A drug developed for an autoimmune disease shows promise in treating a potentially life-threatening inflammatory condition in children who’ve had COVID-19, researchers say. The rare condition is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). It typically develops weeks to months after a child has had mild or even asymptomatic COVID-19. “Working collaboratively, we’ve been able…  read on >  read on >

More than 90% of free at-home COVID-19 tests ordered through a federal government website have been shipped in an “unprecedented” effort, the Biden administration’s senior adviser on testing said Tuesday. “It’s a lot of firsts. It’s the biggest test acquisition in history. It’s the fastest delivery of anything to this number of households,” said Dr.…  read on >  read on >

Early on in the pandemic doctors observed that some children and teens infected with COVID-19 went on to develop a relatively rare, but potentially life-threatening, complication known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). But new research out of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against…  read on >  read on >

Smoking in the weeks before and after conception has a potentially unhealthy effect on an embryo, Dutch research shows. “Smoking not only impacts an embryo’s growth during pregnancy and birth weight, but also embryo development right from the very early stages of pregnancy,” said study leader Dr. Melek Rousian, a gynecologist at Erasmus University Medical…  read on >  read on >

If they quit early on, there’s a good chance that teenage drug abusers can still succeed in life, researchers say. The findings show the importance of stopping drug use by early adulthood in order to protect future health and well-being, according to Jake Najman, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, and co-author…  read on >  read on >

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Waking up at all hours throughout the night. Millions of women battle these stereotypical menopause symptoms for years. Now, a small study suggests that a drug used for both men and women who have sleep disorders might offer relief. Researchers compared women who took suvorexant (Belsomra) with those who took a…  read on >  read on >

Screen your young child early and often for developmental delays. That’s the message behind updated checklists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The checklists, revised for the first time since their release in 2004, outline developmental milestones for infants and young children, to help identify…  read on >  read on >

If you’re wondering whether your child may have asthma, there are some tell-tale signs to look for, an expert says. Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in children and affects more than 6 million U.S. children. Despite being common, diagnosing asthma in children can be difficult because “there is no one-size-fits-all set of…  read on >  read on >