Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

J&JPRD submits an NDA for tapentadol ER tablets

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tapentadol extended release (ER) tablets, an investigational oral analgesic for the management of moderate to severe chronic pain in patients 18 years of age or older.

2 Dec 2009

Chembio Diagnostics donates over 4,500 HIV test kits for the 2009 Testing Millions Global Campaign

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., a NY-based company that develops, manufactures, licenses and markets proprietary rapid diagnostic tests, is donating more than 4,500 rapid HIV test kits to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's 2009 Testing Millions Global Campaign, based in Los Angeles, to commemorate World AIDS Day 2009 on December 1st.

1 Dec 2009

AHF lauds WHO for its crucial HIV treatment recommendations

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2009, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) praised the World Health Organization (WHO) for its new HIV treatment recommendations which include starting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) earlier (at a t-cell count of <350 cells/mm3 instead of <200) for all HIV-positive adults and adolescents and earlier treatment initiation for HIV-positive pregnant women who should now begin treatment at 14 weeks into pregnancy, rather than 28 weeks as previously recommended, and continue until the end of breastfeeding.

1 Dec 2009

Department of Health reminds Pennsylvanians to be tested regularly for HIV

In recognition of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Department of Health Secretary Everette James today reminded Pennsylvanians to be tested regularly for HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.

1 Dec 2009

MAbs for early detection of cancer

Two sets of recommendations issued earlier this month have revised longstanding guidelines concerning the age at which women should first be tested for breast and cervical cancer and how frequently.

1 Dec 2009

Women with gestational glucose intolerance at risk of metabolic syndrome

Women who have gestational glucose intolerance (a condition less severe than gestational diabetes) exhibit multiple cardiovascular risk factors as early as three months after birth, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

1 Dec 2009

Drinking sugar-sweetened cola a week prior to pregnancy elevates diabetes during pregnancy

Researchers from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, have found for the first time that drinking more than 5 servings of sugar- sweetened cola a week prior to pregnancy appears to significantly elevate the risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy.

1 Dec 2009

MRI can identify placenta accreta in pregnant women, reveals study

A study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) revealed that MRI is a highly accurate means of identifying placenta accreta, a potentially life-threatening and increasingly common condition that is the leading cause of death for women just before and after giving birth.

1 Dec 2009

WHO issues new HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines

The WHO on Monday issued new recommendations that patients living with HIV/AIDS begin receiving antiretrovirals (ARVs) earlier than current HIV treatment advice suggests, the Associated Press reports

1 Dec 2009

Presentations at Tuesday's RSNA conference

A new study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports that beverage can stay-tabs pose a potential ingestion risk. In the 1970s, U.S. manufacturers switched to the stay-tab design after safety concerns about pull-tabs. The new study found 19 cases of stay-tab ingestion at a single institution, mainly among teenagers.

30 Nov 2009

Dr. Gail Harrison to receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award

A nutritionist whose research was instrumental in adding fruits and vegetables to the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food subsidy will receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

27 Nov 2009

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

The so-called RANK protein and the molecule that binds to it, the RANK ligand or RANKL, form a focus of the work of Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna. In 1999 his group deleted the RANKL gene from mice and showed that the RANK/RANKL system was the "master regulator" governing bone loss (Kong et al. 1999 Nature 402, 304-309).

26 Nov 2009

Additional data on lubiprostone presented at the GASTRO 2009 UEGF/WCOG meeting

Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd., and Sucampo Pharma Americas, Inc., subsidiaries of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today presented additional clinical data for lubiprostone (Amitiza®) at GASTRO 2009 UEGF/WCOG, the joint meeting of the United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF), the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO), the World Organisation of Digestive Endoscopy (OMED) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), in London.

25 Nov 2009

TMCI announces a national rollout of its successful "Plan" to reach the nation's teen moms

Lee Daniels' gritty indie film "Precious” follows a suffering pregnant girl struggling against impossible odds. Producer and director Daniels said on NPR's Fresh Air, "I know the cycle has to stop. And that's the beauty of 'Precious.'"

25 Nov 2009

Alpha-fetoprotein, a well-tolerated agent for treatment and prevention of breast cancer

Researchers have found that hormones produced during pregnancy induce a protein that directly inhibits the growth of breast cancer. This protein, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), may serve as a viable, well-tolerated agent for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, according to findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

25 Nov 2009

IPS examines next year's UNGASS on MDGs, improvements in maternal health

Inter Press Service reports that the September 2010 U.N. Generally Assembly meeting will feature a three-day special session (UNGASS) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

24 Nov 2009

Medical advances abound while surgeons report concerns about medical errors

The Wall Street Journal reports on "20 health-care advances to give thanks for this Thanksgiving." Among the most key: "Life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 77.9 years in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, continuing a long upward trend. (That's 75.3 years for men and 80.4 years for women.) ... Death rates dropped significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., including cancer, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, accidents, diabetes, homicides and pneumonia, from 2006 to 2007."

24 Nov 2009

DSS sets evidence-based guidelines and definitions to treat type 2 diabetes

A first-of-its-kind consensus statement on diabetes surgery is published online today in the Annals of Surgery. The report illustrates the findings of the first international consensus conference -- Diabetes Surgery Summit (DSS) -- where an international group of more than 50 scientific and medical experts agreed on a set of evidence-based guidelines and definitions that are meant to guide the use and study of gastrointestinal surgery to treat type 2 diabetes. The document is considered to be the foundation of diabetes surgery as a medical discipline of its own.

24 Nov 2009

U.S. Court rules in Merck's favor in Flemings case involving FOSAMAX

Merck said today that U.S. District Court Judge John F. Keenan granted summary judgment in Merck's favor in Flemings v. Merck. Flemings is the second of three cases involving FOSAMAX (alendronate sodium) designated by the federal MDL court as a bellwether trial case.

24 Nov 2009

Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

University of Alberta graduate student Jennifer Heys wants to make her message clear: there needs to be more education in Ugandan communities about contraception.

24 Nov 2009