Health Buzz: Stem Cell Transplants for Type 1 Diabetes and Other Health News

Study: Stem Cell Transplants Help Some Type 1 Diabetics Go Without Insulin

In a small experimental study, type 1 diabetics who received stem cell transplants were able to forgo taking insulin for up to four years, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented in Washington yesterday. An earlier study found that 15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics who underwent stem cell transplants were able to remain insulin free for an average of 19 months. The new study sought to test the idea that those effects were simply the result of a "honeymoon period" following the transplant.

In the newly published study, 12 of 23 patients, ages 13 to 31, remained continuously free from insulin injections for an average of 31 months. Of those, one study participant was insulin free for more than four years, four were insulin free for at least three years, three went without insulin for at least two years, and four achieved this for at least one year. Eight other study participants experienced "transient" insulin independence, meaning they had to start taking insulin again at lower levels.

Richard K. Burt, an associate professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and coauthor of the study, emphasized that stem cell transplants are not without risk. Sterility is one concern, but the most serious risk is a potentially lethal infection, he said. Oral antibiotics can help ward off infection.

Treatments involving stem cells, such as a heart attack procedure offered in Thailand, are still viewed as experimental, but some researchers believe they may help certain medical problems. Consider these 3 ways that stem cells may speed new cures for certain diseases. Many think that stem cells hold promise as tools for developing new treatments.

The Vaccines-Autism War: Détente Needed

Are we overvaccinating our children? Vaccines are powerful stimulants of the immune system, as they must be to be effective, Bernadine Healy reports. American children are the most vaccinated on the planet. The autism advocacy group Generation Rescue and the World Health Organization both have compiled data that show the United States now gives more vaccines to all its children, and earlier in life, than the rest of the developed world: some 36 doses before the little ones hit kindergarten, with most crammed into the first 18 months of life. If you look at the best-performing countries in terms of infant and early childhood mortality, the average number of doses is 18, while most of the Scandinavian countries, Japan, and Israel mandate just 11 or 12.

Find out why vaccine safety is getting new attention. Also, learn the pros and cons of departing from the standard vaccine schedule, and consider advice for parents who want to manage their child's vaccination schedule.

Having Children Adds Stress to Marriage

Having a baby is not the ticket to marital bliss. Indeed, 90 percent of couples say the quality of their relationship declined after their first child was born, Nancy Shute reports. "One of the things that is important to realize is that couples who have children are not worse off than couples who don't," says Galena Rhoades, a psychologist and senior researcher at the University of Denver who is a coauthor, along with Brian Doss of Texas A&M University, of a report in a new issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that details just how great a toll children take on marriage. She and her colleagues followed 218 couples over eight years and found that the vast majority were less happy with their marriage after becoming parents.

Given the tough economic times, it's hard enough to take care of the kids, let alone yourself. But sometimes learning to deal with disappointment can be the best lesson of all for children. Think about incorporating this advice on how to help kids handle tough times. And try learning to relax by paying attention.

—January W. Payne

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