The World Health Organization estimates 800,000 people die of malaria each year, most of them young children in Africa.

A new book by scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre, “Common Antimalarial Trees and Shrubs of East Africa,” identifies 22 tree and shrub species that traditional healers in East Africa use to fight the disease.

But, the researchers say, they are being cut down for cooking fuel and other uses and could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.

For example, the threatened African wild olive, Olea africana, has anti-malarial properties that scientists say deserve further study.

via MALARIA.com.

Much of the extra medical costs come from prescription drugs and outpatient care. Young people with the highest medical costs were treated with insulin, and included all those with type 1 diabetes and some with type 2 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin anymore and must receive insulin treatment. Some people with type 2 diabetes also are treated with insulin, because their bodies do not produce enough to control blood glucose (sugar).

Children and adolescents who received insulin treatment had annual medical costs of $9,333, compared to $5,683 for those who did not receive insulin, but did take oral medications to control blood glucose.

via MedNews.

“Childhood obesity has tripled over the past 30 years,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This report underscores the need to make healthier choices easier for kids and more accessible and affordable for parents.”

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia scored at or below the national average for the Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), a measure of the proportion of food retailers that typically sell healthy foods within a state. Scores can range from 0 (no food retailers that typically sell healthy food) to 100 (only food retailers that typically sell healthy food). States with lower mRFEI scores have more food retailers, such as fast food restaurants and convenience stores, that are less likely to sell less healthy foods and fewer food retailers, such as supermarkets, that tend to sell healthy foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Nationally, the average mRFEI score was 10. State-by-state scores ranged from highs of 16 in Montana and 15 in Maine to lows of 5 in Rhode Island and 4 in the District of Columbia.

The report shows that as of December 2008, only one state—Georgia—had enacted all of the following state licensure regulations for child care facilities: to restrict sugar drinks, to require access to drinking water throughout the day, and to limit TV and computer screen time. CDC and other experts see the childcare setting as an important opportunity to address nutrition and physical activity issues.

Twenty-nine states had enacted one of these regulations, while 13 states and the District of Columbia had enacted none.

Forty-nine percent of middle and high schools allowed less healthy foods like candy, soft drinks, and fast food restaurants to be advertised to students on school grounds. In Ohio nearly 70 percent of middle and high schools allowed such advertising, while in New York only 24 percent of schools allowed it.

“To feed their children healthy food at home, parents must have ready access to stores that sell affordable, healthy food,” said William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. “Parents also want their children to continue eating well in school or child care facilities. This report highlights actions that states, communities, and individuals can take to improve children’s food choices and influences.”

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis cause inflammation of the digestive system. Common symptoms are pain in the abdomen, cramps, and diarrhea. Bleeding from the rectum, weight loss, joint pain, skin problems and fever also may occur. Children with the disease may have growth problems, develop intestinal blockage, and experience malnutrition.

via MedNews.

Most people would love to go “all organic” with their food choices. Who really wants the pesticides, hormones and preservatives in their food anyway? But going organic can be a pricey proposition.

If your family is like most, you may not be able to afford 100% organic choices, so why not consider buying organic for some foods that count the most.

Here is some simple advice on prioritizing your organic food purchases:

1.  Eat organic at the top of the food chain: Purchasing organic dairy, egg and meat products is a great place to begin organic food purchases. Livestock eat pesticide-laden feed, are often dosed with antibiotics and hormones, and all of this ends up in the package at the super market. Even though produce is often associated with organic food, many of the residues on these foods can be eliminated or greatly reduced by properly cleaning and peeling them. There is no way to remove or reduce the contaminants in the meat, dairy and egg products.

2. Buying organic for produce with the highest levels of pesticides: Pesticides levels vary in produce. Foods that take a long time to grow have higher pesticides levels and foods that are high in sugar content tend to attract bugs and insects, and as result are sprayed more frequently.

The Environmental Workers Union analyzed a large number of foods and found that you can reduce risks of pesticide exposure by as much as 90 percent by avoiding the dirty dozen, or the top 12 produce items with the highest pesticide residues. Here is the list:

• Apples
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

On the flip side, these fruits and veggies have the lowest levels of pesticide residues:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papayas
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)

3. Buying organic for children’s favorite foods: Babies and toddlers are notorious for having some strange eating habits.  One of them is eating the same foods day in and day out. This is a perfectly normal development step for your child. Buy organic foods for what your little one is eating the most of at meals.

4.  Be flexible. Buy what is on sale: Organic foods are like all other foods products, there are always specials on foods that are in season and there are always coupons. Keep your menu-planning flexible to take advantage of supermarket deals and remember the savings from one coupon can often equal the price difference between organic and conventional.

5.    Buy private label: If you think your family budget can’t afford the prices at the fancy natural products stores, think again. Wild Oats, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s all offer a private-label brands of juices, soups, sauces and other processed edibles.

6.    Explore the bulk aisles: If you thought the bulk bins were only for hard-core hippies, think again.  Many common kitchen staples like pastas, cereals, nuts, and spices are offered in the bulk section. The foods are in large containers and are priced at a per pound rate.  Bulk foods are more affordable than the pre-packaged foods. If you are intimidated by the bulk food aisle, ask for help. The people who work in the bulk food section are extremely helpful and very willing to support new customers.

About the author: Cheryl Tallman is the co-founder of Fresh Baby, creators of the award-winning So Easy Baby Food Kit, and author of the So Easy Baby Food and the new book So Easy Toddler Food: Survival Tips & Simple Recipes for the Toddler Years. Visit Cheryl online at FreshBaby.com for more delicious tips.

Parents tend to feed their babies and toddlers “kid food.” We all know what this is. It’s pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, chips, etc. And we know this stuff is not healthy. So if it is just as easy to open a bag of baby carrots as it is a bag of chips why  are many parents reaching for chips over carrots? Many parents say it is because they have a “picky eater” and these are the only foods the child will eat.

What most parents don’t realize is that all toddlers are picky eaters. And it’s perfectly normal, even expected developmental behavior. It may surprise you to find out that this behavior has very little to do with the taste of food and is mostly about wanting control of a situation. Most toddlers learn very early that eating is very easy to control and it is likely to get a response out of you. This makes it fun (for your kid, not you)!

The big challenge for parents is NOT to give in to this behavior, and DON’T fall into the trap of offering bland, unhealthy foods as a replacement for flavorful, healthy foods. This can be a difficult time. Here is our advice:

Start early: Children form habits that make them picky eaters. Habits are hard to break. You are better off if you can prevent the habits from forming. At the very first signs of finicky behavior, explain to your child that it is not healthy to eat the same foods all the time. Serve a good variety of foods at meals, and encourage your young ones to taste new foods. New food choices can be described as “special treats.”

Include them: Children are more likely to eat something that they have helped make, so get your children involved in preparing meals. You can also take them shopping and teach them how to find and select foods. Involving your kids in making decisions reinforces that you care about their opinions and want to make things that they like. Never ask “Do you want broccoli for dinner?” Offer choices like “Do you want broccoli or cauliflower for dinner?”  Simple choices make your child feel like they are the ones in control.

Set goals: Be realistic about setting goals. It is not realistic to try to force your child to eat a whole serving of food that they claim not to like. Instead start off with small expectations, like one bite of the new food, and work your way up from there.

Be consistent, firm, and don’t give up: Use the same tactics at each and every meal. Put new foods on your child’s plate first. Remind your child of the goal and offer plenty of encouragement. Don’t give in to stubbornness. It may also work to try “Look Mommy (or Daddy) will try a bite with you.”

Don’t rush meals: It is quite likely that your child is a slow eater, and this is a good habit to encourage. Offer your child plenty of time to eat a meal.

Praise: Even if it is just one nibble, congratulate your child. For a picky eater,  this little nibble is a big deal. Ask them if they thought it was tasty. If the say “no,” tell them it may take a few bites to notice the delicious flavor or suggest maybe it would taste better with ketchup on it. The point being, don’t let them shut down the thought that this food may actually taste good someday.

Be a good role model: It is plain and simple. You cannot expect to raise children that eat a good variety of healthy foods if you do not. This fact goes for all adults who sit at the table with your children. Your toddler learns from watching and mimicking you. You may have to venture out of your own comfort zone of eating and try new foods yourself. Remember, you are being watched.

Above all, don’t scold your child or get mad if they don’t eat new things right away. Some kids just need a little more time to try new foods. Eating should be a pleasurable experience.

About the author: Cheryl Tallman is the co-founder of Fresh Baby, creators of the award-winning So Easy Baby Food Kit, and author of the So Easy Baby Food and the new book So Easy Toddler Food: Survival Tips & Simple Recipes for the Toddler Years. Visit Cheryl online at FreshBaby.com for more delicious tips.

Types of Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes: Type 1 diabetes was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, the only cells in the body that make the hormone insulin that regulates blood glucose. This form of diabetes usually strikes children and young adults, although disease onset can occur at any age. Type 1 diabetes may account for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors for type 1 diabetes may include autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors.

Type 2 Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes may account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. It usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.

Gestational Diabetes: Gestational diabetes is a form of glucose intolerance that is diagnosed in some women during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently among African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and American Indians. It is also more common among obese women and women with a family history of diabetes. During pregnancy, gestational diabetes requires treatment to normalize maternal blood glucose levels to avoid complications in the infant. After pregnancy, 5% to 10% of women with gestational diabetes are found to have type 2 diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20% to 50% chance of developing diabetes in the next 5-10 years.

Other Types of Diabetes: Other specific types of diabetes result from specific genetic conditions (such as maturity-onset diabetes of youth), surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses. Such types of diabetes may account for 1% to 5% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Source: CDC

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine issues, voted on the new recommendation during its February 24, 2010 meeting in Atlanta. The vote took place against a backdrop of incremental increases in the numbers and groups of people recommended for influenza vaccination in years past, and lessons learned from the world’s still ongoing first flu pandemic in 40 years.

Prior to today’s vote, ACIP recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination – which focused on vaccination of higher risk persons, children 6 months through 18 years of age and close contacts of higher risk persons – already applied to about 85 percent of the U.S. population.

Discussion at the ACIP meeting focused on the value of protecting all people 19 to 49 years of age, who have been hard hit by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus, which is likely to continue circulating into next season and beyond. Another reason cited in favor of a universal recommendation for vaccination is that many people in currently recommended “higher risk” groups are unaware of their risk factor or that they are recommended for vaccination. The ACIP discussion also recognized the practicality and value of issuing a simple and clear message regarding the importance of influenza vaccination in the hopes that this would remove impediments to vaccination and expand coverage. Finally, new data collected over the course of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic indicates that some people who do not currently have a specific recommendation for vaccination may also be at higher risk of serious flu-related complications, including those people who are obese, post-partum women and people in certain racial/ethnic groups.

More influenza vaccine doses will be required to vaccinate all adults. However, based on current projections, more licensed types and brands of seasonal influenza vaccines will be available in the 2010-11 influenza season than has ever been available before. Historically, uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine has been less than half of the number of persons with a specific recommendation for vaccination.

Annual influenza vaccination is a safe and preventive health action that benefits all age groups. However, certain people have a higher risk for influenza complications, including people aged 65 years and older, children younger than 6 months of age, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions.

These people, their household and close contacts, and all health care personnel should continue to be a primary focus for vaccination efforts as providers and programs transition to routinely vaccinating all people 6 months of age and older.

Results of the study, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, show there are missed opportunities to intervene early and thus relieve a child’s symptoms, possibly reduce the extent of the attack and prevent visits to the emergency room.

The study stems from comments received by two lay asthma coaches employed by Washington University School of Medicine. The coaches are trained to help educate families dealing with asthma by offering information and social support. They also have asthma themselves or a family member who has it.

While talking to parents of children with asthma, the coaches noticed that parents were often unsure of exactly how to use albuterol, a bronchodilator that relaxes muscles in the airways and increases airflow to the lungs, when they noticed signs that their child’s asthma symptoms were worsening. The study followed up on those observations to determine if they are true among a larger group.

Asthma is one of the most common childhood diseases in the United States. Every year, two of every three children with asthma have at least one attack, or exacerbation. These exacerbations often result in missed school days, visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations. But researchers at the School of Medicine say some of these exacerbations could be prevented with early home treatment with albuterol.

For the study, the coaches telephoned 101 parents of children ages 2-12 who had recent visits to the emergency department at St. Louis Children’s Hospital with an asthma exacerbation or who had called the hospital’s After Hours Call Center. More than 60 percent of the families had Medicaid insurance. The coaches surveyed the parents about how they detected that their child was about to have an asthma attack and what they did to prevent or treat it.

Parents reported noticing signs such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain, cold or allergy symptoms, or even behavioral signs such as becoming quiet or more temperamental.

“Every time the child had an exacerbation, many parents noticed the same medley of signs preceding it,” says Jane Garbutt, M.B., Ch.B., associate professor of medicine and of pediatrics. “But even though they noticed the signs consistently, they often didn’t do anything about it. If parents had known to give albuterol earlier, they may have been able to manage things at home and avoid a trip to the emergency room,” says Garbutt, also director of the Washington University Pediatric and Adolescent Ambulatory Research Consortium.

Garbutt says one of the reasons parents may not begin treatment is that they believe they are following doctor’s instructions.

“The asthma plan from the doctor often says to start using albuterol when parents notice the child is wheezing or coughing or short of breath, but the doctor may have a different definition for those symptoms than the parent,” Garbutt says.

Another problem the researchers found was that parents may not notice some of the early signs that predict an exacerbation. One in four parents who was interviewed reported seeing late signs of an exacerbation in the child, including gasping for breath or sucking in the rib muscles when breathing.

“Those kids have to go to the emergency department because they are too far along in their exacerbation to do anything at home,” Garbutt says. “If we can talk to parents and find out that’s the issue, we can teach them to take action sooner.”

In some instances, parents knew they needed to give their child albuterol, but weren’t sure how much or how often.

“Parents varied in terms of how often they used it, if they used it with a nebulizer, how often they repeated it and how they determined if it was working,” Garbutt says. “A careful assessment of exactly which medicines are used and how they are administered and dosed could identify problems. We think that is something that can be addressed with education.”

Prednisone is a corticosteroid that prevents the release of inflammatory-causing substances in the body. Many parents said they kept the drug on hand at home in case of an asthma attack, but few parents in this study used it, instead calling the doctor’s office or going to the emergency room.

Garbutt and fellow researchers are conducting a follow-up study in which the asthma coaches are working with physicians to promote earlier use of albuterol as well as other effective self-management behaviors. In addition, the coaches are working with parents to help them identify the early signs of an asthma exacerbation by giving parents a symptom diary to help parents see symptom patterns.

Source: Annals of Allergy; Asthma and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis (2/10/2010)

“For hundreds of years, the cause of stuttering has remained a mystery for researchers and health care professionals alike, not to mention people who stutter and their families,” said James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIDCD. “This is the first study to pinpoint specific gene mutations as the potential cause of stuttering, a disorder that affects 3 million Americans, and by doing so, might lead to a dramatic expansion in our options for treatment.”

Stuttering is a speech disorder in which a person repeats or prolongs sounds, syllables, or words, disrupting the normal flow of speech. It can severely hinder communication and a person’s quality of life. Most children who stutter will outgrow stuttering, although many do not; roughly 1 percent of adults stutter worldwide. Current therapies for adults who stutter have focused on such strategies as reducing anxiety, regulating breathing and rate of speech, and using electronic devices to help improve fluency.

Stuttering tends to run in families, and researchers have long suspected a genetic component. Previous studies of stuttering in a group of families from Pakistan had been done by Dennis Drayna, Ph.D., a geneticist with the NIDCD, which indicated a place on chromosome 12 that was likely to harbor a gene variant that caused this disorder.

In the latest research, Dr. Drayna and his team refined the location of this place on chromosome 12 and focused their efforts on the new site. They sequenced the genes surrounding a new marker and identified mutations in a gene known as GNPTAB in the affected family members. The GNPTAB gene is carried by all higher animals, and helps encode an enzyme that assists in breaking down and recycling cellular components, a process that takes place inside a cell structure called the lysosome.

They then analyzed the genes of 123 Pakistani individuals who stutter — 46 from the original families and 77 who are unrelated — as well as 96 unrelated Pakistanis who don’t stutter, and who served as controls. Individuals from the United States and England also took part in the study, 270 who stutter and 276 who don’t. The researchers found some individuals who stutter possessed the same mutation as that found in the large Pakistani family. They also identified three other mutations in the GNPTAB gene which showed up in several unrelated individuals who stutter but not in the controls.

GNPTAB encodes its enzyme with the help of another gene called GNPTG. In addition, a second enzyme, called NAGPA, acts at the next step in this process. Together, these enzymes make up the signaling mechanism that cells use to steer a variety of enzymes to the lysosome to do their work. Because of the close relationship among the three genes in this process, the GNPTG and NAGPA genes were the next logical place for the researchers to look for possible mutations in people who stutter. Indeed, when they examined these two genes, they found mutations in individuals who stutter, but not in control groups.

The GNPTAB and GNPTG genes have already been tied to two serious metabolic diseases known as mucolipidosis (ML) II and III. MLII and MLIII are part of a group of diseases called lysosomal storage disorders because improperly recycled cell components accumulate in the lysosome. Large deposits of these substances ultimately cause joint, skeletal system, heart, liver, and other health problems as well as developmental problems in the brain. They are also known to cause problems with speech.

“You might ask, why don’t people with the stuttering mutations have more serious complications? Why don’t they have an ML disease?” posed Dr. Drayna, senior author of the paper. “ML disorders are recessive. You need to have two copies of a defective gene in order to get the disease. Nearly all of the unrelated individuals in our study who stuttered had only one copy of the mutation. Also, with stuttering, the protein is still made, but it’s not made exactly right. With ML diseases, the proteins typically aren’t made at all. Still, there are a few complexities remaining to be understood, and we’d like to learn more about them.”

The findings open new research avenues into possible treatments for stuttering. For example, current treatment methods for some lysosomal storage disorders involve injecting manufactured enzyme into a person’s bloodstream to replace the missing enzyme. The researchers wonder if enzyme replacement therapy might be a possible method for treating some types of stuttering in the future.

The researchers estimate that roughly 9 percent of people who stutter possess mutations in one of the three genes. Among the next steps, they are conducting a worldwide epidemiological study to better determine the percentage of people who carry one or more of these mutations. They are also conducting biochemical studies to determine specifically how the mutations affect the enzymes. A long-term goal is to use these findings to determine how this metabolic defect affects structures within the brain that are essential for fluent speech.

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH), February 10, 2010.