Spina bifida is one of the most common disabling birth defects in the United States. It is a major birth defect of the baby's spine occurring when the spine and bones of the back do not completely during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Because they are not closed all the way, the spinal cord and bones of the back do not form, as they should. Instead, a sac of fluid protrudes through an opening in the baby's back. Quite often part of the spinal cord is damaged and in the protruding sac.

While children... more

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, knows that many teenagers are doing, what they shouldn’t be doing. They combined the data on a number of surveys, including the National Survey on Drug Use, which uses in-depth interviews of more than 60,000 people, to arrive at the following shocking data about teenagers in the U.S.A. Today for the first time in their lives: nearly 8,000 adolescents drank alcohol, 4,300 adolescents used an illicit drug, 4,000 smoked cigarettes,... more

An article in Reuters Health on October 16, 2007 by Joene Hendry indicated that there is a link between incarcerated teenagers attempting suicide and huffing or bagging. I don’t know about you, but when I read, the word huffing it made me think of asthma and the Three Little Pigs story. When I read the word bagging, I thought about the person bagging my groceries at the store. However, in the world of the teenager both huffing and bagging, refer to inhaling household... more

The Stinky Cheese Monster is not to be confused with the Stinky Cheese Man, which is a hilarious fable book for older elementary children.

The Stinky Cheese Monster revealed herself yesterday, but not before she put another hole in our dry wall, bit LuLu and kicked and scratched Super Dad. LuLu admitted to going out of her way over the last few weeks to sneak bites of cheese at every place possible. After having been on a casein-free diet for about 20 months now, she... more

The researchers at the University of Western Ontario released a report last week on studies done of rats who were injected with propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid, which in addition to existing in the gut, is commonly found in bread and dairy products.

The scientists observed repetitive behaviors, hyperactivity and impaired social behaviors in these rats. When the rats’ brains were examined, they showed signs of inflammation similar to those of autistic children.

This study, if it can lead... more

Did you know that arthritis affects one out of every one thousand children? Most cases of juvenile arthritis are mild however; about one of every 10,000 children will have severe arthritis that doesn't go away. Many children experience an acute inflammatory arthritis following a viral or bacterial infection. While this arthritis is often briefly severe, it usually disappears within a few weeks or months.

The most common type of arthritis affecting children is Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis... more

Are you challenged by desserts because of your child’s special diet? Me, too. Last year I made a milkless, eggless cake. And while it was “ok” – it truly wasn’t that yummy and no one, except the birthday girl, was interested in eating it. So I decided to try something else. LuLu and I concocted cups of dirt to share with her friends for her birthday. You may be familiar with this, but if not…it’s a good party idea. Our version is casein-free, so the pudding was made with rice milk instead of cow’s milk. And the basic recipe calls for Cool Whip, and I could... more

A molecule has been isolated from the egg cell of the Northern Leopard frog that recognizes the sugary coating found on tumor cells. This molecule attaches itself to the sugary coating, then invades and kills the tumor cells. A synthetic molecule, called Amphinase, based on the one found in frog egg cell can easily be synthesized in the laboratory.

This has researchers excited over the potential use of this molecule to treat brain tumors. The Journal of Molecular Biology also suggests that the molecule could potentially treat cancers. Current treatment for brain... more

Our four year old seems to have a body chemistry that attracts bees. She has been stung twice at school on two different days and several times while playing outside at home. One bee sting that she received was in the middle of her forehead. Her forehead swelled and almost looked like a baseball, cut in half, had been placed under her skin. The swelling was also surrounding her eyes. She looked like one of the alien races on the television series Star Trek Voyager.

The bee stings didn’t affect her breathing, so the pediatrician wasn’t concerned. I was giving her... more

Over 6 million children in our country have been diagnosed with asthma. However, a recent study conducted at Columbus Children's Hospital found that three out of four children who appeared to have asthma actually had good oxygen levels. Instead of asthma, they suffered from vocal cord dysfunction or VCD. Misdiagnosis can occur because the symptoms are similar. When a child enters the emergency room and can’t breathe, people may readily assume that the child is having an asthma... more