IVF babies at higher risk of birth defects
Babies conceived through fertility treatments have higher rates of birth defects, but the overall risk is so small that it should not keep couples from having children this way, doctors say.
The news comes from a study of more than 61,000 births in Canada, the largest of its kind ever conducted in North America.
Stroke victims train brains to see again
A new study bolsters evidence that people partially blinded by a stroke or brain injury may be able to improve their field of vision by teaching new parts of their brain to see, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Using a computer workout program for the brain, about three-quarters of patients in the study could see better after six months of treatment with the therapy, which trains neighboring brain cells to take over for damaged areas.
Vitamin D may cut risk of colorectal cancer
Taking 1,000 to 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D each day may safely reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, according to pooled data from published studies.
The current findings contradict some prior individual studies that found that vitamin D intake did not seem to protect against colorectal cancer. However, it is possible that the dose may simply have been too low to provide a benefit, researchers say.
