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ByLindseyTanner TheAssociatedPress CHICAGO Many sick kids can't or won't swallow pills — and that can make them sicker. But there may be some pretty simple ways to help the medicine go down, a new study says. Dr. Kathleen Bradford and colleagues at the Uni- versity of North Carolina in Chapel Hill reviewed re- search on pill-swallowing techniques. Several seemed to help, including flavored swal- lowing spray, a special pill cup and just practice with a regular cup and fake pills or candy. Here's more about pill- swallowing: Hardtoswallow Swallowing medicine is hard for at least 1 in 10 kids, Bradford said. Taste, pill size, fear and discomfort are among the reasons. The result can be missed doses of prescribed medicine and worsening of symptoms it's meant to treat. Tested Techniques Research is scant; five studies published since 1986 were reviewed. A technique used in two studies started with tiny dummy pills, moving up to regular-sized tablets. Chil- dren were taught to sit up straight, place the pill on the tongue and swallow with water. A special pill cup helped in a different study. One model has a spout for the pill, releasing it when the water is sipped. But most kids learned using a regu- lar cup, with practice. In the other studies: swallowing with the head in different positions in- cluding chin-up or turned to one side worked for some; as did throat spray to mask the icky flavor and help pills glide down. Grain of salt While each of the meth- ods studied helped some kids, the studies were gen- erally small and had limi- tations, including lack of follow-up to see if benefits lasted long after the stud- ies ended. Bradford said swallowing methods should be tested in larger, more rigorous re- search. Her study was pub- lished Monday in Pediat- rics. Why not crush? Crushing pills into food isn't generally advised — particularly for extended- release medicine because crushing can release a higher-than-intended dose all at once. Also, some pills' medicine flavor can't be disguised, Bradford said. Make it fun There probably isn't a one-size-fits-all swallowing technique, but making pill- taking fun instead of pu- nitive is helpful, Bradford said. At her hospital, kids are encouraged to think of tongues as water slides, and swallowing a pill gives it a ride into the stomach. AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/ LindseyTanner. CHILDREN AND MEDICINE St ud y re vi ew : Pi ll -t ak in g can b e le ss y uc ky f or k id s ASSOCIATEDPRESSFILEPHOTO Dr. Lai Nansha uses a spoon to administer a polio vaccination pill to a child at a kindergarten in Beijing. Online: Pediatrics: HTTP://WWW.PEDIATRICS. ORG Online: Safe medication practices: HTTP://WWW.ISMP. ORG/TOOLS/DONOTCRUSH.PDF The Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. Two scien- tists whose work on mod- ern research technologies is expected to speed the pace of medical discoveries will share one of the rich- est prizes in medicine and science next month, officials at a New York hospital said Monday. The $500,000 Albany Medical Center Prize in Biomedicine and Biomed- ical Research for 2015 will be awarded to Dr. Karl Deisseroth of Stan- ford University and Xiao- liang Sunney Xie of Har- vard University and Pe- king University, where he is a visiting professor and director of the Biodynam- ics Optical Imaging Cen- ter. Deisseroth is a professor of bioengineering and psy- chiatry and behavioral sci- ence. His work includes devel- oping imaging technology that allows brain research- ers to gain greater insight into a wide range of psy- chiatric diseases and other conditions, including de- pression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease and ad- diction. Xie is a professor of chemistry and chemical bi- ology whose imaging work has advanced the field of single-cell biology, yielding new information on how in- dividual molecules can af- fect cellular life and human diseases. His experiments made it possible to examine previously invisible sin- gle molecules in living cells. "These two prolific sci- entists saw a need for new technology to help move their research forward and then actually devel- oped it," said Dr. Vin- cent Verdile, dean of Al- bany Medical College and chairman of the prize committee. "Researchers worldwide are now using their tech- niques, including novel imaging and sequencing, which are fast providing insights into previously mysterious biological func- tions, especially those in the brain." The award has been given annually since 2001 to those who have altered the course of medical re- search. It was established by the late Morris "Marty" Silverman, a New York City businessman. It will be formally presented May 15 in Al- bany. SCIENTISTS Stanford, Harvard researchers to share medical prize THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Dr. Karl Deisseroth will share one of the richest prizes in medicine and science with Xiaoliang Sunney Xie. (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St.,Red Bluff 2 FREE Tanning Sessions withanynew membership in the month of April Valid:4-1-2015to4-30-2015 40ChestnutAvenue Red Bluff 530-330-1096 BRING BALANCE TO YOUR BODY Bring balance to your LIFE Tabata Bootcamp startinginMay 6:30am, 7:00am, 5:30pm $100 8weeks. 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