| Top : 2007 : 2007_01_06 |
Scientists say NJ object is meteoriteFri, 05 Jan 2007 23:02:50 GMTFREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A mysterious rocklike object that crashed through the roof of a home and landed in the bathroom was a meteorite, experts said Friday. For now, scientists are calling the dense metallic object "Freehold Township" after the place where it fell. It's about the size of a golf ball but weighs about 13 ounces, as much of a can of soup. Magnets held near it are attracted to it. Rutgers University geologists Jeremy Delaney, Gail Ashley and Claire Condie and Peter Elliott, an independent metallurgist who studied the object, determined it was an iron meteorite because of its density, magnetic properties, markings and coloration. It belongs to the family whose home was hit, but it is being kept for now in a secure location, according to Freehold Township police. Police have not released the name of the homeowner nor identified the neighborhood where the home is located, but have said the object bounced off bathroom tiles and embedded in a wall. Surgery on girl raises ethical questionsFri, 05 Jan 2007 06:04:35 GMTBy LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer CHICAGO - In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little "pillow angel" a manageable and more portable size. The bedridden 9-year-old girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed at a Seattle hospital and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth. She is now 4-foot-5; her parents say she would otherwise probably reach a normal 5-foot-6. The case has captured attention nationwide and abroad via the Internet, with some decrying the parents' actions as perverse and akin to eugenics. Some ethicists question the parents' claim that the drastic treatment will benefit their daughter and allow them to continue caring for her at home. University of Pennsylvania ethicist Art Caplan said the case is troubling and reflects "slippery slope" thinking among parents who believe "the way to deal with my kid with permanent behavioral problems is to put them into permanent childhood." Right or wrong, the couple's decision highlights a dilemma thousands of parents face in struggling to care for severely disabled children as they grow up. "This particular treatment, even if it's OK in this situation, and I think it probably is, is not a widespread solution and ignores the large social issues about caring for people with disabilities," Dr. Joel Frader, a medical ethicist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, said Thursday. "As a society, we do a pretty rotten job of helping caregivers provide what's necessary for these patients." The case involves a girl identified only as Ashley on a blog her parents created after her doctors wrote about her treatment in October's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The journal did not disclose the parents' names or where they live; the couple do not identify themselves on their blog, either. Shortly after birth, Ashley had feeding problems and showed severe developmental delays. Her doctors diagnosed static encephalopathy, which means severe brain damage. They do not know what caused it. Her condition has left her in an infant state, unable to sit up, roll over, hold a toy or walk or talk. Her parents say she will never get better. She is alert, startles easily, and smiles, but does not maintain eye contact, according to her parents, who call the brown-haired little girl their "pillow angel." She goes to school for disabled children, but her parents care for her at home and say they have been unable to find suitable outside help. An editorial in the medical journal called "the Ashley treatment" ill-advised and questioned whether it will even work. But her parents say it has succeeded so far. She had surgery in July 2004 and recently completed the hormone treatment. She weighs about 65 pounds, and is about 13 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than she would be as an adult, according to her parents' blog. "Ashley's smaller and lighter size makes it more possible to include her in the typical family life and activities that provide her with needed comfort, closeness, security and love: meal time, car trips, touch, snuggles, etc.," her parents wrote. Also, Ashley's parents say keeping her small will reduce the risk of bedsores and other conditions that can afflict bedridden patients. In addition, they say preventing her from going through puberty means she won't experience the discomfort of periods or grow breasts that might develop breast cancer, which runs in the family. "Even though caring for Ashley involves hard and continual work, she is a blessing and not a burden," her parents say. Still, they write, "Unless you are living the experience ... you have no clue what it is like to be the bedridden child or their caregivers." Caplan questioned how preventing normal growth could benefit the patient. Treatment that is not for a patient's direct benefit "only seems wrong to me," the ethicist said. Dr. Douglas Diekema, an ethicist at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, where Ashley was treated, said he met with the parents and became convinced they were motivated by love and the girl's best interests. Diekema said he was mainly concerned with making sure the little girl would actually benefit and not suffer any harm from the treatment. She did not, and is doing well, he said. "The more her parents can be touching her and caring for her ... and involving her in family activities, the better for her," he said. "The parents' argument was, `If she's smaller and lighter, we will be able to do that for a longer period of time.'" ___ On the Net: Ashley's blog: http://ashleytreatment.spaces.live.com Journal: http://www.archpediatrics.com Winter no relief for allergy sufferersFri, 05 Jan 2007 22:56:40 GMTBy REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press Writer TRENTON, N.J. - The unseasonably warm weather along the East Coast has flooded some offices with patients suffering from an unusual ailment this time of year: allergies. Doctors say this winter's weather has sparked an onslaught of mold spores that cause allergies and fluctuating temperatures that irritate already-suffering nasal passages. Many patients may confuse an allergic reaction with a common cold. "The phone is ringing off the hook — it's incredible," said Dr. Clifford W. Bassett, vice chairman in charge of public education of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, who has a practice in Manhattan. "It's an explosion of people who are realizing that they may have allergies," said Bassett. "Typically, January and February are quiet times in most allergists' offices." Mold spores that grow outdoors would normally die off during a cold snap or be covered with snow. But in warm weather mold spores continue to grow and spread. Throwing open the windows to enjoy the weather makes things worse: The mold spores waltz inside. Maria Carola, 35, of New York said usually she could go without her medication for chronic allergies in the winter. But she learned Friday from her doctor her runny nose and itchy eyes weren't symptoms of a cold as she suspected. "Usually, the symptoms wouldn't be that prominent," Carola said of her allergies. The most common allergy symptoms are itchy eyes, noses and throats, and possibly runny or stuffy noses, said Bassett. People with colds may share the stuffed up nose problem, but also may see changes in the color of their mucus, loss of appetite, fatigue, low-grade headaches or fevers. Some doctors say a warm spell could bring a very early allergy season since trees might begin to bud early; others say the temperatures don't always make much of a difference. |
