Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases among children, affecting nearly 475 million globally. For decades, exercise was discouraged due to the risk of triggering wheezing and breathlessness, known as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). This avoidance has led to lower fitness levels, obesity, and poorer mental health outcomes. Yet, modern studies reveal that…
Adolescents who were vaccinated against COVID-19 were less likely to develop long COVID after their first SARS-CoV-2 infection than unvaccinated peers, finds a new study. The study, led by the NIH-funded RECOVER Initiative, is the first to examine the potential benefits of COVID vaccination in adolescents beyond lowering the severity of initial COVID symptoms. “These…
A smartphone app for muscle relaxation significantly reduced migraine-related disability in patients visiting the emergency department, a new study shows. Led by researchers from NYU Langone Health, the study featured a smartphone-based app that guides patients with migraine through progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), an evidence-based treatment for migraine in which patients tense and then relax…
Children and adolescents were twice as likely to experience long COVID after catching COVID for the second time, compared to their peers with a single previous infection, according to a large study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. These results run counter to the popular perceptions that…
A new clinical trial has revealed encouraging results for a muscle-targeting therapy aimed at improving motor function in children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy, according to a study published in The Lancet Neurology. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic disorder that affects motor neurons – nerve cells in the spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary…
New research from the Exercise Medicine Research Institute at Edith Cowan University (ECU) has highlighted that children undergoing cancer treatment often lose skeletal muscle at a time when they should be rapidly gaining it, a loss that could increase treatment complications and raise the risk of long-term health problems. Both the cancer itself and…
Texas Children’s is pleased to announce that a three-year-old girl has been successfully treated with the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy treatment for AADC deficiency. Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is an extremely rare, inherited neurological disorder that prevents the brain from producing dopamine and serotonin – essential chemicals for controlling movement, mood and basic…
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness, which, when untreated, prevents infants with the most severe form from gaining motor development – never gaining the ability to sit – and typically leads to death before 2 years of age. The oral drug risdiplam benefits symptomatic patients with improved…