CAPSULES. Still births underestimated

The burden of stillbirth has been underestimated by at least a third because of recommendations to report only stillbirths from 28 weeks’ gestation in international comparisons, according to an observational study of 2.5 million babies in 19 European countries published in The Lancet . The findings underscore the importance of accurate and consistent reporting of foetal deaths as early as 22 weeks so that the true burden of stillbirth can be understood and the impact on families acknowledged

“There are major and serious gaps in our knowledge of the burden of stillbirth which will have significant unforeseen impact on families,” says Dr Lucy Smith, University of Leicester, UK, who led the research. “To a mother or father, a second trimester stillbirth is no less tragic than a stillbirth at 28 weeks of pregnancy or later. These parents also deserve recognition of their loss and accurate reporting of their child’s death to improve care and policy,” a note from the journal said.

A Lancet stillbirth Series published in 2016 found that half of the 2.6 million stillbirths that occur worldwide every year (98 per cent in developing countries) could be prevented, and estimated that, in high-income countries, for every 1,000 births around 3.5 babies are born stillborn.

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended granting a marketing authorisation for the gene therapy Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec), for the treatment of adults and children suffering from inherited retinal dystrophy caused by RPE65 gene mutations, a rare genetic disorder which causes vision loss and usually leads to blindness.

The mutations of the RPE65 gene, which encodes one of the enzymes involved in the biochemistry of light capture by the cells of the retina, hinder the patient's ability to detect light. It is a severely debilitating disease, characterised by a progressive loss of vision. Most patients will be blind by the time they are young adults. There is currently no treatment for this disease; support to patients is limited to measures allowing the management of the disease such as aids for low vision, the EMA said.

Free camp at Mumbai hospital

 

SRCC Children’s Hospital, a super speciality tertiary care paediatric facility in Mumbai managed by Narayana Health, will launch a free cardiac screening camp between September 29 and October 6 to mark World Heart Day. The day camp is for children up to 18 years, a note from the hospital said.

The hospital since its inception last year, has done cardiac screening camps across rural Maharashtra at Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Sangli, Kolhapur, Amravati, Beed, Satara, Malegaon, Daund, Nandurbar, etc, and has screened about 1,500 children at these camps. A good number of these children needed immediate cardiac surgeries, the note said.

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