Birth Defects News and Research

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Study sheds new light on underlying genetic causes of congenital heart disease

Approximately one in every 100 babies is born with congenital heart disease (CHD), and CHD remains the leading cause of mortality from birth defects.

9 Oct 2017

FDA grants approval for new test to detect Zika virus in blood donations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the cobas Zika test, a qualitative nucleic acid test for the detection of Zika virus RNA in individual plasma specimens obtained from volunteer donors of whole blood and blood components, and from living organ donors.

6 Oct 2017

Researchers find genetic variation linked to effects of prenatal alcohol exposure

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, have found a genetic variation, which associates with the damage caused by maternal alcohol consumption. This genetic variation clarifies the role of genetic factors in the alcohol-induced developmental disorders and could be useful in future diagnostics.

5 Oct 2017

New DNA-based Zika vaccine demonstrates safety and ability to elicit immune response

A new generation DNA-based Zika vaccine is the first to demonstrate both safety and the ability to elicit an immune response against Zika in humans, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted in partnership with The Wistar Institute, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, and GeneOne Life Science, Inc.

5 Oct 2017

MRI and ultrasound can detect fetal brain damage caused by Zika in utero

Clinicians managing Zika-affected pregnancies should use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in addition to standard ultrasound (US) because the more detailed MRI images can reveal more extensive areas of damage to the developing fetal brain, according to research presented during IDWeek 2017.

4 Oct 2017

Studies shed new light on leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage

Two recent Northwestern University studies shed new light on the mystery of the leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage, laying the foundation for further research in an understudied but crucially important field of genetic study.

3 Oct 2017

Cancer vaccines need to target immune fighters that can withstand battle against malicious tumors

Cancer vaccines may need to better target T cells that can hold up to the long fight against cancer, scientists report.

27 Sep 2017

Adding, removing water from a stem cell can determine its role as bone or fat

Adding or removing water from a stem cell can change the destiny of the cell, researchers have discovered in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Sep 2017

New study reveals impact of Agent Orange exposure on women and babies in Vietnam

Exposure to Agent Orange sprayed during the Vietnam War has been linked to increased levels of certain hormones in women and their breastfeeding children decades later, potentially putting them at higher risk of health problems, according to a new study in Science of the Total Environment.

26 Sep 2017

Potential Zika vaccine blocks mother-to-fetus transmission and stops male testis infection

For the first time, a collaborative team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has shown that a potential Zika vaccine quickly can protect fetuses against infection as well as protect males against testicular infection and injury.

26 Sep 2017

Brain shapes normal body patterning much earlier than previously thought

The brain plays an active and essential role much earlier than previously thought, according to new research from Tufts University scientists which shows that long before movement or other behaviors occur, the brain of an embryonic frog influences muscle and nerve development and protects the embryo from agents that cause developmental defects.

25 Sep 2017

Employer-sponsored health plans spend $6 billion extra on preterm infants, study shows

A new study estimates employer-sponsored health plans spent at least $6 billion extra on infants born prematurely in 2013 and a substantial portion of that sum was spent on infants with major birth defects.

21 Sep 2017

UI scientists discover gene linked to fatal renal agenesis in children

A team led by University of Iowa researchers has identified a gene linked to rare, often fatal kidney-related birth defects.

18 Sep 2017

Researchers identify new in-utero treatment to reverse cleft palate in mouse models

Researchers at University of Utah Health clarified a molecular pathway responsible for the formation of cleft palate and identified a new treatment to reverse this defect in mouse pups in-utero.

13 Sep 2017

High levels of suPAR protein shown to be likely cause of kidney damage in children

High levels of a protein known as suPAR, which has been shown to be a marker and likely cause of kidney damage, is as reliably predictive in children as in adults, according to results of a study published online today in JAMA Pediatrics, a clinical publication of the American Medical Association.

5 Sep 2017

Older wombs have more trouble in adapting to pregnancy

Deciding to start a family later in life could be about more than just the age of your eggs. A new study in mice suggests the age of a mother's womb may also have a part to play.

5 Sep 2017

Zika infection through sex may cause severe fetal effects compared to mosquito transmission

Rhesus macaques that were vaginally infected with Zika virus showed higher prevalence of Zika in the reproductive tract than previously seen in macaques that received skin injections of the virus.

24 Aug 2017

Zika suppresses immune system during pregnancy to harm baby, report researchers

Scientists from the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered that the Zika virus works by suppressing a pregnant woman’s immune system so that the virus can spread and increase the chance of harming an unborn baby.

22 Aug 2017

Antimicrobial agents in common household products inhibit cell energy, estrogenic functions

A new in-vitro study by University of California, Davis, researchers indicates that quaternary ammonium compounds, or "quats," used as antimicrobial agents in common household products inhibit mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, as well as estrogenic functions in cells.