| Japanese celebrate male heir to throne
With shouts of "Banzai," Japanese celebrated the birth Wednesday of the imperial family's first male heir since the 1960s, a development that squelched hopes of reform to allow women on the throne. Princess Kiko, wife of Prince Akishino, gave birth to a boy by Caesarean section at a Tokyo hospital. The boy, who will be named Tuesday, is Emperor Akihito's first grandson and is third in the line to the throne, behind brothers Crown Prince Naruhito and Akishino. The news was cheered by many Japanese, who maintain an enduring respect for the imperial family more than 60 years after Emperor Hirohito renounced his status as a divinity at the end of World War II. Newspapers published extra editions, supporters gathered outside the hospital where the 39-year-old Kiko gave birth, and TV networks ran continuous coverage on the delivery.
Doctors find way to detect fetal alcohol disorders in newborns
VANCOUVER -- A test developed by medical researchers in Toronto is providing a new means for Canadian doctors to detect fetal alcohol syndrome among newborns -- a problem that has become "a huge national disaster," costing Canadians an estimated $4 billion each year, an expert in fetal alcohol disorders said Sunday. Fetal alcohol syndrome and related disorders, including birth defects, brain damage and other developmental problems in people whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy, have until now been difficult for doctors to diagnose, since mothers with drinking problems are often unwilling to admit how much alcohol they consume, according to Dr. Gideon Koren, the founder and director of the Motherisk Program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. But Koren and his fellow researchers at Motherisk have discovered that fatty acid ethyl esters, a byproduct of alcohol, can be traced in stool samples taken from newborns in their first two days, which can indicate whether a baby is at risk of having alcohol-related disorders.
Heparin Overdosage Kills Two Premature Babies at Methodist ...
18 Sep, (foodconsumer.org) - Two premature babies died Saturday at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis following the inadvertent administration of adult doses of the blood thinner Heparin, hospital officials confirmed. Four other babies received overdoses of the anti-clotting drug, Sam Odle, chief executive of Methodist and Indiana University Hospitals. One of the babies may require surgery, while the other three are still in a critical condition. Human error was blamed in the deaths of Emmery Miller, 2 days old, and D'myia Alexander Nelson, 5 days old. The babies born at 25 and 26 weeks of gestation likely died from internal bleeding, officials said. Odle said that one baby was shifted to Riley Hospital for Children for further monitoring. "Multiple'' staff members were involved in the "procedural errors,'' Odle said.
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