(Press-News.org) Prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis with antibiotics might substantially reduce the proportion of infected fetuses that develop serious neurological sequelae (brain damage, epilepsy, deafness, blindness, or developmental problems) or die, and could be particularly effective in fetuses whose mothers acquired Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, during the first third of pregnancy. These are the findings of an observational study by Ruth Gilbert from the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK, and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
Toxoplasmosis is a very common parasitic infection but most infected people never know they have the disease. However, about a quarter of women who are infected with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy transmit the parasite to their fetus. The authors followed 293 children in six European countries in whom congenital toxoplasmosis had been identified by prenatal screening (France, Austria, and Italy) or by neonatal screening (in Denmark, Sweden, and Poland). Two-thirds of the children received prenatal treatment for toxoplasmosis with the antibiotics spiramycin or pyrimethamine-sulfonamide.
23 (8% of the fetuses) developed serious neurological sequelae or died, nine of which were terminated during pregnancy. By comparing the number of children who had serious neurological sequelae who received prenatal treatment with the number among children who did not receive prenatal treatment, the authors estimated that prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis reduced the risk of serious neurological sequelae by three-quarters. Furthermore, they found that to prevent one case of serious neurological sequelae after maternal infection at 10 weeks of pregnancy, it would be necessary to treat three fetuses with confirmed infection and to prevent one case of SNSD after maternal infection at 30 weeks of pregnancy, 18 infected fetuses would need to be treated. The authors also found that that the effectiveness of the antibiotics used, pyrimethamine-sulfonamide and the less toxic spiramycin, was similar.
The authors explain how these results should be interpreted. They conclude: "The finding that prenatal treatment reduced the risk of [serious neurological sequelae] in infected fetuses should be interpreted with caution because of the low number of [serious neurological sequelae] cases and uncertainty about the timing of maternal seroconversion." The authors add: "As these are observational data, policy decisions about screening require further evidence from a randomized trial of prenatal screening and from cost-effectiveness analyses that take into account the incidence and prevalence of maternal infection."
INFORMATION:
Funding: The research was part of the European multicentre study on congenital toxoplasmosis, funded by the European Commission (BIOMED II No. BMH4-CT98-3927 and QLG5-CT-2000-00846). Additional support was provided by the National Eye Institute, grant code R03 EY015287-01. Research at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust benefits from R&D funding received from the NHS Executive. The funding sources had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. All authors declare they have no financial disclosures relating to the manuscript to declare.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Cortina-Borja M, Tan HK, Wallon M, Paul M, Prusa A, et al. (2010) Prenatal Treatment for Serious Neurological Sequelae of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study. PLoS Med 7(10): e1000351. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000351
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000351
PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: www.plos.org/press/plme-07-09-gilbert.pdf
CONTACT:
Ruth Gilbert
Institute of Child Health
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology & Biostatistics
30 Guilford Street
London, WC1N 1EH
United Kingdom
00 44 20 7905 2101
R.Gilbert@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis could reduce the risk of brain damage
Press release from PLoS Medicine
2010-10-13
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Being more realistic about the public health impact of genomic medicine
2010-10-13
Wayne Hall, Rebecca Mathews and Katherine Morley discuss the limitations of genomic risk prediction for population-level preventive health care. Whilst genome-wide association studies and genomic sequencing have the potential to reveal susceptibilities to disease, they sound a note of caution about widescale implementation of such tests. In particular they point out that before genomic information is used in public health screening, it must first be shown that it predicts disease risk better than phenotypic information. They go on to point out that before genomic information ...
Economic advantage to pediatric ondansetron administration in emergency departments
2010-10-13
In research published this week in PLoS Medicine, Stephen Freedman (University of Toronto) and colleagues performed a cost analysis of the emergency department administration of oral ondansetron to children with dehydration and vomiting secondary to gastroenteritis and found that this treatment could provide substantial economic, as well as clinical, benefit.
The researchers analyzed the costs of the administration of oral ondansetron in both the US and Canada, if routinely given to children with gastroenteritis-induced vomiting and dehydration in the emergency department ...
Study of planarian hormones may aid in understanding parasitic flatworms
2010-10-13
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A study of peptide hormones in the brain of a seemingly primitive flatworm reveals the surprising complexity of its nervous system and opens up a new approach for combating a major parasitic disease, researchers report.
The study appears in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.
The planarian flatworm, Schmidtea mediterranea, is perhaps best known for its prodigious powers of regeneration. Cut it in half (lengthwise or crosswise) and each fragment will regrow its missing parts, including its brain. The planarian is of interest to those studying reproduction ...
Implanting medication to treat opioid dependence appears beneficial in decreasing opioid usage
2010-10-13
Helping to address the issue of medication adherence, persons with opioid dependence who had the medication buprenorphine implanted had less opioid use over 16 weeks, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.
Dependence on opioids, in the form of heroin or prescription pain medications, is a significant health concern. A treatment that has been increasing in usage is the medication buprenorphine, with numerous studies supporting the efficacy of sublingually (beneath the tongue) administered buprenorphine. However, poor treatment adherence, resulting in craving ...
Restrictive use of blood transfusions during cardiac surgery shows comparable outcomes
2010-10-13
Use of stricter guidelines for the use of red blood cell transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery was associated similar rates of death and severe illness compared to patients who received more transfusions, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the variation in the use of blood transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Cardiac surgery is associated with a high rate of blood transfusion. The rationale for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is based on the observation that anemia is an independent ...
Rates of blood transfusions for CABG surgery varies widely among US hospitals
2010-10-13
A study that includes data on more than 100,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery finds that there is wide variability among hospitals in the U.S. on the use of blood transfusions, without a large difference in the rate of death, suggesting that many transfusions may be unnecessary, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the effect of a restrictive transfusion strategy on outcomes after cardiac surgery.
"Patients who undergo cardiac surgery receive a significant proportion of the 14 ...
Considerable proportion of patients with advanced cancer continue to undergo common cancer screening
2010-10-13
A sizeable proportion of patients with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of only a few years continue to undergo common cancer screening tests that are unlikely to provide meaningful benefit, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.
Cancer screening programs, such as mammography, Papanicolaou test, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and colonoscopy, evaluate asymptomatic patients for the detection of early forms of cancer and have contributed substantially to the decline in deaths from cancer. "Although the benefits of cancer screening are compelling for ...
Transfusion rates vary extremely in cardiac bypass surgery
2010-10-13
DURHAM, NC – Transfusion rates for blood products used in a common heart surgery range from no patients to nearly all patients, and vary by hospital, according to findings from a group of researchers from Duke University Medical Center. The study, which looked at data from 102,470 patients in 798 hospitals, examined the variation in transfusion rates for red blood cells (RBCs), plasma and platelets, but the team didn't reach conclusions about how well patients fared if they did or didn't get a transfusion.
"We don't know whether the variability is potentially harming ...
IOF campaign puts spotlight on vastly under-diagnosed and under-treated spinal fractures
2010-10-13
At a press conference held in Brussels today, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the Belgian Bone Club and the European Parliament Osteoporosis Interest Group called on health care professionals and health policy officials in Europe to take action to prevent spinal fractures. The call to action was made at the launch of a unique photographic essay, 'snap! the breaking spine', leading up to World Osteoporosis Day on October 20, 2010.
Taking viewers across the globe to Brazil, Canada, India, Jordan and Switzerland, the photographic essay captures a typical ...
Peer-based outreach services for sex workers assist entry into detox and drug treatment
2010-10-13
A mobile outreach program staffed by current and former sex workers is associated with increased entry to detoxification and residential drug treatment among women in street-based sex work, according to an evaluation led by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and the University of British Columbia (UBC).
The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the link between accessing Vancouver's Mobile Access Project, or "the MAP van," and uptake of addiction treatment services by women engaged in street-based ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Insulin resistance is linked to over 30 diseases – and to early death in women, study of people in the UK finds
Innovative semaglutide hydrogel could reduce diabetes shots to once a month
Weight loss could reduce the risk of severe infections in people with diabetes, UK research suggests
Long-term exposure to air pollution and a lack of green space increases the risk of hospitalization for respiratory conditions
Better cardiovascular health in early pregnancy may offset high genetic risk
Artificial intelligence method transforms gene mutation prediction in lung cancer: DeepGEM data releases at IASLC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer
Antibody–drug conjugate I-DXd shows clinically meaningful response in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer
IASLC Global Survey on biomarker testing reveals progress and persistent barriers in lung cancer biomarker testing
Research shows pathway to developing predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors
Just how dangerous is Great Salt Lake dust? New research looks for clues
Maroulas appointed Associate Vice Chancellor, Director of AI Tennessee
New chickadee research finds cognitive skills impact lifespan
Cognitive behavioral therapy enhances brain circuits to relieve depression
Terasaki Institute awarded $2.3 Million grant from NIH for organ transplantation research using organs-on-a-chip technology
Atoms on the edge
Postdoc takes multipronged approach to muon detection
Mathematical proof: Five satellites needed for precise navigation
Scalable, multi-functional device lays groundwork for advanced quantum applications
Falling for financial scams? It may signal early Alzheimer’s disease
Integrating MRI and OCT for new insights into brain microstructure
Designing a normative neuroimaging library to support diagnosis of traumatic brain injury
Department of Energy announces $68 million in funding for artificial intelligence for scientific research
DOE, ORNL announce opportunity to define future of high-performance computing
Molecular simulations, supercomputing lead to energy-saving biomaterials breakthrough
Low-impact yoga and exercise found to help older women manage urinary incontinence
Genetic studies reveal new insights into cognitive impairment in schizophrenia
Researcher develops technology to provide cleaner energy and cleaner water
Expect the unexpected: nanoscale silver unveils intrinsic self-healing abilities
nTIDE September 2024 Jobs Report: Gains in employment for people with disabilities appear to level off after reducing gaps with non-disabled workers
Wiley enhances NMR Spectral Library Collection with extensive new databases
[Press-News.org] Prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis could reduce the risk of brain damagePress release from PLoS Medicine