Study Finds Visible Damage On Brain 6 Months After Concussion
Although there is mounting evidence that concussions have long-term health effects, they are often treated as temporary, and the patient can be cleared as recovered in about two weeks. But a new study shows neurological changes up to six months following the injury. In other public health news, scientists find another gene that makes bacteria resistant to our most powerful antibiotic, a three-parent fertilization technique may be tried in humans, a synthetic stingray could inspire an artificial heart and a woman with stiff person syndrome raises awareness for the rare disease.
The Washington Post:
Brain Changes Persist In Student Athletes Six Months After A Concussion, Study Suggests
Despite all the recent attention to cases of long-term traumatic brain injury in National Football League players, concussions in daily sports among the rest of us are still often treated as temporary. There's a lot of evidence to back up this way of thinking. Numerous studies have shown that although players may experience headaches, difficulty balancing and memory or thinking problems immediately following an impact to the head, these symptoms usually disappear in a week or two. According to the current medical criteria for treating concussions, the athletes should then be considered fully recovered and allowed to return to their previous level of activity. (Cha, 7/7)
Stat:
Scientists Discover New Threat To Antibiotic Of Last Resort
European scientists have discovered another gene that makes bacteria resistant to the antibiotic of last resort, one that could spread more easily among other kinds of bacteria. The gene, called mcr-2, was found in E. coli bacteria from pigs in Belgium, the scientists reported Thursday in the journal Eurosurveillance. It is similar to the gene mcr-1, which was first identified in China last fall and has now been seen in 30 countries across five continents, including the United States. (Joseph, 7/7)
Stat:
First He Pioneered A New Way Of Making Life. Now He Wants To Try It In People
The next great advance in fertility treatments may rest with five young monkeys in a lab outside of town. Each of the five carries genes from three parents instead of two, because they were conceived using a novel — and controversial — gene therapy. ... If so, the three-parent fertilization technique will likely be tried in humans, potentially helping women with certain genetic glitches give birth to healthy children. The same approach might also someday provide older women a chance to extend their fertility by freshening up their eggs with contributions from another woman. (Weintraub, 7/8)
NPR:
Synthetic Stingray May Lead To A Better Artificial Heart
Scientists have created a synthetic stingray that's propelled by living muscle cells and controlled by light, a team reports Thursday in the journal Science. And it should be possible to build an artificial heart using some of the same techniques, the researchers say. "I want to build an artificial heart, but you're not going to go from zero to a whole heart overnight," says Kit Parker, a bioengineer and physicist at Harvard University's Wyss Institute. "This is a training exercise." (Hamilton, 7/7)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Woman Calls Attention To Rare Neurological Disorder
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, stiff person syndrome, or SPS, is characterized by muscular rigidity and repeated episodes of painful muscle spasms. It can seriously impact a person's ability to perform even routine daily tasks, and it can impair breathing and swallowing. "My husband likens it to the worst charley horse you've ever had, over your entire body. I often have to wake him up at 2 or 3 in the morning to try to get the muscles to stop being so tight. Eventually, it will freeze that way," Nadine said. (Stingl, 7/7)
And in news concerning women's health —
The Columbus Dispatch:
More Pregnant Women Might Be Exposed To Nicotine Than Previously Thought, Study Suggests
More women might smoke and be exposed to nicotine while pregnant than previously thought, according to a new study. The study, conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and published Thursday in the Journal of Perinatology, reports that as many as 24 percent of pregnant women at a southwest Ohio maternity hospital smoked or were exposed to nicotine. (Fochesato, 7/7)
California Healthline:
‘Don’t Cut Me!’: Discouraged By Experts, Episiotomies Still Common In Some Hospitals
Episiotomy, a once-common childbirth procedure that involves cutting tissue between the vagina and anus to enlarge the vaginal opening, has been officially discouraged in most cases for a decade. Yet it is still being performed at much higher than recommended rates in certain hospitals and by certain doctors. In 2006, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a recommendation against routine use of episiotomy, finding that it benefited neither mothers nor babies. In 2008, the National Quality Forum also endorsed limiting the routine use of episiotomies. The procedure is still supported for use in certain emergency situations. (Wiener, 7/8)
