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Antioxidant therapy will be useful for women with pre-eclampsia

The antioxidant tempol prevents the onset of pre-eclampsia in pregnant mice, a finding that further implicates oxidative stress in the illness, which is widespread among pregnant women.

4 Apr 2006

Nigeria approves misoprostol for use in hospitals and clinics

An old drug will gain a new use in Nigeria when misoprostol will be distributed for prevention and control of post-partum hemorrhage, the life-threatening bleeding after childbirth that commonly occurs in developing countries.

3 Apr 2006

Scientists identify a new gene that causes the spread of cancer

Professor Philip Rudland, Dr Guozheng Wang and Dr Roger Barraclough from the University’s Cancer and Polio Research Fund Laboratories have discovered an additional member of the S100 family of protein genes - S100P - that causes the spread of cancerous cells from an original tumour to other parts of the body.

30 Mar 2006

Increase in Vitamin E tied to fewer in utero deaths

Manipulating the in utero environment may alter the onset of cancers that appear later in the lives of mammals, according to a new University of Toronto study published in the journal Carcinogenesis.

23 Mar 2006

Environmental chemicals implicated in cancer

New research at the University of Liverpool suggests that environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, are more influential in causing cancer than previously thought.

21 Mar 2006

Pesticides more influential in causing cancer than previously thought

New research at the University of Liverpool suggests that environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, are more influential in causing cancer than previously thought.

20 Mar 2006

Use of antidepressants during pregnancy linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants

Almost one-third of 60 newborn infants whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy experienced neonatal abstinence syndrome, a type of withdrawal with symptoms that include high-pitched crying, tremors and disturbed sleep, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Link between high levels of a protein HtrA1 and preeclampsia

Mayo Clinic researchers have found an association between abnormally high levels of a protein named HtrA1 and preeclampsia, a sudden and dangerous rise in blood pressure that can result in premature delivery, disability or death for mother and fetus.

5 Feb 2006

Education campaign on umbilical cord and placental blood donation

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D. has launched an educational campaign to inform expectant mothers of the life-saving value of newborn umbilical cord and placental blood.

23 Jan 2006

Missing protein C/EBPb may be cause of infertility

The absence of a key protein may lead to infertility. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that experiments involving mice -- to be detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- indicate that the transcription factor protein C/EBPb must be present in the uterus for pregnancy to occur.

18 Jan 2006

Cerebral Palsy linked to viral infection at birth

A new Australian study has found that exposure to certain viral infections shortly before and after birth, the perinatal period, is associated with cerebral palsy.

9 Jan 2006

Exposure to infections at birth can trigger brain damage and the development of cerebral palsy

Exposure to certain viral infections shortly before and after birth (the perinatal period) is associated with cerebral palsy, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

6 Jan 2006

Eating disorders linked to perinatal complications

Certain complications during and immediately after birth are associated with the development of the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Jan 2006

Increase in pregnancy obesity

A growing number of women are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, a condition that is risky to both mother and baby, a new study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown.

15 Dec 2005

How is HIV transmitted from mother to child?

Without intervention, between 25% and 35% of the children born to HIV-positive mothers will themselves be infected.

28 Nov 2005

Study finds common pollutants linked to fetal growth retardation

Babies born to women exposed to high ozone levels during pregnancy are at heightened risk for being significantly underweight, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

26 Nov 2005

Women with defects in lipoprotein metabolism may actually be able to bear children without complications

A group of Belgian researchers has determined that a pregnant woman's ability to metabolize fats is determined not only by her genes but by her baby's genes as well.

30 Oct 2005

Hormone responsible for types of high blood pressure could also cause preeclampsia

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Academic Health Center have found evidence of a hormone they say is responsible for certain types of high blood pressure (hypertension), and could also cause preeclampsia, a potentially dangerous condition that occurs during pregnancy.

17 Oct 2005

Innovative therapy lowering body temperature slows down the injury process caused by birth asphyxia

Infants born with oxygen loss who are given an innovative therapy that lowers their entire body temperature by four degrees within the first six hours of life, have a better chance of survival and lower incidence of brain injury

12 Oct 2005

Lowering infant's body temperature within the first six hours of life reduces the chances for disability

Lowering an infant's body temperature to about 92 degrees Fahrenheit within the first six hours of life reduces the chances for disability and death among infants who failed to receive enough oxygen or blood to the brain during birth. The research study findings appear in tomorrow's 2005 New England Journal of Medicine.