Headlines: May 24, 2010

by Meg Larkin

            In the United States, Doctors may have found a new way to diagnose sleep apnea.  Sleep Apnea is a serious problem that can aggravate the severity of many chronic diseases.  It often goes undiagnosed because a diagnosis formerly required expensive overnight stays in a sleep lab.  Now, Watermark Medical, led by Dr. Philip Westbrook, has developed a device that can test for sleep apnea at home, and the data it collects is then interpreted by a team of sleep professionals who receive the information over the Internet.  If Watermark is successful with its products for sleep conditions, it may branch out into developing web-based products for other conditions.

            In research news, the weight of a kidney may be a factor in the success of a kidney transplant.  According to a study printed in this week’s Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, patients who receive a kidney that is smaller than it should be for their weight are much more likely to suffer complications after the transplant.  The BBC reported that complications, “included high blood pressure, kidney scarring, and a 55% increased risk of transplant failure two years after the operation.  Unfortunately, a weight match between the kidney donor and the transplant recipient may not always be possible because of the shortage of kidney donors.

            In international news, global death rates have dropped for children five or younger.  While on average death rates have dropped at about two percent per year since 1990, some countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Northern Africa have seen declines of closer to six percent.  Because of poor infrastructure and stability in a lot of countries where gains have been made, continued progress in many areas may hinge on continued involvement by countries supplying foreign aid.  In the developed world, the United States and Britain rank among the highest child mortality rates.

            Finally, the UK has banned the doctor who linked autism to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.  The study, published by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, has been linked to many parents refusing to get their children vaccinated every year.  Since his study was published, England has suffered from annual outbreaks of the measles.  Most of the study’s authors have renounced the study’s conclusions since it was first published twelve years ago, and the study has been retracted by the medical journal that printed it.  Britain’s Medical Council is now investigating the methods used to conduct the study.  The UK ban does not affect Dr. Wakefield’s ability to practice elsewhere in the world, and he currently lives in the United States.

Meg Larkin is a law student at Boston University.  Please feel free to email her with any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns.