Womb News and Research

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The womb is the small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis. This is the organ in which a baby grows. Also called uterus.

New MRI tool can distinguish between malignant and benign ovarian cysts with 90% accuracy

Researchers have developed a new MRI tool that can identify cases of ovarian cancer which are difficult to diagnose using standard methods.

30 Jan 2020

Study opens up strategies for early diagnosis, treatment of diseases linked to chronic inflammation

Claudio Franceschi, a world-renowned scientist, professor at the University of Bologna (Italy) and head of the Research Laboratory for Systems Medicine of Healthy Aging at Lobachevsky University, together with other members of an international research team, has described the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammation and identified several risk factors leading to disease.

29 Jan 2020

Scientists reveal the damaging effect of Zika virus on a type of brain cell

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil in 2015 sparked for many health agencies and scientists to study the pathogen, which has been linked to microcephaly and other fetal neurological disorders collectively known as Congenital Zika Syndrome.

27 Jan 2020

Call for FDA to withdraw preterm birth drug divides doctors and insurers

Doctors fear that the only drug approved to prevent preterm birth, the nation’s leading cause of infant mortality and disability, will no longer be available to expectant mothers.

27 Jan 2020

Research unravels consequences of Zika virus attack on neural cells

Previous studies regarding the damage of the Zika virus on the brain had already pointed out the virus's predilection for a certain neural cell: the astrocyte. However, few studies have proposed to identify the infection effects on these cells, as well as their association with developmental alterations, including brain malformations and microcephaly.

27 Jan 2020

Fetal surgery for spina bifida makes a huge difference 10 years later

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows that children with spina bifida, a congenital spinal disorder, who had corrective surgery in the womb, show significantly more benefit than those whose operations were performed after birth, even a decade later. These children have more of a chance to walk by themselves and a lower risk of needing more surgeries, compared to those whose condition is corrected only after birth.

23 Jan 2020

Transcriptional scanning in the sperm may regulate rate of human evolution

Maturing sperm cells turn on most of their genes, not to follow their genetic instructions like normal, but instead to repair DNA before passing it to the next generation, a new study finds.

23 Jan 2020

Microbiome DNA signature present in human fetal lungs

The lungs and placentas of fetuses in the womb -- as young as 11 weeks after conception -- already show a bacterial microbiome signature, which suggests that bacteria may colonize the lungs well before birth.

17 Jan 2020

Scientists urge further caution on use of Viagra for fetal therapy

University of Manchester scientists investigating a possible treatment for fetal growth restriction, a condition in which babies grow poorly in the womb, have urged further caution on the use of Viagra.

17 Jan 2020

Discovery of mechanism by which Zika virus enters brain cells

Two independent studies published by Cell Press on January 16, 2020, report that the mechanism by which Zika virus enters brain cells has been identified and even more, exploited to prevent Zika infection and to kill cancer cells instead.

16 Jan 2020

Cannabinoids can alleviate some symptoms of endometriosis

Initial results from treating endometriosis in mice with cannabinoids suggest they can alleviate some symptoms of the disease, according to a new study in the open-access journal eLife.

14 Jan 2020

Diabetes drug could be repurposed as new treatment to prevent miscarriage

A drug designed to tackle diabetes could also be repurposed as the first treatment to prevent miscarriage by targeting the lining of the womb itself, according to a clinical trial led by the University of Warwick.

9 Jan 2020

Study underscores the importance of long-term follow-up for Zika-exposed infants

Colombian infants exposed to Zika virus in the womb showed neurodevelopmental delays as toddlers, despite having "normal" brain imaging and head circumference at birth, a finding that underscores the importance of long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up for Zika-exposed infants, according to a study published online Jan. 6, 2020, in JAMA Pediatrics.

6 Jan 2020

Diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, review confirms

A new expert review confirms that diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, but cautions that the evidence for many diets is comparatively weak.

3 Jan 2020

Combination treatment reduces breast cancer development in mice

Adding a medication used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines to a blood pressure medicine reversed some aspects of breast cancer in the offspring of mice at high risk of the disease because of the high fat diet fed to their mothers during pregnancy.

30 Dec 2019

Pregnant teens have higher rates of depression and substance use

Researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute and Brescia University College found that teenage pregnant women are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer mental health and have higher rates of substance use.

18 Dec 2019

Boys born small at higher risk of infertility

A new study published in the journal Human Reproduction on December 13, 2019, shows that baby boys who don’t grow as well as expected in the womb may grow up to be infertile as adults. The study showed a 55% or 85% higher risk of infertility among this group of men compared to those born with appropriate weights.

15 Dec 2019

Fetal heart rate could predict future heart health of babies

Changes in heart rate due to low oxygen conditions experienced by the fetus during pregnancy could predict the future heart health of babies, suggests research published today in The Journal of Physiology.

6 Dec 2019

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure may impair lung development in premature infants

New research in mice suggests that exposure to antibiotics before birth may impair lung development in premature infants. The study, the first to explore the gut-lung axis in prematurity, is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology and was chosen as an APSselect article for December.

5 Dec 2019

Common cold virus could infect fetus via placenta

According to researchers, the common cold viruses are capable of infecting human placental cells and may thus transmit the infection to the fetus in the womb during pregnancy. The new study was published in the journal PLOS ONE, and provides the first concrete proof that this type of carriage is possible.

3 Dec 2019