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Over 100,000 U.S. Youth Battle Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are rising at an alarming rate among young Americans, a new study reveals. “Prevalence rates [are] among the highest reported worldwide,” said researcher Dr. Michael Kappelman, a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study — published Nov. 20 in the journal Gastroenterology — breaks new ground in understanding pediatric IBD in the U.S. It estimates that more than 100,000 Americans under the age of 20 have some form of IBD, a group of diseases in which the immune system attacks healthy bowel cells. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common types.
Babies Diagnosed With Werewolf Syndrome Due to Parents’ Baldness Medication
Babies in Europe have been developing hypertrichosis, more commonly known as werewolf syndrome, after their parents used an anti-baldness medication. The Pharmacovigilance Center of Navarre (CFN) in Spain discovered that 11 babies recently developed werewolf syndrome, linked to a caregiver’s use of minoxidil, Spanish newspaper El País reported.
Minoxidil is a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that can be sold without a prescription to adults experiencing age-related hair loss.
Werewolf syndrome, or hypertrichosis, is a condition where excessive hair grows in unwanted places. The CFN was informed of a case of werewolf syndrome in April 2023, in which a baby boy had gradually developed hair growth on his back, legs and thighs over the course of two months.
The scientists discovered that his father, who had been off work for a month looking after him, had been using a 5-percent minoxidil lotion on his scalp to treat baldness.
When the baby was no longer exposed to this drug, his excess hair went away and he was fine, the CFN said. However, very young babies exposed to minoxidil may be at risk of damage to their heart and kidneys. Newsweek has contacted the FDA for comment about risk to American babies.
On the Rise: Stomach Cancer in Younger People
Rates of stomach cancer, which is also called gastric cancer, among younger people is on the rise. Typically, stomach cancer is diagnosed in patients in their 60s and 70s, but increasingly it’s being diagnosed in younger patients. While rates of stomach cancer in older patients have been declining for decades, early onset stomach cancer is increasing and makes up around 30% of stomach cancer diagnoses.
Dr. Travis Grotz, a Mayo Clinic surgical oncologist, calls this an alarming trend and shares what people should know about the signs and symptoms of stomach cancer.
“It used to be a cancer of old age, you know, 70s and 80s,” says Dr. Grotz. “But now I’m seeing 20-, 30-, 40-year-old people with cancer.” He says many younger patients with stomach cancer are being diagnosed late — when treatment is less effective.
“I think, unfortunately, the younger patients, they often think they had a bad meal. They think — even physicians, you know, think — that it’s just reflux; they’re just stressed out; they’re too young to have cancer,” says Dr. Grotz.
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Pediatrician Explains Whooping Cough
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. The infection attacks the lining of the breathing passages. People can get whooping cough any time of year, but generally infections are seen in late summer and fall.
Symptoms of whooping cough vary based on age, medical conditions and whether the child is vaccinated against the disease. The main sign is strong coughing. Between coughs, children take deep, fast breaths. This can create the high-pitched “whooping” sound that gives the illness its name. The cough of pertussis has also been called the “100-day cough” because it may last for months. Sometimes, the cough returns with future respiratory infections.
Many years ago, there were a lot of cases of whooping cough each year in the U.S. However, after a vaccine for pertussis was developed, that number dropped. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us were taking steps to lower the spread of infections. For example, we stayed home, wore masks and washed our hands often. This is one reason why the number of pertussis cases went down. Since then, the number of cases has risen again.
In 2024, the number of whooping cough cases in the U.S. has been at least five times higher than in 2023. Outbreaks among adolescents have been reported in schools in several states.
Canadian Probe Into Teen’s Critical H5N1 Infection Finds No Clear Source
As a Canadian teen remains in critical care with an H5N1 avian flu infection in a British Columbia hospital, health investigators said today they haven’t identified the source, but have found other clues such as virus changes that may have led to a more severe lower respiratory infection.
At a briefing today, Bonnie Henry, M.D., MPH, British Columbia’s health officer, said an exhaustive search has found no related illnesses. For now, the main part of the investigation is at a standstill while scientists do ongoing work to examine virus mutations and conduct serology tests to see if any asymptomatic illnesses have occurred. “Our thoughts continue to be with this young person as they remain in critical condition, and their family,” she said.
Henry said the teen, sick since Nov. 2 and hospitalized since Nov. 8, remains seriously ill and requires breathing assistance, but is stable and has shown progress over the past few days.
Social Media Isn’t Entirely to Blame for Anxiety in Young People, Says Expert
Social media and excessive screen time cannot solely be blamed for a rise in anxiety disorders in young people, according to a sociologist after extensive research. In “Why We Worry,” sociologist Roland Paulsen argues that it is too simplistic for psychologists to say screens have created new forms of addiction that isolate young people from the world. He warns that this oversimplification can get in the way of meaningful mental health interventions.
The author says steep increases in anxiety and depression among teenagers began long before children had exposure to social media. Using evidence-based research and real patient case studies, he suggests that many other factors are at play such as obsession with work status, too much choice and excessive focus on long-term planning.
Study Finds Adolescent Suicidal Behavior Significantly Associated With Externalizing Behaviors and Violence Exposure
Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescents. A new study among U.S. high school students has found that suicidal behavior is significantly associated with externalizing behaviors and violence exposure. The new study, appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine is the first to assess this association at the state level.
Although access to firearms and other weapon use contribute to suicide risk, the underlying risk for, and correlates of, firearm use among U.S. adolescents is understudied. A cross-sectional study using data from 1991 to 2021 on 234,588 adolescents from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey examined the associations between externalizing behaviors, violence exposure, firearm carrying and suicidal behavior to provide an assessment of the ways in which broader violence risk factors may increase the risk for injurious self-harm.
