Pediatricians Double Vitamin D Recommendation

The American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled its recommendation for the daily dose of vitamin D that children should take to try to prevent diseases, such as rickets, and they say that this decision could have life-long benefits. It is now recommended that children receive 400 international units of vitamin D per day, starting in the few days of their life.

Not getting enough vitamin D can result in the disease rickets, which causes bone-softening, stunted growth, and skeletal deformities if it is not corrected while the child is young. Babies that are breast-fed have a big risk of being vitamin D deficient but these babies can be given supplements of the vitamin.

Good sources of vitamin D include exposure to sunlight, vitamin D fortified milk, fortified cereals, tuna, mackerel, and sardines.

Scientist Find Possible Alzheimer’s Gene

There are scientists that have found a gene that might raise the chances of getting the most common kind of Alzheimer’s disease by 45 percent in people who inherit a certain form of the disease. The gene affects a brain cell’s ability to take in calcium. Hopefully, drugs can be made to fight this effect. Most people are over the age of 65 that are affected by the disease.

Only one gene, called CALHM1, has been found to affect the risks associated with people over the age of 65. There are many other genes that are being studied as having the possibility to affect the disease.

Cold Medicines Bad for Toddlers and Babies

The government is recently stating that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are not safe for toddlers and babies. In October, drug companies stopped selling dozens of nonprescription cold medicines that were targeted towards young children and babies. The Food and Drug Administration’s scientific advisers voted that the drugs don’t work in small children and shouldn’t be used on any children under the age of 6 years old.

The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t decided yet if OTC decongestants, antihistamines, and cough suppressants are okay for children older than 6 years old. The FDA is warning that serious and possibly life-threatening side effects can happen. The possibilities of serious side effects are small but they do happen to some children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 1,500 babies and toddlers had to go to the emergency room over a two-year period because of the drugs and medicines. The biggest risks come from giving a child an overdose of medicine.

If a toddler or baby is sick, it is best to give the child plenty of liquids, let the child get lots of rest, give the child saline drops if it has a stuffy nose, and use humidifiers while the child is sleeping.

Scientists Produce Human Embryo Clones

There are scientists in California that have made embryos that are clones of two different men. The embryos were made using ordinary skin cells. The next big thing they are waiting for is to make a human embryonic stem cell line from cloned human embryos. Scientists think that stem cells from cloned embryos could be used to study diseases, screen drugs, and make transplant materials to treat conditions, such as diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

The problems with cloning human embryos include, creating human lives in a laboratory purposely to destroy them to benefit and help other people, there are health risks involved in the process, and exploiting the women who are asked to provide eggs.

The cloning process works by injecting DNA from a person into an egg. The egg would grow into an embryo in about five days. Then, stem cells would be extracted from the embryo.