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Taking prenatal vitamins early during pregnancy can reduce risk of having children with autism

Women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder as women who did take the supplements - and the associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with a high-risk genetic make-up, a study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

26 May 2011

New autism research findings presented at 10th annual IMFAR

Much about autism is unknown, but researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) are working to learn more about the neurodevelopmental disorder and its most effective treatments. A team of researchers from URMC joins researchers from across the world in San Diego this week for the 10th annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR).

16 May 2011

Allos, Mundipharma enter strategic collaboration to co-develop FOLOTYN

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. and Mundipharma International Corporation Limited today jointly announced that the companies have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement to co-develop FOLOTYN (pralatrexate injection).

11 May 2011

Softgels as effective as tablets in delivering folic acid

Folic acid, an essential vitamin formulated to be part of a multivitamin + DHA liquid softgel capsule, is absorbed and available within the body in amounts similar to folic acid formulated for solid tablets, according to a study presented in a late breaking session at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2011 annual meeting.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists discover new compounds that may help fight against parasitic diseases

Trypanosomatid parasites cause diseases like African sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease and leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis affects about 12 million people worldwide, mostly in developing countries. Current drug treatments are inadequate due to drug toxicity and resistance.

5 Apr 2011

ImmunoGen presents IMGN853 data against ovarian cancer, carcinomas at AACR meeting

ImmunoGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops targeted anticancer products using its antibody expertise and Targeted Antibody Payload technology, today announced the reporting of the first data on the Company's IMGN853 product candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer and other types of solid tumors.

4 Apr 2011

SHMT1 gene and folate deficiency increase risk for colon cancer

Offering a likely insight into how such cancers develop in humans - Cornell University researchers report they have identified a gene that increases the risk for colon cancer in laboratory mice when the animals' diets are deficient in folate.

30 Mar 2011

Inadequate nutrition linked to greater risk of anemia in postmenopausal women

A new study published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association indicates that inadequate nutrition is linked to a greater risk of anemia in postmenopausal women.

25 Mar 2011

Dietitian offers nutrition tips to obtain maximum health benefits

March is National Nutrition Month, a campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association to promote nutrition education. This year's theme is Eat Right with Color.

11 Mar 2011

More research needed to determine link between folic acid and breast cancer

Surgical procedure to repair spina bifida while still in the uterus may help the baby walk after birth

More than two thousand physicians, some of the top obstetric/gynecologists in the world who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine, especially high risk pregnancies, gathered today for their annual meeting in San Francisco to begin four days of intensive research presentations. Presentations each year at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, represent major findings in reducing high-risk pregnancies and complications.

11 Feb 2011

Research shows no protective effect of folate intake against spontaneous preterm delivery

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, researchers will present findings that show that folate intake before and during pregnancy does not protect Norwegian women against spontaneous preterm delivery.

10 Feb 2011

L-methylfolate in combination with antidepressant drug helps major depressive disorder patients

Data published in the January issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, www.psychiatrymmc.com, suggest when L-methylfolate, a medical food available commercially as Deplin®, and by prescription, is used for dietary management of depression in combination with an antidepressant drug at the start of depression therapy, it results in significantly more patients experiencing major improvement and more rapid improvement than antidepressant monotherapy alone.

10 Feb 2011

New research identifies nutrition inadequacy among Americans

At a time when the country is facing an obesity epidemic, the problem of nutrition inadequacy is often overlooked. Yet, many Americans are overweight and undernourished, concludes a new study called "What America's Missing."

12 Jan 2011

Close pregnancies increase autism risk: Study

According to a new study published in the February issue of Paediatrics, children born within one year of an older sibling may be three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism.

10 Jan 2011

ASBP raises concern over FDA recommendations to lower BMI requirements for lap-band surgery

The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) is concerned that the FDA advisory panel recommended lowering the BMI requirement for lap-band surgery, while the FDA recently denied two new obesity medications. Bariatric surgery is drastic and expensive and carries higher morbidity and mortality risks than lifestyle interventions or medication. Patients who could have otherwise lost weight in a non-surgical medical bariatric program may now be encouraged to skip medical therapy and jump directly to surgery.

7 Jan 2011

Diet low in micronutrients can contribute to metabolic syndrome

Results of an epidemiological study conducted by researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and the Corporacion Ecuatoriana de Biotecnologia showed that the metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, was prevalent in a low-income urban community in Ecuador and that a poor diet low in micronutrients appeared to contribute.

5 Jan 2011

People with high RBC folate levels more likely to have two tumor-suppressing genes

People with higher levels of folate in their red blood cells were more likely to have two tumor-suppressing genes shut down by methylation, a chemical off switch for genes, researchers report in the December issue of Cancer Prevention Research.

22 Dec 2010

Bayer's SAFYRAL oral contraceptive receives FDA approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new oral contraceptive (OC), SAFYRAL™ (drospirenone 3 mg/ ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg/ levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets and levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets). In women who choose an OC for birth control, SAFYRAL raises folate levels for the purpose of reducing the risk of rare neural tube defects (NTDs) in a pregnancy conceived while taking SAFYRAL or shortly after discontinuing it.

17 Dec 2010

Age-related hearing loss associated with low serum levels of folic acid in the elderly

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), one of the four most prevalent chronic conditions in the elderly, is associated with low serum levels of folic acid, according to new research published in the December 2010 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

1 Dec 2010