(Radio Iowa) – An emergency physician is urging Iowa parents and anyone else buying gifts for children this holiday season to closely follow the labeling and to only purchase toys, crafts and sporting goods that are age appropriate. Dr. Benjamin Orozco, with Gundersen Health System, says pay close attention to the packaging for age recommendations, but he stresses, that shouldn’t be the only deciding factor. “When you’re shopping for a toy, you need to consider all the kids in the house, not just the recipient of that toy,” Orozco says. “Disasters are rare, but there are about a dozen kids a year in the United States that die from a toy, and maybe 250,000 kids who get injured in some way by toys.” It’s crucial to use common sense when buying gifts for children, he says, especially if there are younger siblings in the house.

“We know that the most vulnerable for the catastrophic injuries from choking and ingestion are kids four and under, especially that toddler range where they’re going to be putting things into their mouth,” Orozco says, “and that accounts, unfortunately, for a few deaths every year from choking on a small piece or wrapping or a piece of a toy.” The hazards are different for older children and teenagers, and a full complement of safety gear is a must for many purchases. “Scooters account for most significant injuries. Think of your broken wrists, your bumps, bruises, but also sometimes significant head injuries,” Orozco says. “My advice is to put the safety equipment right with the toy. When you buy a scooter, it should come with a helmet and any other safety equipment that you want used with that item.”

He says agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission do a great job of keeping dangerous toys off the shelves, but occasionally, something will slip through. “There were some very powerful magnets that came out, they’re fun, teenagers can use them. They would stick together and if a small child ingested two of them, they could stick together and pin pieces of the intestine together, and their intestines would actually burst as a result of that,” Orozco says. “It’s really rare that something like that makes it onto the market before the dangers are recognized, but it does happen.” Some new toys are still coated with hazardous lead-based paint, typically items being imported from other countries, so beware. Orozco encourages the purchasing of games, balls, and other activity-related toys that get kids outside to play, to stimulate their minds and their bodies.

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop early this (Monday) morning in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Polk County. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says the stop was conducted at around 12:45-a.m. on Highway 71, near 265th Street. Upon further investigation, Deputies arrested 51-year-old April Michelle Nehls, of Des Moines, for Driving While Barred. Nehls was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Iowa News Service) – A team of scientists at Iowa State University has discovered new ways to use stem cells to treat blood disorders. This advancement in what’s known as “regenerative medicine” could eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants. This discovery essentially gives scientists the ability to stop the body’s so-called biological clock to treat potentially lethal blood diseases.

Iowa State Assistant Genetics Professor Clyde Campbell said scientists now have the ability to inject patients with their own stem cells to fight leukemia, lymphoma, and anemia. “So, the more stem cells we have,” said Campbell, “the better our chances to generate enough tissue to actually be beneficial to patients suffering from certain disorders.” The group’s research was published in the journal Nature Communications in the Fall.

The body develops a lifetime’s worth of stem cells before birth. But Campbell said the Iowa State advancement allows scientists to develop them specifically for therapeutic use, which is new.

A Liquid Nitrogen bank containing suspension of stem cells. Cell culture for the biomedical diagnostic.

He said scientists can now manipulate switches in the body’s biological clock that tell stem cells when to expand and when to stop expanding. “And so,” said Campbell, “now we have the capability of manipulating these switches to generate more stem cells in the laboratory.”

Campbell said now scientists will focus on how to integrate the patient’s lab-grown stem cells into their treatment options, and potentially eliminate the need for painful – and often unsuccessful – bone marrow transplants.