Patients with an incurable, genetic liver disease have new hope after an animal study showed that a single drug could reverse its effects.

Alagille syndrome is caused by a mutation that prevents the formation and regeneration of bile ducts in the liver.

About 4,000 babies a year are born with this condition. Often, they require a liver transplant, which is not always available. With...

When children have autism, it's possible to recognize the symptoms as early as when they are 18 months old.

Although it takes a doctor to diagnose the condition, parents and caregivers should be aware of the signs, advises the Autism Research Institute, offering some other tips for noticing early symptoms.

Children with autism may have variety of social, communication and behaviora...

A measles outbreak in central Ohio has now infected at least 82 children.

Most of those impacted by the outbreak have been under the age of 5, state officials reported. Since details of the first measles cases were announced last month by Columbus Public H...

Preteens who spend much of their free time watching online videos or playing video games may have a heightened risk of developing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 9,200 9- and 10-year-olds they assessed, the odds of developing OCD inched up ...

Ten children with an especially rare and hard-to-treat form of "bubble boy" disease are living normal lives after receiving a new gene therapy approach, researchers say.

Experts said the findings are a major advance for children with the disease -- a subtype of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

SCID refers to a group of rare genetic diseases that cause babies to be born ...

Keeping an eye on safety will let the joy from holiday toys last longer, without a trip to the emergency room, experts say.

Last year, more than 200,000 people were treated in emergency departments for toy-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Dr. R...

Homicide has become a leading killer of children, with guns being the most common weapon used in their deaths, a new study shows.

The overall rate of homicides in children has grown about 4.3% each year for a decade, with a steep rise seen between 2019 and 2020, when the number of kids who died by homicide rose 27.7%.

Firearm-related homicides rose 47.7% between 2019 and 2020, acc...

It's an all-too-familiar scenario for many parents: Your preschooler starts to act up just as the phone rings or you start dinner.

Maybe you hand over an iPad or smartphone to soothe the child so you can get down to business.

And this probably does the trick. But if this is your go-to strategy, your child may be at risk for developing longer-term behavioral issues — especially boy...

Infants and young children could soon receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine as part of their three-dose series.

Pfizer Inc. on Monday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have the vaccine that targets the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 replace the third dose in the series for children aged 6 months through 4 years old. Children in that age group would still receive two doses o...

It's a common dilemma when your child seems sick: Do you call the doctor, make a trip to urgent care or head straight to the emergency room?

If it's not an emergency, a call to your child's pediatrician may help guide you. The doctor's staff may recommend bringing your child in for a visit or going to urgent care -- particularly after hours when the pediatrician's office isn't open.

When loved ones come together for your Thanksgiving feast, keep in mind your those who have food allergies.

Practice safety in menu planning, food preparation and even serving, urged Courtney Cary, a senior dietitian at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Be aware of the eight...

Extracurricular activities may have many benefits for young children, but researchers have discovered racial gaps in who takes part.

Among a group of 401 kindergarten students in Ohio, white children were 2.6 times more likely to participate in the most common extracurricular sports than children of other races and ethnicities.

The study found similar results for other after-school...

When a parent is depressed, their child's asthma care may suffer. Now, research suggests that getting a child's asthma under control may include assessing a parents' mental health.

Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern found that treating a parent's depression could sometimes improve symptom control in asthmatic children.

About 8% of American children have asthma. Sympto...

By the time they're in elementary school, kids typically know their favorite parts about celebrating Halloween.

But the holiday is still new to babies and toddlers, and some little ones may find it all too much.

That's OK, said pediatrician Dr. Dina DiMaggio, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She offered some tips for getting started with babies and toddlers who might ...

Why do some preschoolers refuse naps while others have a meltdown without an afternoon snooze? Researchers suspect it may have a lot to do with a specific memory-related part of the brain.

While young children all need a lot of sleep, they do vary widely in when they stop napping during the day: Some leave naps behind by the time they are 3, while many others happily take an afternoon nap...

School-age kids who spend hours a day playing video games may outperform their peers on certain tests of mental agility, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that compared with children who never played video games, those who regularly spent hours gaming had higher scores on two standard cognitive tests: one measuring short-term memory and another gauging impulse control.

Experts...

Child tax credits had a huge impact in U.S. households that struggle to afford food.

And after those credits ended, many...

Getting into prescription or over-the-counter medicines at home is a major source of accidental poisoning for young children.

Yet, nearly half of parents say they have leftover prescriptions at home, a new poll shows.

"We found that it's common for parents to keep m...

Experts studying kids' sleep and eating habits have learned more about a potential reason for childhood obesity.

Kids who are deprived of sleep tend to eat more calories the next day, researchers found. And some of those extra calories come from less-healthy, sugar-laden snacks or treats.

"When children lost sleep, overall they ate an extra 74 calories per day, caused by an increase...

While later school start times can benefit middle and high school students, elementary school kids do just fine with an earlier wake-up call, according to new research.

An earlier bell in elementary school may mean less sleep, but it doesn't affect learning for those children, according to research in a pair of studies published Oct. 13 in the journal Educational Evaluation and Policy...