http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. By identifying a protein that acts as a genetic modifier, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved the mystery of why some infants are born with a grave syndrome consisting of cleft palate and major deformities of the skin and limbs, while other infants bearing the same predisposing genetic mutation bear little or no sign of the illness, called EEC. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-geneticists-mystery-eec-syndrome-variable.html Genetics Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:33:50 EST news290361565 (Medical Xpress)—Breathing traffic pollution in early pregnancy is linked to a higher risk for certain serious birth defects, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-air-pollutants-linked-higher-birth.html Health Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:20:05 EST news283762912 (Medical Xpress)—Using cutting-edge time-lapse photography, University of Southern California (USC) researchers have discovered clues to the development of the head at the cellular level, which could point scientists to a better understanding of how organs and birth defects form in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-genetic-clues-birth-defects-video.html Medical research Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:50:01 EST news279819853 Leonidas Hill recently made history at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, when the 5-year-old became the first pediatric patient in the western United States to undergo transoral robotic surgery (TORS)—a minimally invasive surgery performed with the help of a robot—to repair a rare congenital condition known as a laryngeal cleft. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-kindergartner-rare-robotic-surgery-ucla.html Surgery Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:01:45 EST news275547668 Research released today helps reveal how human and primate brains process and interpret facial expressions, and the role of facial mimicry in everything from deciphering an unclear smile to establishing relationships of power and status. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-reveals-brain-facial-emotions.html Neuroscience Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:53:59 EST news269524382 (Medical Xpress)—The cellular cause of birth defects like cleft palates, missing teeth and problems with fingers and toes has been a tricky puzzle for scientists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-blocked-ionic-channels-cellular-birth.html Medical research Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:19:16 EST news266563144 (HealthDay) -- There is considerable variation in the neuropsychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes of individuals with cleft lip and palate, as the outcomes are affected by developmental level, sex, and cleft type, according to a study published in the July issue of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-considerable-variation-outcomes-cleft-lippalate.html Health Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:50:01 EST news264428086 US regulators were expected to decide Tuesday whether to approve the second new anti-obesity drug in 13 years, Qnexa, which studies have shown may help some people lose up to 10 percent of their body weight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-weight-loss-drug.html Medications Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:52:13 EST news261748312 (Medical Xpress) -- New research by medics at Trinity College Dublin suggests that folic acid plays a vital role in preventing a major birth defect. This is in addition to the established protection against neural birth defect such as spina bifida The findings published in the July 2012 edition of the leading primary care journal, the British Journal of General Practice show that the risk of having Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) was more than four times higher if mothers had not taken folic acid in the first trimester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-links-mothers-lack-folic-acid.html Health Thu, 05 Jul 2012 06:12:51 EST news260687519 Children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other craniofacial disorders face numerous medical challenges beyond appearance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-cleft-lippalate-cosmetic-problems.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 22 May 2012 17:38:46 EST news256927122 Patients with wider cleft palates appear more likely to postoperatively develop velopharyngeal insufficiency, a condition characterized by hypernasal speech and nasal air escape when speaking, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-wider-cleft-width-hypernasal-speech.html Surgery Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:02:39 EST news253810938 US regulators will decide in July whether to approve Qnexa, the first obesity drug in more than a decade, extending the initial deadline by three months, the California-based drug-maker VIVUS said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-obesity-drug-july.html Medications Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:15:20 EST news253278870 Scientists have moved a step closer to correcting some unhealthy gene mutations with diet, according to a new research report appearing in the April 2012 issue of the journal Genetics. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, determined variations and responses to vitamin treatment in the human cystathionine beta synthase gene, which when defective, causes the disease homocystinuria, an inherited metabolic disorder sometimes treatable with vitamin B6. After the analysis, scientists correlated specific gene mutations with severity of the disease, ranging from perfectly healthy and functional to severe and untreatable. Although the current study focused on homocystinuria, testing the effects of naturally occurring gene variations using surrogate organism genetics can be applied to other inherited disorders, such as neural tube defect, cleft palate, and blindness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-diet-gene-mutations.html Genetics Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:17:14 EST news253185422 As they work together to form body parts, cells in developing organisms communicate like workers at a construction site. The discovery of a new signaling molecule in flies by Brown University biologists not only helps explain how cells send many long-haul messages, but also provides new clues for researchers who study how human development goes awry, for instance in cases of cleft lip and palate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-newly-protein-cells-tissues.html Medical research Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:03:20 EST news252583391 (Medical Xpress) -- Scientists have gained insight into how second-hand tobacco smoke damages the earliest stages of human embryonic development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-tobacco-affects-early-human-embryonic.html Medical research Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:47:10 EST news251102801 Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College used genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos specially engineered for the study of cleft lip and cleft palate. The research breakthrough may show the way to prevent or treat the conditions in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cleft-lip-genetically-mouse.html Genetics Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:37:08 EST news241709809 The overall quality of a pregnant woman's diet is linked with risk for two types of serious birth defects, a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown. In the study, women who ate better before and during pregnancy gave birth to fewer infants with malformations of the brain and spinal cord, or orofacial clefts, such as cleft lip and cleft palate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-quality-pregnant-woman-diet-affects.html Health Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:16:32 EST news236877381 Scientists have shown for the first time in a large population study that mothers' stopping smoking around the time of getting pregnant can prevent the harmful effects of tobacco on their babies' growth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-averts-adverse-birth-outcomes-tobacco.html Health Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:45:36 EST news229142720 The use of corticosteroids during pregnancy does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of orofacial clefts in infants, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-corticosteroid-pregnancy-linked-facial-clefts.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:46:20 EST news221744500