In Utero News and Research

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Birthweight, height together may provide indication of heart health later in life

It's the proportionately of a newborn -- a measure that includes both birthweight and length -- that may best tell doctors whether a child is born with an increased risk for heart problems later in life, investigators report.

30 Jul 2019

Study reveals effect of Mediterranean-style diet on pregnancy outcomes

A Mediterranean-style diet in pregnancy does not reduce the risk of overall adverse maternal and offspring complications, but may reduce weight gain during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Shakila Thangaratinam of Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 25 Jul 2019

BU professor awarded NIH grant to study Down syndrome

Tarik F. Haydar, PhD, professor of anatomy and neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine, has been awarded a two-year Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21) from the National Institutes of Health.

16 Jul 2019

Birth, child outcomes linked with maternal opioid use during pregnancy

In utero exposure to opioids was associated with higher risks for short- and long-term adverse outcomes including preterm birth and neurodevelopmental and physical health disorders in children.

29 Jun 2019

Cleveland Clinic surgical team performs its first in utero fetal surgery to repair birth defect

Cleveland Clinic has successfully performed its first in utero fetal surgery to repair a spina bifida birth defect in a nearly 23-week-old fetus.

19 Jun 2019

Research opens up new avenues for understanding the causes of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia causes hallucinations and memory or cognition problems inter alia. This psychiatric illness affects 0.5% of the general population, and it may be related to genetic abnormalities of chromosome 22, known as 22q11 deletion syndrome.

17 Jun 2019

Mother’s physical and emotional health during pregnancy has an effect on baby’s health

Athletes invest hours practicing before a big game. Runners train for months leading up to a marathon. A mother-to-be should likewise prepare herself for the mental and physical rigor of pregnancy, labor and caring for a newborn.

6 Jun 2019

Prenatal exposure to paternal tobacco smoking linked to high asthma risk

Children exposed to paternal tobacco smoking before birth are more likely to develop asthma - and associated changes to immune genes predict the level of risk.

31 May 2019

Music helps to develop the neural networks of premature infants

In Switzerland, as in most industrialized countries, nearly 1% of children are born "very prematurely", i.e. before the 32nd week of pregnancy, which represents about 800 children yearly.

27 May 2019

Sperm quality among Swiss men in ‘critical state’, say experts

Swiss men have the worst quality sperm in Europe, with 17 percent of Swiss men being considered “sub-fertile”, according to new research.

24 May 2019

Novel program that provides comprehensive care for Turner syndrome earns national recognition

A novel program designed to provide comprehensive care for Turner syndrome at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and UT Physicians is one of the first in the U.S. to be designated an adult clinic by the Turner Syndrome Global Alliance.

24 May 2019

Genetic variation in heart valve cells of developing fetus creates mitral valve prolapse

Genetic variation in heart valve cells of the developing fetus create the blueprint for the later development of mitral valve prolapse, according to the cover story of today's Science Translational Medicine.

23 May 2019

Long-standing immunosuppressive drug reduces Zika birth defects in mice

In experiments with pregnant mice infected with the Zika virus, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report they have successfully used a long-standing immunosuppressive drug to diminish the rate of fetal deaths and birth defects in the mice's offspring.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 May 2019

Viral infection in utero associated with behavioral abnormalities in offspring

Male and female rats whose mother experienced a simulated viral infection during pregnancy behave abnormally, consistent with behavioural alterations in autism or schizophrenia, research by the University of Saskatchewan shows.

2 May 2019

Canadian researchers identify early origins of childhood brain cancer

Brain tumors are the leading cause of non-accidental death in children in Canada, but little is known about when these tumors form or how they develop.

1 May 2019

Why have autism rates 'exploded' in New Jersey?

Researchers at Rutgers University have revealed that pre-schoolers in New Jersey have the highest rates of autism ever recorded in the US.

15 Apr 2019

Research shows how prenatal anesthesia in rats affects neuronal migration

While there has long been discussion whether exposure to anesthesia affects brain development, new Rush University Medical Center research published in the journal Cerebral Cortex describes how prenatal anesthesia in rats seems to disrupt the "precisely choreographed" and timed migration of neurons to the area of the developing brain where thinking, memory and language occur.

12 Apr 2019

Preterm babies born without a protein in blood cells have higher risk of cerebral palsy and death

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that some preterm babies born without haptoglobin, a protein in blood cells, have higher odds of brain bleeding, cerebral palsy and death. Their findings suggest that the absence of the protein could serve as a potential biomarker indicating a need for increased monitoring or other preventive interventions.

30 Mar 2019

Cellular mechanism that connects smoking during pregnancy and baby’s obesity risk identified

Using foreskin tissue from newborn circumcisions, a group of researchers have identified a potential cellular mechanism that connects a mother's smoking while pregnant with an increased risk of offspring obesity later in life.