Babygrow with lights built in could help thousands of newborns affected by jaundice: Bulbs could breakdown the compound that causes condition’s characteristic yellow appearance

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Around 60 per cent of newborns have jaundice, rising to 80 per cent in premature babies.

When babies are in the womb, the placenta gets rid of bilirubin, a by-product of the natural breakdown of old red blood cells. After birth, the baby’s liver takes over. But it can often struggle to cope with the workload.

Failure to feed properly can also lead to a build-up of bilirubin, as babies become dehydrated, leaving insufficient fluids to flush out the substance.

In most cases, jaundice clears up on its own as a baby’s liver becomes stronger.

But around one in 20 needs treatment — the risk is hearing problems or brain damage as bilirubin levels build up.

In extreme cases, a blood transfusion is needed. But the main treatment is phototherapy, where the baby is placed under a lamp that emits blue light: this has a shorter wavelength than other forms of light and so generates more energy.

The light breaks down the bilirubin into molecules that can be more easily handled by the liver.

However, the treatment usually involves placing babies naked and alone under a lamp in an incubator for at least two days. Their eyes are covered by a mask, as the light could damage their vision. The only interruption is when they are temporarily removed for feeding.

Seaweed could help antibiotic-resistant bugs 

SEAWEED could help kill antibiotic-resistant bugs. In laboratory tests, researchers at Cardiff University found that seaweed compounds called alginates — used as gelling agents in food — are able to stick to bacterial cells, killing them. The researchers are planning to develop a medicine using alginates to treat superbugs such as MRSA

Although phototherapy is highly effective, it can be traumatic for mothers and babies to be split up so soon after the birth. The new babygrow, developed at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology in Dubendorf, means babies can be treated while being cared for by their mothers at home, without the need for eye protection (the light from the garment only shines inwards onto the body). To make the babygrow, experts integrated fibres fitted with LEDs into the satin material, so they could beam light evenly all over the skin.

Satin was chosen as it is soft and flexible. Its threads also do not cross over each other as much as some other materials, such as cotton, so light is more likely to penetrate it. And unlike light bulbs, which produce light by heating a filament, LEDs do not get hot when in use, so the baby’s skin will not get burnt.

A recent study in the journal Biomedical Optics Express said a prototype babygrow — which is fully washable — produced similar levels of blue light to a conventional hospital incubator.

If tests prove the babygrow could fight jaundice, it could be available within three to five years.

David Field, a professor of neonatal medicine at the University of Leicester, said: ‘This certainly sounds like an attractive idea, but careful testing will be necessary to make sure the babygrow is as good as conventional phototherapy.’

■ MEANWHILE, wearing yellow spectacles before bed can help you sleep. Exposure to artificial light — particularly blue light emitted by devices such as laptops and phones — at night can reduce or delay the body’s production of melatonin, the hormone that acts as a signal for the onset of sleep.

Amber-coloured lenses block blue light, but allow all other light to pass through.

In a new study, people wore yellow or clear lenses for two hours before bed for seven days. Results in the Journal of Psychiatric Research show those with amber lenses had improved sleep quality and lower insomnia scores.

 

New approach for brain diseases like Parkinson’s 

Your taste in music can be changed by a zap to the brain — a finding that has implications for Parkinson’s and other brain diseases.

Researchers at Canada’s McGill University asked 17 people to rate their enjoyment of music, while undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Here, electrical currents were used to stimulate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain linked to personality.

This boosted enjoyment of the music; when it was inhibited, they liked it less.

Learning to manipulate these circuits could lead to therapies for Parkinson’s, which affects this area, said the researchers.

 

Good vibrations could ease pain of arthritis

Gloves that vibrate may reduce the pain of arthritis in the hands, according to a study at Harvard Medical School in the U.S.

The gloves have tiny motors imbedded in them, which gently vibrate and increase blood circulation — it’s thought this will warm the tissue and, in turn, lower pain.

In a trial involving 70 women with osteoarthritis of the hand, half wore the gloves for 20 minutes a day for three months.

The study, reported in the journal Pain Medicine, found that more than half of the women who used the gloves experienced less hand pain than the others.

Further research is needed before the treatment can be made widely available.

34f9802df6c42094471ab1aa6b0e0371 Babygrow with lights built in could help thousands of newborns affected by jaundice: Bulbs could breakdown the compound that causes condition's characteristic yellow appearance

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