Thatcher 'In Good Spirits'

Lady Thatcher is said to be in good spirits after being admitted to hospital with a flu infection. Her son, Sir Mark Thatcher, said his mother was "in very good spirits, absolutely excellent," after being taken by ambulance for private treatment at Bupa Cromwell Hospital in west London. After a recent visit, he said that tests due to be performed on the baroness were "entirely precautionary". Lady Thatcher was forced to pull out of her 85th birthday party at Downing Street last week due to illness. Sir Mark said: "She's been recovering quite well but the doctors wanted to bring her into hospital for some routine tests over the next couple of days. If they go according to plan, she'll be home shortly."

No Contact With Rooney, Says Man City Boss

Manchester City Boss, Roberto Mancini has denied recent contact with Wayne Rooney regarding a move to the football club. His admission follows Sir Alex Ferguson's comments that the star wanted to leave Old Trafford. The Manchester United Manager said he was "bemused" as to why Rooney has wanted to go. He commented: "It's disappointing because we have done everything we possibly can to help Wayne Rooney ever since he came to the club. There was an offer there, it never got into financial discussion, but I know... (there was a contract) that would be difficult to better elsewhere." There was speculation Mancini had approached Rooney to play for Man City but this has been denied. Mancini commented: "Rooney is a great player but I think he'll stay at United. He's a good player, he's an important player for United. I have respect for him, for Ferguson, for United. I want to speak only about my players." Harry Redknapp added there would definitely be "some big fish" wanting to sign the star forward. He said: "What an amazing situation to be in: somebody who's worth £50-60m will be a free agent. But if that's the road he wants to go down, he can go down that road. Manchester United can do nothing about it. One thing's for sure, he won't find a better club than Manchester United to play for. He's got a great manager there. I don't know what's gone on there but it's a shame if it ends that way."

Early Spring Pregnancy Linked To Food Allergies

A child’s likelihood of developing food allergies can be traced back to the season during which s/he completes their first three months of life in the womb, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

 The Finnish researchers base their findings on just under 6000 children, all of whom were born between 2001 and 2006 and lived in one area of Finland.

 Out of the total, just under 1000 were tested for sensitisation to food allergens between the ages of 0 and 4 years, with the likelihood of a positive test result rising sharply during the first year of life. 

Up to the age of 4, the incidence of an allergic response to certain foods varied according to season of birth, ranging from 5% for children born in June/July to 9.5% for those born in October/November.

 Around one in 10 (11%) children, whose 11th week of development in the womb had occurred during April or May were sensitised to food allergens. This compared with a rate of 6% among children who reached that stage of fetal development in December/January. 

Research already indicates that children born in autumn or winter are more prone to eczema and wheeze, and that they have higher levels of circulating antibodies to allergens than children born in spring or summer, say the authors.

 This might be because the fetus begins to produce antibodies to allergens at around the 11th week of development, and antibodies to specific allergens by around 24 weeks, they suggest.

 An allergic type response is thought to be necessary for the pregnancy to continue, and in some cases this persists after birth. But the timing of the development of sensitisation has been the subject of heated debate.

(BMcN)