Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Anti-retroviral therapy yields 'Lazarus effect': Long-term household investment strategy replaces hopelessness

Two teams of researchers at UC San Diego and other U.S. and African universities and the World Bank have documented significant spillover benefits of a drug therapy to combat AIDS symptoms and a novel prevention strategy that focuses on girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, an area with two-thirds of the world's HIV infections.

2 Dec 2010

Beta-carotene from food sources is insufficient in substantial part of population

The intake of preformed vitamin A from animal products is not sufficient in parts of the population in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The vitamin A precursor beta-carotene therefore has an important function in providing for an adequate supply of total vitamin A, international carotenoid experts state in a recently published consensus answer.

2 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

New findings on folic acid supplementation reveal causes of low birth weight

Groundbreaking work by a team of UK scientists has identified, for the first time, a link between changes in the DNA of newborn babies, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, and birth weight.

1 Dec 2010

Military deployment influences sleep quality and quantity

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan significantly influenced sleep quality and quantity in a population of 41,225 military service personnel. The study suggests that the promotion of healthier sleep patterns may be beneficial for military service members.

1 Dec 2010

Physician-scientists enroll patients with NSCLC cancer in MAGE-A3 Phase III trial

An experimental immunotherapy may someday become the newest weapon against lung cancer. Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center are enrolling patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as part of an ongoing Phase III trial.

1 Dec 2010

Odors in womb sensitize fetus to smells, alters brain development

A major new study shows that a pregnant mother's diet not only sensitizes the fetus to those smells and flavors, but physically changes the brain directly impacting what the infant eats and drinks in the future.

1 Dec 2010

Data on UCB’s anti-epileptic drugs to be presented at AES annual meeting

New data on UCB's anti-epileptic drug (AED) Vimpat (lacosamide) C-V will be presented at the 64th annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society (AES), taking place at the San Antonio Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from December 3 to 7, 2010. Data will also be presented on Keppra XR and the investigative epilepsy therapy, brivaracetam.

1 Dec 2010

Number of big babies rise along with obstetric complications

Doctors say that with more babies born oversized mostly to obese or overweight mothers the risks of shoulder injury and getting stuck during labour is on the rise. Horrifyingly sometimes obstetricians are resorting to breaking baby’s collarbones to facilitate delivery because their shoulders get stuck during childbirth. This is usually done in a potentially life-threatening is known as shoulder dystocia that compresses the umbilical cord or puts pressure on the neck, leaving the child starved of oxygen if not delivered immediately.

30 Nov 2010

Evidence of evolutionary protection against inbreeding in women?

Through an innovative use of cell phone records, researchers at UCLA, the University of Miami and Cal State, Fullerton, have found that women appear to avoid contact with their fathers during ovulation.

30 Nov 2010

Columbia board amends Stockholder Rights Plan

Columbia Laboratories, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has amended its Stockholder Rights Plan (the "Rights Plan"), adopted March 12, 2002, to preserve the value of significant tax assets associated with the Company's tax net operating loss carryforwards ("NOLs") under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.

30 Nov 2010

New ultrasound-based treatment for varicose veins

Rowena Cheng, RN, has spent most of her 34-year career on her feet. Standing for long periods of time comes with the job of being a nurse. For Cheng, however, it exacted a physical toll: knotted, swollen blood vessels in the calf of her left leg.

30 Nov 2010

Nine out of ten of all primary care centers in Sweden prescribe physical activity

Prescribing physical activity for the purpose of preventing and treating various conditions can now become a reality for healthcare professionals all over the world.

30 Nov 2010

Long-term phase 3 trial confirms safety of lubiprostone in Japanese patients with chronic idiopathic constipation

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Abbott today announced positive top-line data from a 48-week phase 3 long-term safety and efficacy clinical trial of lubiprostone in Japanese patients with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). The trial demonstrated that lubiprostone was safe and well-tolerated.

30 Nov 2010

WomanCare Global expands product portfolio to include Roselle, Optinor

WomanCare Global is pleased to announce an expansion of their global product portfolio to include Roselle, a combined oral contraceptive (COC) pill containing 150 micrograms of levonorgestrel and 30 micrograms of ethinylestradiol and Optinor, a progesterone-only emergency contraception pill (ECP) containing 750 micrograms of levonorgestrel.

29 Nov 2010

Merck announces initial results from ISENTRESS Phase III study in HIV-1

Merck today reported initial results from the Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of a treatment regimen including ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) Tablets once daily in treatment-naïve adult patients infected with HIV-1. ISENTRESS is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults.

29 Nov 2010

ESF report: Reduced male fertility may contribute to low birth rates

Reduced male fertility may be making it even harder for couples to conceive and be contributing to low birth rates in many countries, reveals a new European Science Foundation (ESF) report launching today at the IPSEN meeting in Paris.

28 Nov 2010

Doctors treating female epilepsy patients have to consider specific hormonal situation

Doctors treating female epilepsy patients have to take account of the specific hormonal situation in women. Such an approach can often reduce the limitations imposed by the disease. This is the conclusion reached by Sabine Weil of Munich University and her co-authors in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International

25 Nov 2010

Further studies needed over use of Proton-Pump Inhibitors in early pregnancy

Despite the reassurances of Pasternak and Hviid in their study, "Use of Proton-Pump Inhibitors (PPI) in Early Pregnancy and the Risk of Birth Defects," featured in the Nov. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, an epidemiologist from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) believes that further studies are needed.

25 Nov 2010

Breastfeeding while remaining on epilepsy medications may not affect child's IQ

There's good news for women with epilepsy. Breastfeeding your baby while taking your seizure medication may have no harmful effect on your child's IQ later on, according to a study published in the November 24, 2010, online issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Nov 2010