Amniotic Fluid News and Research

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Archaeologist discovers 800-year-old genomes from bacterial infection in Byzantine skeleton

Eight hundred years ago, in a hardscrabble farming community on the outskirts of what was once one of the fabled cities of the ancient world, Troy, a 30-year-old woman was laid to rest in a stone-lined grave.

10 Jan 2017

Japanese researchers discover new method for predicting congenital CMV infection in fetuses

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause serious complications such as hearing difficulties and mental retardation in affected infants.

25 Nov 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

Harvard symposium highlights health impact of gut microbiota and probiotics throughout lifespan

Danone Nutricia Research, one of the key sponsors of the September 15th and 16th Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition symposium on gut microbiota, probiotics and their impact throughout the lifespan, announces its continued support of research in the emerging field of the microbiome and its interactions with body functions.

30 Sep 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

HSS researchers launch new study to find if stem cell treatment could help people with knee arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have launched a study to determine if a treatment using stem cells could help people with painful knee arthritis.

21 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

Study to evaluate magnitude of health risks caused by Zika virus in pregnant women, infants

The National Institutes of Health and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, a national scientific research organization linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, have begun a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks that Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants.

22 Jun 2016

Embryos with abnormalities in initial stages of pregnancy may grow into healthy babies

Abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down's syndrome, suggests new research carried out in mice at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, scientists show that abnormal cells are eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, repairing - and in many cases completely fixing - the embryo.

29 Mar 2016

Higher levels of BPA in pregnant mother's blood may contribute to preterm births

Higher concentrations of the common plastics chemical and environmental pollutant Bisphenol A, or BPA, in a pregnant mother's blood may be a contributing factor in preterm births, according to a new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

25 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016

Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital jointly release country's first rapid test for Zika virus

Collaboration between two Texas Medical Center institutions has resulted in today's release of the country's first hospital-based rapid tests for the Zika virus.

23 Feb 2016

Zika virus can cross the placental barrier, according to new study

A study of pregnant women in Brazil has confirmed the presence of Zika virus in the amniotic fluid of two women who had displayed Zika-like symptoms during their pregnancies.

18 Feb 2016

MiMedx Group agrees to buy Stability Biologics

MiMedx Group, Inc., the leading regenerative medicine company utilizing human amniotic tissue and patent-protected processes to develop and market advanced products and therapies for the Wound Care, Surgical, Orthopedic, Spine, Sports Medicine, Ophthalmic, and Dental sectors of healthcare, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Stability Inc., d/b/a Stability Biologics, a provider of human tissue products to surgeons, facilities and distributors serving the surgical, spine and orthopedics sectors of the healthcare industry.

11 Jan 2016

Testing amniotic fluid could guide doctors to make delivery planning decisions for preterm births

Analyzing gene expression of an expectant mother's amniotic fluid could give doctors an important tool for deciding when it is safe to deliver premature babies.

28 Oct 2015

UTMB researchers find mechanisms to determine when pregnant women go into labor

During the last few weeks of a woman's pregnancy, many keep an overnight bag ready to go at a moment's notice in case they begin to go into labor. They do this because there is no clear signal that labor is about to begin - before the body makes it abundantly clear that this process has started. Understanding the mechanisms that initiate this process is especially important when treating women at risk of going into labor early.

27 Oct 2015

UT Southwestern researchers identify two proteins within fetal lungs that initiate labor process

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified two proteins in a fetus' lungs responsible for initiating the labor process, providing potential new targets for preventing preterm birth.

23 Jun 2015

Specific bacterial community in female genital tract induces inflammation, increases HIV risk

A team led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard has found that the most common bacterial community in the genital tract among healthy South Africa women not only is significantly different from that of women in developed countries but also leads to elevated levels of inflammatory proteins.

20 May 2015

Non-coding RNAs in maternal food can pass through placenta to regulate fetal gene expression

In a new study published in the Protein & Cell, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University reports that small non-coding RNAs in maternal food can transfer through placenta to regulate fetal gene expression.

14 May 2015

Amniotic stem cells promote growth of functional blood vessels in healing hydrogels

Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital scientists are using stem cells from amniotic fluid to promote the growth of robust, functional blood vessels in healing hydrogels.

10 Apr 2015