American Healthcare

Two mothers who gave birth on the NHS in extraordinary circumstances have provoked a furious ethical row.

The first case centres on a British 39-year-old who had a £4,000 cycle of IVF funded by the taxpayer after she claimed it was her human right to receive it.

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Researchers followed late talkers into their teens and found the kids were no more likely to be shy, depressed or aggressive than their peers as they grew up

That means a “wait-and-see” approach may be just fine for toddlers with a language lag, as long as they develop typically in other areas, the Australian team reports in the journal Pediatrics

“This data is reassuring,” said Julia Irwin, who studies language development at Haskins Laboratories, a non-profit research institute in New Haven, Connecticut “But parents will need to pay attention to other troubling symptoms of either psychosocial problems or language and reading problems”

In an email to Reuters Health, Irwin said late talkers often have some language or reading problems later on, which may influence school readiness

Between seven percent and 18 percent of children have language delays at two years, although most catch up by the time they start school Some research has suggested that these toddlers may face psychological problems, but whether that matters down the road has been unclear

The new study, led by psychologist Andrew Whitehouse at the University of Western Australia in Perth, is the first to track late talkers over the long haul

The researchers tapped into data on more than 1,400 two-year-olds, whose parents had filled out a language development survey asking about the words their child would use spontaneously A two-year-old typically says a few hundred words, but there is a lot of variation

About one out of every 10 two-year-olds in the study was a late talker, scoring in the lowest 15 percent on a list of 310 common words

The slower toddlers also appeared to have more psychological problems, according to questions on a child behavior checklist that parents answered For instance, 13 percent of the late talkers had “internalizing” behavior — such as being shy, sad or underactive — compared to eight percent of their faster-talking peers

But that difference had vanished at age five, when then parents were approached again And it didn’t reappear for as long as the kids were followed, up until age 17

According to Whitehouse and his colleagues, that hints the reason more late talkers had behavioral problems early on is likely because they are frustrated by not being able to communicate effectively — not because there is something wrong with their brains

One expert, who was not linked to the study, pointed out that it would have been helpful to know when the slower kids caught up with their typically developing peers

“‘Wait and see’ may be okay at 2 years, but there should be a critical time after which language delays should be treated,” said child psychologist Gail Ross, adding that age two-and-a-half or three might be appropriate

“The crucial question is, at what point is ‘wait and see’ no longer a valid approach?” said Ross, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, in an email to Reuters Health

Coverage Decisions: Medicare will cover Dendreons Provenge for certain forms of advanced prostate cancer, calling the $93,000 treatment reasonable and necessary, the WSJ reports. (Heres the decision memo.) Medicare will also continue to cover Roches Avastin for breast-cancer patients, even if the FDA follows the advice of its outside advisory committee and revokes approval for that use, the New York Times reports.

Anti-Obesity Laws Challenged: Local laws requiring restaurants to eliminate trans fats, label menus with calorie counts and institute other anti-obesity measures are being banned by state legislatures, the NYT reports.

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Hospital staff will offer free bone density, glucose and blood pressure screenings. Total cholesterol screenings are available for $10. Attendants can tour numerous booths offering health care demonstrations and information.  The Adult Recreation Center is at 830 Grimes Bridge Road.

Information: 770-641-3950.

PARIS (CNN) — A 78-year-old woman has died in France after being treated for an E.coli infection in the south-western city of Bordeaux, regional health officials say.

The patient, who developed a very severe form of hemolytic uremic syndrome, had been in intensive care in a Bordeaux hospital since June 24, the Aquitaine regional health agency said in a statement.

The French Ministry of Health said last week that a deadly strain of E. Full Post…