Readers write for April 14, 2010

As a pharmacist and a person who had Lyme disease, I am appalled that activists and legislators make broad decisions on health-care treatment options with such little information and then have the gall to think it's OK to discipline a doctor for treating this disease ("Activists and doctors divided over Lyme disease treatment," April 12).

First, everyone must realize that even in 2010 there are many diseases that have no clear treatment. Medicine is not a practice of clear-cut answers. Best practices emerge, but only after rigorous study of comparative treatments.

Lyme disease that does not respond to first-line antibiotics is rare enough that large studies to conclude the best treatment have not yet evolved.

Did we sue doctors who treated polio, scoliosis or AIDS with unproven treatments when the solution was not yet known? Certainly not.

I am not suggesting that long-term, intensive antibiotics are the answer, but in 2010, that may be the best option. Let science drive decisions, not activists and politicians.

RICH JANSEN, APPLE VALLEY

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They have lobbied the Legislature to put pressure on the medical establishment to permit a very expensive treatment that has no scientific validation.

This uninformed quackery is paid for by taxes and the insurance premiums of others. In a few years it will go the way of Laetrile, but meanwhile it will cost the country millions of dollars.

PAUL MAGEE, ST. PAUL

An April 12 letter assailed President Obama's proposal to reduce the United States' stock of nuclear weapons as naive.

Never mind that a significant number of the world's developed nations are in accord with him; that his goal has been the American government's policy for the last 10 years (since the beginning of the George W. Bush administration); that much of our arsenal is outmoded and therefore too costly to maintain; that intercontinental ballistic missiles are pretty much useless in unconventional warfare, and that mutually assured destruction would remain intact.

ALAN NADOSY, GOLDEN VALLEY

Last week brought two alarming stories of children adopted from Russia. One child brought a gun to his Hastings Middle School ("Mom and dad warned county: Boy is a danger," April 9). The other was put on a plane back to Russia ("Russia to halt U.S. adoptions," April 10). Both children suffer from disturbing emotional and behavioral issues, which were not disclosed at the time of adoption. Unfortunately this is all too common.

Parents adopting from Russia often receive alarmingly inaccurate medical records and background information on their children. The Eastern European Adoption Coalition Inc., a charity that supports families adopting from Russia, says, "Very few people who adopt from Eastern European orphanages expect to bring home a child with substantial challenges, yet this is often just what happens."

Unaware of their child's needs, parents are wholly unprepared to meet the needs of the institutionalized child. The EEAC says, "Children who have suffered from neglect, abuse or trauma often present challenging behavior, medical and educational issues. Some parents are totally unprepared emotionally for the tremendous strain of dealing with multiple, unexpected diagnoses."

It's well-known that Russian orphanages are appalling. Grave issues arise when children are warehoused in institutions and don't receive proper nurturing.

PEG BALLENTINE, BLOOMINGTON

I hesitate to submit a "fly in the ointment" to all the "feel good" about the new ballpark, but I must point out that in opening a new mass venue, the city of Minneapolis has done it again: There is no cab stand at Target Field.

Just as when the Metrodome opened, city planners completely overlooked the fact that fairly significant numbers of fans will arrive at the stadium by taxi and depart in the same manner. As of now, there is no legal place at the stadium for taxis to pick up or discharge passengers. Drivers who do run the serious risk of being ticketed for obstructing traffic.

Do we think there is a cab stand at Yankee Stadium in New York or Wrigley Field in Chicago?