http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. New research by Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine finds that cultures commonly used to detect bacterial infections in low birth-weight newborns with early onset sepsis may actually overlook some germs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-multiple-infection-birth-weight-newborns.html Pediatrics Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:00:15 EST news280598834 Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology say cells from the amniotic membrane part of the placenta normally discarded after a woman gives birth could one day be a source for human eggs. The first-of-its-kind discovery was published online last month in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2012, 10:108). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-amniotic-sac-membrane-source-human.html Medical research Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:26:57 EST news277115209 Whole genome sequencing of the DNA code of three prenatal samples provided a detailed map of the locations of their chromosomal abnormalities in 14 days, scientists reported today at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2012 meeting in San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-genome-sequencing-de-novo-rearrangements.html Genetics Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:30:01 EST news271508420 Magnesium sulfate is given to many pregnant women to treat preterm labor and preeclampsia and was recently shown to prevent cerebral palsy; however little is known about how it works. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine recently discovered the mechanism by which magnesium reduces the production of cytokines. Cytokines are molecules responsible for regulating inflammation; they play a key role conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, asthma, and alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis. Although the study related to pregnancy, inflammation is the culprit of many conditions and learning more about individual's magnesium levels may help a much broader patient population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-preterm-labor-powerhouse-therapy-inflammatory.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:43:32 EST news269016204 Since the 1960s, when the defoliant Agent Orange was widely used in Vietnam, military, industry and environmental groups have debated the toxicity of its main ingredient, the chemical dioxin, and how it should be regulated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-dioxin-disease-reproductive-problems.html Medical research Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:00:15 EST news267894676 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists have established a genetic mouse model for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a human condition in which women experience irregular menstrual cycles and reduced fertility, and early exposure to estrogen deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-early-menopause-mice-human-poi.html Genetics Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:47:26 EST news265538835 Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have made an important discovery that partially answers the long-standing question of why a mother's immune system does not reject a developing fetus as foreign tissue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-insight-long-standing-pregnancy-mystery.html Medical research Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:00:01 EST news258294979 Scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick have shed new light on how sperm navigate the female reproductive tract, 'crawling' along the channel walls and swimming around corners; with frequent collisions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-sperm-collide-egg.html Medical research Mon, 07 May 2012 15:00:04 EST news255606752 Women having children at older ages and the growing availability of fertility treatments has led to a marked increase in the birth of twins: In 2009, one in every 30 babies born in the United States was a twin compared with one in every 53 in 1980. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-babies-born-twin.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:26:25 EST news252602778 Men's diets, in particular the amount and type of different fats they eat, could be associated with their semen quality according to the results of a study published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-fatty-diets-semen-quality.html Health Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:00:01 EST news250875714 For the first time, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes. In the March issue of Nature Medicine, the team from the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at MGH reports the latest follow-up study to their now-landmark 2004 Nature paper that first suggested female mammals continue producing egg cells into adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-isolate-egg-producing-stem-cells.html Medical research Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:00:11 EST news249480547 Imagine a contraceptive that could, with one or two painless 15-minute non-surgical treatments, provide months of protection from pregnancy. And imagine that the equipment needed were already in physical therapists' offices around the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-sonicating-sperm-future-male.html Other Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:55:56 EST news247118146 Targeted therapies that are designed to suppress the formation of new blood vessels in tumors, such as Avastin (bevacizumab), have slowed cancer growth in some patients. However, they have not produced the dramatic responses researchers initially thought they might. Now, research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania might help to explain the modest responses. The discovery, published in the July 14 issue of Nature, suggests novel treatment combinations that could boost the power of therapies based on slowing blood vessel growth (angiogenesis). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-scientists-link-immune-suppression-blood.html Cancer Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:00:09 EST news229780313 (Medical Xpress) -- A strategy that has been shown to reduce age-related health problems in several animal studies may also combat a major cause of age-associated infertility and birth defects. Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have shown that restricting the caloric intake of adult female mice prevents a spectrum of abnormalities, such as extra or missing copies of chromosomes, that arise more frequently in egg cells of aging female mammals. Their report appears in this week's online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-strategy-infertility-birth-defects.html Medical research Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:10:18 EST news229255793 The ratio between the second and fourth digits is linked to stretched penile length according to a study published online this week in Asian Journal of Andrology. This finding suggests that digit ratio can predict adult penile size and that the effects of prenatal testosterone may in part explain the differences in adult penile length. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-finger-ratio-penile-length.html Other Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:59:35 EST news229057146