Saturday, January 22, 2011

Antibiotics May Be Responsible for Increase in Asthma in Children

From Cryptogon and The Boston Globe.

One of the great public health mysteries is why asthma has become more common among children, even as air pollution has decreased and fewer parents are smoking. One possibility is that antibiotics have kept infants’ immune systems from developing properly, making them vulnerable to asthma and allergies later on. The Yale study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, supports this hypothesis.
Researchers found that infants treated with antibiotics in their first six months were up to 52 percent more likely to develop asthma and allergies by age 6 than babies who did not get antibiotics. This result buttressed scientists’ suspicion that early use of the drugs can cause imbalances in the immune system and a poor allergic response...

2 comments:

  1. Fed up with the banks holding the world to ransom? Then hopefully you'll want to take part in the Bank Run planned for 26 January, 2011. Protestors are calling it "Revenge Wednesday".

    As well as whatever you do on the day, you can help build the momentum by using Twitter to send the following tweet. (And if you receive this tweet from someone else, please "retweet" it!)

    Suggested tweet:

    ************************* **
    Hit back at the banks: BANK RUN on Revenge Wednesday, 26 Jan 2011. Info at: tinyurl.com/bankrun2011 PLEASE FORWARD THIS
    ************************* **

    Further info - which also, please circulate if you can...

    BANK RUN ON REVENGE WEDNESDAY, 26 JAN
    ========================= ============

    On Wednesday 26 January 2011, thousands of people in the UK will try to cause a bank run by withdrawing money from their bank accounts, in person, at high street bank branches.

    The hope is that the movement will snowball.

    Everyone is welcome. Just print out the form below, fill in your details, and take it to your bank, preferably around lunchtime, e.g. about 1pm. Even better, print out multiple copies and hand them round. Use email, Twitter, Facebook too.

    When the first bank branch says it won't pay out people's money, let everyone know, using every means possible. Take photos. Use mobile phones, send tweets, get the journalists in on the picture. This movement is decentralised. It is what you and we make it.

    Note that this idea was tried last December, after being suggested by Eric Cantona. Unfortunately it didn't go very far, mainly because the organisers asked people to "sign up" online. We're not asking you to sign up to anything. In particular, you do NOT have to give any personal details to anyone. The form below is just for giving to your BANK.

    If you can only afford to withdraw 10 pounds, please do it. If you can afford to withdraw thousands of pounds, do that too. EVERY LITTLE HELPS. Banks cannot withstand everyone withdrawing even a tenth of what they've got in the bank. LET'S SEND THESE PARASITES A MESSAGE THEY'LL NEVER FORGET. It's an open secret that they're holding the country to ransom. Let's kick 'em where it hurts.

    This is the financial system's MAJOR WEAK SPOT. That's why the Dutch government is considering making it illegal to call for a bank run. Because they're SCARED. In 2009 there was a bank run against a Dutch bank. This was considered to be a particularly unpleasant bank, which had been encouraging millions od Dutch people to get into debt who couldn't afford it. People did a run against it, and it went bankrupt. How sad.

    In Britain, you'd be hard pushed to name a bank which DIDN'T try to get people into massive debt they can't really afford.

    Here's the bottom line: THE BANKS HAVE GOT IT COMING TO THEM.

    So please take part. Spread the news. Distribute this leaflet. Print your own. Just do a little bit to help, and we'll be strong and we'll blast the damn banks like they've never been blasted before.

    Please print the following, complete the details, and hand it to your bank around 1pm on 26 Jan 2011.

    ************************* *********
    NAME: _________________________ _
    ADDRESS:_________________ ____________
    _________________________ _______
    ACCOUNT NUMBER: ___________________
    SORT CODE:____________________ __
    NAME OF BANK:____________________ _
    To: the Branch Manager
    Dear Sir,
    I wish to withdraw ____________ pounds from my account in cash, immediately.
    Yours sincerely,
    __________________ (signed)
    ************************* *********

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  2. One has to avoid the overdose of antibiotics thanks a lot for this great informative post.


    Smith Alan

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