Paracetamol, measles, probiotics, and more…

General

Expert reaction to study looking at paracetamol in pregnancy and autism, ADHD and other developmental disabilities in children: Another lesson dealing with research and media reporting. There is a growing body of work that taking paracetamol (acetaminophen) during pregnancy leads to development of ADHD and autism (although the connection between these two is a mystery). There could be some connection here, but not enough work has been done at this stage to establish a solid association. This study in particular has some major holes in it, as pointed up by the experts. But that did not stop newspapers from picking it up and running their sensational stories, thereby providing yet one more thing for pregnant women to worry about.

4 ways to talk to vaccine skeptics: Having conversations about vaccines can be difficult, especially if your loved ones are vaccine skeptics. This article goes through useful strategies for discussing vaccines with those with different views, or when it might be best to leave the discussion altogether.

To protect us all, babies travelling overseas may need the measles shot at 6 months instead of 12: “This year, we’ve seen a resurgence of measles around the globe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recorded more than 230,000 cases in the first five months of 2019, compared to 160,000 in a similar period in 2018”.

Those probiotics may actually be hurting your ‘gut health’: Overuse of probiotic supplements may actually decrease gut micobiome diversity.

We have a vaccine for hepatitis B but here’s why we still need a cure: Hepatitis B virus causes almost 40% of all liver cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Hepatitis B virus was discovered in the serum of an Indigenous Australian in 1965 and was first known as the “Australia antigen”. This quickly led to the development of an effective vaccine in the 1980s, which is now available worldwide. The vaccine has been given to Australian infants since May 2000. (If you weren’t vaccinated as a baby, you might want to consider doing so through your GP, particularly if you plan to travel to Asia and Africa where hepatitis B is common.) Unfortunately the vaccine doesn’t do anything for the 240,000 or so Australians who currently live with chronic hepatitis B. Only around 60% of these people have been diagnosed; the rest don’t know they’re infected and don’t receive appropriate care

Great Moments in Health and Science

The “Back to Sleep” Campaign to Reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – Why back to sleep is the safest position for your baby: Sleeping on their back is the safest way for infants to sleep and has reduced global rates of SIDS.

Today’s Abused Health Concept

Acupuncture – “Eliminating cancer” with Traditional Chinese Medicine and other state-sanctioned quackeryNo. No it does not ‘eliminate cancer’.