Kids with Pompe disease fail because of a missing enzyme, GAA, that leads to dangerous sugar build-up, which affects muscles and movement.

The levels of environmental contaminants in a mother’s body decrease during breast-feeding.

A study conducted in four American Indian communities in the Pacific Northwest presents an effective strategy to convince mothers to switch young children from drinking sweetened soda to water and shows that eliminating these sugary drinks from the diets of the youngest members of the tribe significantly decreased tooth decay. The results of the dental arm of “The Toddler Overweight and Tooth Decay Prevention Study” (TOTS), which targeted American Indians from birth to 30 months of age, appear in the current issue (Volume 20, Number 4) of the peer reviewed journal Ethnicity & Disease . The arrival of Europeans brought diseases such as measles, influenza and smallpox to the Americas.

The ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law acknowledges the benefits that IMAR may bring to those choosing this approach and concludes that certain forms of IMAR are morally acceptable under certain conditions. The group advises to evaluate each request for IMAR individually, based on four ethical principles in health care: the respect for autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence and justice. The Task Force explains that the right for individual autonomy is elementary: any individual should have the principle of choice with whom to reproduce

The American Heart Association has, for the first time, published a statement, “American Heart Association and Nonprofit Advocacy: Past, Present, and Future,” that documents the association’s longstanding commitment to improve heart and stroke-related public policy. The paper, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, highlights the association’s 2011 recommendations as lawmakers face difficult budget decisions, including the potential slashing for heart disease and stroke research and prevention initiatives. The statement illustrates the importance of patient-centered advocacy to support innovative research, quality care and prevention programs as America’s greatest health threats continue to escalate.

As adolescents move from elementary school into their middle or junior-high years, changes in friendships may signal potential academic success or troubles down the road, say University of Oregon researchers. A new study, appearing in the February issue of the Journal of Early Adolescence, found that boys and girls whose friends are socially active in ways where rules are respected do better in their classroom work. Having friends who engage in problem behavior, in contrast, is related to a decrease in their grades

Brain scans of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have shown for the first time why people affected by the condition sometimes have difficulty in concentrating. The study, by experts at The University of Nottingham, may explain why parents often say that their child can maintain concentration when they are doing something that interests them, but struggles with boring tasks. Using a ‘Whac-a-Mole’ style game, researchers from the Motivation, Inhibition and Development in ADHD Study (MIDAS) group found evidence that children with ADHD require either much greater incentives — or their usual stimulant medication — to focus on a task.