Newborns :: DSHS begins expanded screening of newborns
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is now testing “heel stick” blood samples from newborns for 26 disorders, with a 27th to be added this year.
Birth
Folic Acid :: Folic acid in cereal bars, energy bars, and nutritional drinks
Several public health authorities have issued recommendations or policies aimed at improving the folic acid intake among women of childbearing age.
Northwestern surgeon invents teaching technology for scary patient exams
Pelvic and prostate exams provoke jitters for medical students. Carla Pugh, an assistant professor of surgery at Northwestern University, invented and patented a sensor technology in exam simulators to show students whether they have the right touch in these sensitive exams without a patient ever having to yell “Ouch!” Pugh has also invented teaching technologies for other difficult medical procedures. She was honored for being a trailblazer in a national museum.
Stillbirth :: Decline in stillbirths, racial disparities persist
The rate of fetal deaths, also known as stillbirths, occurring at 20 weeks of gestation or more declined substantially between 1990 and 2003, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Brain :: Reduced brain growth in alcoholics with family drinking history
The brains of alcohol-dependent individuals are affected not only by their own heavy drinking, but also by genetic or environmental factors associated with their parents? drinking, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Pregnancy :: Experimental vaccine given during pregnancy reduces stillbirths from common virus
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths among rodents born to mothers infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) — a common virus that can also cause mental retardation and hearing loss in newborn children who were infected in early fetal life.
Cesarean :: Planned cesareans not risk-free
Pregnant women considering a cesarean section, with no clear medical reason for it, should know that the procedure is not without risk, Canadian doctors caution in a report published this week.
Obesity :: Programmed for obesity
Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises). However, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides also may influence obesity.
Obesity :: Chemical exposure may cause obesity
Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises). However, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides also may influence obesity.
Health :: Ensuring the health of pregnant women and their children
Ensuring the health of pregnant women and their children would form an important part of a new review of the national guidelines on alcohol consumption, the Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne, said today.