Stem cells take cues from cerebrospinal fluid in the brain – Proteins in fluids bathing the brain are essential for building the brain, revealed by researchers in the journal Neuron. The finding promises to advance research related to neurological disease, cancer and stem cells.
Fetal surgery, pioneered at UCSF, is more effective than operating after birth – Thirty years ago, the first human fetal surgery was performed at the University of California, San Francisco. Now, a randomized controlled trial has proven definitively that fetal surgery can help certain patients before birth.
Indoor Coal Use Associated With Possible Impairment of Early Childhood Growth – Children raised in homes using indoor coal for cooking or heating appear to be about a half-inch shorter at age 36 months than those in households using other fuel sources.
Education Programs Could Increase Parent-Child Interactions in At-Risk Families – Parent education programs delivered through pediatric primary care offices appeared to increase parent-child interactions during infancy in at-risk families.
Doctors on Facebook risk compromising doctor-patient relationship — Facebook activity of residents and fellows and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship – Doctors with a profile on the social networking site Facebook may be compromising the doctor-patient relationship, because they don’t deploy sufficient privacy settings, indicates research published online in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Recurrent miscarriage raises heart attack risk fivefold in later life — Pregnancy loss and risk of cardiovascular disease: A prospective population-based cohort study (EPIC-Heidelberg) – Recurrent miscarriage increases a woman’s chance of having a heart attack fivefold in later life, indicates research published online in the journal Heart.
UN estimates reveal fewer women dying from pregnancy-related causes, but 1000 still die a day and more needs to be done to achieve set targets – The number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased by 34% from an estimated 546 000 in 1990 to 358 000 in 2008, according to a new report, Trends in maternal mortality, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.
Prenatal exposure to pesticides linked to attention problems – Children who were exposed to organophosphate pesticides while still in their mother’s womb were more likely to develop attention disorders years later, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Immune responses during pregnancy linked to schizophrenia among offspring – Infections like the flu are common occurrences during pregnancy, and research has shown that children born to mothers who suffered from flu, viruses and other infections during pregnancy have about a 1.5 to 7 times increased risk for schizophrenia.
Women don’t need to delay getting pregnant after miscarriage — Research: Effect of interpregnancy interval on outcomes of pregnancy after miscarriage: Retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics in Scotland – Women who conceive within six months of an initial miscarriage have the best chance of having a healthy pregnancy with the lowest complication rates, revealed researchers in BMJ.
Cancer deaths continue to drop in USA – The continued drop in overall cancer mortality rates over the last 20 years has averted more than three-quarters of a million (767,000) cancer deaths according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.
Do we clamp the umbilical cord too soon? — USF researchers: Early clamping may interrupt humankind’s first ‘natural stem cell transplant’ – The timing of umbilical cord clamping at birth should be delayed just a few minutes longer, suggest researchers at the University of South Florida’s Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.
