News on Medications for Children With Special Needs

Preventive Antibiotics Help Some Kids Fend Off Urinary Infections
From HealthDay: "Children who are predisposed to recurrent urinary tract infections are commonly treated with preventive antibiotics, and a new Australian study suggests that such prophylactic therapy may have at least a modest effect." (10/29/09)

Tylenol May Weaken Effectiveness of Kids' Vaccines
From HealthDay: "Giving analgesic to prevent fever at shot time could be counterproductive, researchers say." (10/16/09)

Reye's Syndrome and the Flu
From About.com Infectious Diseases: "Reye's syndrome happens most often during recovery from a viral infection, although it can also develop 3 to 5 days after the onset of the viral illness, such as the flu. The biggest risk factor is aspirin taken by young people during a viral illness." (10/12/09)

Children's Belly Aches Don't Disappear With Antidepressant
From HealthDay: "Contradicting some previous research in adults, a new study suggests that the antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil), is no better than a placebo at treating painful gastrointestinal disorders in children." (10/2/09)

More than half million kids get bad drug reactions
From AP: "The study involved reactions to prescribed drugs, including accidental overdoses. They were used for a range of ailments including ear infections, strep throat, depression and cancer." (9/28/09)

Letter Warns About Tricky Dosing With Liquid Tamiflu for Kids
From HealthDay: "Doctors warn that parents across the country could give the wrong dose of Tamiflu to their children as treatment for the H1N1 swine flu because the dosing instructions don't always coincide with the measurement markings on the syringe that comes with the liquid medication." (9/25/09)

Tylenol's Voluntary Recall on Children's & Infant's Tylenol
From Cafe Mom: "McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Tylenol, are voluntarily recalling several lots of Children's and Infants' Tylenol manufactured between April 2008 and June 2008." (9/24/09)

Placebos Are Getting More Effective
From Wired: "Half of all drugs that fail in late-stage trials drop out of the pipeline due to their inability to beat sugar pills." (9/8/09)

No Link Found Between Birth Anesthesia and Learning Issues
From Yahoo News: "Exposure to anesthesia during a Cesarean delivery doesn't increase the risk of learning disabilities in children, says a new study." (8/5/09)

Certain Arthritis, Crohn's Drugs May Raise Kids' Cancer Risk
From Yahoo News: "Drugs widely used to fight rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and other inflammatory disorders must now carry an updated "black box" warning label cautioning patients and doctors that the medicines may boost cancer risk in children and adolescents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday." (8/5/09)

Medication Rules Every Parent Needs to Know
From About.com ADHD: "As a parent of a child or adolescent with ADHD, you must make a multitude of decisions regarding your child's treatment. Many parents struggle with so many questions and concerns, particularly around the issue of medication, that it can begin to feel overwhelming." (8/4/09)

Swine Flu or Swine Flu Vaccine: Weighing the Dangers
From About.com Autism: "Autism-related blogs are digging deeply into the H1N1 vaccine development process, and finding a whole range of issues to worry about." (8/3/09)

Probiotics may prevent colds in children
From Reuters: "In a study done in China, small children who drank a mixture of such bacteria -- known as probiotics -- in milk twice a day during the winter and spring had fewer colds, needed fewer antibiotics, and missed fewer days of school than other children who drank plain milk instead." (7/28/09)

Giving Statins to Kids Provokes Debate
From HealthDay: "Cholesterol-lowering drugs may help young hearts, but long-term use raises concerns." (7/27/09)

Inhaled growth hormone safe for children deficient in this key protein
From Science Blog: "In addition to having implications for those who need GH, this first pediatric study of administering it through the lungs may also help researchers interested in using this convenient method for effectively delivering other types of medications to children." (6/27/09)

FDA weighs approval of psychiatric drugs for kid
From AP: "FDA reviewers on Friday said they were wary of exposing youngsters to the drugs' side effects, including weight gain and high blood sugar, 'because they may be exposed for many decades.'" (6/5/09)

Rare-disease patients priced out of drugs market
From CNN: "The fact remains that rare diseases are still mostly overlooked by pharmaceutical companies because of the small patient population and lack of financial incentives." (6/4/09)

Meds More Common In Kids Living Away From Relatives
From Disability Scoop: "Children living in group homes, institutions or foster homes are far more likely to be taking psychiatric drugs than those living with family, according to a study released Thursday from the Florida Department of Children and Families." (5/29/09)

New Reasons to Avoid Juice with Medicine
From Parenting.com: "Grapefruit juice has long been known as the juice to avoid when you or your kids are taking medicine; it can increase the potency of certain drugs. But now it looks like kid-friendly apple and orange juice may also be risky mixes with meds: They appear to make some drugs less effective, and may even wipe out their potential benefits." (4/24/09)

Drug May Be Dangerous for Kids With Graves' Disease
From HealthDay: "Medication known as PTU can cause liver disease, experts say." (4/18/09)

New vaccine may reduce infection in unborn babies
From Reuters: "An important cause of neurological impairment in infants -- infection with cytomegalovirus while they are in the womb -- may be curbed with the use of a new vaccine." (3/19/09)

Topiramate safely prevents migraine in adolescents
From Reuters: "While topiramate is FDA-approved for migraine prophylaxis in adults, the authors explain, there are no approved drugs for migraine prophylaxis in pediatric patients." (3/13/09)

Gardasil Takes Jenny Tetlock's Life
From Adventures in Autism: "To my knowledge, no one from the CDC or any other medical authority even checked into her case despite her family's very public appeals and widespread search for answers." (3/17/09)

US files complaint against Forest for kids' drug
From AFP: "The US government Wednesday filed a complaint against pharmaceutical Forest Laboratories Inc. for marketing an anti-depressant that was not approved for children and paying kickbacks to doctors who prescribed it." (2/26/09)

Intensive Insulin Therapy Reduces Mortality in Sick Kids
From HealthDay: "Lowering blood glucose levels also cut time in ICU, study finds." (1/28/09)

Chickenpox vaccine not tied to strokes in kids
From Reuters: "Unlike chickenpox itself, the vaccine against chickenpox does not increase the risk of stroke or brain inflammation in children, according to a large US study reported in the journal Pediatrics." (1/28/09)

Preemies Exposed to Toxins in Liquid Meds
From HealthDay: "Potentially harmful agents called excipients are contained in liquid medicines commonly given to premature infants, according to a U.K. study." (1/26/09)

How to Properly Throw Out Prescription Drugs
From About.com Cancer: "Did you know that the federal government has guidelines for throwing out prescription drugs that may help curb drug abuse, accidental overdose, and protect U.S. water sources?" (1/21/09)

Older Drug Effective in Treating Pediatric Nerve Cancer
From HealthDay: "Low, short-term doses of DFMO helps prevent disease spread, study finds/" (1/21/09)

FDA Finds Consumer Medication Information Not Consistently Useful
From About.com Drugs: "Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a study that found that the printed consumer medication information provided with new prescriptions by retail pharmacies does not consistently provide easy-to-read, understandable information about the use and safety of medications." (1/19/09)

Misuse of Vicks VapoRub may harm infants and toddlers
From Science Blog: "New research appearing in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that Vicks VapoRub (VVR) may stimulate mucus production and airway inflammation, which can have severe effects on breathing in an infant or toddler." (1/13/09)

Combination vaccine safe and effective for infants
From Reuters: "A combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and flu, which is routinely used in Canadian children, has been shown to be effective and well tolerated in a U.S. study." (1/9/09)

Poisoned Teething Medicine Kills Dozens of Children
From About.com Chemistry: "Counterfeit drug rings operate internationally, so you should consider yourself at risk of encountering a counterfeit drug no matter where you live. While your local pharmacist takes care to make sure his or her drugs come from the stated manufacturer, you need to be very careful about drugs if you purchase them online." (12/19/08)

News: 12 Percent of Kids Use Alternative Medication
From ADDitude: "This survey marks the first time questions were included on children's use of CAM, defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic, and acupuncture." (12/11/08)

Do Allergies Affect Your Child's Grades?
From Allergy Moms: A study indicates that "nearly 75% of students taking allergy medication can expect to drop a grade this year as their allergies as well as the medications that they take affect their ability to concentrate." (12/10/08)

Barriers That Prevent Children From Taking Medicines
From Science Daily: "The widespread problem of children failing to take their medication for a range of life-threatening illnesses is to be tackled as part of a new university research project." (12/4/08)

Journalists Get Taken by Big Pharma, Too
From About.com Patient Empowerment: "It seems that companies like Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim are offering awards in the forms of travel and other prizes to journalists who write about particular medical problems casting favorable lights on their companies." (11/25/08)

Viagra Helps Toddler Survive
From Parent Dish: A boy with pulmonary arterial hypertension takes advantage of the drug's blood-pressure-lowering properties. (11/24/08)

Immunotherapy may benefit allergic preschoolers
From Reuters: "Although there is controversy over the use of immunotherapy among children younger than 6 years old, a new study shows that it is safe and effective for the treatment of hayfever in this age group and may prevent the later development of more allergies and asthma." (11/11/08)

Kid vaccines okay for kids at risk for allergies
From Reuters: "In children at increased risk for developing allergies, common childhood immunizations do not increase the risk of more severe eczema or allergies, according to a study published in the journal Allergy." (11/7/08)

U.S. marshals seize tainted blood thinner in Ohio
From CNN.com: "The lots were contaminated with over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), a substance that mimics heparin's anti-clotting activity." (11/7/08)

Too Many High-Risk Teens Not Getting Flu Shots
From HealthDay: "Those with asthma, other conditions have vaccination rates far below goals, study finds." (11/4/08)

Top court weighs drugmaker liability for harm
From Reuters: "Pharmaceutical companies should not be liable for harm from medicines which carry warnings approved by federal regulators, lawyers for drugmaker Wyeth and the Bush administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday." (11/4/08)

Inhaled nitric oxide promising for preterm infants
From Reuters: "Infants born prematurely at very low birth weights who are treated with inhaled nitric oxide in the neonatal intensive care unit are significantly less likely to need bronchodilators and other respiratory medications after discharge, a study shows." (11/4/08)

Gardasil Passes a 2-Year Safety Check
From WebMD: "Two years after Gardasil's approval, safety monitors detect no major safety problems with the HPV vaccine." (10/26/08)

Many biological medicines draw safety warnings
From Reuters: "Immune system disorders, infusion reactions, infections and cancer concerns were among the reasons for safety warnings for biological medicines, which are made with proteins derived from living cells rather than the chemicals used in typical drugs." (10/22/08)

Sound Alike Drug Names Have Caused Medication Mix-Ups
From About.com Drugs: "According to the U.S. Pharmacopeia, an organization which promotes consumer safety and helps set drug standards, more than 1,400 commonly used medications have names so similar to at least one other drug name that they have already caused confusion." (10/20/08)

New Epinephrine Delivery System Pending FDA Approval
From Allergy Moms: "You may have heard about Eric and Evan Edwards and their new epinephrine delivery system called the EpiCard. Having grown up with severe food allergies themselves they were well aware of how often kids and adults forget the autoinjectors and how convenient it would be to have a pocket sized device." (10/20/08)

Raising Concerns Over The HPV Vaccine
From About.com Tween Parenting: "From the beginning, the HPV vaccine raised eyebrows, and a lot of concerns as parents questioned its safety, the cost of the vaccine, and whether or not it had been rushed to market. Of course, anytime you raise the issue of sexual activity and teens among parents, there's bound to be controversy." (10/13/08)

Drug Companies and Doctors in Cohoots
From About.com Patient Empowerment: "Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff ... has been raking in millions of dollars from 21 different drug companies, all the while denying he was making that money ... This crook has put his well-sought-out stamp of approval on all kinds of research, and has written about that research in journals, without disclosing his financial ties." (10/13/08)

U.S. Kids Take More Psychotropic Drugs Than Europeans
From HealthDay: "American children are three times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications for conditions such as ADHD and bipolar disease than European children are, a new study finds. Differences in regulatory practices and cultural beliefs about the benefit of medication for emotional and behavioral problems may explain this dramatic difference." (9/25/08)

Oxycontin may hook teens more easily than adults
From Reuters: "The brain undergoes dramatic changes in adolescence ... and there is evidence that abusing opioids during this key developmental period may cause permanent brain alterations that increase the likelihood that a teen will be more vulnerable to addiction compared with those who first abuse this drugs as adults." (9/20/08)

Anti-Cancer Vaccine A Tough Sell To Parents
From NPR: As of late 2007, just one in five American girls under the age of 18 had received shots for human papillomavirus, or HPV, a treatment that can also protect against cervical cancer ... Experts say there are several reasons behind the low numbers, from parents who doubt that their child is sexually active to a mistrust of vaccines." (9/19/08)

Overdoses and Other Medical Mistakes Put Young Patients at Risk
From the New York Times: "Parents need to be the eyes, ears and advocates for their children. "Parents have to pay attention and speak up," said Dr. Steve Selbst, professor of pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, who conducted the study on malpractice suits. "You know your child, and if you feel something's wrong, go up the chain of command." (9/18/08)

ALA: No Link Between Singulair and Suicide
From the About.com guide to Allergies: The American Lung Association gives the allergy drug Singulair the all-clear, but will the FDA? (9/6/08)

FDA: Potential Signals of Serious Risks
Check out the FDA's latest list of drugs for which adverse reactions have been reported. (9/6/08)

Ibuprofen first may be best for kids' fever
From Reuters: "The optimal method of reducing fever in children is to start with ibuprofen alone and then consider using paracetamol plus ibuprofen later, results of a new clinical trial suggest." (9/5/08)

HPV Vaccine Has Higher Allergic Reaction Rate
From HealthDay: "The study authors did find that the rate of allergic reactions to the HPV vaccine was higher than the rates for other vaccines given at schools, including those for hepatitis B, diphtheria, measles, mumps and the flu. In some cases, the rate of allergic reactions to HPV was 5 times to 20 times as high as the rates for the other vaccines." (9/2/08)

Meds Shmeds, Gimme Fries
From Newsweek: Teens want to be more in control of their healthcare, but many aren't up to the challenge. (8/26/08)

Infant deaths linked to cold medications
Another reason to shelve the over-the-counter remedies for young children. (8/7/08)

Jury finds J&J not liable in Motrin lawsuit
Jurors found insufficient proof that Children's Motrin caused an 11-year-old girl to get Stevens-Johnson syndrome. (7/18/08)

Drug May Ease Symptoms of Juvenile Arthritis
Orencia may help those who haven't found help before. (7/16/08)

Statins Show Little Benefit for Kids With Learning Disorder
They helped mice with neurofibromatosis type 1, but not children. (7/16/08)

Up to 17 babies given overdoses of blood thinner
Another overdose incident like the one that happened with the Quaid twins. In this case, one infant died, but the hospital says that baby was seriously ill and might have died anyway. That's supposed to be reassuring? (7/9/08)

New vaccine sneaks into body, then self-destructs
Scientists are trying tying the vaccine agent to some genetically weak Salmonella bug that "blows itself up" after you swallow it. Are doctors going to quietly place these on the lollipops of kids whose parents say no to shots? (7/8/08)

Cholesterol Drugs for Kids
Wait, these drugs have been found safe for kids as young as eight? Seems I've read reports that one or another of them isn't even all that safe or effective for adults. (7/8/08)

Do You Know What QID and DAW Mean?
The About.com Guide to Drugs clues us in on what all that alphabet soup on a prescription really means. (7/8/08)

Vaccinate Networks Not Everyone
Here's an interesting "60-Second Science" tidbit from Scientific American: Scientist think that maybe, instead of vaccinating everybody, we could just vaccinate those individuals who have the largest social networks and come in most contact with others. Which would mean our outcast kids need no shots at all, right? (7/7/08)

Astra's Nexium approved for children aged 1-11
"AstraZeneca Plc's Nexium drug has been approved in the United States for treating excess stomach acid in children aged 1 to 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said." (2/28/08)

Antibiotics Before Dental Procedures? Maybe Not.
Does your child take antibiotics before dental work? It's been conventional wisdom to do so to prevent heart infections in individuals thought to be at risk. But according to a Reuters report, conventional wisdom may be changing. (4/24/07)

Bladder-Control Drug Can Cause Hallucinations in Kids
A drug used to remedy bladder-control problems in children with spina bifida, among others, will be getting a new warning label if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has anything to do with it. (4/10/07)

Anesthesia May Harm Children's Brains
If your child is in need of a procedure involving anesthesia, you're not likely to be in a position to quibble. Whatever's requiring the knockout is probably serious enough that the effects of the sedative are the least of your worries. But a recent study published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicates that it should at least be on that list of worries.

Anti-Reflux Drugs Declared Safe for Children
According to a Reuters report, researchers have found anti-reflux drugs like Teletubby-purple Prilosec and Prevacid to be safe for long-term use in children with reflux disease. (3/28/07)

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Now Recommended for Kids
According to a Health Day report, the American Heart Association is now recommending that statins be made available to overweight children and teens who have high cholesterol levels and a family history of cardiovascular problems or diabetes. (3/27/07)

Boy Sickened by Father's Smallpox Vaccination
"Many parents these days are worried about the impact of vaccines on their children's health and development. The case of a two-year-old who fell ill after his father was vaccinated for smallpox sounds an alarm that the vaccines given to those around your child can also, in rare cases, cause trouble." (3/19/07)

Merck ending lobbying for mandatory Gardasil vaccine
"Drugmaker Merck & Co. said on Tuesday it would stop lobbying state legislatures to make it mandatory for schoolgirls to be inoculated with its new cervical cancer vaccine." (2/21/07)

Bowel problem seen in infants given Merck vaccine
"The Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it was notifying health-care providers and consumers about reports of some 28 cases of infants suffering a serious bowel condition after receiving Merck & Co's new vaccine against the rotavirus." (2/13/07)

FDA OKs Celebrex as Treatment for Kids
"Pfizer Inc. won federal approval Friday to market the painkiller Celebrex as a treatment for the tens of thousands of children with a devastating form of arthritis." (12/18/06)

Guidelines for child sedation updated
"Doctors and dentists who sedate young patients need to monitor them closely for problems and have the tools and training to act quickly in case of emergency, according to updated guidelines issued Monday." (12/4/06)

FDA questions Celebrex for kids' arthritis
"Pfizer Inc. may fall short in convincing federal regulators that its painkiller Celebrex should receive expanded approval to treat children with a devastating form of arthritis, according to documents released Tuesday." (11/28/06)

Flu Drug Tamiflu May Cause Odd Behavior in Children
"Responding to reports from overseas, U.S. heath officials are urging doctors and parents to watch for signs of bizarre behavior in children taking the flu drug Tamiflu." (11/14/06)

Bristol arthritis drug effective in children: study
"Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s new rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia, which is approved for adult use, appeared to be effective in treating children as well, according to a study released on Monday." (11/13/06)

Vaccine Combo May Land Infants in ER: Study
"Infants who receive a new combination of vaccines may end up in the emergency room, according to a new study.... The five-vaccine shot was introduced in 2003, and protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and hepatitis B. The other two shots protect against bacterial infections such as pneumonia and meningitis." (9/21/06)

Hospital Procedures Questioned After Death of Two Babies
In her sixth day of life, tiny Thursday Dawn Jeffries struggles to survive. She is one of six premature babies accidentally given 1,000 times the prescribed dosage of the blood thinner heparin. It's a chilling example of the dangers human error can pose during a hospital stay.

Child Drug Safety Data Not Reaching Doctors - Yahoo! News
"Hundreds of common drugs may not be safe for children, but this information may not be reaching physicians, a new study finds." (9/12/06)

Public Health Advisory: Consumers Should Not Use Triaminic Vapor Patch
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to use Triaminic Vapor Patch. Triaminic Vapor Patch may cause serious harm if children accidentally take it in by mouth." (6/20/06)

Cold medicine ingredient unapproved for kids
"If a doctor prescribes a cold medicine for your child, and a manufacturer creates a preparation especially for babies and young children, surely that's something you can trust has been approved for little ones' use, right? Not so fast, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." (6/12/06)

Halt Is Urged for Trials of Antibiotic in Children
"A Food and Drug Administration official called in May for a drug company to halt clinical trials of an antibiotic in children because the drug could be deadly, according to internal memorandums sent to other F.D.A. officials." (6/7/06)

EU Adopts New Rules on Children's Medicine
"The European Union is offering drug makers extended patents as an incentive to produce children's versions of drugs for diseases such as cancer, AIDS or psychiatric disorders." (6/2/06)

Is Tamiflu safe for children?
Tamiflu, the drug being touted as the best defense against a flu epidemic, has been the subject of some concern due to the deaths of a dozen Japanese children taking the drug. (11/19/05)

Viagra helps heart ailment
The erectile dysfunction drug shows promising results in pediatric patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). (6/14/05)