Mumps, Safety at Home, New Syndromes, Depression in Children, Good Hospitals, MMR & Autism, Tonsillectomies, Chicken Pox Vaccine, Hair Spray & Low-Weight Babies, Steroids & Asthma, Iodine in Pregnancy, Stammering, Gene for Violence, Head Lice, Measles Vaccine, Pesticides, Miscarriage, ‘Designer’ Babies MUMPS OUTBREAK IN SEPTEMBER There are concerns that the level of mumps immunisation in London has fallen so low that there will be an outbreak of mumps after school goes back. Mumps only rarely causes problems such as infertility but can cause a mild viral meningitis from which children usually recover. However, as this report points out, in a large outbreak there could be a few deaths. Read Fears rise over mumps epidemic and also mumps. DANGER IN YOUR HOME This article looks at chemicals that we encounter regularly including so called ‘gender-bending’ hormone mimicking chemicals in shampoos and other household products. It also gives a useful list of brands it considers safe. Read Danger products in your home. ARE NEW SYNDROMES A CONFIDENCE TRICK?
In the United States this week it has been revealed that GlaxoSmithKline, a huge influential drug company may have been inventing syndromes to market its drugs. Also under the spotlight is drug companies’ use of celebrities to endorse its products. Ricky Williams, a US football star, caused a stir when he held a press conference to announce that he had social anxiety disorder (a new disorder characterised by feeling shy). He also announced that he had been helped by a drug called Paxil. Later it emerged that the drug company that makes Paxil (GlaxoSmithKline) had ‘sponsored’ Williams and makes a profit of 2.7 billion US dollars a year from sales of this drug. As the British Medical Journal points out shy people are being encouraged to think of themselves as diseased and take potent drugs. Read Western medicine: a confidence trick driven by the drug industry? And carry on being cynical about ‘celebrity endorsements’. Also see First, you market the disease... then you push the pills to treat it. DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN This is covered in our article on depression but many parents are unaware that children as young as six or seven years of age can get depressed. An article in this week’s British Medical Journal covers the childhood symptoms of depression and its treatment and urges doctors to be on the lookout for it. Read Depression in children. GOOD HOSPITAL GUIDE Following on from our report two weeks ago that hospital star systems are an imperfect way of assessing hospitals, the British Medical Journal reveals this week that ‘two of the starless trusts, Bath and Bristol, score considerably better on clinical indicators than some other hospitals’. So despite having no stars you might get better treatment there that in a three-star hospital. Read Mr Milburn's good hospital guide. MMR AND AUTISM A new study released today by Dr Vijendra Singh at Utah State University in the US strengthens the potential link between MMR and autism. He examined the blood of 125 autistic and 92 healthy children. 75 of the autistic children had antibodies to the measles part of MMR and one in 10 had the antibodies thought to be linked to autism. None of the children in the non-autistic group had antibodies to the measles vaccine. He postulated that autism may occur in children with an abnormal immune response. Read Study linking autism to MMR is published. TONSILLECTOMY DANGER? Doctors are going to look at all the 75,000 tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies carried out in England over the next year to see why the incidence of complications such as haemorrhage seems to be rising. It was initially blamed on a change in the instruments used but may be due to more high-risk procedures in older patients. The rate of tonsillectomy has been decreasing over the past few years and adenoidectomy is often done to relieve glue ear. Read Surgeons investigate failures in routine ops, and also tonsillitis, adenoids and glue ear. CHICKEN POX VACCINE AVAILABLE This week the chicken pox vaccine has been made available at GPs’ surgeries. It is probable that it will, initially, only be offered to non-immune women pre-pregnancy and other at-risk people (e.g. children with immunodeficiencies etc). It is also possible that it may soon be offered as part of the childhood immunisation schedule. After the doubts over MMR’s safety do we need another vaccine in the already crowded schedule? For more information, read about chicken pox. HAIR SPRAY LEADS TO LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES? The Sun newspaper this week reported on a study that showed that pregnant mothers exposed to hairsprays and other hair treatments containing ethanol and acetone were more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies or babies with defects. The study was done on hairdressers and reported in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The Daily Mail reported this week that everyday chemicals in air fresheners, plastic toys, food containers and paint could upset the endocrine system leading to possible infertility, breast and testicular cancers and immune system damage. Short-term exposure can lead to an increase in asthma and allergies. However no scientific references were given. STEROIDS REDUCE ASTHMA DEATHS A report in this month’s Thorax journal shows that asthmatics treated with high doses of bronchodilators are more likely to die than those treated with additional steroids. It is most dangerous to use bronchodilators regularly with no steroid inhaler as well. Read about the monitoring and treatment of asthma. IODINE IN PREGNANCY A brief report in the Guardian this week says that 40% of women are getting insufficient iodine while pregnant. Iodine deficiency affects thyroid function, which affects both growth and intelligence. If you are concerned speak to your doctor. STAMMERING – CAUSE FOUND Most of the newspapers reported this week that MRI scans of people who stammer show an abnormality in the area of the brain that controls articulation. It has long been known the stammering is genetic. Read fault in brain causes stammering. GENE FOR VIOLENCE The journal Science this month has published a report showing that boys who carry the MAOA gene are more likely to end up being violent. The strongest indicator for violent behaviour was being abused as a child but within this group the presence of the MAOA gene massively increased the chances of the boy being convicted for violent behaviour. Read Genetic test may identify boys who will grow to be violent. HEAD LICE When September comes and children return to school many parents will be faced with the problem of head lice. Many parents are concerned about plastering their children’s hair with potentially toxic chemicals and pharmacies are now full of alternative treatments. In the Independent this week Dr Fred Kavallier discusses the merits of wet combing – the oldest solution in the world - and explains how to remove the lice effectively. Read How to tackle the horrors of head lice and also head lice. NEWS IN BRIEF Single Measles Vaccine Demand surges for the single vaccine as an alternative to MMR according to this report in the Guardian. Pesticides on Fruit & Vegetables The fact that our fruit and vegetables have higher levels of pesticides than other European countries has been in the news this week. Although the levels lie within the recommended safe levels, consumer groups suggest that the supermarkets could be doing a lot more to provide food without harmful chemicals. Read Pesticide warning on foods. Miscarriage Cherie Blair’s miscarriage this week has prompted a lot of comment in the papers. One mother writes very movingly in the Guardian of coming to terms with the end of her fertile life. Read Corrine Sweet’s article The end of the line. Adoption Children adopted from abroad ‘more likely to suffer from mental illness’ according to a report in this week’s Independent. ‘Designer’ Babies Also in the Independent – Couple denied ‘designer baby’ to save son’s life.
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