WebMD Newsroom

MORNING NEWS MEETING
11:38 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Good morning from WebMD and the daily news meeting.

Do you get a flu shot every year? There’s good news, because the FDA has approved a new, smaller needle that should reduce the sting of the shot.

The FDA also is asking two manufacturers of metal-on-metal replacement hips for new data about some of the effects on patients. There have been patient reports of metal in their blood.

And our autism study story is our most viewed. It’s about a study in South Korea that found an autism rate among schoolchildren nearly twice as high as what has been previously reported.

Lighter Note: WebMD provides thorough medical news and reference, but also nutrition and beauty news. One of our most popular home page stories Tuesday was a quiz about hair coloring. Test Your Hair Coloring Know-How

MOST POPULAR STORIES ON WEBMD

• Autism May Be More Common Than Thought
• Study Suggests Antioxidants in Caffeine Play Role in Coffee’s Impact on Health
• Prostate Cancer: Early Surgery or Watchful Waiting?
• Consumer Reports Rates Jenny Craig Diet Nation’s Best
• Some Pain Killers May Be Risky After Heart Attack

WHAT WEBMD IS COVERING TODAY

Cost of Car Crashes: A new list will be released of fact sheets reflecting all 50 states that detail the costs (medical and work loss) of motor vehicle crash deaths. It may show which states are most dangerous to drive in. Embargo: 11 am Source: CDC

Marriage Problems Kid’s Sleep: New research shows that marital instability could affect the sleep of infants as young as 9 months. Unhappy marriages can affect kids at a very young age, in this case showing up in their poor sleep habits. Source: Child Development

Bedbugs Not So Benign: New research looks at whether bedbugs have the ability to pass along harmful bacteria, such as drug-resistant MRSA and enterococci. Embargo: 12 pm Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases

Diabetes Obesity Autism: A new study looks at whether women with diabetes, high blood pressure, and/or obesity have a higher risk of having a child with autism/autism spectrum disorder or some other developmental delay. Embargo: 3 pm Source: Int’l Meeting for Autism Research

Oxytocin Postpartum: Low levels of the hormone oxytocin in the third trimester may play an important role in post-partum depression, new research shows. Oxytocin is important in breast-milk production and mother-child bonding. Up to a fifth of new mothers can suffer some form of PPD. Source: Neuropsychopharmacology

Children’s Earliest Memories: Adults are commonly known to have infantile amnesia, meaning they can’t recall memories generally before age 3. Now, a study that looks at children finds those between 4 and 7 actually have less accurate memories of their early childhood than do kids 10 to 13. It shows that for most of us “psychological childhood” begins much later than our real childhood. Source: Child Development

Feature stories:

Prediabetes: 12 Steps to Take Now if you have prediabetes to prevent it from becoming full-blown diabetes.

Dogs and Storm Phobia: How to help dogs cope if they react badly to thunder.

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– Kevin Austin