Risk of childhood leukaemia . . . and other stories
BMJ 2020; 369 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1843 (Published 14 May 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;369:m1843
Childhood infections and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Circumstantial evidence points to early exposure to infection as a protective factor against childhood leukaemia. Attendance at day care nurseries, being a member of a large family, or being late in the birth order have all been linked to reduced risk. A case-control study from California shows the same thing (Am J Epidemiol doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa062). Although a history of infection during the first year of life had no influence on risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, infections in which at least one medication had been prescribed—presumably an indicator of a more severe infection—were associated with a halving of risk. Frustratingly, there’s no clue about which microorganisms were responsible.
Terson’s syndrome
A case report in Practical Neurology describes a 49 year old woman who, following successful coil embolisation for a right internal carotid artery aneurysm, complained of bilateral central visual loss. Funduscopy showed vitreous haemorrhage, which …
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