Researchers said this week that gym class injuries have more than doubled in a decade and that children as young as 3 can have lasting depression. In other research news, a study found that vertebroplasty doesn't work. This procedure is used for spine fractures. U.S. officials this week seized Clarcon brand skin sanitizers because they contained bacteria. And drug regulators said that drugs called tumor necrosis factor blockers must bear stronger warning labels. These drugs are used to treat certain inflammatory conditions. They can increase the risk of cancer in children, the Food and Drug Administration said.
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Study: Kids' Gym Class Injuries Up Sharply
Gym class injuries to U.S. children more than doubled in the last decade, new research concludes. The journal Pediatrics published the study online this week. Researchers looked at injuries treated at 100 hospitals. They focused on those involving kids ages 5 to 18 who were hurt in gym class. Then they calculated totals for all U.S. hospitals. They estimated there were more than 24,000 gym-related injuries in 1997. That rose to 62,000 in 2007. Larger class sizes could be one reason, researchers told the Associated Press.

Spinal Treatment Study Raises Questions
A treatment for spine fractures doesn't seem any more effective than placebo, a study released this week found. Vertebroplasty involves injecting a special cement into the spine of people with fractures. But people who got a fake procedure -- an injection with no cement -- did just as well in terms of pain relief and recovery. The study focused on spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis, or thinning of bones. It was published in the August 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Several media wrote about the study, including the Associated Press, Reuters and the New York Times.

FDA: Drugs Increase Cancer Risk in Kids
Children, like adults, can develop diseases caused by an overactive immune system. When overactive, the immune system often produces high levels of a protein called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Drugs called TNF blockers reduce the level of this protein. This helps control the symptoms and decrease the tissue damage in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. However, TNF blockers can increase cancer risk in children, U.S. officials said this week. The five drugs already have a "black box" warning about the risk on their labels. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring a stronger warning, the Associated Press said. The drugs are Humira, Remicade, Simponi, Enbrel and Cimzia. The FDA studied several dozen cancer cases in children and teens who took the drugs. The agency said they appear to increase cancer risk if taken more than 2½ years.

U.S. Seizes Clarcon Skin Sanitizers
Some products meant to kill germs actually harbor bacteria themselves, U.S. officials warned this week. The U.S. Marshals Service has seized all skin sanitizers and skin protectants at Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory in Roy, Utah, the Associated Press reported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said people who have these products should not use them. They contain harmful bacteria, the FDA said. The agency said it seized the products because Clarcon did not agree to destroy them. No cases of illness have been reported.

Preschoolers Can Be Depressed, Study Finds
Children as young as 3 can have lasting depression, researchers said this week. The conclusion was based on a study of children ages 3 to 6. In the group, 75 had been diagnosed with major depression. Six months after the study began, more than 6 out of 10 were still depressed or had their depression come back. About 4 out of 10 still had problems after 2 years. The Associated Press wrote about the study. It appeared August 4 in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

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