iPads As Effective As Sedative In Helping Calm Kids About To Undergo Surgery, Study Indicates.

reports a “small new study” indicates “giving children who were about to undergo surgery an iPad was as effective at calming them down than giving them a sedative.” In research presented at the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists, investigators “compared the effect of using an iPad to taking a sedative called midazolam on children’s anxiety before anesthesia and surgery.” http://time.com/4472306/its-official-ipads-are-sedatives-for-kids/

More Children Receive Vaccines Recommended By CDC For 11-12 Year Olds In “Blue States,” Study Suggests.

reports 11-12 year olds were more likely to receive the HPV, Tdap, and MCV4 vaccines in “blue states,” according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers found that children in states that leaned Democratic in the 2012 election were more likely to receive the vaccines, which are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, than children in states that leaned Republican during that election. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-vaccination-teens-politics-idUSKCN1152N2 The researchers adjusted for factors that could influence vaccination patterns, including income, education, race and ethnicicty and insurance coverage. Then they calculated the median vaccination rates among blue and red states – meaning half of states had rates above the median for their group. “We hypothesized there would be differences for HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, perhaps due to social conservatism found in many Republican states,” Niccolai said. “But we also found differences for MCV4 and Tdap, suggesting something else, perhaps related to political affiliation more broadly, that is important.” Preference for a smaller role of government in personal decision making, typically associated with more Republican views, could lead to individuals rejecting vaccinations that are recommended by federal agencies, she said. But this study alone can’t explain why differences exist between states.

40 Virginia Cases of Hepatitis A Now Linked to Smoothies

There are more than 500 of the smoothie franchises across the country, and Virginia is not the only state affected All the potentially contaminated Egyptian-sourced berries were pulled from the 96 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Virginia no later than Aug. 8 or Aug. 9. Officials say more cases could emerge, since some symptoms take as many as 50 days to emerge. The Hepatitis A virus affects the liver. http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/40-virginia-cases-hepatitis-now-linked-smoothies-n640041

Is Anti-Vax Movement Growing? Pediatricians say more parents are refusing to immunize kids

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Vaccines/59915?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2016-08-30&eun=g721819d0r&pos=0 NOT GOOD!

Chemicals Used In Fracking Disrupt Hormones, Research In Mice Suggests.

reported that “chemicals used in fracking and other gas and oil operations increase risk of miscarriages, reduced male fertility, prostate cancer, birth defects and preterm birth by disrupting hormones,” researchers found after exposing “mice to 23 chemicals – including benzene, xylenes and others associated with oil and gas operations – at levels comparable to what humans might get exposed to in drinking water near wastewater spill sites.” The findings were published online in Endocrinology. http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2016/08/25/fracking-chemicals-water-raise-fertility-risks/89263388/

Activation Of Certain Target Genes May Help Explain Why Traditional Exercise Regimens Fail To Boost Insulin Sensitivity In Some Patients With Prediabetes.

The study team then analyzed muscle samples taken from all patients immediately before and immediately after the exercise regimen and looked for systematic differences between patients whose insulin sensitivity had increased and those whose insulin sensitivity had remained the same. They found that in “non-responding” patients whose insulin sensitivity remained unchanged, exercise activated a messenger substance called TGFβ and its target genes, which are associated with increases in inflammatory and macrophage markers. No such activation occurred in responding patients. “TGFβ1 as inhibitor of mitochondrial regulators and insulin signaling is validated in human skeletal muscle cells,” the study authors wrote in Diabetes. “Activated TGFβ1 signaling down-regulates the abundance of PGC1α, AMPKα2, mitochondrial transcription factor TFAM, and of mitochondrial enzymes. Thus, the data suggest that increased TGFβ activity in skeletal muscle can attenuate the improvement of mitochondrial fuel oxidation after training and contribute to the failure to increase insulin sensitivity.” The failure of some cohort patients to translate increased exercise into increased insulin sensitivity was not unusual. Regular exercise greatly increases insulin sensitivity in most pre-diabetic patients, but trials typically find that no change in about 20% of all patients. The investigators who conducted the new study did find some changes when they compared pre-exercise and post-exercise muscle samples from patients whose insulin sensitivity did increase. Such patients saw increased activation in genes associated with burning glucose and fat. - See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/medical-news/studying-the-link-between-exercise-and-insulin-sensitivity#sthash.X1gnKRVO.dpuf http://www.hcplive.com/medical-news/studying-the-link-between-exercise-and-insulin-sensitivity#sthash.X1gnKRVO.dpuf

Genetics Tests Speed Source ID for Kids' Fevers Molecular analyses pinpoint pathogens in two studies

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/59827?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2016-08-26&eun=g721819d0r&pos=10