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Tag: children

  • 9 die, including 3 children, as strong winds hit tourist camp in central Russia, officials say

    9 die, including 3 children, as strong winds hit tourist camp in central Russia, officials say

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    Russia’s emergencies ministry says at least nine people have died, including three children, after high winds tore through central Russia

    MOSCOW — At least nine people — including three children — have died after high winds tore through central Russia, emergency services and a local official reported Sunday.

    Eight of the dead were part of a group of tourists camping close to Lake Yalchik in the Mari-El region when the storm hit Saturday, Russia’s emergencies ministry said.

    The strong winds caused a large number of trees to fall in the area, including where the group’s tents had been pitched on a stretch of wild beach, regional leader Yuri Zaitsev wrote on social media. He said that three children were among the dead.

    Across the wider Volga Federal District, 76 people were injured in the storm, with thousands of households losing power, emergency services said.

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  • Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians for providing ‘harmful’ materials to minors

    Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians for providing ‘harmful’ materials to minors

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    Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians for providing ‘harmful’ materials to minors

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians for providing ‘harmful’ materials to minors.

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  • Insights: Nap times and child brain development

    Insights: Nap times and child brain development

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    Newswise — Infants who nap a lot have smaller vocabularies and poorer cognitive skills – according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

    Parents the world over are prone to worry about their children getting either too little or too much sleep.

    But a new study published today reveals that some children are more efficient at consolidating information during sleep, so they nap less frequently.

    Meanwhile others, usually those with fewer words and poorer cognitive skills, need to nap more frequently.

    The research team say that reducing naps for these children will not improve brain development, and that they should be allowed to nap as frequently and for as long as they need.

    Lead researcher Dr Teodora Gliga said: “There is a lot of parental anxiety around sleep. Parents worry that their kids don’t nap as much as expected for their age – or nap too frequently and for too long.

    “But our research shows that how frequently a child naps reflects their individual cognitive need. Some are more efficient at consolidating information during sleep, so they nap less frequently.

    “Children with smaller vocabularies or a lower score in a measure of executive function, nap more frequently.

    “Young children will naturally nap for as long as they need and they should be allowed to do just that,” she added.

    The research team studied 463 infants aged between eight months and three years during lockdown in 2020.

    Parents were surveyed about their children’s sleep patterns, their ability to focus on a task, keep information in their memory, and the number of words that they understood and could say.

    They also asked parents about their socio-economic status – including their postcode, income, and education – and about the amount of screen time and outdoors activities their child engaged in.

    Dr Gliga said: “Lockdown gave us an opportunity to study children’s intrinsic sleep needs because when children are in childcare, they rarely nap as much as they need to.

    “Because nurseries were closed, it meant less disturbance to the children’s natural sleep patterns. None of the children taking part were attending day care.

    “What we found is that the structure of daytime sleep is an indicator of cognitive development.

    “Infants with more frequent but shorter naps than expected for their age had smaller vocabularies, and worse cognitive function.

    “We also found that this negative association between vocabulary and frequency of naps was stronger in older children,” she added.

    “While the majority of parents told us that their child’s sleep was unaffected by lockdown, parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to report a worsening in sleep.

    “Screen time increased during lockdown and outdoor activities decreased but these did not explain differences in children’s sleep.

    “Previous work suggested that caregivers should encourage frequent naps, in pre-school children.

    “Our findings suggest that children have different sleep needs – some children may drop naps earlier because they don’t need them anymore. Others may still need to nap past three years of age.

    “In the UK, preschools enrolling three to five-year-olds have no provisions for napping. Caregivers should use a child’s mental age and not chronological age to ascertain a child’s sleep needs,” she added.

    The study was led by UEA in collaboration with researchers at the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, the University of Leeds and the University of Warwick. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

    ‘More frequent naps are associated with lower cognitive development in a cohort of 8 to 38- month-old children, during the Covid-19 pandemic’ is published in the journal JCPP Advances.

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  • They Asked Me To Cut My 6-Year-Old Son’s Hair — And This Is Why I Said No

    They Asked Me To Cut My 6-Year-Old Son’s Hair — And This Is Why I Said No

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    In February, my 6-year-old Waccamaw Siouan son was told that he must cut his long hair to continue attending a public charter school in North Carolina — and our world stopped. In that moment, every negative emotion, from depression to rage, rushed over me. Those at the school somehow considered his long hair, which he sometimes wears in a braid, to be “faddish,” and this wasn’t acceptable, according to their dress code.

    The only way I could justify the demand was to assume that maybe they just don’t know that my son’s hairstyle is an important expression of our culture. For over a century, the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe has been living on and caring for the land that the school currently occupies. Long hair, as a style, is traditional for boys and men.

    I want my son to be strong, self-possessed and proud of who he is. I’m realizing that this could require his constant effort to educate others about our culture and, subsequently, why they should respect it. I’ve had to do this my whole life, so I know that it’s exhausting. Eventually, you grow weak from having to convince people that you deserve respect. I don’t wish for that emotional labor and trauma to weigh down my son’s shoulders. Yet there we were, at a crossroads: Do we continue to educate, or simply walk away?

    My son loved his teachers and his friends. How could I look him in the eyes and tell him that he is not wanted at school as his most authentic self?

    I chose not to do this — and so we set out to educate the school’s administrators. It sounds like an oxymoron to teach educators, but that’s what was necessary. After that, we waited for a response that would allow our son to continue on there with his beautiful hair styled exactly as it was. When the pushback came, it hit us hard.

    Denying my beautiful boy as his authentic self — with a hairstyle that wasn’t hurting anyone — is a poignant form of cultural erasure. It disrespects the heritage that we have been trying hard to preserve for generations. Also, forcing someone to cut their hair is an assimilation effort that was used years ago at Native American boarding schools. “Killing the Indian” in a child changes future generations, and we have seen this story before. We must resist these attacks on our culture and call them what they are. We’re not trying to move backward here.

    In the moments I was processing all of this, I remember dropping to my knees and collapsing into the arms of my elders. I leaned and prayed to the creator for strength, because I knew there was a fight ahead. Most importantly, my son’s safety from the world was in jeopardy. The school gave us two weeks to cut his hair before he could return to class — and we both knew we wouldn’t touch a hair on his head.

    So, I called on every person of influence I knew in North Carolina. I reached out to anyone who I believed could help me navigate this situation and get my son back into school with his teachers and friends. Finally after many calls, emails, interviews and letters, my son was able to return to class and finish the school year strong.

    Administrators conveniently decided to push off any “discussions” about changing their policy until the very end of the school year. They altered one word in another area of the rules and passed this as a “policy change” to combat the negative press the school had received. (HuffPost reached out to Classical Charter School for comment but did not receive an immediate response.) When the next school year began, so did the looming cloud of another attack on our culture.

    This will be an ongoing battle, not just for me but for all Native Americans who face similar attempts at cultural erasure. So how do we fight back?

    Resilience comes from the wounds and battle scars of these events. It takes an intentional resistance to those who wish to remove and assimilate our existence without even understanding why they want us and our customs gone in the first place. We all process this trauma differently. Just as it’s in my DNA to fight back against oppression, it is in others’ DNA to uphold it.

    The first thing to remember, especially if you want to be an ally, is that rules for rules’ sake are oppressive. There should always be a why. Some people don’t want to find meaning behind rules, further solidifying their core values as oppressors of Indigenous people. It takes courage to speak out against a society that was designed to destroy your existence.

    If we continue to let Native children be robbed of their customs, we reinforce the narrative that our people do not deserve to exist. So, educating young people on Native sovereignty is crucial. The trauma can end with this generation. We can end the continued and failed attempts of colonized minds, by basking in the clarity that comes from appreciating and celebrating another person’s culture. This is how we can change the world for the next generations and stop the pain.

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  • CHOP Researchers Validate Pediatric “Allergic March” in Largest National Study of its Kind

    CHOP Researchers Validate Pediatric “Allergic March” in Largest National Study of its Kind

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    Newswise — Philadelphia, July 25, 2023—In the largest study of its kind, researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used electronic health record (EHR) data from more than 200,000 pediatric patients to describe patterns of pediatric allergies across the United States, validating a population-level pattern of allergy development known as the “allergic march,” in which allergies first present as eczema, followed by food allergies, asthma, and environmental allergies. The researchers also found that a rare food allergy called eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), which has historically been considered a disease affecting primarily White males, is more common among non-White patients than previously reported. 

    The findings were published today in Pediatrics. 

    “Allergic diseases are one of the most common causes of impaired quality of life in children, so to improve the diagnosis and care of children with these diseases, it is important that we have an accurate understanding of how widespread they are, and the risk factors that are associated with them,” said first author Stanislaw J. Gabryszewski, MD, PhD, a fellow in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Prior studies have gauged the prevalence and patterns of allergies based on surveys completed by families. By using data from electronic health records, we were able to analyze data from medical providers, which allowed us to examine population-level patterns over time and in a way that minimizes reporting bias.” 

    To uncover patterns and prevalence of allergic disease, the researchers used the Comparative Effectiveness Research through Collaborative Electronic Reporting (CER2) Consortium database, which includes data from more than 1 million children across multiple independent primary care practices and health systems within the United States. The researchers focused on five allergic diseases: eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis; IgE-mediated (anaphylactic) food allergy; asthma; allergic rhinitis, sometimes referred to as hay fever; and EoE, an emerging and less recognized non-anaphylactic food allergy that causes chronic esophageal symptoms. For each condition, they determined the age at diagnosis and whether and when patients presented with other allergic conditions. 

    In total, they identified 218,485 children between infancy and 18 years of age with allergies who were observed for more than 5 years between 1999 and 2020. The researchers found that the average peak age of onset was approximately 4 months for eczema, 13 months for anaphylactic food allergies, 13 months for asthma, 26 months for allergic rhinitis, and 35 months for EoE. The most diagnosed anaphylactic food allergies were peanut (1.9%), egg (0.8%), and shellfish (0.6%). They found that 13.4% of children had two allergic conditions, and patients with respiratory allergies like asthma and allergic rhinitis tended to present with both conditions, as well as other allergic conditions. 

    The researchers also found that the prevalence of anaphylactic food allergies diagnosed by healthcare providers was 4% — approximately half the prevalence in survey-based studies using family-reported data, suggesting prior studies could have included non-anaphylactic food intolerances. The researchers suggest that this discrepancy highlights the importance of providers and families partnering in the diagnoses of food allergy, as well as underscoring that anaphylactic food allergies are often part of a larger allergic picture.

    The researchers examined demographic trends to examine non-biologic factors that may affect predisposition to allergy. With regard to race and ethnicity, there was significantly higher representation of Black children among those with eczema and asthma, a significantly higher representation of White children for EoE, and a significantly lower representation of Hispanic children with anaphylactic food allergies. Notably, however, even though a majority of EoE patients were White males, the researchers found that approximately 40% of patients with EoE in their cohort were non-White, which is much higher than previously reported. 

    “This study provides an important overview of patterns and prevalence of allergic diseases in children, which is crucial as families and pediatricians observe symptoms that could be indicative of emerging allergies,” said senior author David A. Hill, MD, PhD, an attending physician with the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Future studies should seek to define high-risk allergy populations who may benefit from screening and identify potentially modifiable disparities in disease outcomes.”

    Gabryszewski et al. “Patterns of pediatric allergy across a multi-state electronic health record consortium,” Pediatrics, July 25, 2023, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2022-060531

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    About Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: A non-profit, charitable organization, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, the 595-bed hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. The institution has a well-established history of providing advanced pediatric care close to home through its CHOP Care Network, which includes more than 50 primary care practices, specialty care and surgical centers, urgent care centers, and community hospital alliances throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as an inpatient hospital with a dedicated pediatric emergency department in King of Prussia. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit https://www.chop.edu. 

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    Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

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  • With Support from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, East Hollywood Community Garden Kicks Off the Summer

    With Support from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, East Hollywood Community Garden Kicks Off the Summer

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    Newswise — East Hollywood (July 24, 2023) – Expanding its commitment to the health and well-being of the people in its community, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles sponsored the Summer Kickoff of the East Hollywood Community Garden, and was joined by more than 100 area residents and CHLA team members at the garden’s recent celebration.

    The event showcased the fertile, green space located right in the middle of East Hollywood, and the opportunity it offers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables while connecting neighbor with neighbor.

    “Thank you to the Los Angeles Community Garden Council for welcoming us to this beautiful space,” says Ellen Zaman, Executive Director for External Affairs at CHLA. “In addition to providing medical care to many children in the community, CHLA strives to create hope and build healthier futures for children, and this mission includes supporting community health, wellness, happiness and good nutrition. This garden is an oasis and sanctuary for the East Hollywood community, and we are looking forward to a long partnership.”   

    CHLA’s participation as a garden sponsor represented another step in the hospital’s efforts as a food access hub, reducing food insecurity by increasing the availability of high-quality, nutritious food, says David Valdez, Project Manager in the hospital’s Office of Community Affairs. “Community gardens are a gift to the neighborhood,” he says. “We are widening access to sources of fresh produce, promoting food harvesting, encouraging healthy eating, and improving nutrition education throughout the areas in which we work and live.”

    CHLA’s involvement in the East Hollywood Community Garden is part of a collaboration with the Los Angeles Community Garden Council (LACGC), which governs 42 community gardens across the city. Independently, CHLA partnered with Los Angeles City College in 2021 to build “The City’s Garden” on the school’s campus. “We’re supporting the creation of a network of gardens,” Valdez says. “That’s the goal.”

    The Summer Kickoff served as a kind of post-pandemic grand reopening for the East Hollywood Community Garden, which had been unable to host any large gatherings for the past three years. Since July 2019, the garden has been a place where individuals can lease a plot of soil and grow their own fruits and vegetables while sharing gardening tips and enjoying the company of their fellow community members. Visitors who don’t have their own plots can harvest produce in areas designated for communal gardening.

    One of the event’s objectives was simply to bring the garden to the community’s attention. “It was surprising to hear the number of individuals not aware of the garden” Valdez says.

    The garden is adjacent to Madison Avenue Public Park and is surrounded by apartment buildings, sitting right behind the Hollywood Hotel. It’s a short distance from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a walk Valdez has made many times himself.

    Visitors mill around the East Hollywood Community Garden, a place to grow one’s own fruits and vegetables while mingling with neighbors. He explains that another benefit of these produce gardens is the food education they provide. He gives an example of a young boy who had never seen such dark-green lettuce—which wasn’t lettuce at all, he learned. It was kale.

    “Exposing individuals to new foods, new fruits and vegetables that they might not be aware of or that they might not be used to eating, is important,” Valdez says. “It creates opportunities for new tastes and flavors while also educating individuals about health advantages associated with food choices.”

    He says the ultimate goal of the East Hollywood Community Garden is to relieve food insecurity by making fresh and nutritious foods more available to those who typically don’t have enough access to them. “Helping reduce food insecurity is a great way to effect change for the good of our local neighborhoods and communities.”

    About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles 

    Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Renowned pediatric experts work together across disciplines to deliver inclusive and compassionate health care to one of the world’s most diverse populations, driving advances that set child health standards across the nation and around the globe. With a mission to create hope and build healthier futures for children, the hospital consistently ranks in the top 10 in the nation, No. 1 in California and No. 1 in the Pacific U.S. region on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals. The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of child health research and is among the top 10 pediatric academic medical centers for National Institutes of Health funding, meaning physicians and scientists translate discoveries into treatments and bring answers to families faster. Home to one of the largest pediatric training programs in the United States, Children’s Hospital graduates a new class of physicians each year who have learned world-class children’s health care at the forefront of medicine. And as an anchor institution, the hospital strengthens the economic health of surrounding communities by fighting food insecurity, enhancing health education and literacy, and introducing early careerists to health care. To learn more, follow CHLA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and visit CHLA.org/blog. 

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    Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

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  • Microbiome-Directed Therapies for Undernutrition, Big Data for Precision Medicine, Health Equity, and More to Be Explored at 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo

    Microbiome-Directed Therapies for Undernutrition, Big Data for Precision Medicine, Health Equity, and More to Be Explored at 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo

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    Newswise — ANAHEIM—At the 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, laboratory experts will present cutting-edge research and technology that is shaping the future of clinical testing and patient care. From July 23-27 in Anaheim, California, the meeting’s 250-plus sessions will deliver insights on a broad range of timely healthcare topics. Highlights include discussions about addressing childhood undernutrition using microbiome-directed therapies, harnessing the power of big data to practice precision medicine, creating more equitable healthcare systems, improving cardiovascular care for women, and using genomic-modification strategies to treat sickle cell disease. 

    Microbiome-Directed Therapies for Childhood Undernutrition. Scientists are exploring whether disruptions to the normal development of the human gut microbiome—a collection of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract—could play a role in causing childhood undernutrition. In the meeting’s opening plenary, Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon discusses the possibility of developing microbiome-directed therapies to address this devastating global health problem. Dr. Gordon is the 2023 Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Awardee and founding director of The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 

    Practicing Precision Medicine from 700 Trillion Data Points. Over the past decade, researchers and clinicians have measured trillions of points of molecular, clinical, and epidemiological data that could be harnessed to improve disease diagnostics and therapeutics. In this plenary session, Dr. Atul Butte, chief data scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, highlights his center’s recent work on integrating electronic health records data from over 8 million patients and discusses how such big data could help providers to practice more precise medicine.

    Choosing Equity in Healthcare. The 2020 reckoning with racism in America had an intersectional impact on health, healthcare delivery, and medical education. Dr. Thea James, vice president of mission, associate chief medical officer, and co-executive director of the Health Equity Accelerator at Boston Medical Center, will share how one academic healthcare system approached an enterprise-wide transformation toward organizational equity. 

    Addressing Cardiovascular Disease in Women. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for U.S. women, yet the underrepresentation of women in medical research has led to pervasive sex-based gaps in knowledge and care delivery. In this plenary session, Dr. Nanette K. Wenger, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine, calls for a cultural shift toward equity, including awareness campaigns that identify cardiovascular disease as the major health threat for women. 

    Advances in Curative Therapies for Sickle Cell Disease. In the meeting’s closing plenary, Dr. Mark C. Walters, chief of the hematology division and professor of pediatrics/hematology at the University of California, San Francisco, will discuss diverse new approaches for addressing sickle cell disease that apply genomic modifications to patients’ cells to elicit a therapeutic effect. He will present examples of both promising results and pitfalls, while also exploring how to ensure equitable access to these new therapies. 

    Additionally, at the Clinical Lab Expo, more than 900 exhibitors will display innovative technologies that are just coming to market in every clinical lab discipline. 

    “The 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting program showcases the versatility of laboratory medicine professionals and the enormous impact they have on improving health and healthcare,” said AACC CEO Mark J. Golden. “From investigating promising therapies to translating data into better medicine to advancing equity in healthcare systems, our plenary speakers exemplify the pioneering vision and collaborative nature of the clinical laboratory community.”

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    Session Information

    AACC Annual Scientific Meeting registration is free for members of the media. Reporters can register online here: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/aacc0723/media/landing.asp

     

    Microbiome-Directed Therapies for Childhood Undernutrition

    11001 Developing Microbiome-Directed Therapeutics for Treating Childhood Undernutrition

    Sunday, July 23

    5:00-6:30 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time

     

    Practicing Precision Medicine from 700 Trillion Data Points

    12001 Precisely Practicing Medicine from 700 Trillion Points of Data

    Monday, July 24

    8:45-10:15 a.m., U.S. Pacific Time

     

    Choosing Equity in Healthcare

    13001 Choosing Equity in Healthcare: An Organizational Transformation

    Tuesday, July 25

    8:45-10:15 a.m., U.S. Pacific Time

     

    Addressing Cardiovascular Disease in Women

    14001 Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Epidemiology, Awareness, Access, and Delivery of Equitable Health Care

    Wednesday, July 26

    8:45-10:15 a.m., U.S. Pacific Time

     

    Advances in Curative Therapies for Sickle Cell Disease

    15001 Advances in Curative Therapies for Sickle Cell Disease

    Thursday, July 27

    8:45-10:15 a.m., U.S. Pacific Time

     

    About the 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo

    The 2023 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting offers 5 days packed with opportunities to learn about exciting science from July 23-27 in Anaheim, California. Plenary sessions will explore microbiome-directed therapies for undernutrition, big data for practicing precision medicine, healthcare equity, cardiovascular disease in women, and promising sickle cell disease treatments.

    At the Clinical Lab Expo, more than 900 exhibitors will fill the show floor of the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, with displays of the latest diagnostic technology, including but not limited to COVID-19 testing, artificial intelligence, point-of-care, and automation.

    About the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) 

    Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, ADLM (formerly AACC) brings together more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, ADLM has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.myadlm.org.

     

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    American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC)

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  • 3 dead and 3 injured in San Antonio house fire

    3 dead and 3 injured in San Antonio house fire

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    The San Antonio fire chief says three people were killed and three others have been injured in a house fire

    SAN ANTONIO — An early morning house fire in San Antonio killed three people and injured three others, the city’s fire chief said.

    One woman died at the scene and two others — an adult and a child — later died at a hospital. The three people hospitalized were listed in critical condition, said San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

    Firefighters responded to the blaze at around 3 a.m. Saturday after receiving a 911 call in which people could be heard screaming in the background, Hood said.

    Police officers who first arrived at the home kicked in a door and also heard people inside screaming for help, Hood said.

    Six people — three adults and three children — were rescued from the home.

    The names of the three victims were not immediately released.

    A preliminary investigation showed the fire started in the home’s garage but a cause of the blaze had not yet been determined, Hood said.

    Investigators found no working smoke detectors in the home and had no reports of any detectors going off during the fire, he said.

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  • MIND Diet Linked with Better Focus in School-Aged Children

    MIND Diet Linked with Better Focus in School-Aged Children

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    Newswise — A diet originally designed to help ward off cognitive decline in adults might also help improve attention in pre-adolescents, according to a new study. The findings could help inform future dietary interventions aimed at improving cognition in children.

    The new study examined two diets: the Healthy Eating Index – 2015 (HEI-2015), which is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet, which combines the Mediterranean diet with the heart-healthy Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet to create a dietary pattern that focuses on brain health.

    “We assessed how adherence to these diets was associated with children’s attentional inhibition — the ability to resist distracting stimuli — and found that only the MIND diet was positively linked with children’s performance on a task assessing attentional inhibition,” said Shelby Keye, PhD, who performed the work as a doctoral student in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and will be an assistant professor there this fall. “This suggests that the MIND diet could have the potential to improve children’s cognitive development, which is important for success in school.”

    Keye will present the findings at NUTRITION 2023, the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22-25 in Boston.

    Much like the DASH and Mediterranean diets on which it is based, the MIND diet emphasizes fresh fruit, vegetables, and legumes like beans, lentils, and peas. However, it also includes recommendations for specific foods, such as leafy greens and berries, which promote brain health. Although the MIND diet has been shown to have positive effects in adults, very few studies have been performed in children.

    The new research used data collected in a previous cross-sectional study led by Naiman Khan, PhD, a professor of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The study’s 85 participants ranged in age from 7 to 11 years old and completed a seven-day diet record from which the researchers calculated HEI-2015 and MIND diet scores. To assess attentional inhibition, participants also completed a task that requires spatial attention and executive control with their reaction time and accuracy recorded. Children with neurological disorders such as ADHD or autism were excluded from the study to reduce confounding factors.

    The researchers found that MIND diet scores but not HEI-2015 scores were positively related to study participants’ accuracy on the task, meaning that study participants who better adhered to the MIND diet performed better on the task. The researchers caution that although the study shows an association, an intervention study would be necessary to make any causal inferences.

    Next, the researchers would like to study the relationship between the MIND diet and attention in younger children, including preschool age and toddlers, to determine if there are any differences based on age and whether a developmental effect is involved.

    Keye will present this research at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, during the Dietary Patterns Poster Session in the Hynes Convention Center Hall C (abstract; presentation details).

    Please note that abstracts presented at NUTRITION 2023 were evaluated and selected by a committee of experts but have not generally undergone the same peer review process required for publication in a scientific journal. As such, the findings presented should be considered preliminary until a peer-reviewed publication is available.

    Images available.

     

    About NUTRITION 2023

    NUTRITION 2023 is the flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition and the premier educational event for nutritional professionals around the globe. NUTRITION brings together lab scientists, practicing clinicians, population health researchers, and community intervention investigators to identify solutions to today’s greatest nutrition challenges. Our audience also includes rising leaders in the field – undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. NUTRITION 2023 will be held July 22-25, 2023 in Boston. https://nutrition.org/N23 #Nutrition2023

     

    About the American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

    ASN is the preeminent professional organization for nutrition scientists and clinicians around the world. Founded in 1928, the society brings together the top nutrition researchers, medical practitioners, policy makers and industry leaders to advance our knowledge and application of nutrition. ASN publishes four peer-reviewed journals and provides education and professional development opportunities to advance nutrition research, practice, and education. Since 2018, the American Society of Nutrition has presented NUTRITION, the leading global annual meeting for nutrition professionals.

     

    Find more news briefs and tipsheets at: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsroom/nutrition2023.

     

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    American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

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  • Many Children in Rural Areas Receive High Salt and Sugar Foods Before Age 2

    Many Children in Rural Areas Receive High Salt and Sugar Foods Before Age 2

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    Newswise — A study of over 10,000 children in rural Pennsylvania revealed that a large proportion of children were fed foods that are high in sugar and salt in their first years of life.

    Over half (53%) of the children in the study received high-sodium meats such as hot dogs, 37% received salty snacks such as potato chips, and one-third (34%) received cakes, cookies, or pudding before age 2. In addition, over one-quarter (27%) of babies received juice before their first birthday.

    “Given that these foods are not recommended for children, these numbers are concerning,” said Carolyn F. McCabe, PhD, staff scientist in the Department of Population Health Sciences and the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Research at Geisinger. “Early exposure to foods and beverages high in sugar, fat, and sodium can potentially have negative consequences for the healthy growth and development of infants and children.”

    McCabe will present the findings at NUTRITION 2023, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22–25 in Boston.

    Current U.S. dietary guidelines recommend waiting until at least age 1 to introduce 100% fruit or vegetable juices, and that families avoid foods and beverages with added sugars and limit those high in sodium for children younger than 2. These recommendations are designed to lower the risk of overweight and obesity, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic health conditions.

    According to experts, exposing young children to overly sweet or salty foods can shape their taste preferences and lead to unhealthy eating habits in the long term.

    “Early life is such a critical period for establishing eating habits and food preferences, and these preferences and behaviors around food can persist as children grow,” said McCabe. She added that early exposure to these foods may mean some children are not getting enough of the healthy foods they need for proper nutrition. “Infants and toddlers have small stomachs, so it is important to make every bite count.”

    For the study, researchers analyzed questionnaires given at well-child visits for 10,614 children up to 26 months of age who visited Geisinger, a rural-serving health system in Pennsylvania between 2016-2020. In addition to early introduction of foods high in sugar, fat, and sodium, the study revealed that less than half (46%) of babies exclusively consumed human milk and/or formula for the first six months of life as dietary guidelines recommend. Twenty-nine percent of children received sweetened cereal and 1 in 10 received sugar-sweetened beverages before age 2.

    Children living in rural areas face many health and socioeconomic disparities. One in 5 rural children live in poverty and children in rural areas are 25% more likely to experience obesity compared with nonrural children. These disparities make it even more important to ensure rural families are aware of dietary guidelines for children and have the resources they need to follow them, McCabe said.

    McCabe will present this research at 9 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, during the Milk to Meals: Feeding from Birth to Childhood Oral Session in the Sheraton Boston, Constitution B (abstract; presentation details).

    Please note that abstracts presented at NUTRITION 2023 were evaluated and selected by a committee of experts but have not generally undergone the same peer review process required for publication in a scientific journal. As such, the findings presented should be considered preliminary until a peer-reviewed publication is available.

     

    About NUTRITION 2023

    NUTRITION 2023 is the flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition and the premier educational event for nutritional professionals around the globe. NUTRITION brings together lab scientists, practicing clinicians, population health researchers, and community intervention investigators to identify solutions to today’s greatest nutrition challenges. Our audience also includes rising leaders in the field – undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. NUTRITION 2023 will be held July 22-25, 2023 in Boston. https://nutrition.org/N23 #Nutrition2023

     

    About the American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

    ASN is the preeminent professional organization for nutrition research scientists and clinicians around the world. Founded in 1928, the society brings together the top nutrition researchers, medical practitioners, policy makers and industry leaders to advance our knowledge and application of nutrition. ASN publishes four peer-reviewed journals and provides education and professional development opportunities to advance nutrition research, practice, and education. Since 2018, the American Society of Nutrition has presented NUTRITION, the leading global annual meeting for nutrition professionals. http://www.nutrition.org

     

    Find more news briefs from NUTRITION 2023 at: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsroom/nutrition2023.

     

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  • The latest Russian strike on Ukraine’s Odesa leaves 1 dead, many hurt and a cathedral badly damaged

    The latest Russian strike on Ukraine’s Odesa leaves 1 dead, many hurt and a cathedral badly damaged

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    ODESA, Ukraine — Russia struck the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa again on Sunday, local officials said, keeping up a barrage of attacks that has damaged critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine in the past week. At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded in the attack in the early hours.

    Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said that four children were among those wounded in the blasts, which severely damaged the historic Transfiguration Cathedral, a landmark Orthodox cathedral in the city.

    Russia has been launching persistent attacks on Odesa, a key hub for exporting grain, since Moscow canceled a landmark grain deal on Monday amid Kyiv’s grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories.

    Kiper noted that six residential buildings, including apartment buildings, were destroyed by the strikes.

    In one such case in downtown Odesa, some people became trapped in their apartments as a result of the damage caused by the attack, which left rubble strewn in the street and partly blocking the road, and damage to power lines.

    Svitlana Molcharova, 85, was rescued by emergency service workers. But after she received first medical aid, she refused to leave her destroyed apartment.

    “I will stay here,” she said to the emergency service worker who advised her to leave.

    “I woke up when the ceiling started to fall on me. I rushed into the corridor,” said Ivan Kovalenko, 19, another resident of the building. He came to Odesa having fled the city of Mykolaiv in search of a safer place to live after his house was destroyed.

    “That’s how I lost my home in Mykolaiv, and here, I lost my rented apartment. ”

    In his home, the ceiling partially collapsed, the balcony came off the side of the building, and all the windows were blown out.

    The Transfiguration Cathedral, one of the most important and largest Orthodox Cathedrals in Odesa, was severely damaged.

    “The destruction is enormous, half of the cathedral is now roofless,” said Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk, as cathedral workers brought documents and valuable items out of the severely building, the floor of which was inundated with water used by firefighters to extinguish the fire.

    Palchuk said the damage was caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile that penetrated the building down to the basement and caused significant damage. Two people who were inside at the time of the strike were wounded.

    “But with God’s help, we will restore it,” he said, bursting into tears.

    Odesa’s historic center was designated an endangered World Heritage Site by the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, earlier this year, despite Russian opposition.

    Earlier Russian attacks this week crippled significant parts of export facilities in Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk and destroyed 60,000 tons of grain, according to Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry.

    The attacks come days after President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that enabled Ukraine’s exports to reach many countries facing the threat of hunger.

    Putin vowed to retaliate against Kyiv for an attack Monday on the crucial Kerch Bridge linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.

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    Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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  • Cupkin children’s cups sold on Amazon recalled over newly-detected lead levels

    Cupkin children’s cups sold on Amazon recalled over newly-detected lead levels

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    NEW YORK — More than 345,000 children’s cups are being recalled due to lead levels that exceed the federal content ban, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.

    Soojimus is recalling 8-ounce and 12-ounce models of its Cupkin Double-Walled Stainless Steel Children’s Cups — sold in various colors on Amazon and the Cupkin website from 2018 through earlier this year.

    Consumers in possession of the recalled Cupkin cups are urged to stop using them immediately and contact Soojimus for a full refund. No illnesses or injuries related to the recall have been reported to date.

    According to Cupkin, liquid in the now-recalled cups is “not exposed to lead due to the double walled construction.” The exposure to lead can occur if the cup bottoms are mistreated, the brand said.

    In a response to the recall on its website, Cupkin noted that it initiated the voluntary recall after receiving consumer feedback and conducting additional testing. Lead was not detected during the products’ initial development, the brand added.

    “When we initially developed these cups, our manufacturing partner confirmed multiple times that absolutely no lead was used in any part of our production process,” Cupkin’s message read, adding that the cups were also tested by two separate third-party labs accredited by the CPSC.

    “Learning that our manufacturing partner and not one, but two CPSC-accredited labs let us down is a heavy set back both financially and emotionally,” Cupkin continued. “However, no matter the cost…we are going to be as transparent and proactive as possible to resolve this ASAP.”

    Soojimus and Amazon will be directly contacting all known purchasers of the recalled Cupkin cups, the CPSC said Thursday. To receive a refund, consumers can submit photographs of the cups showing their destruction and fill out a form on Cupkin’s website.

    “My wife and I have two little girls. As parents, our intentions with the Cupkin cups were to be lead-free from the beginning,” Max Kang, one of the co-founders of Cupkin, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. “I just want all of our customers to know that we take this very seriously and will rebuild from here.”

    Kang reiterated that their manufacturer initially confirmed no lead was used in the cups’ glass beads, which are placed at the bottom of the products for vacuum sealing. But the manufacturer later admitted fault, he said.

    Health officials maintain there is no safe level of lead, which can harm brain development in young children. Kids can be exposed to the metal through bits of old paint, contaminated dust and sometimes drinking water that passes through lead pipes.

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  • No children’s remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school

    No children’s remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school

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    An archeological dig for a lost children’s cemetery near the Nebraska site of a former Native American boarding school has ended after two weeks — and no remains were found.

    Dave Williams, the state’s archeologist, said the team searching near the former Genoa Indian Industrial School plans to meet on Zoom with representatives of 40 tribes across the U.S. next week to determine next steps.

    “I would have preferred that we found the children,” said Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. “But we have to remain hopeful. They’ve been gone more than 90 years. I feel like I have to remain steadfast and committed.”

    The search for gained renewed interest after hundreds of children’s remains were discovered at other Native American boarding school sites across the U.S. and Canada in recent years.

    Dogs trained to detect the odor of decaying remains searched the area last summer and indicated there could be a burial site in a strip of land bordered by a farm field, railroad tracks and a canal. In November, ground-penetrating radar identified four anomalies — or areas of disturbed soil beneath the ground surface — in the shapes of graves.

    Williams and his team spent the last two weeks excavating, but didn’t find the first anomaly they were seeking, which could’ve contained children’s remains.

    “That’s one of the challenges of archaeology,” Williams said. “We can have a lot of evidence that something should be where we think it’s going to be. And then once we actually get in and open up the ground and take a look, it’s not what we expected.”

    They’ll spend the next few weeks reevaluating the data and everything that led them to that location, Williams said, and figure out a new plan in consultation with the dozens of tribes that lost their children to the school.

    There are three other anomalies nearby. Crews could search for those, pursue other leads or stop the search entirely if the tribes collectively decide that’s what they want, Williams said, but he hopes the team can still help the tribes, find the children and “bring them to rest in a satisfactory way.”

    Sunshine Thomas-Bear, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the cultural preservation director for the tribe, said she wishes there had been more consultation with all 40 tribes — and not just the tribes in Nebraska — before now. She’s looking forward to that happening more in this next phase.

    “Nothing was found this time. But perhaps that was because we weren’t all ready yet,” Thomas-Bear said. “There were tribes that weren’t notified, there were tribes that weren’t there. We believe that everything happens for a reason. I think that if we get on the right track together, perhaps we’ll be more successful.”

    The Genoa Indian Industrial School was part of a national system of more than 400 Native American boarding schools that attempted to assimilate Indigenous people into white culture by separating children from their families, prohibiting them from speaking their Native languages, cutting them off from their heritage and inflicting abuse.

    The school, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Omaha, opened in 1884 and at its height was home to nearly 600 students. It closed in the 1930s and most buildings were demolished long ago.

    The U.S. Interior Department — led by Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and the first Native American Cabinet secretary — released a first-of-its-kind report last year that named hundreds of schools the federal government supported to strip Native Americans of their cultures and identities.

    At least 500 children died at some of the schools, but that number is expected to reach into the thousands or tens of thousands as efforts like the Nebraska dig continue.

    ___

    Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15

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  • The Columbus Zoo thought this gorilla was a male — then it gave birth to a baby | CNN

    The Columbus Zoo thought this gorilla was a male — then it gave birth to a baby | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Zookeepers at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium arrived to a pair of unexpected discoveries Thursday morning: a newborn baby gorilla and the news that its mother wasn’t a male gorilla.

    The gorilla, Sully, has lived at the facility with her mother since 2019 and was thought to be male until “the gorilla care team discovered her holding the unexpected baby gorilla early Thursday,” the zoo announced in a news release.

    But how could the facility not know 8-year-old Sully was actually a female? And that she was pregnant?

    Well, gorillas “don’t have prominent sex organs” and males and females look mostly alike until around age 8, the zoo said in the release, noting it’s only later in life that males develop their large size, silver backs and distinctive head bumps.

    Along with the hard-to-distinguish features, veterinarians at the zoo where the gorilla was born took a “hands-off approach” with their care and allowed the primate to be cared for by its mother, the Columbus Zoo noted.

    When Sully arrived in Columbus, she was a “young and healthy animal” and didn’t require any medical procedures that would have led to the discovery sooner, the zoo said.

    The pregnancy was also missed because “gorillas rarely show outward signs” they are carrying because “newborns are smaller than human babies and gorillas naturally have large abdomens,” the release notes.

    With the gestation period for gorillas being eight and a half months, the zoo estimates Sully became pregnant in the fall.

    The zoo says the adorable infant appears to be a healthy female. “The veterinary and animal care teams have not yet approached the infant, giving them time to bond with one another and with the rest of the troop, but will conduct a wellness exam soon,” the facility said in the release.

    A DNA test will be performed later to determine the newborn’s father.

    The new mother and baby will be on display for guests at the zoo’s gorilla habitat starting Friday, according to the release.

    Western lowland gorillas – the subspecies that lives at the Columbus Zoo – are critically endangered, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are an estimated 100,000 left in the wild across central Africa, says the Columbus Zoo. Their population has been depleted due to habitat loss, deforestation and hunting for bushmeat.

    The surprise discovery builds on a history of gorilla conservation at the Columbus Zoo. The facility “was the first zoo in the world to welcome the birth of a baby gorilla” in 1956, according to the release.

    Sully’s yet-to be named infant is the 34th gorilla born at the zoo, says the release. “She’s an important part of our work to conserve these magnificent animals,” the facility wrote.

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  • Mother and 3 children dead in possible Oklahoma murder-suicide

    Mother and 3 children dead in possible Oklahoma murder-suicide

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    Authorities say a woman and her three children were found dead in an Oklahoma home in what may be a murder-suicide

    VERDIGRIS, Okla. — A woman and her three children were found dead in an Oklahoma home Thursday evening in what may be a murder-suicide following an hourslong standoff, authorities said.

    The names of the victims weren’t immediately released.

    The standoff began in the small town of Verdigris, a suburb east of Tulsa, when a police officer driving along the street saw fireworks coming from inside the garage of a house, according to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Hunter McKee.

    “It was at that time that officer knew that there was something wrong, went to investigate, called for backup,” McKee said.

    The officer saw what Police Chief Jack Shackleford described as a Roman candle firework and found a woman and two children locked in a garage.

    The woman said she had taken another child to the home for a supervised visit and was met by an armed woman who took the child and locked the woman and two other children who were with her in the garage, Shackleford said.

    Several agencies surrounded the house, including a SWAT team from the Cherokee Nation.

    Following a three-hour standoff with no response from inside the house, McKee said officers entered the home and found the adult woman and three children dead with gunshot wounds.

    The three children are believed to range in age from several months to around 11 years old.

    A handgun was found at the scene and the killings are being investigated as a murder-suicide, authorities said.

    Shackleford said officers went to the home several times in the past on domestic and mental health calls, KOKI-TV reported. It was not immediately known how the two women knew each other.

    ___

    This story corrects spelling of Verdigris in dateline.

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  • Understanding the Barriers – and Solutions – to America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis

    Understanding the Barriers – and Solutions – to America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis

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    Newswise — While the COVID-19 public health threat has diminished in recent months, a corresponding mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic shows no signs of waning.

    Last year, more New Jersey teenagers sought emergency medical care for anxiety and depression than in prior years, with Hackensack University Medical Center reporting a nearly 50 percent increase in pediatric emergency room psychiatry consultations.

    Joshua Langberg, director of the Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness at the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, is working directly with young people to develop solutions. One of those young people, 18-year-old Nez Venturelli, is sharing their experience to help strengthen the state’s youth mental health services.

    Put the youth mental health crisis into perspective: What kind of numbers are we talking about?

    Langberg: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates between 30 and 40 percent of youth post-pandemic are experiencing anxiety or depression or endorsing that they feel hopeless. Too often we simply repeat numbers and forget to think about what they really mean.

    So, let’s think about it. Take the average American high school, say, with around 1,000 students. Assuming 30 to 40 percent, that means there are 300 to 400 kids in a typical U.S. high school who are feeling significantly anxious or depressed and hopeless and in need of our understanding, caring and support. Each one of these schools might, if they are well-resourced, have three or four counselors and a school psychologist. In other words, we have a system that cannot handle the numbers that we’re talking about.

    Nez, you were, until recently, one of those students. What was your experience like?

    Venturelli: From kindergarten to 6th grade, I had no one to help. In 7th grade I sought therapy and spoke with someone once or twice a week. But I wasn’t getting “better,” so I met with a psychiatrist, who then had me take medication and I would only see her three times a year. It felt as though I was stuck.

    High school was different. I got a guidance counselor who made me comfortable and allowed me to be myself. She would take walks with me and even helped my mom and I have a better relationship. In my senior year, she went to a different school, but my team of counselors grew into every adult figure in the school. I was coming out of my shell, and they saw me – the real me.

    Unfortunately, most young people don’t know where to turn when they need help. They’re not taught how to ask for a “hero” – someone to help navigate the challenges. Heroes don’t just appear; they must be found. But not everyone finds them.

    We were already facing a youth mental health crisis before COVID-related lockdowns. What did the pandemic do to these trends?

    Langberg: All human beings at times feel worried or sad, and we all have a certain level of risk for those feelings becoming frequent and impairing, which is essentially what a diagnosis of anxiety or depression represents. Stress is one of the main factors that can cause occasional worries or sadness to become chronic and impairing. The pandemic rapidly changed our routines, increased uncertainty and caused many youth to live in a constant state of fearfulness.

    The pandemic also isolated people and forced us to rely largely on the internet and social media for connections. In some studies, 70 to  90 percent of respondents said their social media use significantly increased. Social media and the internet can be helpful from an information and social connections standpoint but can also be harmful. Think about the messages we are exposed to through media, such as political divides, natural disasters, health crises, violence in schools. Seeing that information day in, day out, has a real impact on how our youth see the world. It can leave them feeling hopeless.

    Understanding how to balance internet and social media use in children and adolescents is difficult. That is why organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) have recently published a social media health advisory and set of recommendations. These factors all combined to lead to high levels of individual and family stress, which understandably led to higher rates of significant mental health problems in children and adolescents.

    One might have expected that after the pandemic ended, youth mental health concerns would subside. Have they?

    Langberg: We don’t know the long-term implications of removing two years of typical development from a young person’s life because we don’t have many examples to look at for reference. That said, if you consider the developmental difference between a three-year-old and a five-year-old in terms of social skills and academic knowledge, or if you think about someone missing their last two years of high school and then transitioning to college, you will likely conclude that the implications will be long-lasting.

    Youth missed key developmental and skills building opportunities. It is also important to remember that the pandemic exacerbated an existing underlying trend. It didn’t cause a mental health crisis. It was already there. From that perspective, there is no reason to expect that the end of the health crisis part to the pandemic would result in improvements in youth mental health and wellness.

    Venturelli: COVID-19 had such an impact on young people. Look at any classroom: Every single student in that room is dealing with something in their head. Even if they tell you they’re fine, they’re not. Lives were interrupted and it isn’t easy to fix that and move on.

    You recently hosted a summit at Rutgers to help find solutions to this crisis. Explain what you did.

    Langberg: Individuals cannot solve this challenge. We need to come together to collaborate to develop new innovative programs and to work towards systemic and structural change. The question is: How do we get parents, together with mental health providers, together with pediatricians and schools, together with youth, together with researchers? That is what the Youth Mental Health Equity Summit was meant to do.

    The summit was held in April for the first time. We had about 135 people come together, including representatives from major state agencies and mental health associations of New Jersey, nine different school districts, pediatric practices, mental health practices and hospitals, and many youth mental health and wellness focused community-based organizations. We provided the community with the space and opportunity to share information, collaborate, innovate and listen.

    We started the program with a panel of youth from all different socioeconomic backgrounds who have struggled with mental health. These young people talked about their experiences and what they felt was missing in their community that would have helped them. That guided the rest of the activities.

    One outcome of the summit was a list of barriers and solutions. In the weeks that followed we have begun to provide funding for some of these ideas through small grants. Our goal is to partner with community and state agencies to grow the summit and to make it an annual event. Everyone is so busy. We need a reason and a structure to come together and collaborate. Only when we do that will we begin to develop more effective systems of care.

    It is wonderful to see many others prioritizing youth mental health and proposing real actionable solutions. For example, the National Governors Association led by Gov. Phil Murphy recently proposed a comprehensive national response to the youth mental health crisis (plan). If you read the plan you will see remarkable similarities with the solutions identified at the CYSEW summit. Now it is time to come together, to move beyond focusing on the negatives and crises and to turn our collective attention towards implementing solutions. 

    Venturelli: The summit was a wonderful experience as we were simply able to speak and be heard. Participants were all well-educated in their field, but the school doesn’t have all the answers to this crisis. For that reason, it was awesome to see how my words were translated into notes that helped summit participants better understand things from a young person’s perspective.

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    Rutgers University-New Brunswick

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  • New genes implicated in deadly heart defect

    New genes implicated in deadly heart defect

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    Newswise — LA JOLLA, CALIF. – July 17, 2023 –By identifying genes in patients and testing their effects in fruit flies, researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys have found new genes that contribute to hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare, life-threatening heart disease that occurs in infants. The findings, published in the journal eLife, bring scientists one step closer to unraveling the biology of this complex disease.

    “Every case of HLHS is unique because there are many different things that can go wrong during the early development of the heart,” says senior author Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D., director of the Center for Genetic Disorders and Aging Research at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “If we’re able to uncover what drives this disease biologically, it may be possible to one day prevent the disease or reduce complications for people living with it.”

    In babies with HLHS, the left side of the heart (left ventricle) is underdeveloped and unable to pump oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year about 1,025 babies in the United States are born with HLHS, and it accounts for about 2–4% of all congenital heart defects. Though rare, HLHS is extremely dangerous—it is nearly always fatal without multiple open-heart surgeries.

    Genetics is thought to be a major driver of HLHS, but the specific genes involved have remained a mystery. To look for genes that contribute to HLHS, the researchers sequenced the genomes of 183 people with HLHS and their parents, including a family in which the parents were genetically related to each other. Focusing on this family helped the researchers narrow their search to a few key genes.

    “We inherit two different variants of each gene, one from each parent,” says Georg Vogler, Ph.D., a research assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys and co-senior author of the study. “If both parents pass down a gene variant that can cause problems, then the effect of that gene variant is accentuated in the child. Because of this effect, this family gave us a unique opportunity to look for new genes that drive HLHS that may not be as apparent in other families.”

    To test whether the genes they identified could be contributing to HLHS, the researchers performed genetic experiments on fruit fly hearts that are built with genes similar to those found in human hearts. They found that blocking the activity of these genes in flies interfered with their heart’s ability to contract, leading to significant heart defects.

    “While more research will be needed to explore precisely how these genes result in heart defects, one hypothesis is that because certain gene variants make it harder for the heart to contract, blood can’t flow as easily to the left side of the heart, thus compromising its proper formation,” says Bodmer. “This could lead to the types of abnormalities seen in HLHS.”

    While the researchers identified genes that can contribute to HLHS, they caution that it is unlikely we will find a single gene implicated in the disease in all cases.

    “HLHS is driven by many genetic and environmental factors, but the more we can shed light on these factors, the better chance we have of finding new ways to prevent and treat the disease,” says Bodmer. “For example, it may be possible that increasing the activity of one of these genes could be enough to strengthen the heart and reduce the risk of heart complications in survivors.”

    ###

    Additional authors on the study include Katja Birker, Shuchao Ge, James Marchant, Maria Azzurra Missinato, Sreehari Kalvakuri, Karen Ocorr, Alexandre R. Colas, Georg Vogler, Sanford Burnham Prebys; Natalie J. Kirkland, Adam J. Engler, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine; Jeanne L. Theis, Zachary C. Fogarty, Timothy J. Nelson and Timothy M. Olson, Mayo Clinic; and Paul Grossfield, UCSD School of Medicine.

    The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 HL054732, R01 HL153645, R01HL148827, R01 HL149992, R01 AG071464), a grant from the Wanek Foundation at the Mayo Clinic, and fellowships from the American Heart Association (18PRE33969593, 20POST35180048).

    The study’s DOI is 10.7554/eLife.83385.

    About Sanford Burnham Prebys

    Sanford Burnham Prebys is an independent biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding human biology and disease and advancing scientific discoveries to profoundly impact human health. For more than 45 years, our research has produced breakthroughs in cancer, neuroscience, immunology and children’s diseases, and is anchored by our NCI-designated Cancer Center and advanced drug discovery capabilities. For more information, visit us at SBPdiscovery.org or on Facebook facebook.com/SBPdiscovery and on Twitter @SBPdiscovery.

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  • New drug to protect babies and toddlers from RSV gets FDA approval ahead of cold season

    New drug to protect babies and toddlers from RSV gets FDA approval ahead of cold season

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    WASHINGTON — U.S. officials on Monday approved the first long-acting drug to protect babies and toddlers against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year.

    RSV is a cold-like nuisance for most healthy people, but it can be life-threatening in the very young and the elderly.

    The Food and Drug Administration approved the injection for infants and children up to 2 years old who face increased risk of severe RSV.

    “Today’s approval addresses the great need for products to help reduce the impact of RSV disease on children, families and the health care system” said FDA’s Dr. John Farley in a statement.

    Last year, a surge in RSV cases flooded U.S. hospitals with wheezing children. There are no vaccines for babies yet, though Pfizer and other companies are working on them.

    AstraZeneca’s drug, to be sold under the brand name Beyfortus, is a laboratory-made version of an antibody that helps the immune system fight off RSV. Under the FDA approval, babies — including preterm infants — can receive a single injection to protect against their first season of RSV, which typically lasts about five months. Children up to age 2 can receive another dose to protect them during their second season facing the virus.

    Beyfortus, which will be marketed in the U.S. by Sanofi, is already approved in Canada, Europe and the U.K. Sanofi did not immediately announce the U.S. price of the treatment.

    FDA officials approved the drug based on three studies showing Beyfortus reduced the risk of RSV infection between 70% and 75% among infants and children 2 and younger.

    Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet early next month to recommend exactly who should get the drug.

    A similar antibody drug won FDA approval more than 20 years ago, but it’s only recommended for high-risk babies and requires monthly injections. Pediatricians say the drug is underutilized and they expect the longer-lasting effect of AstraZeneca’s shot to improve uptake.

    In the U.S., about 58,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year and several hundred die.

    After decades of setbacks for RSV research, drugmakers have made big strides this year, launching the first vaccines against the virus. In May, the FDA approved two RSV vaccines for older adults from GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. In August, the FDA is expected to make a decision on approving Pfizer’s vaccine for pregnant women, with the aim of passing along protection to their newborns.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Alabama woman returns home following disappearance and search after reporting child on interstate

    Alabama woman returns home following disappearance and search after reporting child on interstate

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    A 25-year-old Alabama woman has returned home after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child who was walking along a highway

    HOOVER, Ala. — A 25-year-old Alabama woman returned home late Saturday after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child who was walking along a highway.

    Police said Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell had returned to the home she shares with her parents in Hoover, AL.com reported late Saturday night.

    Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Russell arrived home alone and was transported to a hospital for evaluation, AL.com reported.

    Russell’s whereabouts were not immediately clear since around 10:45 p.m. Thursday when she called 911 and a family member to say she saw a young child walking on the side of I-459.

    Police found Russell’s car and her cell phone but were unable to find her or a child in the area.

    Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe said the family member on the phone with Russell lost contact with her even though the line remained open. A single witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a man standing outside of Carlee’s vehicle, but they had no additional information.

    Police asked people to report any information they might have about her disappearance, while family members organized a search in the area.

    Talitha Russell told AL.com that her daughter was headed home in the community about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Birmingham after leaving work and stopping to get food. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the roadside.

    “My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok?’ She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”

    During the search there were two separate rewards of $20,000 and $5,000 for information assisting Hoover’s safe return, police said.

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  • Hundreds of migrants in southern Mexico form group to head toward US

    Hundreds of migrants in southern Mexico form group to head toward US

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    Nearly a thousand migrants that recently crossed from Guatemala to Mexico have formed a group to head north hoping to reach the border with the United States

    ByEDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press

    SUCHAITE, Mexico — Nearly a thousand migrants that recently crossed from Guatemala into Mexico formed a group Saturday to head north together in hopes of reaching the border with the United States.

    The group, made up of largely Venezuelan migrants, walked along a highway in southern Mexico, led by a Venezuela flag with the phrase “Peace, Freedom. SOS.” The men, women, children and teenagers were followed by Mexican National Guard patrols.

    Migrants told The Associated Press they crossed into Mexico illegally through a river dividing the two countries. They said they decided to organize the group and start out because many had been sleeping on the street and had run out of money to buy food.

    “We just want to move forward, to fulfill our American dream and work, because we’re all workers here,” one Venezuelan, Roseli Gloria said while taking a brief rest along the highway.

    She carried a backpack and a piece of rolled up foam for sleeping. She said she had been in Mexico for a week before joining the group.

    Participants in the group said that they received little aid from Mexican immigration authorities and that they were given mixed and confusing instructions about how to move forward or seek asylum in the U.S.

    The formation of the latest migrant group in southern Mexico comes amid a record migratory flow to the United States from countries across Latin America. In the 12 months through May 2023, U.S. authorities reported nearly 2.5 million encounters with migrants on its southern border, an uptick from the year before.

    The journey is not an easy one, with migrants often targeted by kidnappings, extorsion and other violence from armed groups in the region. As a result, migrants often travel in groups of hundreds to stay safe.

    Migrants from Venezuela previously sought refuge in other South American nations like Colombia and Peru, but increasingly they are making the perilous journey through the jungles of the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama in an attempt to reach the U.S.

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