Genetic screening fails women trying for IVF birth
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Genetic screening, often seen as the best hope for older women undergoing IVF treatment to have a child, is ineffective and actually reduces rates of pregnancies, scientists said on Wednesday.
The surprise finding from a controlled clinical trial involving 408 women is a major setback for a technology that is used increasingly in fertility clinics worldwide.
Mom’s meat-rich diet affects kids’ stress response
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Adults whose mothers ate an unbalanced, meat-heavy diet during pregnancy may tend to have an exaggerated hormonal response to stress, a study suggests.
The findings are in line with previous research linking such prenatal diets to higher adulthood blood pressure.
High cola consumption linked to kidney disease
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People who overindulge in cola may be putting their kidneys at risk, a new study suggests.
Drinking more than two servings of cola a day more than doubled the likelihood of having chronic kidney disease, Dr. Dale P. Sandler and colleagues from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina found. But no increased risk was seen with other carbonated beverages.
Genetic disease carries risk of sudden deafness
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People diagnosed with a genetic disease called von Hippel-Lindau disease or VHL may suddenly experience hearing loss caused by a tumor, researchers advise in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
VHL disease is characterized by the development of tumors in blood vessels in the retina of the eye and in the brain. Lesions and cysts can also develop in other parts of the body.
Dark chocolate may cut blood pressure
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Enjoying small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate daily appears to lower blood pressure, according to a report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Previous reports have linked cocoa-containing foods with reduced blood pressure, but the effect of regular, low-level cocoa intake on blood pressure was not known, Dr. Dirk Taubert, from University Hospital of Cologne in Germany, and colleagues point out.
Gene Variations Link Inflammation and Increased Lung Cancer Risk
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Variations in two genes related to inflammation may be a major risk factor for developing lung cancer, according to a team of scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The effect of these genes is especially strong among heavy smokers, suggesting that the inflammatory response is important in modulating the damage caused by tobacco smoke.
Their study, published in the July 1 issue of Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, is the first to pinpoint the mechanism by which damage to the lung might trigger an overzealous inflammatory response by the immune system, leading to lung cancer.
New Clue Why MS Affects African Americans Differently than Caucasians
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Differences in immune systems have been found in African Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to Caucasians, possibly offering a clue why African Americans experience more disability with MS than Caucasians, according to a study published in the July 3, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers compared levels of antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid of 66 African Americans to 132 Caucasians with MS.
Reducing the cost of sleep disorders
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Griffith University has been working with Queensland Health and the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to reduce the cost of sleep disorders.
Griffith Senior Lecturer in Management Dr Don Kerr said the direct cost of sleep disorders on the Australian health system was estimated at $40 million per year.
High Stress Increases Pregnancy Risk
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High stress levels with low social support during pregnancy can place women at risk for premature labor and preeclampsia. A new study shows that mental health anguish can trigger inflammatory responses that can place both the mother and baby at risk.
Preeclampsia, symptoms of which include sudden increases in blood pressure, excessive weight gain and severe headaches, can affect the mother’s kidney, liver and brain function. If left untreated, preeclampsia can result in seizures or even coma during pregnancy. Uncontrolled preeclampsia can threaten the life of both the mother and the baby.
Does Anxiety Influence Pregnancy Outcomes?
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A review of research conducted over the course of nearly 40 years has lead scientists to comment that experiencing anxiety symptoms during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of having a longer labor or a low birth weight baby. According to the authors, previous research examining whether anxiety during pregnancy does cause harmful effects had shown mixed results.
Still, researchers believe additional research is needed as a number of important outcomes that have been theorized to be affected by anxiety, such as development of pre-eclampsia have not been studied. The review, by University of Texas Medical Branch scientists, will be presented at the 114th annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Antidepressants OK During Pregnancy
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Medical authorities have struggled over the potential risk for newborns when a certain class of depression medications is taken during pregnancy. New research suggests use of certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressants do not appear to increase the risk for most kinds of birth defects.
Researchers from Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center suggest that individual SSRIs may increase the risk for some specific defects, but these are rare and the absolute risks are small.
Use of Selective Serotonin-Reuptake Inhibitors in Pregnancy and the Risk of Birth Defects
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Information regarding the safety of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in human pregnancy is sparse. Concern has been raised about the risk of congenital heart defects associated with the use of SSRIs in pregnancy.
Methods We obtained data on 9622 case infants with major birth defects and 4092 control infants born from 1997 through 2002 from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Case infants were ascertained through birth-defects surveillance systems in eight U.S. states; controls were selected randomly from the same geographic areas. Mothers completed a standardized telephone interview regarding exposure to potential risk factors, including medications, before and during pregnancy. Exposure to SSRIs was defined as treatment with any SSRI from 1 month before to 3 months after conception. Birth defects were assigned to 26 categories and subcategories.
Breastfeeding Not Associated with Reduced Risk of Adult Obesity
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An independent study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, published in the July edition of the International Journal of Obesity, finds that women who were breastfed did not have lower incidence of overweight or obesity in adulthood when compared to women who were not breastfed.
Additionally, the study finds that although exclusive breastfeeding (for at least six months) is associated with leaner body shape at five years, this association does not persist into adolescence or adulthood. The study is based on data collected from 35,526 women participating in the Nurse’s Health Study II (NHS), is the largest to date examining breastfeeding and its influence on adult weight status.
Doctors offer fertility hope to cancer children
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Doctors have extracted, matured and frozen eggs from girls as young as five in a move that may allow children with cancer to become parents when they grow up, scientists said on Sunday.
Childhood cancers usually result in cure rates of between 70 and 90 percent but the aggressive chemotherapy which is often needed can render children sterile.
Genetic mutations raise heart rhythm problem risk
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Two genetic mutations have been identified that increase the risk of a common heart rhythm problem linked to stroke, according to researchers who have developed a test to identify people who have them.
Writing on Sunday in the journal Nature, scientists scanned the genes of thousands of people from Iceland, Sweden, the United States and Hong Kong to find these two common mutations tied to much higher risk for atrial fibrillation.
