Prozac is ‘safe’ for newborns

BABIES whose mums took antidepressants during pregnancy are not at increased risk of epilepsy, according to a major study.

It overturns previous research that suggested newborns and toddlers were more likely to have seizures if mothers took Prozac or other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) while expecting.

But research into the records of 1.7million infants found the 24,000 who were exposed to SSRIs in the first trimester of pregnancy were no more likely to suffer fits than those who were not.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, looked at newborns in Sweden over a 17-year period.

THOUSANDS of Britons with a painful digestive condition could soon have their illness monitored by swallowing a bit of string.

Almost one in 1,000 have eosinophilic oesophagitis, where white blood cells called eosinophils collect in the oesophagus causing inflammation, acid reflux, nausea and difficulty swallowing. It is monitored using uncomfortable endoscopies several times a year.

But a simple test developed at University Hospital Southampton could change that. Patients swallow a thin string, taped to the cheek, which is washed down with water. It absorbs fluid in the oesophagus – or foodpipe – and is withdrawn after 30 minutes to be tested to establish the concentration of eosinophils.

MOST obese teens don’t realise they have a serious weight problem, research reveals.

More than a third of British teens begin their adult life obese, which increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. A poll, led by scientists at Leeds University, quizzed more than 5,000 obese youths aged 12 to 17 from ten nations, including the UK.

Most did not think their weight was a health risk, and many of those who did admitted struggling to talk about it. Lead author Professor Jason Halford said: ‘Governments need to treat obesity as a disease.’