News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms September 5, 2008

News to know:

Autism, measles vaccine link further debunked
New research further discredits any link between measles vaccine and autism.
Years of research with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine or MMR, concluded that it doesn’t cause autism.
However, one 1998 British study linked the vaccine with a subgroup of autistic children who also have serious gastrointestinal problems. That study reported that measles virus lingered in the children’s bowels.
Researchers retested that finding, taking samples of youngsters’ intestines to hunt for signs of virus with the most modern genetic technology. There is no evidence that MMR plays any role, according to the international team — which included researchers who first raised the issue.

Brain protein may hold key to fertility
Scientists have discovered the crucial ovulation-triggering role played by kisspeptin, a small protein molecule in the brain. Kisspeptin helps kick-start puberty, as well as being involved with activating nerve cells that initiate ovulation.
The study's findings may change how researchers approach infertility.

Child vaccination rate hits record levels
Toddlers in America got the recommended vaccinations against childhood diseases at record levels in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A record 77.4 percent of children ages 1 1/2 to 3 years received the full recommended series of vaccinations, the CDC said.
Ninety percent of children got all but one of the six individual vaccines in the series, the CDC said.
The one exception was the four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough vaccine, received by 84.5 percent of toddlers, the CDC said.

Three questions can spot possible postpartum depression
Three simple questions were just as good as conventional screening for identifying potential postpartum depression among new mothers, according to a study published in September issue of Pediatrics.
New mothers were asked to answer "Yes, most of the time," "Yes, some of the time," "Not very often" or "No, never" to the following statements:
I have blamed myself unnecessarily when things went wrong.
I have felt scared or panicky for not very good reason.
I have been anxious or worried for not very good reason.
Researchers found that fewer questions were better at diagnosing depression than the standard longer test used to screen for postpartum depression.

News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms April 14, 2008

News to know:

Postpartum depression common among U.S. women
As many as one in five women in the United States suffers from postpartum depressive symptoms, according to results of a new survey. The findings also indicate that certain groups of women, such as those with lower educational levels, are more prone to postpartum depressive symptoms.

Mumps vaccine good, not perfect
The 2006 eight-state U.S. mumps outbreak was the first ever caused by "two-dose vaccine failure," according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
The vaccine is known to be 80% to 90% effective after two doses -- not 100% effective. That means that one or two out of 10 people exposed to the mumps virus will be infected, although they may have less severe disease than unvaccinated people who are infected.

Babies who sleep less at more risk for obesity
Babies who don't get enough sleep may gain too much weight, new research shows.
Babies and toddlers who sleep fewer than 12 hours daily are at greater risk for being overweight in preschool, according to a Harvard study. TV viewing heightened the effect. The children who slept the least and watched the most television had the greatest chance of becoming obese.

Candy can help fight cavities
Children in Venezuela who ate a special cavity-fighting candy had 62 percent fewer cavities than those who brushed their teeth regularly, researchers said.
Children in the study were testing the effectiveness of BasicMints, an experimental fluoride-free treatment designed to mimic a component in human saliva that neutralizes acids in the mouth that can erode tooth enamel.