Tomorrow’s Health: Autism risk, stool transplants & printing vaccines

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - A new vaccine printer could help get doses to people who need them and researchers link common ear, nose, and throat issues to autism.

Autism risk

Young children with common ear, nose, and throat issues may be at higher risk of developing autism.

Those are the findings of a study published in the British Medical Journal, which looked at more than 10,000 children.

Those who experienced autistic traits had issues like mouth-breathing, snoring, ear-pulling, and poor listening skills.

Sleep apnea was also closely linked to an autism diagnosis.

Stool transplants

Stool transplants may be more effective than antibiotics for treating gut issues.

A new study published in Cochrane looked at cases of a condition known as c-diff, which causes potentially life-threatening diarrhea.

Seventy-seven percent of people who received a stool transplant were not infected again within the next two months, compared to only 40% who were treated with antibiotics alone.

Printing vaccines

MIT researchers have developed a vaccine printer that can store doses for months at room temperature.

The printer generates vaccine-filled microneedle patches.

Those patches are then attached to the skin, and the vaccine dissolves without a traditional injection.

The printer is also mobile and fits on a tabletop, which scientists say could allow for on-demand vaccines in remote areas without the need for cold storage or shipping.

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