In Utero News and Research

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Research highlights need to improve post mortem techniques to better detect cause of stillbirth

Analysis by a Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) led team looking at the effectiveness of different elements of the post mortem process shows that, despite full standard investigation, in the majority of cases of stillbirth the cause remains unknown. The papers highlight the need for further research to improve post mortem techniques to better detect a cause of death.

26 Oct 2016

DHA supplements show potential to prevent early preterm births

Sophisticated analyses of two clinical trials — one in the U.S. and the other in the Australia — suggest that thousands of early preterm births — those at or before 34 weeks' gestation — could be prevented if pregnant women took daily docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplements.

26 Oct 2016

Study offers promise for therapeutic management of fetal and congenital genetic diseases in utero

A breakthrough study by research teams at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and Oregon Health & Science University offers promise for therapeutic management of congenital diseases in utero using designer nucleotide sequences that can simply be injected into the fluid surrounding the developing fetus to potentially treat disabling-to-lethal genetic defects.

7 Oct 2016

Identical twins experience unimaginable cancer

Since the day they came home from the hospital in matching newborn monkey outfits, Zane and Zac Taylor have done everything together.

23 Sep 2016

Researchers develop new analytical capabilities to identify chemical forms of mercury in human hair

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin present in our daily lives and our body can accumulate it over the years. Food consumption, such as fish and rice, is the most common source of mercury exposure.

23 Sep 2016

First case-control study examines link between microcephaly and in utero Zika virus infection

The relation between Zika virus and microcephaly is widely assumed to be causal because of strong evidence of an association. However, evidence so far comes from case reports, case series, modelling studies, and preliminary reports from cohort studies – none of which have included appropriate control groups.

21 Sep 2016

Researchers find genomic material from Zika virus in tears

Researchers have found that Zika virus can live in eyes and have identified genetic material from the virus in tears, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

7 Sep 2016

Genetic vulnerability, exposure to ultrasound may predispose to increased autism severity

For children with autism and a class of genetic disorders, exposure to diagnostic ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy is linked to increased autism severity, according to a study by researchers at UW Medicine, UW Bothell and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

1 Sep 2016

$Developmental exposure to fracking chemicals may pose threat to fertility$

Developmental exposure to fracking chemicals may pose threat to fertility

More than 15 million Americans live within a one-mile radius of unconventional oil and gas operations. UOGs combine directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to release natural gas from underground rock.

26 Aug 2016

Prenatal exposure to organochlorine chemicals linked to increased odds of autism in children

Chemicals used in certain pesticides and as insulating material banned in the 1970s may still be haunting us, according to new research that suggests links between higher levels of exposure during pregnancy and significantly increased odds of autism spectrum disorder in children.

23 Aug 2016

Early-life infections may be risk factor for developmental disorders later in life

The Zika virus now active in numerous countries, and the severe birth defects associated with it, makes it clear that infection in pregnant women can have immediate and devastating effects on the developing baby.

19 Aug 2016

Maternal GDM linked to increased risk of childhood obesity among children aged 9-11 years

New research published in Diabetologia shows an increased risk of childhood obesity at age 9-11 years when the mother has had gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

11 Aug 2016

Researchers develop machine-learning program that helps identify hundreds of ASD-related genes

Investigators eager to uncover the genetic basis of autism could now have hundreds of promising new leads thanks to a study by Princeton University and Simons Foundation researchers.

9 Aug 2016

Disordered airway microbiome at birth may be linked to severe neonatal lung disease

In contrast to the general belief that the airways of an infant are sterile until after birth, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues have found that the infant airway is already colonized with bacteria or bacterial DNA when a baby is born -- and this is true for infants born as early as 24 weeks gestation.

5 Aug 2016

Study identifies ADAM33 gene as novel target for preventing asthma

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a potential and novel way of preventing asthma at the origin of the disease, a finding that could challenge the current understanding of the condition.

21 Jul 2016

New TSRI study may bring doctors closer to using gene therapies to grow, repair tendons

With the Rio Olympics just weeks away, many are wondering how Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will perform.

19 Jul 2016

Cryopreserved human umbilical cord patch shows promise in treating fetal spina bifida

A patch made from cryopreserved human umbilical cord may be a novel method for treating spina bifida in utero, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

12 Jul 2016

Exposure to London's 1952 smog linked to increased incidence of childhood, adult asthma

London's Great Smog of 1952 resulted in thousands of premature deaths and even more people becoming ill.

8 Jul 2016

New research holds potential to improve fetal surgery outcomes

University of California, Berkeley engineer Phillip Messersmith is happy to be learning lessons from a lowly mollusk, with the expectation that the knowledge gained will enable him and fellow physicians to prevent deaths among their youngest patients -- those who haven't been born yet.

4 Jul 2016

Paracetamol use during pregnancy linked to hyperactivity, autism spectrum symptoms in children

A new study has found that paracetamol (acetaminophen), which is used extensively during pregnancy, has a strong association with autism spectrum symptoms in boys and for both genders in relation to attention-related and hyperactivity symptoms.

1 Jul 2016