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Environmental factors equally as important as genes in understanding causes of autism

Environmental factors are more important than previously thought in understanding the causes of autism, and equally as important as genes, according to the largest study to date to look at how autism runs in families.

5 May 2014

Girls labeled fat at age 10 are more likely to be obese at 19, say researchers

Girls who are told by a parent, sibling, friend, classmate or teacher that they are too fat at age 10 are more likely to be obese at age 19, a new study by UCLA psychologists shows.

29 Apr 2014

Prenatal smoking, genetic risk factors increase aggressive behavior in children

Researchers have found evidence of an interaction between prenatal smoking and genetic risk factors that increase aggressive behavior in children, especially in girls.

25 Apr 2014

RMANJ releases new fertility checklist for early diagnosis and treatment options

With over seven million men and women in the United States impacted by infertility, information about early diagnosis and various infertility treatment options like in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS) can offer help to many patients looking to overcome infertility.

22 Apr 2014

Study sheds light on how extra chromosome 21 upsets equilibrium of entire genome in Down syndrome

Occurring in about one per eight hundred births, Down syndrome - or trisomy 21 - is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability. It results from a chromosomal abnormality where cells of affected individuals contain a third copy of chromosome 21 (1% of the human genome).

18 Apr 2014

Financial pressures lead patients, doctors to choose fertility treatments that raise risk of premature birth

While it is well known that fertility treatments are the leading cause of increases in multiple gestations and that multiples are at elevated risk of premature birth, these results are not inevitable, concludes an article in Fertility and Sterility.

17 Apr 2014

IVF prevents multiple births in patients undergoing fertility treatments

While fertility treatments have helped many people become parents, they commonly result in multiple births, increasing the risk of prematurity, and leading to lifelong complications.

17 Apr 2014

Carb breakdown gene linked to obesity, researchers find

Researchers at King's College London and Imperial College London have discovered that people with fewer copies of a gene coding for a carb-digesting enzyme may be at higher risk of obesity. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, suggest that dietary advice may need to be more tailored to an individual's digestive system, based on whether they have the genetic predisposition and necessary enzymes to digest different foods.

31 Mar 2014

Six in every ten serious heart defects in foetuses go undetected in ultrasound scans

Over six in every ten serious heart defects in foetuses go undetected in the ultrasound scans given to all pregnant women. According to research at Linköping University in Sweden, one reason why malformations are not found is obesity in the expectant mother.

13 Mar 2014

Twin brains reveal similar progressions of neuropathological changes

Despite widespread use of a single term, Alzheimer's disease is actually a diverse collection of diseases, symptoms and pathological changes.

3 Mar 2014

Dyspnea during light daily activities used as indicator of exercise intolerance and low fitness

Dyspnea, a sensation of breathlessness, during light daily activities can be used as an indicator of exercise intolerance and low fitness. According to a study on Finnish twins, persistent or developing dyspnea reveals an increased risk of death.

21 Feb 2014

ACOG’s consensus statement on preventing first-time cesareans

Today's release of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) consensus statement on preventing first-time cesareans is an important step in closing gaps between evidence and the day-to-day care that women receive in pregnancy and labor.

20 Feb 2014

How do people become depressed? An interview with Anna Watters and Professor Lea Williams, University of Sydney

A clinical diagnosis of depression (i.e. major depressive disorder) is currently defined on the basis of reported symptoms.

19 Feb 2014

Heartier appetite linked to more rapid infant growth, weight gain

A heartier appetite is linked to more rapid infant growth and to genetic predisposition to obesity, according to two papers published in JAMA Pediatrics today (Monday).

18 Feb 2014

Sleep duration impacts on genetic risk of depressive symptoms

Both long and short sleep durations are associated with an increased heritability of depression, study findings show.

17 Feb 2014

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Analyzing the genomes of twin 3-year-old sisters – one healthy and one with aggressive leukemia – led an international team of researchers to identify a novel molecular target that could become a way to treat recurring and deadly malignancies.

9 Feb 2014

Study: Sensitivity to pain could be altered by person's lifestyle and environment

Researchers at King's College London have discovered that sensitivity to pain could be altered by a person's lifestyle and environment throughout their lifetime. The study is the first to find that pain sensitivity, previously thought to be relatively inflexible, can change as a result of genes being switched on or off by lifestyle and environmental factors - a process called epigenetics, which chemically alters the expression of genes.

5 Feb 2014

Research: Shy toddlers delay in speaking but not in understanding

Scientists have known that shy toddlers often have delayed speech, but a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that the lag in using words does not mean that the children don't understand what's being said.

4 Feb 2014

Sub-optimal sleep may activate depressive genes, increase risk for major depression

A genetic study of adult twins and a community-based study of adolescents both report novel links between sleep duration and depression. The studies are published in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers assess familial risks for MS using population registers, health care registries

Even though multiple sclerosis is largely caused by genetic factors, the risk of patients' relatives developing the disease is lower than previously assumed. This is the conclusion of a new population registry-based study, published in the scientific journal Brain.

22 Jan 2014