Pediatrics

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. John Lumpkin, Sr. VP and Director of Targeted Teams at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Lumpkin runs the RWJF project targeting childhood obesity and talks about the myriad strategies aimed reducing the obesity epidemic among the nation's children.

Nearly 55% of infants in the United States sleep on unsafe bedding, despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to use firm flat surfaces covered with fitted sheets. Parents are being presented with several more comfortable, "baby friendly" appearing alternatives, as well as having their infants children sleep with them in their own beds, both of which create risks of SIDS and roll-over suffocations, respectively. Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss safety standards and health priorities for infant sleep habits is Dr. Shalini Paruthi, Assistant Professor in the Divisions of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Medicine, and Director of the Pediatric Sleep Research Center at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

The controversy over vaccinations and whether or not to regulate their administration has reached a boiling point in the United States with the recent measles outbreak originating in Disneyland, and prominent politicians like Senator Rand Paul and Governor Chris Christie have weighed in to support the anti-vaccine community's appeal for individual choice. What are the ethical, sociological, and political ramifications of these developments in the national vaccination debate, and how should the medical community respond? Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the vaccination controversy is Dr. Arthur Caplan, Professor and founding Director of the Division of Medical Ethics in NYU Langone Medical Center’s Department of Population Health.

Joint attention, one of the defining characteristics of social interactions that becomes impaired in children with autism, is a developmental milestone of great importance to researchers and clinicians alike. With early detection of autism spectrum disorder, children can receive better treatments to gain more exposure and training for critical social processes. But is it possible for early detection of joint attention deficits, even in infancy, to one day serve as diagnostic markers for the disease? Joining host Paul Rokuskie to discuss the state of research and awareness on this developmental milestone for children with autism are Dr. Daniel Messinger, Developmental Psychologist and Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics, and Engineering at the University of Miami, and Devon Gangi, PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology, also at the University of Miami.

Associations between autism and gastrointestinal health are being actively investigated in medical research. Two major projects, each spanning three years, are focusing in particular on intestinal bacteria, ie the microbiome, and constipation, respectively. Leading the charge on these investigations are Drs. Pat Levitt and James Versalovic. Dr. Levitt is Chair of Developmental Neurogenetics at Children's Hospital - Los Angeles (CHLA), while Dr. Versalovic is Chief of the Department of Pathology at Texas Children's Hospital. Their work seeks to better understand how the human microbiome impacts neural health and development, and how refined treatments aimed at changing this potential "gut/brain axis" may aid therapies for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

The funding for the research project that Dr. Pat Levitt and Dr. James Versalovic are conducting is awarded by a grant from Autism Speaks.

As a family practictioner, host Dr. Jennifer Caudle's passions is the health of her adolescent patients. Obesity is all too prevalent among adolescents, and with this comes a concern about hypertension. And, to discuss the great concern, Dr. Caudle welcomes Dr. Julie Ingelfinger, Deputy Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ingelfinger is the author of the article, "The Child or Adolescent with Elevated Blood Pressure," which was published a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The notorious "Freshman 15" equates to weight gain commonly experienced by college-age students living away from home for the first time. How does this problem in weight management and healthy nutrition surface in primary care practice, and how can college students be counseled to avoid gaining extra weight during their first year? Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to speak on this subject is Alice Holland, RNP, Director of Student Health Services at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Carolyn Miles, President & Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children. Save the Children is the leading independent organization inspiring breakthroughs in how the world treats children, achieving immediate and lasting change in their lives. The global Save the Children movement currently serves over 143 million children in the US and in 120 countries. During her senior leadership tenure, the organization has more than doubled the number of children it reaches with nutrition, health, education and other programs. Resources have gone from $250m to almost $700m, with 89.4% spent on programs for children. Carolyn has focused on hunger, learning outcomes, and ending preventable child deaths as her signature issues.

The Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention Center at Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is the first of its kind facilty for adolescent patients. Host Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcoms the center's director, Dr. Robert Garofalo. Dr. Garofalo will share the center's mission of supporting multidisciplinary academic subjects including sexual health, gender, sexuality, HIV prevention and health disparities which affect adolescent and young adult populations at risk of acquiring HIV. The Center partners with similar organizations throughout the country in creating an environment where clinicians, academics and scientists can collaborate to design projects with public health significance.

Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, is Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is also an Attending Physician at Lurie Children's, where he directs the Adolescent/Young Adult HIV Program. Dr. Garofalo is a national authority on LGBT health issues, adolescent sexuality, and HIV clinical care and prevention.

Dr. McDonough addresses the lack of conversation about sex with teen patients according to a new study from American Medical Association, Pediatrics, and Duke University researchers,