How alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
...-spontaneous activity of dopamine neurons--between prenatal alcohol exposure and attention-deficit/hyperactivi...companying hyperactivity. Shen's study found that prenatal alcohol exposure significantly reduced the number of spontaneously active dopamine neurons in the mi...Common enzyme deficiency may jeopardize pregnancies
...eficiency to normal mice and found higher rates of prenatal and postnatal death in the deficient group. Another group of mutant mice was treated with a drug known to create oxidative stress called phenytoin, the most common anti-epileptic drug in North America. Phenytoin's oxidant effect is comparable to that...No link between ultrasound and risk of childhood leukaemia
...ed in this week's BMJ finds no association between prenatal exposure to ultrasound and childhood leukaemias. Dr Estelle Naumburg and colleagues from Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute say that previously there have been concerns over a possible association between exposure to ultrasound in ute...Common anti-inflammatory drug rescues low-growth fetuses in mouse study
Despite advances in prenatal care, about one in twenty babies in the United States are severely underweight at birth -- below the 10th percentile -- resulting in significantly higher rates of infant mortality and childhood disease in that group. Reductions in mental capacities a...Researchers unlock secrets of directional cell movement
...hting and blood vessel growth to wound healing and prenatal development," says Peter Devreotes, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry and senior author of the study. The finding, he says, brings researchers one step closer to understanding this chemical-sensing mechanism and using it to develop treatments. "I...UCSF researcher reports on protein therapy to reverse facial birth defects
...y important first step," Helms said. Before such prenatal treatments are developed, study of these developmental molecules may help doctors to give very early diagnosis of developmental problems, by spotting a critical mutation or low production level of a key protein, Helms said. "We will be able to help ...Smoking during pregnancy found to increase risk of cleft lip and palate
...d this just adds another very important one in the prenatal and newborn care of the child. Cleft lip and palate make a huge difference in a child's life, and anything that can be done to reduce the risk is well worth it." Cleft lip and palate are fairly serious birth defects. They are the fourth most common c...Chemical receptor key to fetal development
...ound the answer: the lack of NMDA receptors during prenatal development led to fatal respiratory distress. (No...tory problems.) "This is the first indication that prenatal development of specific regions in the brain controlling vital functions is very much dependent on N...Hopkins research shows nature, not nurture, determines gender
...hns Hopkins Children's Center studies confirm that prenatal exposure to normal male hormones alone dictates male gender identity in normal XY male babies, even if they are born without a penis. The results seriously question the current practice of sex-reassigning some of these infants as females, performing ...Cocaine use while pregnant may cause ADHD
... the findings can be applied to humans. "Although prenatal cocaine exposure does not seem to affect most area...rder (ADHD)," says Strupp, co-author of a study on prenatal cocaine exposure to be published in Behavioral Neuroscience in August. "There appear to be some d...Researchers announce first preimplantation genetic diagnosis for a rare inherited disease
...irst child, a boy, had died shortly after birth; a prenatal test on the next pregnancy found the male embryo w...hich point the parents felt unable to face another prenatal diagnosis. PGD was their last hope. PGD involves obtaining embryos by in vitro fertilisation (IVF)...Gene for Mucolipidosis IV discovered
...ion screening for detecting carriers, and accurate prenatal testing for families at risk. The discovery may also eventually lead to new patient therapies....Alcohol and the human fetal brain
...ults, AcHO is blocked from entering the brain. The prenatal brain may metabolize alcohol differently than the ... effort to understand the sensitivity of the human prenatal brain to alcohol, scientists are engaging in a delicate area of research. In a study published in t...Increased risk of wheeze and asthma in young children whose mothers smoke during the pregnancy
Wheeze associated with prenatal tobacco smoke exposure: a prospective, longitudinal study2000; 83: 307-12 Young children may be at increased risk of wheeze and asthma if their mothers smoke during pregnancy, finds research in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. This held true...Ringling Bros. announces four Asian elephant pregnancies at Center for Elephant Conservation
...ts breeding program. As part of their regular prenatal care, the female elephants are receiving weekly blood tests to monitor progesterone levels, regular physical examinations and ultrasounds. During their last six months of pregnancy, the elephants will gain 300-350 pounds, and by the final three mont...New research shows calcium deficiency permits faster lead release from pregnant women's bones
...medicine. The study involved 195 women who entered prenatal care at Magee-Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh between 1992 and 1995. Using a technique called atomic absorption spectrophotometry, researchers analyzed up to five blood samples from each woman for lead during their pregnancies and took extensive patie...Researchers identify gene common to many autism cases
...iewing the pattern of birth defects resulting from prenatal exposure to thalidomide. Children born to mothers who took the drug during pregnancy have sometimes been born with autism. Some of the autistic children born to mothers who took thalidomide also had misshapen ears, as well as abnormalities in the ne......so nursed their infant daughters, giving them both prenatal and breast milk exposures. In the PBB study, the most highly exposed girls were a year ahead in starting their periods, at 11.6 years compared to 12.7 years for less-exposed girls. "This study lends support to the hypothesis that events associated...Vitamin A activates gene to guide kidney development
...al to determining the optimal vitamin A level for prenatal kidney development. Says Dr. Mendelsohn, "At lower levels, you may not make as good a kidney-you may have a reduced number of nephrons." The authors conclude that "maintaining adequate levels of maternal vitamin A during gestation may be an important...Study uncovers new contributor to brain damage, suggesting novel drug target
...t account for the other half of brain injury after prenatal or perinatal brain trauma. It also might account for most of the cell death after adult brain injury. But because scientists have not identified all the key components of the necrosis pathway, it has been difficult to intervene to prevent it from kil...