Strollerderby : pneumonia

They Say: Breastmilk Fights Respiratory Viruses Better in Girls

Miriam Axel-Lute — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:30:00 GMT

Science gets particularly exciting when it turns up things no one was expecting. Researcher Fernando Polack, working in Buenos Aires investigating how much protection breastmilk provides for very-low-birthweight babies against the wicked metapneumovirus (no vaccine yet developed), was surprised to find stark gender differences in his results:

Girls who were not breastfed had a much higher risk of rehospitalization for respiratory illness than boys, but breastfed girls were almost never rehospitalized. In boys, the difference between breastfed and not was insignificant. (The researchers hasten to point out that there are plenty of other benefits of breastfeeding that still hold true for boys.)

The fascinating part of this is that a gender difference may point to breastmilk's protective properties working differently than previously supposed. Maybe it's not just delivering mom's immunities until the kid gets its own—why would there be a gender difference in that? Could breastmilk prompt anti-viral protection in the absence of exposure to viruses somehow, interacting directly with the baby's developing immune system? (Of course, why would there be a gender difference in that either?) The report from Vanderbilt Medical Center speculates maybe, though they have no idea how.

Sounds to me for now like another thing to throw on the "we don't know what breastmilk is well enough to replicate it" evidence pile.

More by this author:

New Jersey Lays Down the Law: Vaccinate All Kids Against the Flu

JeanneSager — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:36:00 GMT

I should probably preface this with a bit of a disclaimer: I'm a pro-vaccine parent, particularly the flu shot. But I still think the ultimate choice for vaccinating my child should rest with me. Which is why I'm glad I live an hour outside of New Jersey.

Parents were storming the statehouse in Trenton this week, protesting a new law that mandates children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years be vaccinated against the flu. Mandated. As in, made law.

It's the first law of its kind in the country - although plenty of other states have rules regarding medical interventions and our kids. I had no reason to protest the Vitamin K shot administered when my daughter was born, but then again, I wouldn't have been able to. I live in New York, one of a number of states that requires babies be given the injection right in the hospital, shortly after birth.

New Jersey's new law, which technically states children (under 5 and over 6 months) who attend daycare or preschool need to be vaccinated against the flu and pneumonia by Dec. 31, comes as we enter the first flu season for which the CDC has advocated all children (not just those under 5) be vaccinated. Advocated. Not mandated.

The flu shot has a lot going for it, don't get me wrong. The flu sends 200,000 Americans to the hospital every year, 20,000 of them children under 5. It kills 36,000 Americans, including people who die from a secondary illness due to an immune system weakened by the flu. It's a disease that spreads easily and can hit anyone. It's a shot I'm going to get, my husband is going to get and our daughter is going to get.

But I've seen nothing in all the news reports - even those that have come out in support of the new mandate - to explain how parents are supposed to pay for this. And I'm still leery of letting the step in at surface level to tell us how to parent. When a child is in clear danger, yes. When a child might or might not get a disease that might or might not make them seriously ill and might or might not be avoided by a shot, I wouldn't call it a clear and present danger. Are parents who don't get the shot playing with fire? Personally, yes, I think so. But I don't think there's enough evidence to show that the state stepping in on this one will make a difference in a child's life.

Image: Health News-Stat

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Bernie Mac dies for real

Brett Singer — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Bernie Mac died this morning at the age of 50. The cause was complications from pneumonia. He was admitted to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago to receive treatment for sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease.

Weirdly, a viral text message that made the rounds last week caused many people to believe he was already dead. That was revealed to be a hoax.

I always liked Bernie Mac. His sitcom was somewhat unique in that he wasn't the father of the children he was raising; he took his sister's kids when she entered rehab. He also, if memory serves, was a stay at home "dad"; his wife worked as an executive I think, and he was a stand-up comic. (Thanks to the commenter for this correction. My point wasn't that he didn't work, but that he was a father who was home with the kids, which is still not the norm on TV.) Mac wasn't shy about threatening to smack the kids around, which some found controversial, but I thought it was (a) realistic and (b) funny. He also had some film success with appearances in the "Ocean's 11, etc." remakes, among other roles.

His most recent headlines came because of a joke he told during a Barack Obama fundraising event. Mac used the word "ho" and Obama told him he didn't like it.

On TV, Bernie Mac had no children of his own, but in real life he had a wife, daughter, and a grandchild. 50 is too young to go but at least he knew some success in his life. Funny guy, very sad.

source/photo: Chicago Tribune

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Good News. Bad News.

Adrienne Martini — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:30:00 GMT

First, the good news -- fewer babies are dying each year, according to UNICEF. The global infant mortality stats are at all time lows. Woot! Go pre-natal care and other post-birth interventions!

And, now, the bad news -- 26,000 infants die each day, most of them from completely preventable illnesses like pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea. That all time low figure is still 9.7 million babies annually. From the Reuters' article:

"It is still completely and totally unacceptable that nearly 10 million children die every year of largely preventable causes," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said, noting that many infants also lose their mothers in childbirth.

What is infuriating is how easy some of these fixes are. Insecticide impregnated mosquito nets and Plumpynut, which is an inexpensive nutrient-rich food for starving kids, could dramatically reduce deaths, if relief organizations can afford to buy them.

The problem of infant (and maternal, naturally) mortality isn't just a problem in, you know, those poor countries where there is barely adequate clean water much less medical care. It is an issue in the U.S. as well.

Still, the numbers are improving. So, um, yippee.

Vaccination Pros and Cons: New Jersey Set to Require More Shots

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:42:00 GMT

Public health officials in New Jersey have ignited another vaccination debate by proposing to require pneumonia and flu vaccination for preschoolers and children attending licensed daycare centers. Additionally, the new rules would add vaccinations against whooping cough and meningitis for 11- and 12-year olds.

Vaccination opponents link current practices with grim outcomes ranging from hyperactivity and autism to neurological disorders. Vaccination proponents insist that anti-vac's are ill informed at best and responsible for spreading illness at worst. Thanks to handy Internet research that promotes more panic than science, both the pro- and con- sides of the vaccine debate can find plenty to back-up their arguments.

Vaccination is essentially a free rider problem, economic theory's explanation of the impact of the inaction of a few (who choose not to vaccinate) on the health and well-being of many (those who do vaccinate). In other words, if enough people decide not to vaccinate, it won't matter what you or I believe or choose to do in regard to our children. Vaccination only works if most of the population participates. Witness the ravages of disease on 19th Century and early 20th Century children or modern-day Africa to see what happens when people opt out.