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The condition of U.S. nursing home patients improves, but pain is more common than ever.

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Even though parents may be aware of the dangers associated with baby walkers, infants continue to sustain baby walker-related injuries even under supervision, according to a recent study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics on PEDIATRICS electronic pages.

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Parents who sleep with their baby in an adult bed do not reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Hospitalization is a prime opportunity to immunize children, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

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Children are at risk for sustaining severe injuries while riding on escalators, according to a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics on this months PEDIATRICS electronic pages.

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A pacifier dipped in sugar and a more comfortable restraint can help reduce a newborns stress and pain during circumcision, finds a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on PEDIATRICS electronic pages.

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A new educational program aimed at families may cut the risk of life-threatening asthma in children, according to a study in the August issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) today announced that the tobacco settlement shows promise in helping stem tobacco use among adolescents and children, however five key areas must be strengthened in order to increase its effectiveness.

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A New Mexico respiratory scientist says that some forms of asthma may be eradicated just as polio and measles were: by immunizing children with a vaccine.

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Johns Hopkins scientists studying a gene previously identified as a breast cancer gene report evidence that the gene may be innocent.

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Beta-blockers, a class of heart drugs long deemed risky for people with heart failure, can actually prevent deaths in those patients, according to a data reanalysis conducted by a research fellow at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

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The scientific literature amply demonstrates the effectiveness of supplementation with multivitamins containing folic acid (a B vitamin). Numerous studies confirm that women who take multivitamins before they become pregnant, and very early in pregnancy, have a much lower chance of having a baby born with a birth defect such as spina bifida.

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Even the most fearful can now find solace in the dentist's chair. Noven Pharmaceuticals new DentiPatch(tm) offers penetrating, pain-free anesthesia.

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A nasal spray influenza vaccine pioneered by Hunein F. Maassab, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, has proved 93 percent effective in a major study of 1,600 children across the country. The vaccine triggers an early, local antibody response in the nasal passages. Influenza kills 20,000 people each year in the United States alone.

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Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy found poor folic acid dissolution in six prenatal prescription multivitamins they tested, raising questions as to whether or not absorption by the body is complete. Tests of nine prenatal prescription multivitamins found six products did not release at least 75 percent of the amount of folic acid listed on their labels in one hour, an industry standard set in 1995.

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1) Kidney dialysis and aggressive end-of-life care is not cost effective for seriously ill patients. 2) Intake of too much Vitamin D can lead to thinning of bones. 3) Hospitals and physicians are not equipped to deal with the medical and psychosocial problems of dying patients. 4) A commentary on the new guidelines for diagnosing and treating diabetes and classification by blood sugar levels.

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In a surprising twist, a team of neurobiologists at the University of California, San Diego has discovered that a powerful strategy used by artificial neural networks for learning and memory has a counterpart in a living brain.

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For 50 years, Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti, professor emeritus of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, has been telling his colleagues that surgery is not the proper method for correcting clubfoot in infants.

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Tips from the American Psychiatric Association: 1)Managed Care Case Study Collection - New APA Resource, 2) Smaller APA Meeting in October Provides Story Ideas, 3) Datebook of Upcoming APA Events, 4) List of Free APA Resources Available for Media

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Tips from the American Psychiatric Association: 1) Researchers May Have Found Signs of Alzheimer's Disease Before Dementia Strikes, 2) Fewer Obsessive-compulsives than Previously Thought 3) Gay Men at Greater Risk for Eating Disorders,4) Managed Mental Health Care Meets Academia, 5)Parents Helping Children Survive Divorce - New Book

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Mounting scientific evidence suggests that significant reductions in birth defects, premature birth, and coronary heart disease can be achieved with daily vitamin intakes. Regular use of several specific vitamins to prevent these three conditions could also save $20 billion in U.S. annual hospital costs, according to a new study on the cost impact of preventive nutrition. Savings to Medicare alone would be $11 billion per year.

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Now more than ever, consumers are turning to nutritional supplements to improve their health. This increased interest in supplements can raise questions about how much to take and which nutrients might present safety concerns. To address these issues, The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is pleased to announce the publication of Vitamin and Mineral SafetyæA Summary Review, a synopsis of a comprehensive scientific report which quantifies safe levels of intake for two dozen nutrients.

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A long-term study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center has found that hemispherectomy, a surgical procedure in which half the brain is removed, does more than stop otherwise uncontrollable and often life-threatening seizures in children. For the vast majority of these children, hemispherectomy also reduces the burden of medication and allows more normal development.

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The University of California, San Diego Task Force on K-12 Outreach will sponsor a symposium July 30 at 10 a.m., featuring some of the nation's top experts on education outreach efforts to under served children.

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Young men who report difficulty sleeping are one-and-a-half to two times as likely to experience major depression later in life, according to a new government-funded study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

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The Presidential Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels, chaired by Cornell's Malden C. Nesheim, issues its draft report calling for or more scientific research on supplements, guidelines for scientific substantiation of any statements of nutritional support and for government surveillance to identify safety issues.

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Newer antihypertensive medications are more effective in controlling blood pressure of elderly people, especially those with heart disease who see their doctors regularly and have their prescriptions filled at one pharmacy.

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Research team gains important insights into dengue fever; disease afflicts tens of million annually and it's moving into the U.S.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed the first human embryonic stem cell lines, cells that theoretically can form all the different cells and tissues of the body.

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Researchers have found that an endogenous peptide can reduce both hormonal and behavioral manifestations of human stress.

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A computer model developed by a Johns Hopkins biomedical engineer mimics the way a heart works, down to the sub-cellular level, and can be used to mathematically "test" drugs for various heart disorders.

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In four separate studies, researchers from Henry Ford Hospital's Heart & Vascular Institute found no link between race and a patient's physiological response to a heart attack. These findings indicate there is no need to factor race into decisions regarding medical treatment after a heart attack.

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A comparison of data on fast-food consumption and rising obesity has found a surprising wrinkle: There doesn't appear to be much of a link, at least in terms of large populations.

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Injuries continue to have a major impact on the health of Americans, according to the latest federal government report on the nation's health, issued today by HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala.

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Scientists studying mice genetically engineered to develop familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have found that the human gene Bcl-2 may delay the onset of ALS. The study appears in the July 24 issue of Science.

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The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) today congratulated President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton on their efforts to immunize America's children, noting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new data indicating that 90 percent or more of America's toddlers received the most critical doses of each of the recommended vaccines in 1996.

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A gene linked to the most common abdominal cancer in children also may contribute to the development of breast cancer, according to a study at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Oregon Health Sciences University.

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Topics: Picking a sunscreen is easy if you follow some simple rules; Don't be shy about telling your eye care professional what to look for when you get glasses; Weight training in kids requires special precautions; Beware of once exotic bugs that can now pop up in your food supply.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Repeated exposure to molds often found in damp hay and grain can irritate the lungs causing a disease known as farmer's lung or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The syndrome causes coughing and shortness of breath, and is "reasonably common in the Midwest," says Dr. Gary Hunninghake, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine, who has studied the disease for many years.

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Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital researchers have achieved the first successful repair, in animals, of congenital anomalies by combining the emerging technologies of video-guided fetal surgery and the engineering of a scarce commodity--live replacement tissue.

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A study of first and second-generation African Caribbeans living in England found many undiagnosed cases of high blood pressure and more whose blood pressure medications were not adequately controlling their hypertension. It is the first study to focus on blood pressure, dietary salt and salt sensitivity among first and second-generation African Caribbeans living in the United Kingdom.

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British colleagues warned Baltimore hypertension researcher Dr. Elijah Saunders that he would not be able to recruit enough African Caribbeans for a study of high blood pressure and dietary salt. He not only signed up the 150 he needed, he has 200 more waiting in line.

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Scientists at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School and the University of Alberta in Canada have determined the three-dimensional structure of cardiac troponin C (cardiac TnC), a protein responsible for regulating muscle contraction in the heart.

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A new type of influenza vaccine given in a nasal spray is very effective at preventing the flu in healthy young children, according to results from a large multicenter study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the biopharmaceutical company Aviron.

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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that, based on an initial analysis of a pivotal Phase III trial, Avironís (pronounced Av-uh-ron; Nasdaq: AVIR) intranasal cold adapted influenza vaccine prevented culture-confirmed influenza in nearly all of the children who received it.

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Alzheimerís disease patients who take part in clinical trials are 50 percent less likely to be placed in a nursing home, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Academy of Neurologyís scientific journal, Neurology.

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The drug pramipexole improves symptoms for advanced Parkinsonís disease patients, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Academy of Neurologyís scientific journal, Neurology.

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The following stories appear in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) July Journals: 1) Cost for care of seriously ill elderly patients in ICU more expensive than cost of care for seriously ill pediatric patients; 2) Chronic cough results from several different mechanisms and cannot be ascribed to one or two mechanisms; 3) ATS statement provides guidance on lung cancer treatment and distinguishing between small-cell and non small-cell lung cancers.

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A certain amount of suspicion is a good thing but too much can be unhealthy. University of Iowa researchers have shown that personality traits and attitudes can affect how well patients follow their medical regimen.

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Surgical repair of heel bone (calcaneus) fractures can sometimes result in poor wound healing and complications for the patient. Heel bone fractures are the most common fracture encountered in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set out to precisely identify these risk factors and discovered that not only can patient behaviors such as excess weight and smoking increase the possibility of complications, but so can physician behaviors such as the surgeon's technique or whether you are treated in a hospital or as an outpatient in an ambulatory clinic.