Birth Defects News and Research

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New portable device may hold key to accurately detecting Zika virus

About the size of a tablet, a portable device that could be used in a host of environments like a busy airport or even a remote location in South America, may hold the key to detecting the dreaded Zika virus accurately, rapidly and inexpensively using just a saliva sample.

22 Feb 2017

NIH workshop: Zika-affected infants may face complex health and developmental problems

Children exposed to Zika virus in the womb may face complex health and developmental problems as they grow older, according to discussions at a National Institutes of Health workshop.

21 Feb 2017

New computer model recommends intervention strategies to mitigate pandemics

The 2016 Zika virus outbreak, along with recent outbreaks of SARS, bird flu, H1N1 and Ebola, underscore the importance of being prepared for and responding quickly to infectious diseases. Zika, in particular, poses unique challenges, since its associated birth defects and lack of preventive treatment currently threaten over 60 countries.

17 Feb 2017

UTMB researchers unravel mystery of how Zika virus causes birth defects

A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered the mechanisms that the Zika virus uses to alter brain development. These findings are detailed in Stem Cell Reports.

17 Feb 2017

TSRI researchers uncover details behind Zika virus's unique ability to cause birth defects

The most frightening aspect of Zika virus has been its ability to produce severe fetal birth defects during pregnancy, especially microcephaly—a small head.

7 Feb 2017

Cancer drug could promote regeneration of damaged heart muscle, research shows

An anticancer agent in development promotes regeneration of damaged heart muscle 0- an unexpected research finding that may help prevent congestive heart failure in the future.

3 Feb 2017

Researchers highlight importance of large population studies for increased knowledge about disease

Per Magnus, director of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study at the NIPH, together with two researchers from the UK and Denmark, have written a commentary article in the latest issue of the prestigious journal JAMA Pediatrics. The journal is published by the American Medical Association.

28 Jan 2017

Utah law increases early identification of infants with hearing loss, new study reveals

A Utah law has led to increased early identification of infants with hearing loss due to a congenital infection, according to a new study by University of Utah and Utah Department of Health researchers.

25 Jan 2017

Researchers reveal central role of new key players in meiosis

Where would we be without meiosis and recombination? For a start, none of us sexually reproducing organisms would be here, because that's how sperm and eggs are made. And when meiosis doesn't work properly, it can lead to infertility, miscarriage, birth defects and developmental disorders.

24 Jan 2017

Researchers evaluate use of regenerative human umbilical cord for in-utero spina bifida repair

In a study to be presented Saturday, Jan. 28, in the oral concurrent session at 8:45 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers evaluated a possible regenerative patch by using human umbilical cord in two studies titled Cryopreserved Human Umbilical Cord (HUC) vs Acellular Dermal Matrix (ADM) for In-Utero Spina Bifida Repair and the study Conventional vs cryopreserved human umbilical cord (HUC) patch based on repair for in-utero spina bifida in a sheep model.

23 Jan 2017

UC San Diego researchers receive CIRM grants to advance studies on Zika virus and cancer

The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has approved a pair of $2 million awards to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers to advance studies of new treatments for Zika virus infections and the use of stem cell-derived natural killer (NK) cells to target ovarian cancer and other malignancies.

20 Jan 2017

Popularity of non-invasive prenatal testing increasing among pregnant women

Genetic counselors are playing a greater role in areas of medicine in the wake of advancement in genomic technology.

19 Jan 2017

Antidepressant use during pregnancy could increase risk of birth defects in baby, study reveals

A new Université de Montréal study in the British Medical Journal reveals that antidepressants prescribed to pregnant women could increase the chance of having a baby with birth defects.

18 Jan 2017

Folic acid supplements can reduce risk of having pregnancy affected by neural tube defects

Despite the mandatory addition of folic acid to enriched grain products in the United States, many women still do not consume adequate amounts of this important vitamin, according to an editorial written by Laura E. Mitchell, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.

11 Jan 2017

UM SOM study identifies key Zika proteins as likely suspects for damage

Until it burst onto the scene earlier this year, Zika was an obscure, little-known virus. As a result, scientists know little about how it works.

3 Jan 2017

March of Dimes provides New Year's resolution for moms-to-be to help have healthy baby

If you're a woman who's pregnant or planning a baby this season, make a New Year's resolution to be as healthy as you can, says the March of Dimes Foundation. The first step is to start taking a daily multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid, even if you're not trying to get pregnant.

31 Dec 2016

Mount Sinai researchers laying groundwork to find effective treatment for Zika virus

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are working on the basic science that lays the groundwork to finding a way to treat and prevent the Zika virus, a global health risk.

22 Dec 2016

Increasing access to pediatric cardiac care could save lives of children with CHD

Over one million children are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year. When children with CHD receive timely treatment, 85% can survive into adulthood to live healthy, productive lives.

17 Dec 2016

Zika-linked abnormalities in fetuses more extensive and severe than previously thought

New UCLA-led research finds that Zika-linked abnormalities that occur in human fetuses are more extensive — and severe — than previously thought, with 46 percent of 125 pregnancies among Zika-infected women resulting in birth defects in newborns or ending in fetal death.

16 Dec 2016

Hormonal contraception least likely to be linked to thromboembolic events in diabetic women

Strokes and heart attacks are rare for women with diabetes who use hormonal contraception, with the safest options being intrauterine devices (IUDs) and under-the-skin implants, new research published in Diabetes Care shows.