Measles, MMR and Autism, Vaccine Information on the Net, Amblyopia, Eczema and Allergic Dermatitis, Pollen Alert, Dyspraxia, Organic Food

MEASLES

There were reports in many papers this week about the increase in cases of measles so far this year. There were at least 126 cases from January to March this year compared to 32 in the same period last year. However the Department of Health is keen to point out that the rise was due to isolated outbreaks in a few nurseries and schools in South London and not an increasing trend.

MMR and AUTISM

Unpublished research discussed in the newspapers this week suggests that 10% of cases of autism may be of the regressive type linked to bowel inflammation that has been blamed on the MMR vaccine. Read more about this in The Independent.

VACCINE INFORMATION ON THE NET

A report in this week’s Archives of Disease in childhood suggests that if you type the words ‘vaccination’ or ‘immunisation’ into common search engines like Google or Yahoo the top ten sites are usually vehemently anti-vaccine – this reflects the web as a forum for people dissatisfied with standard medical advice. I repeated the experiment and found a site written by David Icke at number six! – Food for thought. Read about the experiment in more detail on the British Medical Journal site.

AMBLYOPIA – poor vision in school children

Amblyopia is poor visual acuity in one eye.  It is treated by wearing glasses and patching the strong eye and can first show as a squint or be picked up routinely at an eye check. A report in this week’s British Medical Journal suggests that leaving the diagnosis of amblyopia to our routine eye tests (usually done after the age of three years) may lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of treatment. Children screened repeatedly between eight and 37 months of age and treated appropriately were four times more likely to be cured of amblyopia than those just screened at 37 months. This will be interesting to parents with eye problems in their families or where a transient squint has been seen Read about Amblyopia treatment outcomes in the British Medical Journal.

ECZEMA AND ALLERGIC DERMATITIS

New treatments for allergic skin conditions in children

15 to 20 % of children in developed countries suffer from allergic dermatitis according to this week’s British Medical Journal. A new class of drugs TACCROLIMUS and PIMECROLINUS are reviewed in the article. They are in the process of being licensed and are used directly on the skin but unlike steroids they do not cause skin thinning– their use is discussed in this article.

Also in the papers this week were more reports that keeping ourselves too clean causes eczema and asthma.  This is only a theory – surely contact with cleaning chemicals could also cause it – read this article in the Independent.

WHOOPING COUGH INCREASING IN EUROPE

There has been an increase of whooping cough across Europe despite good vaccination coverage. Previous outbreaks have come after periods of low vaccine uptake, usually after a safety scare concerning the vaccine. Older children have been particularly affected and there is concern that new variants of whooping cough are not prevented by the vaccine. Whooping cough is often not diagnosed in its milder form as it can mimic a bad cough and cold. As a society we rely on older children and adults being immune to protect young children and babies who are most likely to die from the disease. Read about the continuing problem of Whooping Cough.

POLLEN ALERT

Preventative medicine gives some useful advice on avoiding pollen in times when the count is high; go out in the early morning, keep windows closed and bath before you go to bed. Keep pets either inside or outside.  For more information have a look at article seven from Minerva in the British Medical Journal.

DYSPRAXIA

When Geraldine Bedell’s son was diagnosed with dyspraxia she felt relief that he had a syndrome and wasn’t just stupid but after years on the dyspraxia treatment programme and a son who seems to have matured and grown out of his problems she offers an interesting insight into how parents can be swept along by the ‘dyspraxia industry’.  This is a thought provoking account from the Observer.

ORGANIC FOOD

A lot of scientists and farmers are dismissive of organic foods. Read why scientists dismiss farming's organic revolution.