Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

VitaPath Genetics launches VitaTrack Folate Tracker

VitaPath Genetics, the Spina Bifida Association and the National Council on Folic Acid today announced the launch of the free iPhone application—the VitaTrack Folate Tracker— which allows women to track their daily intake of folate and folic acid. Maintaining an adequate level of folic acid prior to and during pregnancy can reduce the risk of serious birth defects like Spina Bifida by up to 70%. Studies show that folic acid may also help prevent congenital heart disease, pre-term labor, and cleft lip and palate.

30 Jul 2010

Western dietary pattern increases risk of ADHD

A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a 'Western-style' diet in adolescents.The research findings have just been published online in the international Journal of Attention Disorders."We found a diet high in the Western pattern of foods was associated with more than double the risk of having an ADHD diagnosis compared with a diet low in the Western pattern, after adjusting for numerous other social and family influences," Dr Oddy said.

30 Jul 2010

Transforaminal injection of steroids is a viable alternative for lumbar radicular pain surgery

A recent study from Australian researchers determined that transforaminal injection of steroids was a viable alternative to surgery for lumbar radicular pain due to disc herniation. Full details of the study appear in the August issue of Pain Medicine, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, and the International Spine Intervention Society.

30 Jul 2010

Quidel second-quarter total revenues increase 1.6% to $25.0 million

Quidel Corporation, a leading provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced today financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Senate Commission presents 2010 list of MAK and BAT values containing new data on 61 substances

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has presented the 2010 list of MAK and BAT values containing new data on 61 substances. These values for the classification of health hazards constituted by work area substances have been adjusted this year.

29 Jul 2010

Safeguard Scientifics second-quarter aggregate revenue of partner companies increase 47% to $91.6 million

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that aggregate revenue of its partner companies for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was $91.6 million, up 47% from $62.3 million for the same partner companies in the same period of 2009. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the aggregate partner company revenue was $176.9 million, up 45% from $121.8 million for the same partner companies for the same period of 2009.

29 Jul 2010

Rotigotine provides clinically relevant improvements in RLS symptoms: Study

UCB today announced the results of a 6-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, published in the journal Movement Disorders, showing that Neupro® (rotigotine transdermal system, 2 and 3 mg/24 hours) provided sustained, clinically relevant improvements in symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). The study also showed high rates of complete remission seen with rotigotine 2 mg or 3 mg/24 hours.

29 Jul 2010

Merck signs non-exclusive license agreement with LabCorp for commercialization of genetic test

Merck announced a non-exclusive license agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings for the commercialization of a genetic test that may help predict the response of patients with Hepatitis C virus infection to peginterferon alpha-based therapy.

28 Jul 2010

Late preterm births risk infant respiratory illness: Study

Babies born between 34 weeks and 37 weeks gestation are much more likely to have respiratory illness compared to infants born at full term, and their risk of respiratory illness decreases with each additional week of gestation until 38 weeks, researchers report.

28 Jul 2010

DIATHERIX Laboratories opens rapid response diagnostic panels for STD, HSV

DIATHERIX Laboratories ,adds a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) panel and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) panel to its line up of highly sensitive, rapid response diagnostic panels. The HSV panel identifies herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 and the STD panel identifies 10 sexually transmitted diseases simultaneously, many of which cannot be accurately identified by current testing methods. These STD organisms, if not appropriately treated, can cause diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoeae, chlamydia, bacterial vaginosis, etc. and may lead to blindness, infertility or complications during pregnancy.

28 Jul 2010

Quidel recommences shipments of QuickVue+ lateral flow diagnostic test for infectious mononucleosis

Quidel Corporation, a leading provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced today that it has begun taking orders for its QuickVue®+ lateral flow diagnostic test for infectious mononucleosis. Due to strong customer demand, the Company has restarted manufacturing its previous mononucleosis product with shipments to customers expected during the first week of August.

27 Jul 2010

Common myths around drinking

There are so many stories around alcohol and drinking that it's hard to know what to believe.

26 Jul 2010

Choice between late-term abortion or keeping an unhealthy foetus

Most pregnant women whose foetus is proven to have a genetic abnormality choose to have an abortion, but reaching that decision is a painful, exhausting process for most of them. "The women's doubt, pain and sorrow make abortion more moral - in the eyes of society as well as her own," says Sølvi Marie Risøy, a researcher at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, University of Bergen.

23 Jul 2010

Health bodies to discuss steps to further reduce mother to child HIV transmission

Transmission of HIV to children before or at birth has dropped dramatically around the country in the last decade since the advent of powerful new therapies. That certainly is true for Florida, where each year, fewer than 10 babies are born with the disease despite the fact that more than 600 HIV-positive women each year, on average, give birth.

23 Jul 2010

Waiting times for abortions in New Zealand need to be reduced

Women in New Zealand wait an average of 25 days to get a termination of pregnancy, from the date of their first visit to the doctor. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Health studied the timeliness of services provided at nine New Zealand clinics, finding that efforts need to be made by clinics and referring doctors to reduce the waiting times.

23 Jul 2010

Drugs can save African infants' lives

Researchers at the University of Sydney have found the combined intake of iron-folic acid supplements with World Health Organisation (WHO)-endorsed anti-malarial drugs during pregnancy could reduce early infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa by a quarter.

22 Jul 2010

Four areas that impact weight, obesity in women identified

The information gap and general lack of understanding of obesity's unique and disproportionate impact on women contributes to the challenges of the 65 million American women who are considered overweight or obese, said the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance Task Force on Women at a meeting on Capitol Hill today.

22 Jul 2010

Study reveals link between anti-TPO antibodies and placental abruption

Pregnant women with antibodies that can indicate early thyroid disease are three times as likely to have placental separation during labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a study of more than 17,000 women.

22 Jul 2010

Prototype ring with sensors helps to detect, prevent preterm labor

The birth of a baby is usually a joyous event, but when a child is born too early, worrisome complications can occur, including serious health problems for the baby and steep medical bills for the family. To address this, Johns Hopkins graduate students and their faculty adviser have invented a new system to pick up very early signs that a woman is going into labor too soon.

22 Jul 2010

Vaginal birth after previous C-section may be a safe option say doctors

According to new practice guidelines revealed for obstetricians by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists this Wednesday, a vaginal birth after a Caesarean section (VBAC) or maybe even after two C-sections can be a safe and appropriate choice.

21 Jul 2010