This week, a summary of the past two weeks in child health news.

Gene Therapy Breakthrough, Group B Strep Infection Risk to Newborns, Brain Tumours & Infection, Bedwetting, Shampoo & Early Puberty, Cosmetics & Cancer, Obesity, Binge Drinking, Pregnancy

GENE THERAPY BREAKTHROUGH

Wonderful news for parents with a child with a gene defect

This month it was revealed that a little boy has been successfully treated with gene therapy for severe combined immunodeficiency. This is an extremely rare genetic disease – both parents are healthy but unknowingly carry the recessive gene. The child does not produce functioning white cells, which protect the body from infection, and so gets recurrent severe infections and cannot grow properly. Previous treatments included nursing the child in a sterile bubble or a bone marrow transplant if a donor could be found.

In this new genetic treatment the gene is inserted into a virus (called a viral vector), the virus is allowed to infect the child and the missing DNA is passed into the boy’s DNA from the virus. It appears to have been successful. The condition that has been treated is rare and usually fatal in the first two years of life. The fantastic news is that this therapy could be applied to other genetic defects such as cystic fibrosis. Read the boy’s story in the Guardian. The research was supported by the Jeans for Genes appeal – organised from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

GROUP B STREP INFECTION RISK TO NEWBORNS

It is extremely rare for full-term babies to die soon after birth but one tragic and preventable cause is a bacterial infection called group b streptococcus. This infection is carried in the vaginas of some women and can infect the baby, causing overwhelming meningitis or septicaemia in tiny newborn babies. Risk factors for infection include prolonged or premature rupture of the membranes – where the waters break more than 24 hours before the baby is born; it is standard practice for both the mother and baby to be checked for infection if this has happened. New research is looking at whether it is worth testing mothers for the infection routinely and treating those judged to be at risk with antibiotics during labour – you can read about it in ‘'We can save more babies'’. The research is being conducted at St Georges Hospital, Tooting.

The problem is that very few women who carry this common bacteria actually pass it on to their baby so if all carriers are treated (and intravenous antibiotics seem to be the most effective option) a lot of mothers and babies would be unnecessarily exposed to drugs and, more seriously perhaps, multi-resistant bacteria could develop which can also kill babies and children and are extremely difficult to treat. If you are at risk of group b strep infection – see the article for more on risk categories - discuss the tests with your obstetrician.

INFECTION CAUSES CANCER

Hot on the heels of research suggesting that inflamed gums let bacteria into the body that can cause heart attacks and premature labour (so keep flossing!), the British Journal of Cancer has published research showing that brain tumours in children may be caused by infection – this would explain why they often occur in clusters – not due to proximity to overhead power lines or living near garages as has been suggested. Read ‘Infection causes brain cancer’.

BEDWETTING

Bedwetting has been in the news this week with several articles on the effectiveness of desmopressin to treat it. Desmopressin was developed as an antidepressant and was found to cause urinary retention in some people as a side effect – it basically makes it harder to pass urine. There are many different ways of helping with this problem and parents’ most important ally is a GP or paediatrician with time and knowledge to help. Often simple measures like star charts can be very effective, but they must be used correctly - read our article on bedwetting. This article from last Sunday’s Observer charts one family’s struggle with familial bedwetting.

SHAMPOO CAUSING EARLY PUBERTY?

There were reports in the press this week linking oestrogens in certain shampoos with early puberty. Close reading of the text shows that this only refers to shampoos bought over the Internet – so presumably excludes almost everyone in the UK. You can read ‘Shampoo 'setting off puberty in little girls'’ in the Telegraph.

MAKE UP FULL OF TOXINS?

Mothers of teenage daughters may be interested in a report showing that cosmetics may contain a vast array of toxic chemicals. Also that hair dyes can cause severe allergies and in one case even damaged someone’s immune system. Read about the problems in ‘Make-up kit holds hidden danger of cancer’.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Obesity

Recent Sunday papers reported that toddlers and babies are getting extremely fat and that this may be linked to obesity in later life. While we should not be putting babies on diets, the causes are all the obvious ones - mothers gaining too much weight in pregnancy, gestational diabetes (often caused by gaining too much weight in pregnancy) and bottle feeding instead of breastfeeding as well as weaning too early. So eat healthily in pregnancy, watch your weight and if you breastfeed do so as long as you can – all things we try to do as a society anyway. Read ’Warning: too tubby tots face lifetime of obesity’.

Binge Drinking

An astonishing 25% of 13 to 14 year olds claim to have drunk five or more alcoholic drinks in one session in a confidential survey. See ‘Children aged 13 are binge drinking’ This seems astonishing and if true must mean that we are headed for massive problems with alcoholism in later life.

For Pregnant Women

Chlorine in swimming pools may affect your baby? This sounds like one of those baseless scares to me but talk to your midwife if you are worried. See ‘Swimming pools ‘can be threat to pregnancy’’.

Gaining too much weight and not losing it after the birth can affect your chance of developing breast cancer – this sounds possible as fat stores fat-soluble oestrogens which are linked to breast cancer. See ‘Pregnancy weight-gain linked to cancer’.