| Tay-Sachs: Genetic disease affecting more babies not thought to be ...
FAIRFIELD, Pa. -- When Lisa and Rick Wivell's second child, Lacie, was born, she was a healthy 6 pounds, 13 ounces -- or so they thought. Her first six months of life were similar to most babies, except for an eye that seemed a bit lazy and her head, which she seemed to keep cocked to the side. The Wivells mentioned their concerns at Lacie's 6-month appointment, which started a landslide in their life they could never have imagined. After being referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist, the Wivells got news they never dreamed they would hear. Their daughter had Tay-Sachs disease and would be lucky to live until she was 5. "I didn't believe it for a month," Mrs. Wivell said. "In my mind it was a fluke. I kept putting guards up. I didn't want anybody to know. I could not get to the level that my daughter was going to die." Tay-Sachs, a fatal inherited disease of the central nervous system, occurs most frequently in descendants of Central and Eastern European Jews.
Pregnancy likely OK if scoliosis is minor
Q: I am the mother of an only child. She is 31 and has been married for one year. My daughter is afraid to become pregnant because she thinks shell have difficulty carrying a child because of her spinal curvature. She is also afraid that carrying a baby will make her scoliosis worse. An doctor orthopedic fol- PAUL G. lowed her in DONOHUE her teens and didnt suggest treatment because her scoliosis was borderline. I know she wants to be a mom, and I want to be a grandmother. What do you say? A: Scoliosis is a curving of the spine to one side. The curve can be in the upper back, the lower back or in both upper and lower back. The degree of curvature correlates with the severity of symptoms and with the limits of physical activity. The degree is assessed through X-rays. Your daughter had mild scoliosis as a teenager.
The role of diet and lifestyle changes in the management of constipation
More than three million people in the UK suffer from constipation once a month or more (DFIB, 2004), and as many as one in five people experience the symptoms of constipation at some time in their lives (MeReC, 1999).
The new-born baby, the young child, the teenager, mothers and fathers, the elderly, the business executive, the civil servant, the postman, the farm labourer, the poor, the affluent. No-one is exempt from the risk of constipation and the stigma with which it is associated.
Constipation mostly affects children and older people, with more women than men presenting with symptoms. One in 200 women have severe, continuous constipation and it is most common before a period and in pregnancy (NHS Direct, 2006).
Many people accept the consequences of constipation, refusing to believe there is anything that can be done about it.
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