Swine Flu in Pregnancy Leads Some to ICU

Pregnant women with the H1N1 (swine) flu were 13 times more likely to become critically ill than non-pregnant women infected with H1N1, according to a report from researchers in Australia and New Zealand.

In the study, published online March 19 in BMJ, the investigators found that 11 percent of mothers and 12 percent of the babies died, but the authors noted that it is difficult to draw conclusions because there were few pregnant women infected with H1N1 to study.

The researchers, led by Dr. Ian Seppelt from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Influenza Investigators, looked at the medical records of pregnant women and women who had given birth within the previous four weeks who had contracted H1N1 and were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) between June and August 2009.

Of 64 women included in the study, those who were more than 20 weeks pregnant faced a 13-fold higher risk of ending up in an ICU compared to women with H1N1 flu who weren't pregnant.

None of the women had been immunized against seasonal flu despite recommendations that moms-to-be get vaccinated, the study authors pointed out.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on H1N1 (swine) flu and pregnancy.

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British boy receives pioneering stem cell surgery

A researcher is seen preparing stem cells for culture at a medical study center. British and Italian doctors have carried out groundbreaking surgery to rebuild the windpipe of a 10-year-old British boy using stem cells developed within his own body.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Darren Hauck)

British and Italian doctors have carried out groundbreaking surgery to rebuild the windpipe of a 10-year-old British boy using stem cells developed within his own body, they said.

In an operation Monday lasting nearly nine hours, doctors at London's Great Ormond Street children's hospital implanted the boy with a donor trachea, or windpipe, that had been stripped of its cells and injected with his own.

Over the next month, doctors expect the boy's bone marrow stem cells to begin transforming themselves within his body into tracheal cells -- a process that, if successful, could lead to a revolution in regenerative medicine.

The new organ should not be rejected by the boy's immune system, a risk in traditional transplants, because the cells are derived from his own tissue.

"This procedure is different in a number of ways, and we believe it's a real milestone," said Professor Martin Birchall, head of translational regenerative medicine at University College London.

"It is the first time a child has received stem cell organ treatment, and it's the longest airway that has ever been replaced."

More clinical trials were needed to demonstrate that the process worked, he said, but if it did, it could lead to other organs such as the larynx or oesophagus being transplanted in hospitals around the world.

The boy, who has not been named, was born with a life-threatening condition called long segment tracheal stenosis, which meant he had a tiny windpipe that would not grow -- described by the team as like breathing through a straw.

Although he received various treatments, his condition deteriorated in November and his doctors called in Professor Paolo Macchiarini, a stem cell pioneer at the Careggi University Hospital in Florence.

Macchiarini led the surgery in Spain two years ago on 30-year-old Claudia Castillo, the first person to receive a transplant organ created from stem cells.

In her case, the new tissue was developed outside her body, but it is far less complicated to grow it within the body. The boy is only the second patient and the first child to have such a procedure.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Professor Martin Elliott, director of tracheal services at Great Ormond Street, said the boy was recovering well.

"The child is extremely well. He's breathing completely for himself and speaking, and he says it's easier for him to breathe than it has been for many years," Elliott said.



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Hand Bacteria Left On Surfaces Could be Forensic Tool

CSIs may one day be able to use more than DNA and fingerprints to catch criminals, as a new study finds that the bacteria that live on our hands are just as unique to each of us as our DNA. And traces of this "personal" DNA left behind on the surfaces we touch can be matched to the person who left it.

The human body - inside and out - plays host to billions of bacteria and other microbes; there are more bacteria in the human body than there are human body cells.

Previous research by Noah Fierer of the University of Colorado at Boulder and his colleagues had found that a typical human hand carries about 150 bacterial species and that only about 13 percent of the bacterial species found on any one hand are shared between two people.

"The obvious question then was whether we could identify objects that have been touched by particular individuals," Fierer said.

Fierer and his team set out to test this idea by trying to match the bacteria found on people's palms and fingers with those left behind on their respective computer keyboards and mouses.

In their first test, the team swabbed bacterial DNA from individual keys on three personal computer keyboards and matched them up to bacteria on the fingertips of the computer owners. They also compared the computer swabs to the bacteria DNA swabbed from people who had never touched the keyboards. The results: Bacteria from the computer owners matched much more closely to the bacteria on the keyboards than that from the strangers.

For the second test, the team swabbed nine computer mouses that hadn't been touched in more than 12 hours and compared the swabs with those taken from the palms of the computer owners. They compared the similarity of these two samples with 270 random samples from palms that had never touched the mouses. Again, the computer owner swabs matched much more closely to what was found on each computer mouse than did the random samples.

In a third test, the team also found that bacterial colonies swabbed from a person's skin and left at room temperature persisted for two weeks, pointing to the potential usefulness of "personal" bacteria as a forensic tool.

"Each one of us leaves a unique trail of bugs behind as we travel through our daily lives," Fierer said. "While this project is still in its preliminary stages, it could provide a way for forensics experts to independently confirm the accuracy of DNA and fingerprint analyses."

The new technique, described in the March 15 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could particularly prove useful as it is often difficult to obtain sufficient human DNA for forensic identification without the presence of blood, semen or saliva on an object. Bacterial DNA could also be useful in cases where clear fingerprints can't be lifted, though more research is needed to figure out how well skin bacteria sticks to different types of surfaces.

The technique could even be useful for distinguishing between identical twins, who share the same DNA, but still have different bacterial communities on their hands.

And criminals beware: Washing your hands won't get you off the hook. Fierer's previous work has shown that bacterial communities on the hand rebound within hours after hand washing.

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The 5 foods you should eat every day

Eating right on a budget can be a challenge, but it's certainly not impossible. Consider this your cheat sheet to the 5 inexpensive foods you should eat everyday for optimum health.


#1 Leafy greens
Medical experts call them one of nature's miracle foods. Leafy greens like Swiss chard and kale are high in nutrients like folate and vitamins A and C that can lower your risk of cancer. Just one cup of dark, leafy greens a day could also prevent diabetes and high blood pressure.

#2 Nuts
Many nutritionists recommend nuts like almonds, cashews and walnuts because they're high in natural fiber. Fiber slows your digestive process, keeping hunger and unhealthy mid-afternoon snacks at bay. Goodbye vending machine runs!

#3 Onions
Studies show that consuming onions on a regular basis may reduce symptoms of asthma and the risk of developing stomach cancer. Add them to soups and stir-fry, and just remember -- the stronger the onion, the greater the health benefit.

#4 Whole grains
Refined grains, like white rice and pasta, have lost 90% of their nutritional value through the refining process. As if that weren't reason enough to choose whole grains like brown rice, quinoa and whole oats, a recent study showed that a diet rich in whole grains actually flattens your belly by reducing fat storage in your lower abdominal region.

#5 Yogurt
Making yogurt part of your daily eating routine can improve your digestion -- if you're buying the right stuff. Check that the label lists "active cultures" to make sure you're getting healthy probiotics, and pick a yogurt rich in vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis.

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