Visit Mari de Villa’s 22-Acre Campus Mari de Villa offers flexible accommodations designed to meet the health and housing needs of their quest even as those needs change. Serving St. Louis Since 1960 OFFERING ALL LEVELS OF SENIOR CARE Offering All Levels of Care Independent Living in the Villa Estates Private Rooms and Suites in Villa <strong>West</strong> and Villa East Buildings Rates are all inclusive. There are no surprises! The Terraces providing Alzheimer's and Memory Care Join us for the Parade! Saturday, October 6 at 2pm " Mari de Villa is locally owned and we live on site, it's our home too. - Fred & Mary Kay " Visit www.maridevilla.com or call 636.227.5347 for more information on our surprisingly affordable rates and services 13900 Clayton Road | Town and Country, Missouri We are pledged to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial or national origin. FRED W. & MARY KAY WIESEHAN
FACEBOOK.COM/WESTNEWSMAGAZINE WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM September <strong>26</strong>, 20<strong>18</strong> WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I HEALTH I 39 New nationwide research shows that inducing labor at 39 weeks for first-time mothers reduces their odds of needing a cesarean section. health capsules By LISA RUSSELL Inducing labor may reduce first cesarean deliveries Nearly one in three American women currently gives birth by cesarean section. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, cesarean birth is too common in the United States, and has increased greatly since it was first measured in the 1960s. While delivery by cesarean section is generally safe for first-time mothers and their babies, it is a major surgical procedure with potential risks, a longer recovery time, and a greater likelihood of the need for repeat surgeries to deliver the mother’s future children. However, a new national study conducted through the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network has found that inducing labor in first-time mothers at 39 weeks’ gestation can help prevent cesarean births, as well as maternal high blood pressure. The study involved more than 6,100 healthy, first-time expectant mothers at medical centers across the U.S. Half of the women were randomly assigned to be induced at 39 weeks, while the other half waited for labor to begin naturally. Nationwide, researchers said that women whose labor was induced at 39 weeks experienced fewer cesarean births, lower rates of maternal and fetal complications, fewer newborns needing respiratory support, and reduced incidence of preeclampsia, as well as significantly reduced rates of high blood pressure. Dr. George Saade, chief of obstetrics at The University of Texas Medical Branch, which participated in the study, said these results should produce changes in the management of births to first-time mothers. “We hope that this new study will lead to significant decreases in cesarean rates nationally … first-time mothers now should discuss this with their health care provider and decide whether they prefer to be induced at 39 weeks or wait for labor to start on its own.” New type of treatment may reverse Type 1 diabetes New research conducted in mice may have discovered a means to successfully reverse Type 1 diabetes on a long-term basis – both in dogs and humans. The disease currently affects approximately 1.25 million children and adults in the U.S., as well as about one in every 100 dogs and cats. The new treatment, a collagen formulation mixed with pancreatic cells, was developed by Purdue University and Indiana University School of Medicine researchers. It could potentially represent the first minimally invasive therapy to successfully reverse Type 1 diabetes within 24 hours, and maintain insulin independence for at least 90 days. Because diabetes in dogs and humans occurs similarly, treatment has, so far, been similar as well: monitoring blood glucose A new type of treatment shows potential for long-term reversal of Type 1 diabetes, in both humans and pets. throughout the day and administering insulin after meals. This also means that dogs and humans could benefit from the same new treatment – in this case, introducing new pancreatic cells to replace the clusters of cells, called islets, that aren’t releasing insulin to monitor blood glucose levels. For many reasons, finding a way to transplant islets successfully has eluded researchers for decades, including that the current method of delivering islets through the portal vein of the liver is too invasive and the human immune system destroys most of the transplanted islets. The Purdue researchers changed how the islets were packaged – first, within a solution containing collagen, and second, as an injection through the skin instead of into the liver. They were able to successfully inject pancreatic cells mixed with the collagen solution in diabetes-induced mice, and achieved normal glucose levels in the mice for at least three months. The next step is a pilot clinical study in dogs with pre-existing Type 1 diabetes, which will be conducted in collaboration with Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We plan to account for differences from mouse to human by helping dogs first. This way, the dogs can inform us on how well the treatment might work in humans,” said Clarissa Hernandez Stephens, the study’s first author and a graduate researcher in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. The findings appear in the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism. Concern over drug-resistant infections rising The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] now estimates that two million Americans contract drug-resistant bacterial infections each year, and 23,000 people die from those infections. Recently, a California hospital in the Alameda Health System analyzed the bacterial cause of all urinary tract infections in patients seen in its emergency department over a oneyear period, and found that a concerning six percent of them were caused by drugresistant bacteria. Historically, such antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found mainly in hospital-based infections – those which are acquired in a hospital or other healthcare setting. However, close to half [44 percent] of the infections analyzed were contracted outside of the hospital, which is the highest percentage reported in the U.S. to date. More urinary tract infections in particular are now falling into this category, the authors noted. The bacteria, mainly found to be E coli, were resistant to most commonly used antibiotics. In many cases, patients seen at the hospital had no identifiable risk factors for this kind of infection, the analysis also found. “The rise of drug-resistant infections is worrisome,” said Dr. Bradley W. Frazee of Alameda Health System Highland Hospital, the study’s lead author. “What’s new is that in many of these resistant urinary tract infections, it may simply be impossible to identify which patients are at risk. Addressing the causes of antibiotic resistance, and developing novel drugs, is imperative. A society without working antibiotics would be like returning to preindustrial times, when a small injury or infection could easily become life-threatening.” The study was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. On the calendar BJC sponsors a Staying Home Alone class on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Missouri Baptist Medical Center Clinical Learning Institute, 3005 N. Ballas Road, on the fourth floor. This class is designed for children and parents to attend together; it will help determine a child’s physical, mental, social and emotional readiness to stay home alone while preparing them for this experience. The fee is $25 per family; please provide the names of all family members attending. To register, call (314) 454-5437. • • • Pedal the Cause 20<strong>18</strong>, a communitywide fundraising and bike challenge for riders of all ages to benefit research at Siteman Cancer Center, is Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30 at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive in Chesterfield. Riders may choose courses ranging from 10-100 miles. To register or for a full schedule of events, visit pedalthecause.org. • • • Mercy Hospital St. Louis offers a Sitter Skills program for children between the ages of 11 and 13 on Friday, Oct. 5 from 6-9 p.m. at the hospital’s campus, 615 S. New Ballas Road, in Classroom 2 on the seventh floor. Children are asked to bring a doll or stuffed animal to class to learn how to change diapers. A light snack is provided. The course fee is $30 per child. Register online at mercy.net. • • • BJC Healthcare offers free health screenings and health risk assessments on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Dierbergs Heritage Place, 12595 Olive Blvd. in Creve Coeur, in the pharmacy department. This screening measures your glucose, total cholesterol and HDL. No fasting is required. Screenings will be conducted on a walk-in basis; no appointments are needed.
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