Girl, 10, has life-saving vein transplant using a blood vessel grown from her own stem cells

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The pioneering technique successfully restored the girl's blood flow

A 10-year-old girl has been given a vein transplant using a blood vessel grown from her own stem cells.

It is the first time such an operation has been undertaken, marking a milestone in tissue engineering.

Similar techniques may in future offer hope for at-risk patients undergoing bypass surgery.

The girl had a blocked hepatic portal vein, which drains blood from the gut and spleen to the liver.

Without treatment, the condition can lead to serious complications including internal bleeding, spleen enlargement and even death.

Traditionally bypass surgery has been used to restore portal blood flow, using sections of vein taken from other parts of the body. This can cause other problems and is not always successful.

The new technique involved growing a new section of portal vein from the girl's own bone marrow stem cells.

First, a nine centimetre segment of groin vein was taken from a deceased donor and stripped of cellular tissue, leaving a tubular protein "scaffold".

Maturing stem cells were "seeded" into the scaffold, which two weeks later was implanted into the girl's body.

Normal blood flow was restored, but after a year the graft had to be lengthened with another piece of vein made from stem cells.

The patient had a blocked hepatic vein, which drains blood from the gut and spleen to the liver

The girl has remained well since and even managed to take part in gymnastics, the Swedish team reported in the latest online edition of The Lancet medical journal.

The researchers, led by Professor Suchitra Sumitran-Holdgersson, from the University of Gothenburg, wrote: 'The new stem cells-derived graft resulted not only in good blood flow rates and normal laboratory test values but also in strikingly improved quality of life for the patient.'

Because the graft was built from the girl's own cells, it was accepted by her immune system.

Two British experts commenting in The Lancet said the technique looked promising but was yet to be properly tested in clinical trials.

Professor Martin Birchall and Professor George Hamilton, both from University College London, wrote: 'The young girl in this report was spared the trauma of having veins harvested from the deep neck or leg, with the associated risk of lower limb disorders, and avoided the need for a liver or multivisceral transplantation.'

However they pointed out that the high cost of such procedures might be an obstacle to making them more widely available.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2159272/Girl-10-vein-transplant-using-blood-vessel-grown-stem-cells.html#ixzz1xt1Mo8g6

Moment deaf girl, 10, moved to tears after new implant allows her to hear her own breathing for the first time since she was a toddler

A 10-year-old girl who lost her hearing as a toddler cried when a cochlear implant again made it possible for her to hear herself breathing.

Sammie Hicks was moved to tears after the implant made it possible for her to hear simple sounds like her steady intakes of breath, chalk on a chalkboard, and her parents’ voices.

A genetic mutation had made the Collin County, Texas resident unable to hear sounds - she slowly lost her hearing as a toddler, until her world became completely silent.

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Hear's to you: Sammie Hicks, 10, jumped when the audiologist first switched on her cochlear implants, and was then moved to tears at the sound of her own breathing

Weeping: Sammie was overwhelmed by the experience - and sad about all the sounds she'd missed out on

Grinning: Sammie shows off a grin and is happy she can now hear the world around her

Like any tech-savvy pre-teen, Sammie kept a video diary of her experiences, both pre and post implant, as she emerged from a world of silence to one awash with noises and sounds of all sorts.

She said in one of her diaries that while being deaf is a handicap, it ‘doesn’t mean you can’t go and do the things you want to do like most of the other deaf people,’ she said, according to WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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Prior to the implant, Sammie said in her diary that she was both ‘excited’ and ‘nervous.’

The surgery went smoothly, but nothing could prepare Sammie for what happened when the audiologist activated the implant.

The moment, captured in another video diary entry, shows Sammie leaping out of her chair, her eyes filling with tears.

Overjoyed: Sammie's parents, Ron, left, and Jen Hicks, are over the moon that their daughter is able to hear them and converse with him

Keeping track: Sammie has kept a video diary through the process

She said later: ‘I started crying because it was overwhelming. I had no idea what the sounds were.’

Her mother, Jen Hicks, told the station: ‘I can’t really put into words what it felt like hearing those little things we never thought she’d be able to hear.’

The success of these devices is all down to extraordinary ­scientific development which allows ­doctors to short circuit the ­damaged ear canals of deaf patients and wire a microphone directly to the brain.

The tiny implants, which can last up to 20 years, are inserted into the inner ear and wired up to the ­cochlea, the snail-shaped cavity that ­normally helps to transmit sounds to the brain, according to ABC News.

'I started crying because it was overwhelming. I had no idea what the sounds were.'

-Sammie Hicks, after her cochlear implant was switched on

In severe deafness, as in ­Sammie’s case, tiny hair cells lining the inner part of the cochlea, which pick up sound waves, are damaged beyond repair. 

Surgeons therefore implant tiny electrodes and a receiver deep within the ear, then connect them up to a microphone worn on the outer ear, just like a hearing aid.

The procedure is still incredibly expensive – costing as much as $40,000 for the device and the implantation surgery.

And according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the implant is no magic bullet, and requires its recipient to attend rehabilitation sessions, speech therapy, and check-ups.

However, the ASHA ranks cochlear implants as one of ‘the most cost-effective medical procedures ever reported,’ citing research at the Johns Hopkins University.

Sammie’s adjusting brilliantly to a new life of sound, and has already modified the way in which she speaks. She says all of her teachers ‘sounds like a robot.’

As sound waves are picked up by the microphone, they are ­transmitted along a wire to a sophisticated sound processor which is worn behind the ear. 

This modifies the signal ­according to the individual’s needs (its power, for example, can be finely adjusted) before ­transmitting a signal to the receiver inside the skull. 

This is converted to electrical signals which are sent to ­electrodes to stimulate the auditory nerve, which is what enables our brain to ‘hear’ sounds.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149613/Moment-deaf-girl-10-moved-tears-new-implant-allows-hear-breathing.html#ixzz1vu9DoCp2

'She should be playing with dolls, it's shocking': Colombian girl, 10, gives birth to baby daughter

A 10-year-old Colombian girl has sparked outrage after becoming one of the world's youngest ever mothers by giving birth to a healthy daughter.

The girl, a member of the northern indigenous Wayuu tribe in the La Guajira Peninsula, was 39 weeks pregnant when she underwent a Caesarean section.

It was the first time the pre-teen, from the town of Manaure, had visited a doctor in connection with her pregnancy.

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Newborn: A 10-year-old Colombian girl almost died as she became one of the world's youngest ever mothers after giving birth to a healthy daughter (pictured)

Mother: The girl, a member of the northern indigenous Wayuu tribe in the La Guajira Peninsula, was 39 weeks pregnant when she underwent a Caesarean section

She reportedly arrived at the hospital bleeding, in floods of tears and 'enormous' pain from the contractions.

Doctors decided to carry out the risky operation because of her age - and both mother and daughter, who weighed just 5lbs, are said to be 'doing well'.

 

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This is despite the mother refusing to breastfeed her newborn and the pair being confined to the neo-natal unit of the hospital, which has not been disclosed.

Although Colombian police could prosecute the father for underage sex, the country's constitution guarantees the Wayuu a certain amount of autonomy.

Medical: It was the first time the girl, from the town of Manaure, had visited a doctor in connection with her pregnancy

Anonymous: The girl, who has not yet been named, has not revealed to the media who the father is

It allows the tribe to maintain its own sovereignty and certain cultural heritages, of which one is said to be the giving birth of children at an extremely young age.

In any case the community has remained tight-lipped as to the identity of the father, with some Colombian newspaper speculating it is a 15-year-old boy. Others believe it is a 30-year-old man.

The case has led to criticism from the director of the hospital where she gave birth.

Home: The town of Manaure is in the northern La Guajira Peninsula of Colombia

Mixed: The birth has prompted differing reactions, with some saying it is according to the tribal culture and others claiming it is shocking

Efraín Pacheco Casadiego told RCN La Radio: 'We've already seen similar cases of wayuu girls.

'At a time when (the girls) should be playing with dolls, they go to having to take care of a baby. It's shocking.'

But Alejandro Samplayo, director of parenthood organisation Instituto Colombiano Bienestar Familiar, referred to the tribe's culture.

He added: 'Since it's a Wayuu girl we are trying to respect all of their rights since they have autonomy and their own jurisdiction.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2125512/Colombian-girl-10-Wayuu-tribe-gives-birth-healthy-baby-daughter.html#ixzz1rB5b0HaL<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BcvgHeMCMrA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Girl, 10, Gives Birth in Mexico

A 10-year-old girl in Mexico has given birth, the Daily Mail reported.

The girl, who was just 31 weeks pregnant, was checked into a hospital in Puebla on October 22 because she was suffering from seizures and other potentially fatal complications.

She had a baby boy by Caesarean section weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces at the Women's Hospital, 60 miles outside of Mexico City.

Reports say the premature baby is currently in intensive care but in good condition, considering his weight. The young mother, who is recovering well, is allowed visits every day to breastfeed.
The birth has been reported to the state’s Attorney General’s Office and is under investigation as to whether the girl was raped, and if so, by whom.

RELATED: Girl, 11, Gives Birth to Baby Boy in Northeast Hospital

State laws in Mexico prohibit abortions for young mothers unless there is proof that they were a victim of sexual assault. The legal age of consent in Mexico is 12 years old. Those younger than 12 who have abortions can face a fine or prison if they cannot prove the pregnancy was a result of sexual abuse.

These laws are currently under review.

'Romanian' girl aged TEN gives birth to healthy 6lb 6oz baby in Spanish hospital

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325910/Romanian-girl-aged-10-gives-birth-healthy-baby-Spain.html#ixzz1dQDZ7CXE

more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/11/girl-10-gives-birth-in-mexico/#ixzz1dQBnX3sp
A girl in Spain has become one of the world's youngest mothers after giving birth at age ten.
She had a child weighing 6lb 6oz during a natural birth last week at a hospital in Jerez de la Frontera, in the southern region of Andalusia.
Both mother and baby have been allowed out of hospital and are in perfect health, but social services are studying the case.

Scene: The hospital in the southern town of Jerez where the girl gave birth

Local media said the girl is a Romanian immigrant who arrived in Spain already pregnant.

The girl's mother told hospital staff she was happy about the birth, which she described as ‘something common in my country.’
Micaela Navarro, the Andalusia region's social affairs minister, said they only became aware of the case from hospital staff three days after the birth.

She said: ‘The important thing is that both mother and baby are cared for perfectly.

‘If that is the case, they can remain in the family environment, which is what we are checking at the moment.’
If not, the young mother and her child could be looked after by a grandparent or aunt or uncle, she said.
Navarro told reporters the father of the baby is also a minor, and both the mother and the baby were in good health.
Her department declined to give details, including the sex of the baby, but said authorities do not consider this a case of rape and that no criminal investigation is under way.
Under Spanish law, having consensual sex with someone under age 13 is classified as child abuse, an official with the Spanish Justice Ministry in Madrid said.
But this particular case is complicated by the fact that the father of the baby is also a minor and it is not clear if he could be charged, the official said.

The girl gave birth in Jerez Hospital on October 26 and was allowed home over the weekend.

A hospital source said: ‘The girl's mother told us the girl lived with her boyfriend in her home country.

‘There are girls who can appear older than they are, but in this case the girl is just that: a girl.’
Britain's youngest mother, Tressa Middleton, from Armadale, West Lothian, gave birth aged 12 in 2006.
Medical experts warn that because young girls are still growing, they are at higher risk during pregnancy.
Studies have shown that teenage girls are more likely to give birth to premature babies and their infants have a higher chance of dying by the age of one.
The World Health Authority says that in low and middle-income countries, almost 10 per cent of girls become mothers by age 16, and that girls aged 10-19 account for 11 per cent of all births worldwide.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325910/Romanian-girl-aged-10-gives-birth-healthy-baby-Spain.html#ixzz1dQDsRjff