http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. New research is raising fresh concern that an age-old treatment for troubled pregnancies—bed rest—doesn't seem to prevent premature birth, and might even increase that risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-bed-rest-prematurity.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 14 May 2013 07:40:01 EST news287734549 Understanding the molecular control of placenta formation, the organ which enables fetal growth, is critical in diagnosing and treating related pregnancy complications. A group of scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, and the University of Calgary, Canada has revealed a molecular feedback loop that governs the earliest steps of placenta formation in mice, which is known to mimic placenta formation in humans. Their findings are published April 16 in the open access journal PLOS Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-molecular-early-placenta-formation-clues.html Medical research Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:27:42 EST news285352056 Mothers suffering from postpartum depression after a high-risk pregnancy would turn to online interventions if available anonymously and from professional healthcare providers, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mothers-postpartum-depression-online-professional.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:47:44 EST news284316402 Australian experts are urging caution over a new study that suggests a link between insufficient vitamin D and pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and lower birth weight in newborns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-experts-urge-caution-pregnancy-vitamin.html Health Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:48:10 EST news283596480 (Medical Xpress)—Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 are responsible for much of why life expectancy is lower in the United States than most of the world's most developed nations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-links-mortality-age-life-lagging.html Health Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:58:12 EST news282329792 In a study to be presented on February 15 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest that consistent physical activity and healthier lifestyle changes beginning in a woman's first trimester can prevent excessive weight gain in obese pregnant women (with a Body Mass Index greater than 30), helping to avoid preterm delivery, hypertension and gestational diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-caloric-restriction-weight-gain-complications.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:00:01 EST news279801515 One in every 20 cases of the serious condition of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, may be linked to increased levels of the air pollutant ozone during the first three months, suggests a large study published in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cases-pre-eclampsia-linked-air-pollutant.html Health Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:30:02 EST news279388290 A recently released report, entitled "Social and Economic Impact Review on Neglected Tropical Diseases," highlights links between neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and socio-economic prosperity. Published by Hudson Institute's Center for Science in Public Policy, in partnership with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the paper found NTD control and elimination efforts to be both inexpensive and highly effective, especially when paired with other major disease treatment efforts, making NTD programs one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-neglected-tropical-disease-global-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 17 Jan 2013 04:15:44 EST news277618537 More than a third of the adult population in Indiana who consume alcohol admit to regular binge drinking, a habit that may cause severe neurological and physiological damage, says a new report from Ball State University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hoosiers-alcohol-bingeing.html Addiction Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:00:01 EST news277116095 Overweight women are not receiving proper advice on healthy weight gains or appropriate exercise levels during their pregnancies, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-overweight-pregnant-women-proper-weight-gain.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:20:03 EST news274367255 Contrary to popular thought, regular exercise before and during pregnancy could have beneficial effects for women that develop high blood pressure during gestation, human physiology professor Jeff Gilbert said, summarizing a new study by his research team that appears in the December issue of Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-benefits-pregnancies-high-blood-pressure.html Health Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:06:47 EST news272300798 New research suggests that statins, traditionally used for cholesterol lowering, could be used in the management of individuals who are at risk for developing clotting because they have autoimmune antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). The research will be presented in two presentations at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP). The meeting will be held Nov. 9-14, in Washington D.C. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-statins-potential-autoimmune-clotting-disorder.html Immunology Sun, 11 Nov 2012 08:29:13 EST news271844930 For years, researchers have known that antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) can cause pregnancy loss and clotting, but they haven't known the true scope of the problem. Now a new study provides the first estimates of the prevalence of these antibodies in patients suffering from pregnancy loss, stroke, myocardial infarction, and deep vein thrombosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-autoimmune-disease-linked-pregnancy-loss.html Immunology Sun, 11 Nov 2012 08:03:39 EST news271843390 New surveys of researchers and funders reveal a lack of consensus regarding researching and developing interventions to prevent prematurity and stillbirth, according to an article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ahead of World Prematurity Day on November 17. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-combating-crisis-global-burden-preterm.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:18:49 EST news271430277 Few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in the hospital emergency department (ED), even when they complain of lower abdominal pain, or before they are exposed to radiation for tests or examinations, according to an abstract presented Friday, Oct. 19, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-teens-pregnancy-emergency-department.html Pediatrics Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:20:01 EST news269791402 Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach. This discovery will pave the way for new screening strategies and treatments for uterine fibroids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-genetic-uterine-fibroids.html Genetics Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:04:42 EST news268571064 A new study published online in the journal Nature suggests it might be possible to develop vaccines to prevent premature birth and other pregnancy complications. If so, such vaccines would be the first intended to stimulate the subset of regulatory CD4 T cells that suppress the immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pregnancy-maternal-immune-suppressive-cells-fetus.html Immunology Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:00:14 EST news267876734 Women who were born preterm are at increased risk of complications during pregnancy compared to those born at term, and the risk almost doubles for mothers born before 32 weeks, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-preterm-birth-mother-pregnancy-complications.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:12 EST news267702725 New research indicates marijuana-like compounds called endocannabinoids alter genes and biological signals critical to the formation of a normal placenta during pregnancy and may contribute to pregnancy complications like preeclampsia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-implicates-marijuana-pregnancy-problems.html Medical research Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:04:48 EST news266663078 Researchers have identified a way in which men can develop prostate cancer after contracting trichomoniasis, a curable but often overlooked sexually transmitted disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-mechanism-trichomoniasis-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:05:55 EST news265518177 Based on their previous discovery of progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF), European scientists have developed a diagnostic assay that could be used to detect pregnancy complications or cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-cancer-pregnancy-complications.html Medical research Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:11:28 EST news264327071 A study led by Hospital for Special Surgery researchers has demonstrated that women who have a specific type of antibody that interferes with blood vessel function are at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and that other antibodies in the same family thought to cause pregnancy complications do not put women at risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-pregnancy-complications-overturns-common-belief.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:36:52 EST news260552206 For pregnant women, including those who are overweight and obese, following a healthy calorie controlled diet during pregnancy is safe and can reduce the risk of serious complications such as pre-eclampsia, diabetes and premature birth, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-weight-pregnancy-diet-beneficial-safe.html Health Thu, 17 May 2012 18:30:04 EST news256493293 Newborns whose mothers are under stress during the first trimester of pregnancy may be at risk for low iron status, which could lead to physical and mental delays down the road, according to a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mom-stress-pregnancy-affect-baby.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:35:28 EST news254903710 A newly published article in the journal Nursing for Women's Health highlights the importance of a woman's ability to time her childbearing. The author asserts that contraception is a means of health promotion and women who work with their health care providers to ensure they are healthy prior to conceiving can minimize their risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-pregnancy-important-health-women.html Health Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:46:12 EST news253363561 Fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages, and pregnancy complications can occur when maternal immunological tolerance of the fetus is impaired. Gérard Chaouat and colleagues from Inserm et Assistance Publique et Université Paris Sud Orsay, Hopital Antoine Bèclère, Clamart Cedex, France (now in Hopital Saint Louis, Paris), trace the evolution of the science of reproductive immunology to show how the current understanding of maternal-fetal tolerance/dialogue has developed, and its implications for the treatment of infertility disorders. Their study appears in a topical issue of Advances in Neuroimmune Biology on maternal-fetal interactions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-successful-pregnancy.html Immunology Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:31:27 EST news251548279 If you develop pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders or diabetes, you may have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-pregnancy-related-complications-cvd-middle-age.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:10:45 EST news248713824 Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hiv-exposed-children-high-language_1.html Diabetes Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:43:19 EST news246728592 A new study recently published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that the ability to successfully carry a pregnancy after kidney transplantation is very high, with 73.5% live birth rates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-successful-pregnancy-kidney-transplant.html Other Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:23:05 EST news238328532 A new study reports that a low-cost healthy lifestyle program, including self-weighing weekly or monthly, by pregnant women with pre-existing overweight can prevent them from gaining too much weight during early pregnancy. The researchers will present the results Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-pregnant-women-excess-weight-gain.html Health Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:32:50 EST news226571558