Skip to main content

NHS to use test that prevents babies going deaf

 By James Gallagher

Health and science correspondent - BBC
Edited by Amal Udawatta,
Newborn babyGETTY IMAGES

For some babies, commonly used antibiotics can become toxic. The drugs damage sensory cells inside the ear leading to permanent hearing loss.

The test - which analyses babies' DNA - can quickly spot those who are vulnerable.

It means they can be given a different type of antibiotic and avoid having a lifetime of damaged hearing.

Gentamicin is the first-choice antibiotic if a newborn develops a serious bacterial infection. It is life-saving and safe for the majority of people.

However, it has a rare side effect. About 1,250 babies in England and Wales are born with a subtle change in their genetic code that allows the antibiotic to bind more strongly to the hair cells in their ears, where it becomes toxic.

These tiny hairs help convert sounds into the electrical signals that are understood by the brain. If they are damaged, it results in hearing loss.

The side effect is well known, but until now there was no test that could get the results fast enough. It would be dangerous to delay treatment, and alternative antibiotics are not used as they have their own side effects and because of concerns about antibiotic resistance.

The new genedrive kit analyses a sample taken from inside the baby's cheek. Tests at two neonatal intensive care units in Manchester and Liverpool showed it could spot who was susceptible to hearing loss in 26 minutes, and using it did not delay treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) - which decides which drugs and technologies the NHS uses - has provisionally approved the test.

Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology at NICE, said: "Hearing loss has a substantial impact on the quality of the life of the baby and their family.

"Having this test available to NHS staff can avoid the risk of hearing loss in babies with the variant who need treatment with antibiotics."

He also said the costs of treating hearing loss was "high". Fitting a pair of cochlear implants - which use a microphone to convert sounds to an electrical signal - costs about £65,000.

The NICE recommendations apply directly to England and Wales, but are often adopted more widely.

The test will be made available as part of an early assessment to consider how well it works in a range of hospitals, and to see what impact it has on antibiotic use, before it gets final approval.

Susan Daniels, chief executive of the National Deaf Children's Society, said: "It's very encouraging that more evidence will be gathered on this important development.

"I hope this additional evidence will support the argument for the rollout of technology which could play a pivotal role in preventing deafness in a small number of babies in the future."

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Big freeze drove early humans out of Europe

 From BBC News,   By Pallab Ghosh-   Science correspondent, Edited by - Amal Udawatta, IMAGE SOURCE, PHILIPPE PSAILA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Image caption, Remains of a primitive human species known as Homo erectus have been found in Europe dating back to 1.4 million years ago. A big freeze previously unknown to science drove early humans from Europe for 200,000 years, but they adapted and returned, new research shows. Ocean sediments from 1.1 million years ago show temperatures suddenly dropped more than 5C, scientists say. They say our early ancestors couldn't have survived as they didn't have heating or warm clothes. Until now, the consensus had been that humans had existed in Europe continuously for 1.5 million years. Ancient humans' stone tools found in Kenya Ancient human remains found in County Armagh Ancient humans survived longer than we thought Evidence for the big freeze is found in sediments in the seabed off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal. Layers are deposited eac
Post a Comment
Read more

Email (required) * Constant Contact Use. Comet Nishimura swings by for binoculars and telescopes

 From - Sky & Tellescope, By - Alan Macrobert, Edited by - Amal Udawatta Comet Nishimura on the morning of September 5th, on its way in. The comet is the green bit at left. The star cluster at upper right is the Beehive. The brilliant light at lower right is Venus. Right-click image to open higher-res version in new tab. Michael Jäger took this view "from my observatory in Martinsberg, Lower Austria." It's a stack of eight 30-second exposures he made using a DSLR camera with a 50-mm lens at f/2.5. Comet Nishimura swings by for binoculars and telescopes.  Comet Nishimura (2023 P1), discovered just last month, is brightening toward its September 17th perihelion. The comet starts this week very low in the dawn sky. You'll need a low view to the east-northeast on the mornings of September 9th, 10th, and maybe 11th. The farther north you live the better. The waning crescent Moon won't pose interference. By the 13th or 14th the comet shifts to the low  evening  sky,
Post a Comment
Read more

INDIA’S CHANDRAYAAN 3 LANDS ON THE MOON; RUSSIA'S LUNA 25 CRASHES

   From - Sky & Telescope   By - David Dikinson,   Edited  by - Amal Udawatta,          The first surface image received from Chandrayaan 3.             ISRO In a first for the nation, India’s Chandrayaan 3 soft-landed in the lunar south pole region of the Moon. Russia’s Luna 25 lander crashed, however. Today was a “historic day for India’s space sector,” says India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, on   X , formerly known as Twitter. "Congratulations to ISRO for the remarkable success of Chandrayaan 3 lunar mission.” The landing occurred near Manzinus U Crater on the lunar nearside at 12:34 Universal Time (UT) (8:34 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, or EDT) on Wednesday, August 23rd. This makes India the fourth nation to soft-land on the Moon, after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. ESA’s European Space Tracking system (ESTRACK) and NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) partnered with ISRO to provide global tracking coverage for Chandrayaan 3. A cheering mission contr
Post a Comment
Read more