News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms September 19, 2008

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News to know:

Pregnant mom's flu shot protects baby too, study finds

Pregnant women who receive flu shots can protect their unborn child from the infection, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers studied a group of 340 Bangladeshi mother-infant pairs from 2004 to 2005. Some received the flu shot, others did not. The study found that babies born to vaccinated mothers had a 63 percent lower risk of influenza compared to the babies whose mothers did not receive the vaccine.

One more time: the BPA controversy

There have been dueling headlines this past week about the safety of chemicals in plastic. No one can seem to agree about the the hazards posed by bisphenol A, or BPA, an estrogen-like chemical used in plastic, including baby bottles.

For a nice, rational take on the controversy, read Dr. Walt Larimore's Health Blog.

Researchers call off controversial autism study

The National Institute of Mental Health dropped plans to test a controversial treatment for autism.

The agency stopped the study of chelation, saying the money would be better used testing other potential therapies for autism and related disorders. Chelation removes heavy metals from the body and is used to treat lead poisoning. Its use as an autism treatment is based on the fringe theory that mercury in vaccines triggers autism — a theory never proved and rejected by mainstream science.

Sons of infertile men: Is the problem passed on?

As the first generation of "ISCSI babies" reach puberty, scientists wonder if they will inherit the infertility problems their fathers' struggled with.

“ICSI babies” are children conceived with the help of intracytoplasmic sperm injection and in vitro fertilization, or IVF. For the daughters born to these dads, there appears to be little problem. One of the main concerns for the sons centers on the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities leading to male infertility.