered medical treatment, especially in the US. But some providers and European authorities are urging caution because of a lack of strong evidence. In a new report from The BMJ Investigations Unit, Jennifer Block, investigations reporter, looks into the evidence base behind this surge in treatment.

Published in JAMA, a University of Minnesota led study shows that verapamil, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart conditions, can have a beneficial effect on the pancreas in children with newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetes (T1D). Results of the CLVer clinical trial showed that oral verapamil taken once a day improved

Our bodies are made up of 60,000 miles of complex pipes that play a vital role in transporting nutrients throughout our bodies, performing waste disposal, and supplying our organs with fresh oxygen and blood. Vascular malformations (VMs) are a group of rare genetic disorders that causes an abnormal formation of veins, arteries, capillaries, or lymphatic

Gestational diabetes and preeclampsia may be linked to slower biological development in infants, according to a new study led by USC. The research, published today in JAMA Network Open, found that newborns exposed to these two pregnancy complications were biologically younger than their chronologic gestational age. The infants’ biological or “epigenetic” age is based on

The large influx of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the El Paso area has also resulted in a spike of medical emergencies. To provide necessary health care, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso have collaborated with Doctors of the World USA to

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified variants of a chaperone molecule that optimizes the binding and presentation of foreign antigens across the human population, which could open the door to numerous applications where robust presentation to the immune system is important, including cell therapy and immunization. The findings were published today in

Scientists have wondered whether boys and girls think differently because their brains are different. A recent paper presents evidence that, indeed, girls do show meaningful differences in their brain circuits that could explain why their cognitive functions differ from those of boys. Study: Measures of Brain Connectivity and Cognition by Sex in US Children. Image

In a recent study published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers evaluate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-associated composite serious adverse events following immunization (sAEFI) among five- to 17-year-old children in the United States to ascertain the composite reported risk associated with vaccination. Related Stories Study: Reported rates of all-cause serious adverse events following immunization with BNT-162b in

For the first time, humans with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes, or T1D, have received two treatments called GABA and GAD that have shown promise in animal studies and in isolated human pancreas islets. This investigator-initiated clinical trial, published in Nature Communications, focused exclusively on children with recent onset T1D. Diabetes is a disease affecting

In a recent study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers estimate the efficacy of the monovalent messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in preventing symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the pediatric population between the

A new report, coauthored by several major pharmaceutical companies, reviews the current state of sterile oligonucleotide drug product processing. The article, which provides recommendations to aid in the evaluation and development of terminal sterilization processes, is published in the peer-reviewed journal Nucleic Acid Therapeutics. All marketed oligonucleotide products are delivered as sterile preparations for parenteral

A study from researchers at the University of Bath and the University of Cape Town suggests psychological and physical violence experienced by women from their partners during pregnancy can shape baby brain development. Exposing pregnant women to intimate partner violence can affect infant brain structure. Image Credit: University of Bath Domestic abuse against women during

Open spina bifida (SB), a neural tube defect (NTD), also known as myelomeningocele, remains the most complex congenital abnormality of the central nervous system compatible with long term survival. It gives rise to well known comorbidities and interventions, such as executive function challenges, urinary and bowel incontinence, and ventriculoperitoneal shunting. In this annual special issue

For parents, the decision to vaccinate their kids against SARS-CoV-2 is complex, influenced by scientific evidence, political and social pressures, and views about individual versus collective benefits of vaccination, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221401. Researchers conducted a qualitative study with in-depth interviews of 20 parents to understand