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Sunday, June 16, 2013

Shots - Health News

Coping On Father's Day Without Dad

Marc Silver and his daughter Maya wrote a book about how teens deal with a parent sick with cancer.

June 16, 2013 Teens who've lost a dad to cancer are a lonely bunch on Father's Day. But when some of these teenagers bare their souls, it turns out they have learned lessons that make them wise beyond their years.

Summary

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Shots - Health News

How CT Scans Have Raised Kids' Risk For Future Cancer

Use of CT scans has doubled for children under five and tripled for older children.

June 11, 2013 Children are getting too many CT scans, a study says, and that's boosting their risk of cancer later on. Parents can ask for alternatives like ultrasound and MRI or ask for CT scans that use less radiation.

Summary

Monday, June 10, 2013

Shots - Health News

Concussion Prescription: A Year On The Bench For Youngsters?

Katherine Cuntz and Sarah Gaudet go up to head the ball during a Louisiana high school championship game in 2011.

June 10, 2013 Young athletes who have two concussions within a year take nearly three times as long to recover as someone experiencing one concussion. A history of past concussions also hurt recovery times.

Summary

Shots - Health News

With Epilepsy Treatment, The Goal Is To Keep Kids Seizure-Free

Barton Holmes, 2, sits with his father, Kevin Holmes, and his mother, Catherine McEaddy Holmes, during an appointment at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

June 10, 2013 For children with epilepsy, doctors now try to prevent seizures altogether. It's a big switch in thinking from the days when seizures weren't considered such a bad thing. That changed due to research showing that seizures can affect learning and memory.

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Thursday, June 06, 2013

Shots - Health News

NIH Chief Rejects Ethics Critique Of Preemie Study

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins contested criticism that researchers running a study of premature infants didn't adequately advise parents about the risks.

June 6, 2013 At issue is a controversial study of more than 1,300 severely premature infants that looked at how much oxygen they should receive after birth. This spring, the federal Office for Human Research Protections criticized the scientists who ran the study for failing to tell parents enough about the risks.

Summary

Monday, June 03, 2013

Shots - Health News

More Children Poisoned By Parents' Prescription Drugs

Popular prescription drugs like statins are causing more childhood poisonings.

June 3, 2013 Seemingly safe pills for cholesterol and diabetes have become a big cause of poisonings in children and teenagers, a study finds. Narcotic painkillers remain a significant problem, but other commonly prescribed drugs for chronic conditions can cause serious injuries and deaths.

Summary

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Salt

No, Frosted Mini-Wheats Won't Make Your Kids Smarter

One of the ads in dispute.

May 30, 2013 Breakfast foods purveyor Kellogg has agreed to create a $4 million fund to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it ran a deceptive marketing campaign for the sugary treat. The ads, which ran several years ago, claimed eating the cereal boosted kids' attentiveness by nearly 20 percent — but the science didn't back that up.

Summary

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Shots - Health News

Misplaced Blame On Childhood Ritalin For Later Substance Abuse

Would a Ritalin prescription for a child with ADHD in 1997 foretell a substance abuse problem for an adult today?

May 30, 2013 People with ADHD in childhood are more likely to have problems with drugs and alcohol later. Studies have disagreed on whether treatment with stimulant drugs like Ritalin makes that abuse more likely, or protects against it. The biggest review yet says stimulant treatment neither helps nor hurts.

Summary

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Salt

Pot Brownies Should Be Childproofed, Doctors Say

Marijuana gingerbread cookies, like this one sold at The Apothecarium in San Francisco, could easily appeal to kids.

May 29, 2013 Unlike drugs that come in bottles, pot cookies and other marijuana edibles don't come in child-resistant packaging. But in Colorado, which legalized medical marijuana in 2000, doctors say they should, since kids are unintentionally ingesting adults' doped-up treats.

Summary

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Salt

Oh, This Is Fattening? Teens Ignore Fast-Food Calorie Counts

Teen boys are far less likely than girls to check out calorie counts before biting into that burger, researchers say.

May 28, 2013 About 40 percent of kids ages 9 to 18 report paying attention to calorie information when it's available in chain or fast-food restaurants. But youths who frequent fast-food joints two or more times a week were far less likely to say they used posted calorie counts to guide their choices.

Summary

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Salt

This 9-Year-Old Girl Told McDonald's CEO: Stop Tricking Kids

Hannah Robertson, 9, and her mom, blogger Kia Robertson — with the makings for kale chips, of course.

May 23, 2013 Over the years, McDonald's has gotten a lot of flack for marketing to kids. At a shareholders meeting Thursday morning, Hannah Robertson, age 9, took the fast-food giant's CEO to task.

Summary

Shots - Health News

Scientific Tooth Fairies Investigate Neanderthal Breast-Feeding

This model of a molar shows color-coded barium banding patterns that reveal weaning age.

May 23, 2013 Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feed their offspring for several years. Some baby orangutans nurse until they are 7 years old. Researchers found a way to test ancient teeth for clues about when humans cut nursing short.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Salt

Nutrition Group Says Chocolate Milk Is OK, No Need For Aspartame

Morgan Barnett, 7, drinks from containers of 1 percent milk and chocolate milk during lunch at a school in St. Paul, Minn., in 2006.

May 21, 2013 The nation's largest group of nutritionists is urging the FDA to reject the dairy industry's petition to change the definition of milk. The petition aims to allow aspartame or other alternatives to be used to sweeten milk in an effort to boost consumption in schools.

Summary

Shots - Health News

Less Sleep For Teens Means Higher Risk For Car Crashes

Sleep-deprived teenagers face the greatest risk of accidents while driving at night.

May 21, 2013 New, young drivers are much more likely to have an accident if they're short on sleep, researchers say. And teenage drivers are far more impaired than adults when facing an equivalent lack of sleep.

Summary

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Shots - Health News

Saving Newborns: 'Kangaroo Care' Could Go A Long Way

A health worker weighs a Somali baby on scales at a medical clinic in Mogadishu. Babies in Somalia have the highest risk of dying within the first 24 hours after birth.

May 7, 2013 Each year more than a million babies die within the first 24 hours after birth, a study finds. But there are some simple, inexpensive things that could save these infants, like early breast-feeding and teaching moms to hold their newborns close.

Summary

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