Antibiotics for Earache, Heart Disease Checks, Gene Therapy, Forceps' Deliveries, MMR Legal Cases, Sunbathing, Fertility, Pets & Germs

ANTIBIOTICS FOR EARACHE?

Over the past decade doctors have been giving fewer courses of antibiotics to children with ear infections because the majority of upper respiratory tract infections are viral. A report in this week’s British Medical Journal compares the level of distress and number of disturbed nights of children with ear infections and other associated symptoms if treated or not treated with antibiotics. They found that the children with a high temperature and or vomiting at the same time as the ear infection had a better outcome if treated. The report recommends that all children with ear infections with a fever or vomiting be given a course of antibiotics. Read Otitis media and antibiotic treatment.

HEART DISEASE CHECKS AT FIVE?

The American Heart Association is recommending that doctors start checking children as young as five years old for signs of early diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels. They hope that this will stem the tide of deaths from heart disease and diabetes. Read Childhood predictors of adult heart disease. Surely it would be better to promote a healthy diet and stop advertising unhealthy children’s food? The sad truth is that fast food is more affordable than fresh fruit and vegetables for a lot of people. See the Food Standards Agency.

GENE THERAPY CURE FOR SEVERE IMMUNE DEFICIENCY

A child with the genetic disease Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) has been cured with gene therapy. The only available cure before was bone marrow transplantation if a donor could be found. The missing piece of DNA that codes for the missing enzyme is added to the white blood cells in the laboratory using a special virus as a carrier. The child’s own immune system was then suppressed with chemotherapy. This breakthrough will bring hope to many families that have gene defects causing a lack of one specific enzyme. Read scientists use gene therapy to cure immune deficient child.

FORCEPS DELIVERIES CAUSE AUTISM AND ANOREXIA?

This is the theory of Michael Odent the controversial obstetrician and ‘birthing guru’. Read his ideas at Hard labour in this week’s Guardian.

MMR LEGAL CASES

Another twist in the MMR issue as a father takes his estranged wife to court to try and force her to have their children vaccinated. The mother is anti-vaccination and believes that the best option is not to vaccinate her children in a population of vaccinated children. Another family is also in court with a similar division of belief over the MMR vaccine. At the heart of this issue is parental choice. Read Fathers contest mothers' MMR ban in court.

Also Glaxo Smith Kline has announced this week that it is stopping the production of the single rubella vaccine in response to the Government’s ban on the import of large amounts of the vaccine for use by private clinics - this means that women planning a family will have to have the full MMR if they are not rubella immune and mothers will not be able to choose single vaccines over MMR for their children. See Scrapping of single rubella vaccine provokes outcry from the Independent.

SUN IN THE 'SUN'

A report in the Sun newspaper this week reminds people that a bit of sunshine is good for you. It raises levels of vitamin D and lowers your risk of some types of cancer – something that is often forgotten in the discussions about the risks of sunbathing. The Independent however carries a report on the explosion of skin cancer cases – see Skin cancer: Northern exposure. The Sun also reports on a World Health Organisation warning that mobile ‘phone radiation may be more of a danger for children as their brains are still developing.

FERTILITY

The Independent has an interesting article on infertility this week, One in five couples ‘rushed into’ fertility treatments, which says that most couples who haven’t conceived after one year will do so in the next year if there are no other problems. There is an excellent guide to infertility investigations in this week’s British Medical Journal Management of infertility.

Also prominently in the news this week is the case of the white parents who gave birth to black twins after an IVF mix up. Read Couple in IVF mix up wait for court date and battle over twins. At present it is not known if the IVF involved egg or sperm donation. Read Wrong sperm, wrong embryo or wrong eggs?

DOES YOUR PET DOG CARRY GERMS?

Several papers this week covered reports that dogs can carry the potentially fatal bacterial diarrhoeal infection campylobacter. Read Is it the dog house for Dottie?