http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used for decades to reduce fires in everyday products such as baby strollers, carpeting and electronics. A new study to be presented on Monday, May 6, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting shows that prenatal exposure to the flame retardants is associated with lower intelligence and hyperactivity in early childhood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-flame-retardants-toxic-children.html Pediatrics Mon, 06 May 2013 05:20:03 EST news287034636 The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) is highest in the month of April, and lowest in October, indicates an analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-pregnant-women-vitamin-d-supplements.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:30:02 EST news272129714 Gestational exposure to ambient urban air pollution, especially during late pregnancy, may contribute to lower vitamin D levels in offspring, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM). According to study authors, this could affect the child's risk of developing diseases later in life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-gestational-exposure-urban-air-pollution.html Health Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:00:04 EST news266688767 The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments has been established by several studies in recent years, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-prenatal-exposure-pollution-dangerous-children.html Inflammatory disorders Sun, 20 May 2012 13:30:16 EST news256739375 Two new studies led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers spotlight the human health effects of exposure to smoke from open fires and dirty cookstoves, the primary source of cooking and heating for 43 percent, or some 3 billion members, of the world's population. Women and young children in poverty are particularly vulnerable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-woodsmoke-cooking-linked-pneumonia-cognitive.html Health Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:30:05 EST news240154961 Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-parental-exposure-bpa-pregnancy-decreased.html Health Thu, 05 May 2011 09:32:19 EST news223806709