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Problems with key enzymes potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder

Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder, according to research announced today in the journal Nature.

29 Aug 2013

Researchers discover link between epilepsy drug and risk of having baby with birth defects

In a world first, new Australian medical research has given pregnant women with epilepsy new hope of reducing their chance of having a baby with physical birth defects.

26 Aug 2013

Clinical study to investigate effects of prenatal chromosomal abnormalities through microarray analysis

Reproductive genetics researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) are leading a multicenter prospective clinical study investigating the effects of chromosomal abnormalities (duplicative or missing material) found prenatally through microarray analysis.

22 Aug 2013

Research links high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the American South with economic conditions

The strikingly high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the American South can be partially traced to rapid economic growth between 1950 and 1980, new research suggests.

6 Aug 2013

Women who feel less attached to their fetus are going to smoke more

A small new study suggests that pregnant smokers with low scores on a scale that rates emotional attachment to their fetuses may be inclined to smoke more than pregnant smokers who feel more attached to their future babies.

6 Aug 2013

Study reveals epigenetic mechanisms contribute to chronic disease susceptibility prior to birth

If you think stress is killing you, you may be right, but what you don't know is that stress might have harmed your health even before you were born. In a new report appearing in the August 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, Harvard researchers find that epigenetic disruptions, which are associated with chronic disease later in life, are already common at birth.

2 Aug 2013

Children exposed to AEDs in womb at risk of early development issues: Study

Children whose mothers took antiepileptic drugs while pregnant are at increased risk of early development issues, according to a new study published in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.

18 Jul 2013

Adverse fetal growth, exposure to maternal smoking correlated with lower measures of sperm quality

Studies over the past 20 years have suggested (though not unequivocally confirmed) that semen quality is in decline, reflected most evidently in falling sperm counts and reduced sperm motility.

8 Jul 2013

Researchers identify structural anomalies that may increase risk of ADHD in premature newborns

In the first study of its kind, Natasha Leporé, PhD, and colleagues have pinpointed structural anomalies in the developing brain that may increase the risk of cognitive disabilities, such as frontal executive dysfunction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in premature newborns.

6 Jul 2013

Mother's exposure to environmental contaminants associated with vigorous fetal motor activity

A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has for the first time found that a mother's higher exposure to some common environmental contaminants was associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal motor activity.

12 Jun 2013

Researcher studies mechanism of s-looping to prevent heart abnormalities in infants

Ashok Ramasubramanian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Union College, believes that the study of the tiny tubes that make up the embryonic heart offers new hope to babies born with heart abnormalities. So, he's looking to chicken embryos for clues. Ramasubramanian's findings were published in the April 2013 issue of Developmental Dynamics.

7 Jun 2013

Study points to synergistic relationship between lead exposure and schizophrenia gene

Mice engineered with a human gene for schizophrenia and exposed to lead during early life exhibited behaviors and structural changes in their brains consistent with schizophrenia.

1 Jun 2013

New therapeutic targets for infantile myofibromatosis

Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis -a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue-may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

26 May 2013

Exposure to air pollution during prenatal period is associated with increased risk of respiratory infection in children

Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.

21 May 2013

Nutritional supplement may improve survival rates of babies born with heart defects

A common nutritional supplement may be part of the magic in improving the survival rates of babies born with heart defects, researchers report. Carnitine, a compound that helps transport fat inside the cell powerhouse where it can be used for energy production, is currently used for purposes ranging from weight loss to chest pain.

10 May 2013

FDA: Migraine prevention medicines taken during pregnancy can impact children’s IQ

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care providers and patients that medications including and related to valproate sodium can cause decreased IQ scores in children whose mothers took the medication during pregnancy.

7 May 2013

Study finds link between bigger birth weight babies and risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

The biggest study of fetal growth and autism to date has reported that babies whose growth is at either extreme in the womb, either very big or very small, are at greater risk of developing autism.

From The University of Manchester 2 May 2013

Molecular pathway that helps form new arteries after heart attacks uncovered

Scientific collaborators from Yale School of Medicine and University College London have uncovered the molecular pathway by which new arteries may form after heart attacks, strokes and other acute illnesses bypassing arteries that are blocked.

30 Apr 2013

Research finding aids efforts toward cytomegalovirus vaccine

A virus most people probably have never heard of, but that the majority of us carry, is the No. 1 infectious cause of congenital birth defects in the U.S. today. Because of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during in utero development, 1 in 750 children are born with or develop permanent disabilities such as hearing loss or brain damage.

14 Mar 2013

Many challenges exist to delivering proven interventions for preventing pediatric HIV infections

Last week's "scientific report on the 'functional cure' of a HIV-infected infant has set the world's media ablaze with discussion and speculation," Randal Kuhn, director of the Global Health Affairs Program at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies, and Benjamin Young, chief medical officer of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, write in a GlobalPost opinion piece.

12 Mar 2013