An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages. Those conclusions come from a new study of the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene in mice. In humans, this gene, when mutated, raises the risk of a rare cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma.
Pregnant and nursing women who eat generous amounts of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage could help protect their children from cancer, both as infants and later in life. A new study done with laboratory mice found that phytochemicals found in certain vegetables provided a very high level of protection against leukemia and lymphoma in young animals, and also significantly protected against lung cancer during the rodent’s equivalent of middle age.
Scientists have discovered the basis for a noninvasive test to diagnose common infections in pregnant women that are a major cause of premature births and infant deaths. The University of Washington?s Michael G. Gravett and colleagues are reporting identification of protein biomarkers for these hard-to-diagnose infections of the amniotic fluid, which surrounds the fetus prior to birth.
The chemical compound for the abortion pill has been found to prevent the growth of mammary tumors caused by the mutant gene responsible for a majority of breast and ovarian cancers, according to UC Irvine scientists.
Cell biologist Eva Lee of the University of California, Irvine, who led the research published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, reported that a pill that women can take to abort a fetus, has the ability to put a strangle hold on the gene primarily responsible for breast cancer. The drug is called RU-486, and when given to genetically developed mice who were destined to develop breast cancer, proved to halt the progression of the disease.
Pregnant women who develop an infection of the placenta or nearby membranes in their first pregnancy have twice the risk of getting it in their second pregnancy, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
Monitoring fetal oxygen levels during labor does not lead to healthier newborns or reduce unnecessary Caesarean deliveries.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has set out guidelines on when to give intensive care to extremely premature babies. Advice for parents and doctors is provided, on a week-by-week basis, for treating babies born before 22 weeks up to those born after 25 weeks.
Women who smoke or are exposed to tobacco smoke early in their pregnancies are more likely to have children with certain types of congenital heart defects, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2006.
Women with systemic lupus who become pregnant are at significantly greater risk for death or other medical complications than are pregnant women without lupus, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found in a nationwide study of more than 18 million women.