health-e-kids.org

February 01, 2013

Emotional behaviour in childhood may be associated with
adult cardiovascular disease risk, particularly in women,
researchers claim.

Psychologists measured behaviour such as
distress and attention problems in children aged
seven, before later comparing these ratings to their adult cardiovascular disease risk. 

Our Senior Cardiac Nurse, Maureen Talbot, said: “We know that a
child’s health can often have a bearing on their future
wellbeing. For example, obese children are more likely to
become obese adults.

“However, this is a small study and we would
need to see more research before we were sure of
any possible link between emotions in childhood and risk of
cardiovascular disease in later life.

“There are positive steps
parents can take to protect their child’s future heart health. What
we learn when we’re young can often set the tone for our habits
later in life, so teaching children about physical activity and a balanced diet is a great place to start.”

This research was published by the British
Medical Journal.

Article source: http://www.bhf.org.uk/media/news-from-the-bhf/childhood-behaviours.aspx

Barry Bonds spent time with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital patients in the hospital’s renovated Barry Bonds Family Foundation Playroom during a surprise visit in 2011.

Home run king Barry Bonds has pledged to continue his support of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital with a three-year grant through his Barry Bonds Family Foundation. 

“This is a special place full of special people, and I am honored to have been a witness to the extraordinary dedication put forth every day by the staff, doctors and nurses,” said Bonds. “I am simply blessed to have the opportunity through my family foundation, to be able to provide monetary and moral support towards the hospital’s efforts to make a child’s stay a little more comfortable.”

Bonds’ formal relationship with UCSF began in 2007 – the same year he made history, setting a new Major League Baseball home run record with the San Francisco Giants. In 2009, the seven-time MVP donated nearly $250,000 for a much-needed renovation of the hospital’s playroom.

Home Run King Barry Bonds visited with a patient in his room at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital during a surprise visit in 2011.

“Through the generosity of the Barry Bonds Family Foundation, we are able to provide a space for our pediatric patients of all ages to play, relax and socialize in a stress-free environment,” said Kimberly Scurr, executive director of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. “It’s so important for us to normalize the hospital experience, and the playroom provides an outlet for them to just be kids.”

Bonds’ latest donation will support the playroom’s staffing and services. The room, which is stocked with toys, puzzles, books and craft materials, is staffed by the hospital’s child life specialists and trained volunteers. It is also staffed by the hospital’s full-time service dog Nilani, who eases patients’ anxiety and stress by letting them rub her tummy, giving a quick snuggle or just sitting nearby.

The playroom is just one of the services offered by the Child Life Department at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Child life specialists help children and families adjust to and understand illness and treatment through outlets such as music therapy, therapeutic clowning, poetry and journal writing and art therapy. Credentialed teachers also provide instruction to school-age children in the school room or at bedside.

“Over the years, I have spent many hours visiting with patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital,” said Bonds. “The children and parents I have met during my visits have always been filled with optimism and courage. On so many occasions I have drawn strength and inspiration from their courage.”

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital creates an environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the forefront of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond. The hospital admits about 5,000 children each year, including 2,000 babies born in the hospital.

For more information, visit www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org.

Photos by Andreas Neumann

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/S9Hu8bukuM8/baseball-great-barry-bonds-strengthens-relationship-childrens-hospital

NCI: Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia 

Children’s Oncology Group   

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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Article source: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm336868.htm

The risk of kidney failure is greater for people with chronic kidney disease who also have atrial fibrillation, one of the most common forms of irregular heart rhythm in adults, according to a new study by researchers at UCSF and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

The finding opens the way for further studies into the relationship between the two factors, which could lead to new treatment approaches that would improve outcomes for people with chronic kidney disease.

Many people who suffer from chronic kidney disease progressively lose their kidney function over time and eventually develop a condition called end-stage renal disease – the complete failure of the kidneys – placing them in need of lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Doctors have known that patients with chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease commonly have atrial fibrillation and as a result are more likely to have a stroke or to die. However, the long-term impact of atrial fibrillation on kidney function among patients with known chronic kidney disease has been unknown.

The new study, published last month in the journal “Circulation,” involved 206,229 adults with chronic kidney disease who were drawn from members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a large integrated health care delivery system.. Over the course of about five years, approximately 16,400 patients developed atrial fibrillation, and those who did were 67 percent more likely to progress to end-stage renal disease compared with patients who had chronic kidney disease but did not develop atrial fibrillation.

Nisha Bansal, MD

“These novel findings expand on previous knowledge by highlighting that atrial fibrillation is linked to a worse kidney prognosis in patients with underlying kidney dysfunction,” said kidney specialist Nisha Bansal, MD, an assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology at UCSF.

“There is a knowledge gap about the long-term impact of atrial fibrillation on the risk of adverse kidney-related outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease,” said senior author Alan S. Go, MD, director of the Comprehensive Clinical Research Unit at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. “This study addresses that gap and may have important implications for clinical management by providing better prognostic information and leading to future work determining how to improve outcomes in this high-risk group of patients.”

UCSF is one of the world’s leading centers for kidney disease treatment, research and education. Its Division of Nephrology is ranked among the best programs in the nation by U.S. News World Report.

Contributing Factors for End-Stage Renal Disease

People who have chronic kidney disease fall into a spectrum in terms of how severe their disease is.

At one end are those who have very minor loss of kidney function. They may not have any symptoms at all, and only by applying a simple blood test can doctors properly diagnose their disease.

At the other end of the spectrum are the people who have progressed to end-stage renal disease, which is basically complete kidney failure. They require lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant. Some people progress rapidly to end-stage renal disease while others may live for decades without ever progressing.

Doctors are interested in understanding the factors that place patients at greater risk for end-stage renal disease, Bansal said, because it may be possible to address those factors through medications or lifestyle changes like diet or exercise.

Bansal added, however, that while the two conditions are intertwined, scientists do not know exactly which specific genes, pathways and biological mechanisms connect irregular heartbeat to declines in kidney function. Neither do they yet know the extent to which treating atrial fibrillation will improve outcomes for people with chronic kidney disease.

The article, “Incident Atrial Fibrillation and Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease in Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease” is authored by Nisha Bansal, Dongjie Fan, Chi-yuan Hsu, Juan D. Ordonez, Gregory M. Marcus and Alan S. Go. It was published online by the journal Circulation on Dec. 28, 2012.

This work was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) through grant #K23 DK088865, #K24 DK92291, #5U01 DK060902, #5U19 HL091179 and #5 RC2 HL101589. Both NIDDK and NHLBI are components of the National Institutes of Health.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/A82euQf-gGk/irregular-heartbeat-elevates-risk-kidney-failure

Thomas Lietman, MD, treats a young boy in Ethiopia, where communities that received mass doses of azithromycin to treat trachoma experienced an overall reduction in childhood mortality from all causes.

Two UCSF teams have received a total of $16 million from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation to study new ways to significantly reduce childhood mortality and disease in developing nations.

Thomas M. Lietman, MD

An international team led by Thomas M. Lietman, MD, associate director of the UCSF Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology, received $12 million for a multi-year trial to study the effectiveness of mass oral administration of the antibiotic azithromycin in reducing childhood mortality in Niger, Tanzania and Malawi – three nations with severe childhood mortality rates.

A second team, led by James H. McKerrow, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and pharmaceutical chemistry, received $4.3 million to identify and develop a drug that kills the parasitic roundworms known as filiariae that cause river blindness, the leading cause of blindness in parts of West Africa.

James H. McKerrow, MD, PhD

If successfully developed, the same drug will have a high probability of killing the closely related parasite that causes lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, a crippling and disfiguring disease that affects millions of people in Africa, Asia, the Indian subcontinent and South America.

Expanding Prevention of Child Mortality

Lietman’s project is based on an earlier study in which communities in Ethiopia that received mass doses of azithromycin to treat trachoma – a strain of chlamydia that causes blindness – experienced an overall reduction in childhood mortality from all causes.

“Now we need to see whether that effect can be replicated in areas that don’t have a lot of trachoma,” said Lietman, a UCSF professor in the departments of Ophthalmology and Epidemiology Biostatistics. “If we want to make a public health difference, we have to show that we can reduce childhood mortality in areas that are not otherwise receiving mass antibiotics.”

Community-wide antibiotic administration is common in African nations where trachoma is usually found, he said.

Preschool children in Lietman’s study will be randomized to receive either a cherry-flavored oral suspension of azithromycin or a placebo every six months for two years. If there is a significant reduction in mortality in the communities that receive the antibiotic, the study will be extended for another two years and all communities will receive antibiotics.

CNN interviewed Thomas Lietman for this April 2011 story about his earlier study that looked at the effect of azithromycin in reducing childhood mortality from all causes.

Lietman and his team will closely monitor for development of antibiotic resistant diseases in the communities treated with azithromycin. “It’s a complicated question,” he said. “We think we will select for antibiotic resistance. However, many of us believe that might be a price worth paying if there is truly a reduction in childhood mortality.”

Lietman noted two mitigating factors with regard to antibiotic resistance. In communities treated with azithromycin for trachoma, resistance to the antibiotic gradually disappears over the two years after such treatments stop. In addition, he said, azithromycin belongs to a class of antibiotic that is rarely used in sub-Saharan Africa, so even if an infection is resistant to azithromycin, it could still be treatable by one of six other classes of antibiotics.

Finding New Drugs for Parasitic Disease

The goal of McKerrow’s study is to find a drug that kills the adult form of the parasitic filarial worm, which is spread by a fly that breeds near fast-flowing rivers.

When the fly bites, it deposits larvae under the skin that grow into worms several inches long. The parasite associated with river blindness attacks the eye, while its relative that is responsible for lymphatic filariasis blocks the lymphatic channels in the groin, resulting in extreme swelling of the lower extremities.

McKerrow’s research group will employ new software developed by UCSF research specialist Chris Marcellino that significantly speeds the screening of potential compounds. Conventional drug screening technology uses plates with many hollows, or wells, each of which contains a candidate compound that is screened individually for promising activity. The new software allows an entire plate to be scanned for results in seconds. Scanning and evaluating a whole plate rather than individual wells is necessary, McKerrow explained, because of the large size of the worms, which restrict each plate to dozens rather than hundreds of wells.

“With conventional, well-by-well scanning, it would take a long time to screen many compounds,” said McKerrow. “But if you can scan a whole plate and then move on to the next plate in a few seconds, you can filter through thousands of compounds much more efficiently.”

The compounds will come from two sources. The first is what McKerrow calls traditional drug discovery, which starts from chemicals that aren’t yet drugs. That research will take advantage of unique chemistry developed by Bay Area biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals. The second source is “repurposed drugs” that have already been approved by the FDA for human use. Working in collaboration with the UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center, McKerrow’s group expects to create a library of approximately 1,700 FDA-approved drugs that can be used in this and similar screens.

Based on earlier research, the team already has identified a promising possibility: auranofin, a drug used for decades to treat rheumatoid arthritis, which has proven effective in animal models of filariasis. McKerrow said he expects to have one or two clinical candidates – drugs that are ready for final FDA testing and potential approval – in three years.

Lietman’s project will be administered by the Proctor Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Carter Center in Niger, Johns Hopkins University in Tanzania and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Malawi, as well as with Ministries of Health in the three countries. The group from UCSF includes Nicole Stoller, MPH; Sun Yu, MPH; Jeremy Keenan, MD, MPH; Travis Porco, PhD, MPH; Bruce Gaynor, MD; George Rutherford, MD; and Phil Rosenthal, MD.

The McKerrow research group is based at the UCSF Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, a consortium affiliated with Global Health Sciences and QB3 at UCSF. The group includes specialist Judy Sakanari, PhD; assistant professor of pathology Larissa Podust, PhD; postdoctoral fellow Alberto A. Rascon, Jr., PhD; and technical staff Brian Suzuki, Christina Bulman, K.C. Lim, Petrea Kells and Chelsea Bidlow. Aside from the UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center, the CDIPD team is closely aligned with the research team at Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Sara Lustigman, PhD, of the New York Blood Center and Fidelis Cho-Ngwa, PhD, of the University of Buea, Cameroon.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/eL5hkapRC0k/ucsf-teams-tackle-childhood-mortality-and-river-blindness

Hospitals will have a new system to help doctors and nurses spot children suffering from abuse and neglect, Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter announced today.

Work on the system will begin in early 2013 and it will start to be introduced to NHS hospitals in 2015.

Doctors and nurses using the system, known as ‘Child Protection – Information System’, in emergency departments or urgent care centres will be able to see if the children they treat:

• are subject to a child protection plan or being looked after by the local authority
• have frequently attended emergency departments or urgent care centres over a period of time.

Medical staff will be able to use this information as part of their overall clinical assessment, along with information about where and when children have previously been receiving urgent treatment. This will help them build up a better picture of what is happening in the child’s life so they can alert social services if they think something might be wrong.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said:

“Up until now, it has been hard for frontline healthcare professionals to know if a child is already listed as being at risk or if children have been repeatedly seen in different emergency departments or urgent care centres with suspicious injuries or complaints, which may indicate abuse.

“Providing instant access to that information means vulnerable and abused children will be identified much more quickly – which will save lives.”

Dr Amanda Thomas, Officer for Child Protection at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:

“The Report of the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum highlighted that professionals working in different care settings need to communicate better with one another on child protection issues, and highlighted the proposed Child Protection – Information System solution as an encouraging move towards ensuring that clinical professionals have immediate access to important child protection information.

“This solution is a positive step and an important part of the overall solution. The college has been involved from an early stage and will continue to work with the Department of Health to ensure it is introduced effectively, integrates well with the working practices of NHS staff and makes a genuine contribution to improving child protection practice.”

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/12/abuse-alert-system/

From left: 49ers Daniel Kilgore, Leonard Davis, Al Netter, Kenny Wiggins and Joe Staley visited UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital to bring some holiday cheer to patients on Dec. 17.

The San Francisco 49ers had major cause for celebration after they defeated the New England Patriots on Sunday in what many call the best game of the NFL season. But instead of hitting the town, they boarded a plane and flew through the night to make sure they got back to San Francisco to support some of their smallest and most loyal fans.

49ers offensive linemen Daniel Kilgore, left, and Leonard Davis visit with J.J. Thompson and his mother.

With big smiles on their faces and not a hint of fatigue from their overnight flight, several offensive linemen from the San Francisco 49ers visited UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital on Monday to spread a bit of good cheer.

Hulking linebackers Joe Staley, Anthony Davis, Daniel Kilgore, Leonard Davis, Al Netter and Kenny Wiggins signed just about everything in sight, from hospital gowns to diapers, and handed out toys with the 49ers logo.

But the visit wasn’t only about autographs. It was an opportunity for the players to get to know the patients at the 180-bed UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, talking to them about their strength while facing medical challenges, the holidays, and of course, football. They played video games with patients, sat at bedsides and answered questions from parents and grandparents.

49ers offensive linemen Leonard Davis, left, and Daniel Kilgore pose for a photo with patient Christopher Hagiwara.

“I cannot imagine how tired they must have been – Sunday’s game was grueling even for all of us fans – yet the 49ers came to UCSF and gave of themselves on their day off,” said Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. “I cannot tell you how much that meant to the kids, families and our staff. What a class act.”

After several hours with patients and their families, the 49ers left the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital with hopes to return in the off-season. Maybe next time they’ll be wearing a new Superbowl ring.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/DOi6DrHpSQs/49ers-celebrate-win-visit-childrens-hospital

The FDA monitors drugs for side effects and believes reporting side effects is important. Health care professionals and patients should report any side effects associated with Tamiflu’s use to FDA’s MedWatch program.

Tamiflu is not a substitute for early, annual flu vaccination, as recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. CDC recommends all persons aged 6 months and older receive an annual flu vaccine.

Tamiflu is distributed in the United States by South San Francisco-based Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

For more information:

FDA Approved Drugs: Questions and Answers 

FDA: Influenza (Flu) Antiviral Drugs and Related Information

CDC: Seasonal Influenza (Flu) 

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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Article source: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm333205.htm

These case studies highlight innovations developed as part of the Health visiting programme.

These 20 case studies have been developed by organisations delivering services for children and families. The focus is on improvements in service quality and innovation, specifically along the strands of the ‘Health visiting service vision and family offer’.

They are intended as a resource for sharing and learning amongst NHS public health professionals and early years staff.

The case studies have been themed according to the following categories: Community, Universal services, Universal plus and Universal partnership plus.

Community

Community offers a range of services, including some ‘Sure Start Children’s Centre’ services and the services families and communities provide for themselves. Health visitors work to develop these and make sure local families know about them.

Universal services

Universal services from the health visitor team is working with general practice to ensure that families can access the ‘Healthy child programme‘, and that parents are supported at key times and have access to a range of community services.

Universal plus

Universal plus offers timely response from the local health visiting team when specific expert help is needed. Including postnatal depression, a sleepless baby, weaning or answering any concerns about parenting.

Universal partnership plus

Universal partnership plus provides ongoing support from the health visiting team including a range of local services to deal with more complex issues over a period of time. These include services from Sure Start Children’s Centres, charities and, where appropriate, the Family nurse partnership.

Open access health visitor support for refugee and asylum seeking families
One stop shop for health and wellbeing
SMS listening project
Health visitor Facebook
Family echo listening project
Preventative working and rapid response for parenting concerns
Community based perinatal mental health assessment
Productive community services
Early start team initial family health assessment
Utilisation of lean processes: redesign of healthy child pathway
Early attachment service
Increasing choice and access: the healthy child clinic
Post natal: parenting support, education
Working towards baby friendly accreditation
Health visitor contribution to youth and family early intervention
Raising the profile and duration of breastfeeding
The health visitor parenting support surgery
Development of the learning portfolio and delivery of training packages
Development of the learning portfolio (leaflet)
Development of health visitor services for homeless/ transient population
Constipation pathway
Constipation pathway (leaflet)

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/12/health-visitor-case-studies/

Severe acute kidney injuries are becoming more common in the United States, rising 10 percent per year and doubling over the last decade, according to a retrospective study at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

The study, to be published online this week in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, analyzed information from a national database that monitors all causes of hospitalizations and used this data to estimate the total number of acute kidney injuries in the United States that were severe enough to require a patient to be placed on dialysis.

Raymond K. Hsu, MD

The results showed that these injuries, caused by such incidents as major infections, trauma, complications following surgery and adverse reactions to drugs, increased by 10 percent per year from 2000 to 2009, from 222 to 533 cases per million people. The study also showed that the total number of deaths associated with acute kidney injury more than doubled during that time, from 18,000 in 2000 to nearly 39,000 in 2009.

“That was a staggering revelation of how increasingly common and how life-threatening acute kidney injury has become over the past decade in the United States,” said Raymond K. Hsu, MD, a UCSF nephrologist who led the research.

The UCSF team estimated that about 30 percent of the increase can be attributed to commonly known causes, such as the rise in severe infections, ventilator usage, acute heart failure and cardiac catheterizations over the same time period. But doctors do not yet know what else accounts for the rise in acute kidney injury and what hospitals nationwide can do to address the problem, Hsu said.

UCSF is one of the world’s leading centers for kidney disease treatment, research and education, and its Division of Nephrology is nationally ranked among the best programs in the nation by U.S. News World Report.

Acute Kidney Injury: What’s Next

The epidemic of acute kidney disease is largely a silent one, because the organ itself is so redundant in structure and steadfast in function, according to Chi-yuan Hsu, MD, who is chief of the Division of Nephrology in the UCSF School of Medicine and senior author on the paper. Composed of more than a million identical structures called nephrons, which filter blood and produce urine, a single kidney can function even if a large part of it is damaged or shut down.

Chi-yuan Hsu, MD

“Even if you were to lose 80 percent of your kidney function, you wouldn’t feel it,” said Chi-yuan Hsu, who is not related to Raymond Hsu. But once the insult to the kidneys becomes severe enough to require a patient to go on dialysis, he said, the result is often fatal – about one-fifth of patients with acute kidney injury requiring dialysis in the study died.

Analyzing a decade’s worth of data and coming up with national statistics on acute kidney injury is a first step towards discovering why this condition has been steadily rising and developing measures to prevent them in the future, the UCSF team said.

“We hope that clinicians, researchers and the general public can gain a higher appreciation of the devastating impact of acute kidney injury that is comparable to the near universal, basic understanding of other forms of acute organ injury, such as heart attack and stroke,” Raymond Hsu said.

The article, “Temporal Changes in Incidence of Dialysis-Requiring AKI,” by Raymond K. Hsu, Charles E. McCulloch, R. Adams Dudley, Lowell J. Lo and Chi-yuan Hsu will be published online by the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology on Dec. 6, 2012. After publication, the article can be accessed here. 

This work was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a component of the National Institutes of Health, through grants #F32DK093212, #T32DK07219, and #K24DK92291.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/3jPtvZsMaMw/severe-acute-kidney-injuries-rise-rapidly-nationwide

The ‘Output based specification’ is a child health specific supplement to existing NHS information standards documents.

The document contains high level technical requirements for information systems to be procured to underpin the delivery of child health services in England.

It incorporates policy, standards and guidelines for child health programmes, such as immunisation, screening and the healthy child programme detailed in the earlier published document Information requirements for child health information systems.

It can be used as a checklist for either procurement or development of child health systems and includes data that drives the statutory requirements for delivery of child health services.

This latest document will be of interest to those involved in the commissioning or delivery of child health information systems including those who rely on such systems to deliver effective services to children.

Read the document Output based specification for child health information systems

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/11/chis-requirements/

The Department has announced details of the funding allocations for the additional £721,000 made available for new children’s hospices set up within the last 3 years.

Details of the  allocations are:

• Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, Slough, £63,360
• Children’s Hospice South West, Little Harbour, £121,181
• Demelza House Children’s Hospice, Eltham, £121,181
• Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Huddersfield, £121,181
• Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, Barnet, £121,181
• The J’s Hospice, Chelmsford, £51,732
• Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice, Coventry, £121,181

The £721,000 grant is in addition to the annual £10m children’s hospice and hospice at home grant. Applications for the additional £721,000 grant were open to new children’s hospices or hospice at home services not in receipt of funding through the annual £10m grant.

Information on the process and eligibility criteria for the additional grant was published in July 2012.

The government has committed to continuing the annual £10m funding for children’s hospices until a per patient funding system is established by 2015.

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/11/hospice-grant/

This month’s edition features information about:

• more and more parents sign up to NHS Information Service for Parents
• 2011 update of stillbirths in the West Midlands
• healthy start vitamin distribution from April 2013
• Children and Young People’s Outcomes Forum
• new ChiMat JSNA Navigator
• development of ePortal for children and young people’s mental health

CFM bulletin – October 2012

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/maternity-bulletin-oct-2012/

UCSF bioengineer Shuvo Roy, PhD, has been elected to the BayBio Pantheon, a group of 52 San Francisco Bay Area life sciences leaders who have made a significant contribution to the industry, for his work toward creating the world’s first implantable artificial kidney.

Shuvo Roy, PhD

Roy is receiving the Pantheon Rising Star award, which BayBio will present Nov. 1 at its annual Pantheon Awards ceremony in recognition of his efforts to create new technology to address end-stage renal failure, which is both an unmet medical need and a huge burden on the Medicare system. The award recognizes Roy’s efforts as “work that is too uncommon” in tackling both a medical need and cost at the same time.

Roy, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, a joint department in the schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, is the seventh UCSF faculty member to be elected to the BayBio Pantheon since its inception in 2004 and the first from the UCSF School of Pharmacy. Previous recipients include Bruce Alberts, PhD; J. Michael Bishop, MD; Herbert W. Boyer, PhD; Joseph DeRisi, PhD; Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH; and William J. Rutter, PhD.

The annual Pantheon Awards ceremony is a celebration of the contributions and achievements of the Bay Area to the life sciences and a time to reflect on the industry’s legacy over the past three decades, according to BayBio.

Roy also will be presenting an update on The Kidney Project at the annual American Nephrology Association conference in San Diego on November 3.

For more information on The Kidney Project, visit kidney.ucsf.edu.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/L7QT3nN1vi0/shuvo-roy-receive-baybio-pantheon-award-artificial-kidney-project

A $750,000 gift from the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation is spurring a UCSF-led effort to create the first implantable artificial kidney for patients with kidney failure.

The new funds, which augment a $2.25 million grant for the project from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) this summer, will enable the team of bioengineers, physicians and scientists to conduct the critical research needed to bring the proposed device to clinical trials by 2017.

“Kidney failure takes a terrible toll on the world, both economically and in human suffering,” said Shuvo Roy, PhD, an associate professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy who is leading the Kidney Project through the UCSF Department of Bioengineering Therapeutic Sciences. “These funds are a critical step in helping us move this project forward more quickly and ultimately bring real solutions to patients throughout the world.”

Working with the project’s medical director, William Fissell, MD, at Vanderbilt University, UCSF’s Roy is coordinating researchers in nine institutions nationwide to create an implantable device that aims to mimic the filtration functions of a kidney, as well as its ability to maintain water and salt balances, produce Vitamin D, and regulate blood pressure and pH.

Roy estimates that the project will require an additional $13 million to bring that technology through the range of tests needed to enter clinical trials in humans.

The Kidney Project has been identified as a campus priority by UCSF and the UCSF School of Pharmacy for its potential to develop a breakthrough therapy to help solve a pressing health need. The school focuses on therapeutics, including medical devices and diagnostic tests, in addition to medications.

The Goldmans said they contributed to this unique research because of the project’s specific goal of addressing the dire shortage of donated kidneys and eliminating the need for dialysis.

“We know how debilitating dialysis is, and how few options are available for people with kidney failure,” said Marcia Goldman, who directed the gift with her husband through the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation. “The opportunity to be part of a potential solution of this scale was very appealing to us.”

Roughly 2 million people worldwide live with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), commonly known as chronic kidney failure, including 600,000 Americans — a figure that is rising 5 percent per year in lockstep with the growing rate of diabetes. The disease is best treated via a kidney transplant, yet fewer than 18,000 of the 93,000 people on the transplant waiting list will actually receive an organ this year, and those who do are likely to need a replacement within 10 years.

Shuvo Roy, PhD

As a result, roughly 400,000 Americans with ESRD survive on dialysis, which comes at a high price: the U.S. Medicare system spends upwards of $29 billion per year, or 6 percent of its total budget, to treat kidney failure, including $24 billion each year to pay for dialysis. Only 34 percent of dialysis patients survive beyond five years.

Silicon Technology Used for Nano-Filter

The UCSF team has used silicon technology from the computer industry to design a nano-filter for the first compartment of the device, which would offer the same level of filtration as dialysis in a box smaller than a coffee cup. A second compartment would hold live kidney cells that perform the other biological actions of a real kidney.

The entire device would be implanted in the abdomen and powered by the body’s blood pressure, without a need for external pumps or tubes. The device also is designed to be used without the immunosuppressant drugs needed in transplants.

Earlier this year, the project was selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as one of the first three pilots for a collaborative FDA review process, which aims to address potential regulatory obstacles for the device up front, before it enters the approval process. The Kidney Project was chosen for its transformative potential in treating chronic kidney failure, a major health concern.

The Goldman support is the largest philanthropic grant to date for the project, which has drawn support from a number of individuals throughout the world, as well as grants from the NIH, NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The UCSF School of Pharmacy is the nation’s premier, graduate-level pharmacy school, the oldest of its kind in the western United States, and a wellspring for discovery and innovation in the therapeutic sciences, education, and the pharmaceutical care of patients. Go here for more information.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. Visit www.ucsf.edu.

Photo by Susan Merrell

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/QQjHar8HjYA/artificial-kidney-project-ucsf-receives-3-million-new-funding

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital staff receive the official check from the Swim Across America 2011 fundraising event. Funds raised through this cancer awareness charity and annual local swim event help to support the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program.

WHAT: Swimming enthusiasts including former Olympians, cancer survivors and former patients will take part in Swim Across America’s seventh annual San Francisco Bay Area Open Water Swim benefiting UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program. This event is the primary funding source for the program, which helps pediatric cancer survivors maintain optimal physical and emotional health for the rest of their lives – through clinical care, education and research.

The 1.5-mile swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to Crissy Field will raise money for both UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Oakland through pledges collected by swimmers and through online donations. This year’s swim is expected to raise more than $300,000.

Upon completion of the swim, there will be a celebration and awards ceremony on the beach for participants, families and friends with speeches from former Olympians, doctors and former patients.   

WHEN:

Saturday, September 29, 2012
9-11 am (Swim)
11am – 1pm (Post-swim festivities)                  

WHERE:

Crissy Field East Beach
San Francisco, CA

Participating swimmers will board Hornblower’s San Francisco Spirit yacht from Pier 3 and head for the start of the swim at the Golden Gate Bridge. Post-swim festivities will take place at Crissy Field’s East Beach.

WHO: 

• Robert Goldsby, MD, UCSF pediatric oncologist and medical director of UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program
• Linda Li, UCSF clinical research coordinator
• Jason Thornton, former patient, UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program
• Susan Helmrich, Swim Across America SF Bay Area Event Co-Director
• 200 swimmers including former Olympians: 2012 gold-medal water polo team members Heather Petri and Annika Dries; bronze-medalist Kim Vandenberg (2008); Dana Kirk (2004); silver and bronze-medalist Ericka Lorenz (2000,2004); silver-medalist Allison Wagner (1996); Katherine Starr (1984,1988); Susan Heon-Preston (1984); gold-medalist Mike Bruner (1976,1980); Kimberly Carlisle (1980), Craig Beardsley (1980)

CONTACT: Media planning to attend should RSVP to Abigail Mortimore at abigail.mortimore@ucsf.edu or (415) 476-8810.

###

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/zqhS3cXUu0U/media-advisory-swimming-ucsf-pediatric-cancer-care

September 25, 2012

Being obese as a child or teenager may carry more risks for
future health than previously thought, a study suggests.

A review of past studies showed that obese
children are more likely to have risk factors for heart disease including raised
blood pressure, high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and a
thickening of the heart muscle. Researchers predicted that obese
children could already be at a 30-40% higher risk
of stroke and heart disease in later
life.

Our Senior Cardiac Nurse, June Davison, said: “Unless action is
taken, childhood obesity is likely to cause future health
problems for children. 

“Obese children are more likely to
become obese adults and with this comes a greater
risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

“However, this problem can be solved by
teaching children about the importance of
lifestyle at a young age. By highlighting the need to
eat healthily and stay active, we can help today’s children, and
tomorrow’s adults, to keep their hearts healthy.”

This study was published in the British
Medical Journal.   

Get more information

• Our Food 4 Thought
  campaign is working to tackle childhood
  obesity by encouraging children to make healthier
  lifestyle choices.
• Read our tips for
  parents
• Get free resources
  for parents

Article source: http://www.bhf.org.uk/media/news-from-the-bhf/obese-children.aspx

The Department wants to maximise the opportunity for all interested parties to contribute to the Nursery Milk Scheme consultation, particularly all schools and nurseries across Great Britain.

Therefore, and in response to requests, the deadlines for responding to the consultation on Next Steps for Nursery Milk and the Childcare providers survey have both been extended.

The new closing dates are:

• Tuesday 23 October for the Next Steps for Nursery Milk consultation
• 30 September for the Childcare providers survey

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/09/nursery-milk/

This month’s edition features information about:

• Children and Young People’s Outcomes Strategy
• NHS Commissioning Board Mandate
• Family Nurse Partnership Procurement
• Capital Grant Programme for Children’s and Adult Hospices
• Extension of project on ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’
• Implementation Framework for Mental Health Strategy
• New film informing midwives on potential harm to unborn children when pregnant women consume alcohol
• Update on research and support on ‘Hypertension in Pregnancy’
• Munro Review of Child Protection on impact of more flexible assessment practices

CFM e-bulletin – August 2012 (PDF, 185K)

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/08/children-families-and-maternity-e-bulletin-august-2012/

UCSF School of Dentistry residents performed free dental screenings for dozens of children during a sunny Bayview Opera House Sunday Streets last weekend.

As part of the Family Health and Wellness Fair, 21 residents conducted oral exams and applied fluoride varnishes for children on a walk-in basis. The five-hour event, done in partnership with the California State Assembly and San Francisco Board of Supervisors, drew a total of 89 kids. District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen brought her niece in for a screening.

Denti-Cal advisors also were on hand to educate families about oral health. Tooth decay is one of the most common childhood diseases – five times more prevalent than asthma – and early detection is key to making sure children don’t lose a permanent tooth to decay.

The dental exams were part of UCSF’s public mission of “advancing health worldwide.” From free children’s health screenings to innovative partnerships attacking the roots of poor health care, UCSF is committed to serving its community on a local and global level.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/v47h1Ra2eWY/dozens-kids-get-free-oral-exams-bayview-sunday-streets

The joint chairs of the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum, Professor Ian Lewis, Medical Director at the Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and Christine Lenehan, Director at the Council for Disabled Children, speak about the work of the Forum and what they hope its recommendations will achieve.

One of the most important messages we’ve got is that outcomes currently for children and young people in England are poor – Professor Ian Lewis

For children and their families, the system often feels completely fragmented – they have to tell their stories repeatedly and they don’t receive joined up care in the way that they should – Professor Ian Lewis

How do we build a system that meets the needs of children and families rather than them having to fit a system not designed to meet their needs? – Christine Lenehan

We want everyone who has an interest in the health of children…to use the report and use the evidence to make the change we’re looking for – Christine Lenehan

We have taken the views of children, young people and their families and put them at the centre of our recommendations – Professor Ian Lewis

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/forum-interviews/

The Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum has today published its proposals on how health-related care for children and young people can be improved.

The independent Forum, which was asked by the Secretary of State to help develop a new strategy for improving care for children and young people, identified several themes that it says are key to making the improvements needed:

• putting children, young people and their families at the heart of what happens
• acting early and intervening at the right time
• integration and partnership
• safe and sustainable services
• workforce, education and training
• knowledge and evidence
• leadership, accountability and assurance
• incentives.

Read Report of the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum

The Forum recommends a number of new outcomes measures and the strengthening of existing indicators and makes specific recommendations for different organisations within the health and care system to ensure the improvements are achieved.

Forum joint chair Christine Lenehan, Director at the Council for Disabled Children, said:

“The Forum is clear that the implementation of these recommendations is key to improving health outcomes for children and young people, which was the ambition of the Secretary of State when he established us to do this work.

“This Report needs to form the basis of a wider children and young people’s health outcomes strategy, which needs to be owned by all organisations in the health system and beyond who have a responsibility for improving the health and wellbeing for this group.” 

The Forum’s starting point for identifying what outcomes matter most for children and young people were the existing NHS and Public Health Outcomes Frameworks.

The Forum recommends four new outcome indicators for inclusion within the NHS Outcomes Framework. These are:

• time from first NHS presentation to diagnosis or start of treatment
• integrated care – developing a new composite measure
• effective transition from children’s to adult services
• age-appropriate services, with particular reference to teenagers.

The Forum also makes recommendations about strengthening patient experience measures and says the Department of Health and the NHS Commissioning Board should incorporate the views of children and young people into existing national patient surveys in all care settings.

Within the Public Health Outcomes Framework, the Forum recommends a total of 9 new indicators across each of the domains, including measuring the proportion of mothers with mental health problems, including postnatal depression.

The Forum makes a large number of recommendations on how the health and care system can help deliver the necessary improvements. These include:

• with immediate effect, all data about children and young people should be presented in 5-year age bands through childhood and the teenage years – this will allow relevant international comparisons as well as national or local comparisons
• the revised NHS Constitution to be applicable to all children, young people and their families
•  the use of the NHS number as the unique identifier, bringing together health, education, social care and criminal justice records for children and young people.

Theme reports

In addition to its main report, the Forum has also produced reports on specific themes:

• Report of mental health subgroup
• Report of public health and prevention subgroup
• Report of acutely ill children subgroup
• Report of long-term conditions, disability and palliative care subgroup
• Inequalities in health outcomes and how they might be addressed

Factsheets

The Forum has also published the first four of a range of factsheets they are producing to help children, young people and their families be effectively involved in decisions about their health care, and help organisations and individuals in different parts of the system understand whether they are meeting the needs of children and young people.

• Read Making data and information work for children and young people
• Read factsheet for school governors
• Read Health and wellbeing boards and children, young people and families
• Read Commissioning in the new NHS for children, young people and their families

Forum letter to Secretary of State

Forum joint chairs Professor Ian Lewis, Medical Director at the Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and Christine Lenehan, Director at the Council for Disabled Children, have written a letter to Secretary of State Andrew Lansley to accompany the report.

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/cyp-report/

July 23, 2012

Two
in three severely obese children already have at least one risk
factor for heart disease, new research shows.

The study findings revealed 67 per cent of 307
severely obese children had at least one risk
factor for heart disease. Over
half had high blood pressure and a
similar proportion had high levels of low
density (LDL), or bad, cholesterol. Fourteen per cent had high
fasting blood glucose and just under one per cent had type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, high blood cholesterol and
high blood pressure are all modifiable risk factors for heart disease.

The researchers’ definition of severe obesity
started at a body mass index (BMI) of 20.5 for a 2-year-old, 31 for
a 12-year-old, and 35 for an 18-year-old. They found only one
child’s obesity was attributable to medical rather than
lifestyle factors.

This is a problem that can be addressed by stopping young people becoming overweight and obese in the first place

Doireann Maddock, our
Senior Cardiac Nurse, said: “Although it was a small study,
the findings leave a bad taste in the mouth.

“It’s a huge concern so many
obese children were identified as already having at least one risk
factor for heart disease, including high blood pressure, high blood
glucose and problems with cholesterol levels.

“However, this is a problem that can be
addressed by stopping young people becoming overweight and obese in
the first place. Highlighting the importance of healthy eating and physical activity from an early age will help
protect the heart health of future
generations.”

Our Food4Thought
campaign aims to help tackle childhood obesity
and encourage children to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The study was published online in the BMJ
journal, Archives of Disease in
Childhood.

Article source: http://www.bhf.org.uk/media/news-from-the-bhf/childhood-obesity-risks.aspx

New Study Into Post-Operative Paediatric Cardio Treatment Using Viagra by Uk-Med.co.uk

Dr David J Goldberg attained his qualifications as a paediatric cardiologist from Yale; he is now a fellow of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and leader of the research team into maintenance support for children with ventricle defects.

Volunteers that took part in the analysis had the Fontan procedure as a very young child, giving an average of eleven years lapse. Also the even age range for the participants was fourteen years. The medication being used is Sildenafil (sold as Viagra) which is widely used for pulmonary hypertension and was found during its first trials in the early 90’s that it helped males with erectile dysfunction problems.

Article Source:

http://www.uk-med.co.uk/Health/New-Study-Into-Post-Operative-Paediatric-Cardio-Treatment-Helped-By-Viagra

The Government has announced it is making a further £721,000 available to support new children hospices in England. This is in addition to the existing annual revenue grant of £10m that is available to 40 children’s hospices in England.

Eligible hospices for the new grant should be voluntary sector organisations that are providing children’s hospice and hospice at home services to children and young people between 0-19 years old.

The new grant, which begins this financial year, will support new children hospices to make hospice care available locally, that meets with the Government’s policy for choice of high-quality child and family-centred services.

The Government is committed to a fairer and more transparent system of funding palliative care for both children and adults. It committed to continuing the annual revenue stream to children’s hospices until a new per patient funding system is in place. Work has begun to collect the information and cost data needed to introduce a new palliative care funding system in 2015.

The closing date for applications for the new grant is 16 September, 2012. Eligibility requirements, guidance notes and an application form are attached below:

• Guidance Notes and Eligibility Requirements (PDF, 89K)
• Application form (Doc, 198K)

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/childrens-hospice-new-grants/

WHAT: UCSF, in partnership with the California State Assembly and San Francisco Board of Supervisors, will offer free children’s dental screenings as part of the Bayview Opera House Sunday Streets Family Health and Wellness Fair. UCSF School of Dentistry residents will perform the screenings and apply fluoride varnishes to prevent cavities.

Early detection is key to diagnosing potential tooth decay, which remains one of the most common diseases of childhood – five times as common as asthma.  By age 17, more than seven percent of children have lost a permanent tooth to decay, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

No appointment is necessary, and screenings will take approximately 15 minutes. Oral health education and Denti-Cal advisors will be onsite.

Additional Sunday Streets activities will include mural painting, dance lessons, free bike rentals and a bookmobile. For more information on Bayview Opera House Sunday Streets, see: http://www.sundaystreetssf.com/.

WHEN:
Sunday, July 22, 2012
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Photo and interview opportunities for media 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE:
Bayview Opera House
4705 Third Street @ Oakdale
Muni 23, 24, 44, T-Third

INTERVIEW, PHOTO AND VIDEO OPPORTUNITIES:

• Malia Cohen, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 10 (1- 1:30 p.m.)
• Jeremy Horst, DDS, UCSF pediatric dentistry resident
• Individuals undergoing screenings if consented by UCSF on site

MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Knowles-Pearce, UCSF University Relations, 415-476-8431. Day of event cell phone: 415-613-8727.

About UCSF
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. http://www.ucsf.edu/

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/b6NMAyw-lHU/media-advisory-ucsf-hosts-free-childrens-dental-screenings-sunday-streets

Six months ago Justin Rosales’s chest dipped deep into his sternum. The 14-year-old was too embarrassed to ever take off his shirt or show his friends how he looked. But rather than undergoing a major invasive operation, he and his parents chose UCSF’s groundbreaking Magnetic Mini Mover Procedure, a minimal surgery where two magnets are implanted in his chest — part of a novel approach to correcting sunken chest syndrome.

Justin is being treated at the UCSF Comprehensive Center for Chest Wall Deformities, a new interdisciplinary pediatric clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital that offers a wide range of interventions for children with all types of chest wall deformities, from common to complex. Justin has the most common chest wall deformity called pectus excavatum, a congenital disorder which causes the chest to have a sunken or “caved in” appearance.

“The new clinic is one stop shopping in terms of surgical options,” said Shinjiro Hirose, MD, a pediatric surgeon at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and its Fetal Treatment Center, and director of the new chest wall deformities clinic. “Any kid with a chest wall deformity can come to the clinic and get access to comprehensive care, ranging from pulmonologists to cardiologists to orthopedists. From the clinical standpoint, that really is unique and offers parents streamlined access without having to travel to several different clinics.”

At present, pectus excavatum, or sunken chest disorder, can be repaired only by an invasive operation requiring a stay of three to seven days in the hospital. More than 4,000 patients worldwide undergo this operation every year.

“Kids are in agony with the traditional surgery,” said Hirose, who implanted the Magnetic Mini Mover in Justin’s chest in a 30-minute surgical procedure where one magnet, encased in titanium, is attached to the sternum. The small incision then is closed, and the patient usually leaves the hospital on the same day. Afterward, the patient continues to wear an orthotic brace that contains another embedded magnet.

As the magnets slowly are drawn together, the chest wall reforms to its normal position within a two-year-period. “Our new intervention could change the whole approach to this disease,” said Hirose.

UCSF Team Pioneers Pediatric Procedure

The procedure was devised through the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium — a group of physicians, engineers, scientists and others — all inventors collaborating and sharing ideas to create pediatric medical devices. The team is led by Michael Harrison, MD, director emeritus and co-founder of the Fetal Treatment Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, and UCSF bioengineer Shuvo Roy, PhD, an associate professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy.  

The device currently is being studied in a clinical trial funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and early results are very promising. The trial is only for children ages eight to 14 and is still is accepting new patients.

Typically children with chest wall deformities are treated with a focus on mere survival, with minimal tracking of these patients over time. But the UCSF clinic is taking a new approach, evaluating patients and following them long term, from infancy into adulthood in order to better evaluate the progression of the disorder and the success of the interventions.

“One of UCSF’s biggest strengths is its mission of integrating patient care, teaching and research,” said Hirose. “The key to research is following up and realizing it’s no longer simply a matter of survival but quality of life.”

Justin returns to UCSF from his home in Stockton on a monthly basis to meet with doctors and have his brace adjusted by Darrell Christensen, CO, an orthotist in the UCSF Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, who has worked with him since his surgery. “For the first time we’re seeing the shape of his chest start to change,” said Hirose. “It’s definitely flatter and wider. Justin is diligent about wearing his brace. Kids who participate in clinical trials are usually motivated.”

The magnets also contain a monitoring chip that is downloaded at each visit to measure compliance. A big challenge in pediatric devices is making sure the kids actually wear them. But for Justin, it’s a challenge he is excited to take on since he knows the chip is keeping track of when the external device is worn. He takes pride in his compliance score and always asks how it compares to other kids wearing the brace.

“He’s taking responsibility for it and is excellent with compliance,” said Jill Imamura-Ching, RN, a clinical research nurse in the UCSF Department of Pediatric Surgery. 

“There is a big difference in his confidence since before the surgery,” said Carlos Rosales, Justin’s dad. Now Justin is preparing for a week-long camping trip in Yosemite, part of his work towards becoming an eagle scout. During the trip he’ll swim, fish and participate in all of the activities with his troop. His parents encourage physical activity, including martial arts, with the exception of one.

“Football is out of the question,” said Rosales.

Photos by Susan Merrell

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UCSF_News/~3/PPyVpPiTiHA/kids-chest-wall-deformities-get-comprehensive-care-clinic

This month’s edition features information about:

• Healthy Child Programme and Early Years
• Child Health
• Vulnerable Children
• Ill and Disabled Children
• Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
• Conferences and Events
• Sources of information
• Feedback and Contributions

CFM bulletin, June 2012 (PDF 127K)

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/cfm-bulletin-june-2012/

The Government recognises the importance of the palliative care sector in supporting children and families with palliative care needs.

The Department of Health has continued its commitment to providing £10m annually to 40 children’s hospices in England through the Children’s Hospice and Hospice-at-Home Grant.

Allocation Grants for Children’s Hospice and Hospice-at-Home (PDF, 27K)

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/childrens-hospice-grants/

A consultation on how the Nursery Milk Scheme operates launches today. The current nursery milk scheme has been running since the 1940s and the government is committed to continuing to provide free milk for all nursery children. But analysis shows modernising the operation of the scheme could save up to £20 million each year.

Figures show that the government is spending up to 92p for a pint of milk through the scheme, while most consumers can pay 45p – almost half the price.

In its current form, the legislation covering the scheme provides for full reimbursement of the cost of the milk.  While childcare providers are encouraged to seek value for money, there are cases where this is not happening.

Around 1.5 million under-5s in the UK in 55,000 childcare settings receive free milk.

The consultation explores 4 different options to reform the scheme:

• leave the scheme as it currently exists
• cap the price that can be claimed for milk by childcare providers
• issue e-voucher cards which childcare providers can use to purchase milk
• introduce a government contract with an external provider to directly supply and deliver milk to all childcare providers

The consultation also seeks views on the price, access, voucher schemes, supply and claims procedures.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton said:

“Milk has many benefits to children’s health and is important for their development – we are committed to continuing to provide free milk for all under-5s.

“But the current scheme has not changed operationally since it began and costs have ballooned. In 4 years, costs have jumped from £27 million in 2007 to a staggering £53 million in 2011.  

“Everyone is encouraged to take part in this consultation and share their views on the proposed changes.”

Childcare providers survey

A simple survey is running alongside the consultation until 14 August, asking all childcare providers currently registered with the scheme about how it works for them now and how they and the children they care for might be affected by any changes.

Any decision on the future operation of the scheme will be taken after full consideration is given to the consultation responses and other relevant information.

The consultation runs until 11 September.

• Have your say online
• You can also read the full consultation document

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Article source: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/nms/

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Article source: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm308350.htm

Almost 300 former child migrants have been reunited with their families in the UK thanks to the Family Restoration Fund.

The £6m Family Restoration Fund, which covers the practical costs of travel, is available to any former child migrant who was sent under school-leaving age with their relatives from Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Commonwealth countries.

The fund, which was launched by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in July 2010, is administered and supported by the Child Migrants Trust.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:

“Thirteen years ago as a member of the Health Select Committee, I heard evidence, often tragic and disturbing, of how children had been separated from their mothers and families, and taken overseas, often not knowing their mothers and families were alive. 

“Almost two years ago I launched the three-year fund on behalf of the UK Government, in recognition of the years of struggle and heart ache suffered by child migrants. I am very glad now to have met some of the families reunited as a result of the fund.”