Birth Defects News and Research

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Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals estimated to cost EU €157 billion a year

A new economic analysis found exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals likely costs the European Union €157 billion ($209 billion) a year in actual health care expenses and lost earning potential, according to a new series of studies published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

6 Mar 2015

Providing knowledge about contraception can significantly improve use of isotretinoin

Providing women who take a powerful acne drug with a fact sheet about contraception while visiting the dermatologist can significantly improve their awareness of the most effective birth control options and may prevent unintended pregnancies and birth defects that can be caused by the drug, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published Feb. 4 in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

5 Feb 2015

Variants in fetus's DNA may trigger some early births

Some babies seem to have a genetic predisposition to a higher risk of being born too soon, according to researchers in a study to be presented on Feb. 5 in an oral concurrent session at 8 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting in San Diego.

4 Feb 2015

Emory researchers complete detailed maps of 184 duplications found in genomes

Copy number variations (deletions or duplications of large chunks of the genome) are a major cause of birth defects, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders. Still, geneticists can definitively say how a CNV, once discovered in someone's DNA, leads to one of these conditions in just a fraction of cases.

31 Jan 2015

Childbearing women who take painkillers may face increased risk of birth defects

More than one-fourth of privately-insured and one-third of Medicaid-enrolled women of childbearing age filled prescriptions for opioid-based (narcotic) painkillers between 2008 and 2012, according to a new analysis published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

23 Jan 2015

UAB Research Probes Molecular Basis Of Rare Genetic Disorder

An international group co-led by University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Mary MacDougall, Ph.D., has unraveled the molecular basis for the rare, inherited genetic disorder, Singleton-Merten Syndrome (SMS). Individuals with SMS develop extreme, life-threatening calcification of the aorta and heart valves, early-onset periodontitis and root resorption of the teeth, decreases in bone density, and loss of bone tissue at the tips of fingers and toes.

23 Jan 2015

Report: Folic acid saves babies from neural tube defects

Fortifying grain foods with the B vitamin folic acid has saved about 1,300 babies every year from being born with serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), according to new data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

16 Jan 2015

Most Americans unaware of the positive benefits of folic acid

Each year, more than four million women in America give birth and 2,600 infants are born with neural tube defects.

6 Jan 2015

Sensitive toxicity test aims to detect dangerous side effects in pharmaceutical development

Because of undetected toxicity problems, about a third of prescription drugs approved in the U.S. are withdrawn from the market or require added warning labels limiting their use. An exceptionally sensitive toxicity test invented at the University of Utah could make it possible to uncover more of these dangerous side effects early in pharmaceutical development so that fewer patients are given unsafe drugs.

16 Dec 2014

New guide documents threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose to human health

As governments, industry and public interest groups from across the globe prepare to meet next week to discuss endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other international chemical safety issues, the Endocrine Society and IPEN released a new guide documenting the threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose to human health.

10 Dec 2014

March of Dimes Celebration of Babies event raises record $1.1 million

March of Dimes, the leading non-profit organization for pregnancy and baby health, raised a record $1.1 million at their 9th annual March of Dimes Celebration of Babies: A Hollywood Luncheon event today at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. The 2014 honorees were actor/filmmaker Elizabeth Banks, who was presented with the March of Dimes Grace Kelly Award and Elizabeth Gabler, President, Fox 2000 who was named the March of Dimes Inspiring Woman of the Year.

6 Dec 2014

Exposure to chemicals used in UOG operations may affect reproductive and developmental health

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations combine directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to release natural gas from underground rock. Recent discussions have centered on potential air and water pollution from chemicals used in these processes and how it affects the more than 15 million Americans living within one mile of UOG operations.

6 Dec 2014

Maternal age and successful egg freezing with PGS: an interview with Dr. Santiago Munné

The leading cause of of pregnancy loss or infertility is chromosomal abnormality or imbalance, where extra genetic material is present or some is missing - what’s called aneuploidy. This imbalance leads to the inability to produce viable embryos or pregnancy.

2 Dec 2014

Finding could upend scientific consensus about when embryonic cells begin separating into cell types

Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that mouse embryos are contemplating their cellular fates in the earliest stages after fertilization when the embryo has only two to four cells, a discovery that could upend the scientific consensus about when embryonic cells begin differentiating into cell types.

28 Nov 2014

Preconception care can significantly lower adverse birth outcomes in diabetic women

Pregnant women with diabetes are at an increased risk for many adverse birth outcomes. Preconception care (PCC) can significantly lower these risks by helping pregnant mothers with diabetes control their glucose levels, resulting in healthier babies and less money spent on complicated deliveries and lifelong medical complications.

25 Nov 2014

High-quality U.S. hospitals also provide low-cost care for children undergoing heart surgery

U.S. children's hospitals delivering the highest-quality care for children undergoing heart surgery, also appear to provide care most efficiently at a low cost, according to research led by the University of Michigan and presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

21 Nov 2014

SRY protein alters specific gender-related tissue in males before birth

Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a protein mutation that alters specific gender-related tissue in males before birth and can contribute to the development of cancer as well as other less life-threatening challenges.

21 Nov 2014

Three-drug regimen taken during pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission

For HIV-infected women in good immune health, taking a three-drug regimen during pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission more effectively than taking one drug during pregnancy, another during labor and two more after giving birth, an international clinical trial has found.

19 Nov 2014

Preterm birth becomes world's number one killer of young children

For the first time in history, the complications of preterm birth outrank all other causes as the world's number one killer of young children.

17 Nov 2014

March of Dimes calls for nationwide effort to reduce U.S. preterm births to 5.5% by 2030

The March of Dimes is calling for a nationwide effort to reduce U.S. preterm births to 5.5 percent of all live births by 2030. Seven other developed countries already have preterm birth rates below 6 percent, and 15 have rates below 7 percent.

3 Nov 2014