Placenta News and Research

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Pluristem granted two key cell therapy patents in Japan

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, has announced that the Japan Patent Office has granted the Company two key patents addressing...

14 Apr 2016

Study links effects of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure with placental development

In the United States, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is the most common preventable cause of developmental delay. Animal studies have shown some of the adverse effects of PAE on placental development, but few studies have examined these effects in humans. This is the first study to examine the effects of prenatal exposure to methamphetamine, marijuana, and cigarette smoking on human placental development.

5 Apr 2016

Johns Hopkins expert offers tips on Zika virus relating to pregnancy, sexual transmission

No treatment or vaccine currently exists for Zika virus. For most people who contract the virus, the illness will be mild and pass on its own in about one week.

1 Apr 2016

Zika threat to Olympics attendees? An interview with Prof. Eskild Petersen

The risk in terms of the Olympics, especially for travelling populations remains low – with the notable exception of pregnant women.

31 Mar 2016

Annual economic cost of U.S. premature births linked to air pollution reaches $4.33 billion

The annual economic cost of the nearly 16,000 premature births linked to air pollution in the United States has reached $4.33 billion, according to a report by scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center.

29 Mar 2016

Embryos with abnormalities in initial stages of pregnancy may grow into healthy babies

Abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down's syndrome, suggests new research carried out in mice at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, scientists show that abnormal cells are eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, repairing - and in many cases completely fixing - the embryo.

29 Mar 2016

Study: Cox2 inhibition improves outcomes in preeclampsia-like mouse model

Preeclampsia is characterized by elevated blood pressure in the second half of pregnancy and impaired blood flow to the placenta, which increases the risk of premature birth and pregnancy complications.

21 Mar 2016

Mothers give offspring a head start in life

Thank your mothers: A research collaboration between UC Santa Barbara and L'École Normale Supérieure in Paris has proven that deterministic maternal effects can give offspring a better start on life.

17 Mar 2016

Maternal Immunations app aims to guide, remind pregnant women about vaccines

A new app to guide and remind pregnant women about vaccines recommended during pregnancy has been launched by researchers

11 Mar 2016

Maternal bacterial infections affect fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how pieces of bacterial cell wall cross the placenta and enter developing neurons, altering fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth. The study appears today in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.

10 Mar 2016

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine effective in treating malaria in pregnant women

Pregnant women can be protected from malaria, a major cause of prematurity, low birth weight and death in infants in Africa, with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine , an artemisinin combination therapy that is already widely used to treat malaria in adults, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and in Uganda.

10 Mar 2016

Hematopoietic reprogramming can lead to differentiated blood products for cell-replacement therapy

Building upon previous work, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai identified cells in the embryos of mice that are precursors to blood stem cells or hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

9 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016

Researchers develop new technique to create naïve pluripotent stem cells

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have for the first time shown that it is possible to derive from a human embryo so-called 'naïve' pluripotent stem cells - one of the most flexible types of stem cell, which can develop into all human tissue other than the placenta.

7 Mar 2016

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively.

1 Mar 2016

China Biologic's total sales increase by 22.6% in RMB terms to $68.3 million in Q4 2015

China Biologic Products, Inc., a leading fully integrated plasma-based biopharmaceutical company in China, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year of 2015.

26 Feb 2016

Maternal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid improves fetal iron metabolism

A research has proven, for the first time, that maternal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, enhances fetal iron metabolism thanks to a greater expression of key genes regulating its transfer through the placenta.

23 Feb 2016

Physical exercise during pregnancy can prevent gestational hypertension

Researchers at UPM and UWO have shown that performing supervised moderate-intensity exercise during pregnancy can prevent gestational hypertension in pregnant women and overweight in newborns.

19 Feb 2016

Researchers identify how Toxoplasma parasite crosses blood-brain barrier

An estimated 30 percent of the world's population is chronically infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most people live with the infection without noticeable effect, but it can be life-threatening for people with suppressed immune systems, such as people on cancer therapies or who have HIV/AIDS.

16 Feb 2016

UTHealth researchers demonstrate new way to reduce preterm birth

Using nanoparticles to engineer a special drug, a team of researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has demonstrated in pre-clinical trials a new way to both reduce preterm birth and avoid the risks of medication in pregnancy to unborn babies.

5 Feb 2016