1 yr. ago • 99%

Bizarre blip: Cases of fetuses with flipped organs quadrupled in China

arstechnica.com Bizarre blip: Cases of fetuses with flipped organs quadrupled in China

Doctors speculated cases could link to a COVID surge, but no conclusions can be drawn.

34 comments

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26
- Low incidence, very low number of centers, striking change which reverses in two months: Operator (new staff) or recording error (new system for recording or identifying) would be the first two things you would need to rule out. Specific locality of residence of the mothers would be the next research. Cross-referencing of the OB/Gyn provider would be next (creepy, yes - but one doctor covering a population area this size would see far more than this number of patients over an 8 week period). Manmade environmental factors would probably be next (leak, spill?). Covid, while not a remote guess given the timing, is pretty far down the list of likely suspects imo.
  
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- Lovecraftian Viral Husk for president!
  
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That's very strange, but are there any adverse effects from this condition?

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- Typically, no, from my understanding. While the organs are reversed (both in position and shape), they're generally still functional like normal organs, and the patient may not suffer any adverse reactions to the condition whatsoever.
  
  However, a major issue can stem from the need of any sort of organ transplant. If a situs inversus patient needs something like a new heart, their bodies won't accept a normal transplant. And with this being such a rare condition, it's nearly impossible to find a viable donor in most scenarios. So a problem like liver failure, which while dangerous is still often treatable via transplant, it's almost always fatal to somebody with situs inversus, unless it can be treated without transplanting.
  
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  Will their bodies accept a transplant from another situs inversus patient? I mean, is the rejection caused by the chirality or is it another effect of the condition?
  
  How does the body know which way an organ is oriented?
  
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- Well they shit out of their mouths and they eat through their asses, I call that pretty adverse
  
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  That's a problem. We don't need more politicians.
  
  38
- Because the relationship between the organs is not changed, most people with situs inversus have no associated medical symptoms or complications.
  
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situs_inversus
  
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  wait so if these babies are functioning normally as this would imply then how tf do people know the organs are flipped? is this something you can see on the ultrasound in the womb or did they get their babies scanned for some reason? is this a stupid question?? i dont have any kids so im genuinely lost here
  
  edit: i read the article again and “ But, in 2023, the rate jumped to nearly 24 cases per 10,000 ultrasound screenings.” so it was indeed from an ultrasound. my b. leaving this here in case others are confused and stupid like me.
  
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- CPR isn't effective. I'd probably have a medic alert bracelet or tattoo or something, just in case.
  
  -3
  
  CPR would work fine. The pressure is applied to the center of the chest between the nipples, not over the heart.
  
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Anything going on in China can be titled "Bizarre blip"

13
Well good news for Erich Soders.

13
- Well done 47.
  
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Looking at the 2023 cases by month, the researchers noted that the surge in situs inversus began in April and continued to June before returning to background rates in July.

The authors acknowledge that "no conclusions" can be drawn from the current report as to the cause of the unusual spike. However, they call for further research to understand what was behind the uptick and the possible role of SARS-CoV-2. The good news is that most people with situs inversus have normal life spans.

9
- The typical cause of this is a biomarker sticks to one side of an embryo, marking it as left (or right, I don't remember), but a twin embryo that is too close will see that marker on the other side and develop mirror imaged to the first embryo, right?
  
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What the fuck is going on over der.

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- What the fuck is going on over everyder?
  
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Their environmental regulations are pretty lax, the COVID link could just be coincidental.

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- This what deregulation gets you, so yeah betting high in those environmental de regulations as the reason.
  
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I’m going to place my money on some kind of pollution or industrial toxin but I doubt we’ll ever know the truth because China.

6
Are.... Are we talking about flipped as in inverted, or flipped as in second-hand...?

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- situs inversus, a rare congenital condition in which the organs in the chest and abdomen are arranged in a mirror image of their normal positions.
  
  11
- This week on House Hunters:
  
  "can't wait to flip this baby"
  
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- Condition: "Like new"
  
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- Inside out, and upside down
  
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Could it be due to china's own developed vaccination against COVID? This one has not spread to any other major parts of the world, as far as I know off.

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- Go post this theory on some conspiracy theory boards and give them something new to irrationally latch onto.
  
  11
- Could it be magic?
  
  5
  
  Maybe it's Maybelline?
  
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- China is a very big place with a lot of people. It makes sense that we would find things there that we haven't elsewhere
  
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