In The News This Week … October 5–11, 2008: Kids, Nobel Prizes, Stem Cells, Men's Health, Heart Health, & Death

Kids & Nontraditional Pets

A clinical report published in the October issue of Pediatrics advises against keeping nontraditional and exotic animals in homes with children under five, and advises that kids under five should avoid touching such animals in petting zoos, to avoid risk of zoonoses, salmonella, bites, and more. Some examples of nontraditional animals listed include frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, ferrets, minks, turtles, lizards, iguanas, snakes, alligators, mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and hedgehogs.

OTC Cold Meds for Kids

An October 7 statement from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a not-for-profit association representing the makers of over-the-counter medicines and nutritional supplements, announced that leading manufacturers in the OTC industry "are voluntarily transitioning the labeling on oral OTC pediatric cough and cold medicines to state 'do not use' in children under four years of age" and adding information on labels of products containing certain antihistamines that warns parents not to use antihistamine products to sedate or make a child sleepy. The changes will be transitioned in on labeling during the 2008–2009 cough and cold season. (Also see the earlier news items on the issue of cold meds and kids from mid-January 2008 and early August 2008.)

ADHD Drug Treatment & Risk of Substance Abuse Disorders

A report published in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has found that adolescent girls with ADHD who are treated with stimulant therapy are at decreased risk for cigarette smoking and substance abuse disorders compared to those not treated with stimulant therapy.

Fans & SIDS Risk

Also from the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is the finding that fan use during sleep was associated with a 72% reduction in SIDS risk, and that reduction in SIDS risk seemed more pronounced in adverse sleep environments.

Safer Screening for Down Syndrome

A paper published online on October 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that a small study showed the efficacy of a noninvasive test for Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and other chromosomal anomalies, including Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13). The procedure involves testing a sample of the mother's blood, unlike the common invasive procedures of amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. The trisomies were detected as early as 14 weeks.

Nobel Prizes for Medicine 2008

On October 6, the 2008 Nobel Prizes for Medicine were announced, and went to Harald zur Hausen of Germany "for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer" and to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier of France "for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus."

Another Future Option for Sourcing Stem Cells?

An article published online on October 8 in Nature reports that stem cells developed from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos. They wrote, "We conclude that the generation of human adult germline stem cells from testicular biopsies may provide simple and non-controversial access to individual cell-based therapy without the ethical and immunological problems associated with human embryonic stem cells."

Obesity & Prostate Cancer

An early online article published on October 6 in The Lancet Oncology reports: "Excess bodyweight and a high plasma concentration of C-peptide both predispose men with a subsequent diagnosis of prostate cancer to an increased likelihood of dying of their disease. Patients with both factors have the worst outcome."

Circumcision & HIV/AIDS Risk

Although trials in Africa have shown that circumcision significantly cuts risk of HIV transmission in heterosexual males, the efficacy for men who have sex with men (MSM) has not been shown. Now, a meta-analysis of 15 studies involving 53,567 gay and bisexual men suggests that there is no proof that circumcision helps the MSM population. While the analysis found that circumcised men were 14% less likely to be infected with the HIV than uncircumcised men, the finding was not statistically significant. The report was published in the October 8 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Pneumococcal Vaccine & Heart Attack Risk

Research published in the October 7 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports, by using a comparison of patient records, that pneumococcal vaccination is associated with a decrease of more than 50% in the rate of myocardial infarction two years after exposure. They concluded, "… the results of this study of patients at risk for vascular disease suggest an effect of pneumococcal vaccination in reducing episodes of new myocardial infarction. Future projects should aim to confirm the association and better characterize the immune and inflammatory responses to the vaccine."

Discussing Death

A contribution published in the October 8 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association has found that while talking about death with a terminally ill person may be upsetting to all involved, the discussions do not harm the patients, but actually provide numerous benefits for patients and their loved ones. Researchers concluded, "End-of-life discussions are associated with less aggressive medical care near death and earlier hospice referrals. Aggressive care is associated with worse patient quality of life and worse bereavement adjustment."

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