Dramatic Increase in Hospital Admissions for Children with Cancer
The number of hospital admissions for patients age 18 and under with cancer increased by more than 80 percent between 2000 and 2005—from roughly 54,000 to nearly 100,000 admissions—according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The increase was driven partly by a dramatic improvement in the survival rate of children with cancer. While children with cancer are increasingly treated in outpatient settings, some types of care still require hospitalization.
Study Reveals Possible Genetic Risk for Fetal Alcohol Disorders
New research in primates suggests that infants and children who carry a certain gene variant may be more vulnerable to the ill effects of fetal alcohol exposure.
Reported online today (Sept. 21) in Biological Psychiatry, the findings represent the first evidence of a genetic risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder - a condition that is characterized by profound mental retardation in its most severe form, but which is also associated with deficits in learning, attention, memory and impulse control.
