Birth Defects News

November 10, 2024

Top Headlines

One Gene Provides Diagnoses for 30 Patients Whose Condition Was Unexplained for Years

Nov. 8, 2024 — An international team of researchers has provided a genetic diagnosis for 30 individuals whose condition was undiagnosed for years despite extensive clinical or genetic ...

Alzheimer's and Alcohol Use Disorder Share Similar Gene Expression Patterns, Study Finds

Nov. 5, 2024 — By examining RNA in hundreds of thousands of individual brain cells, scientists further support that alcohol use disorder could accelerate Alzheimer's disease progression, paving the way for future ...

Use of 'Genetic Scissors' Carries Risks

Nov. 6, 2024 — The CRISPR tool is capable of repairing the genetic defect responsible for the immune disease chronic granulomatous disease. However, researchers have now shown that there is a risk of inadvertently introducing other ...

Discovery of Key Mechanism in Huntington's Disease Could Pave the Way for Early Detection and Treatment

Oct. 28, 2024 — Researchers have identified a key biochemical mechanism relevant to the development of Huntington's Disease. This discovery opens up the possibility of studying the disease before its clinical onset ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:44pm EST

Could a New Medical Approach Fix Faulty Genes Before Birth?

Oct. 24, 2024 — A new biomedical tool successfully delivers genetic material to edit faulty genes in developing fetal mouse brain cells. This might stop disease progression of genetic-based neurodevelopmental ...

'Human Mini-Brains' Reveal Autism Biology and Potential Treatments

Oct. 23, 2024 — By creating personalized brain 'organoids' in the lab, scientists showed how microRNAs impact brain development, and demonstrate how one drug can reverse critical cellular signs of ...

Birth: It's a Tight Squeeze for Chimpanzees, Too

Oct. 23, 2024 — According to a new study, chimpanzees, like humans, must contend with a confined bony birth canal when giving birth. In humans, the problem was exacerbated by our unique form of upright walking since ...

Study Shows That Rett Syndrome in Females Is Not Just Less Severe, but Different

Oct. 17, 2024 — Symptoms and disease progression of Rett syndrome are different in females than males. A new study shows why it is important to understand these ...

Researchers Examine the Persistence of Invisible Plastic Pollution

Oct. 9, 2024 — Plastic pollution -- tiny bits of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand -- is everywhere, a fact of life that applies even to newborn ...

Folic Acid May Mitigate Link Between Lead Exposure During Pregnancy and Autistic Behaviours in Children

Oct. 16, 2024 — A new study has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviors in their ...

A New Target for Anxiety Disorders

Oct. 11, 2024 — By generating mice with genetic mutations that disrupt the brain's TrkC-PTP protein complex, researchers find a key way that brain cells ...

Coffee During Pregnancy Safe for Baby's Brain Development, Study Suggests

Oct. 9, 2024 — A new study has failed to find any strong links between drinking coffee during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental difficulties in ...

Neurons Look Different in Children With Autism, Research Finds

Oct. 9, 2024 — There is new evidence that the cells responsible for communication in the brain may be structured differently in children with autism. Researchers discovered that in some areas of the brain neuron ...

Researchers Discover What Hinders DNA Repair in Patients With Huntington's Disease

Sep. 27, 2024 — Researchers have made an important Huntington's disease discovery. They have found that the protein mutated in patients with Huntington's disease ...

Nearly 6 Percent of Pregnant Women Report Marijuana Use, U.S. Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not ...

Babies Born After Fertility Treatment Have Higher Risk of Heart Defects, Study Suggests

Sep. 27, 2024 — The risk of being born with a major heart defect is 36% higher in babies who were conceived after assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to results of a ...

Pregnant Women Who Sleep Less Than 7 Hours a Night May Have Children With Developmental Delays

Sep. 26, 2024 — Pregnant women who do not get enough sleep may be at higher risk of having children with neurodevelopmental delays, according to new ...

Why Children With Down Syndrome Have Higher Risk of Leukemia

Sep. 26, 2024 — People with Down syndrome face a higher risk of developing leukemia. Now researchers explain why, by identifying specific changes in blood cells of people with Down ...

Single-Dose Gene Therapy Is Potentially Life-Changing for Adults With Hemophilia B

Sep. 25, 2024 — Adults with hemophilia B saw their number of bleeding episodes drop by an average of 71 percent after a single infusion of gene therapy, according to the new results of an international Phase III ...

How the Brain Changes During Pregnancy

Sep. 16, 2024 — Researchers follow the dramatic changes that occur in the brain throughout the course of ...

Babies Born to Women Consuming a High Fat, Sugary Diet at Greater Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes in Later Life

Sep. 13, 2024 — Babies born to pregnant women with obesity are more likely to develop heart problems and diabetes as adults due to fetal damage caused by the high-fat, high-energy diet of their ...

Diagnostic Tool Identifies Puzzling Inflammatory Diseases in Kids

Sep. 9, 2024 — RNA is expelled from cells via cell death or active release, and can then find its way into blood plasma. Medical researchers have now developed machine learning models that use these cell-free ...

New Gene for 'Spindle Hair' Decoded

Sep. 4, 2024 — From infancy and usually for life, some families suffer from broken hair due to a congenital form of hair loss called monilethrix. Researchers at have now identified causative mutations in another ...

Discovery Gives Answers to Parents of Children With Rare Disease

Aug. 27, 2024 — A new genetic study provides answers to family of people with a rare and terrible neurological condition. It also allows family members to be tested for the mutations so they can make informed ...

A New Culprit in Huntington's Disease

Aug. 22, 2024 — Researchers have implicated a new gene in the progression of Huntington's disease in a brain organoid model. The gene may contribute to brain abnormalities much earlier than previously ...

Mother's Gut Microbiome During Pregnancy Shapes Baby's Brain Development

Aug. 20, 2024 — A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother's gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the ...

Low Cortisol, Hair-Trigger Stress Response in the Brain May Underlie Long COVID

Aug. 19, 2024 — A new animal study shows that exposure to immune-stimulating proteins left behind by COVID-19 leads to lower cortisol, brain inflammation and a heightened reaction to subsequent ...

Research Study Examines Alzheimer's Disease Drug on Tissue Samples from People With Down Syndrome

Aug. 19, 2024 — People with Down syndrome are likely to develop Alzheimer's disease at a young age, with autopsy studies showing that by age 40 years, the brains of individuals with Down syndrome have amyloid ...

Rare Diseases Point to Connections Between Metabolism and Immunity

Aug. 16, 2024 — Inherited diseases of metabolism and immunity have more in common than previously recognized, according to a new study. The findings point to a new set of metabolic genes that are important for the ...

Knocking out One Key Gene Leads to Autistic Traits

Aug. 16, 2024 — Hyperactivity, repetitive behavior, and language deficits all appeared in the mice, highlighting an unexpected role the cerebellum seems to play in ...

Probiotics During Pregnancy Shown to Help Moms and Babies

Aug. 15, 2024 — Giving probiotics to pregnant mice can enhance both the immune system and behavior of the mothers and their ...

Season of Birth Is Associated With the Development of Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis

Aug. 14, 2024 — Being born in autumn or winter is associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis in Finland, a new registry-based study ...

Children Can Inherit Early Aging Symptoms from Parents Who Abuse Alcohol, Researchers Find

Aug. 8, 2024 — Researchers say they now know that offspring are inheriting dysfunction in their mitochondria as a result of their parents' substance abuse. This dysfunction causes these individuals to show ...

Drug Trial for Rare Fetal Blood Disease Shows Promise for Less Invasive Approach

Aug. 7, 2024 — Researchers are leading a study into nipocalimab, a new investigational drug that's showing promise in treating a rare blood disease in babies. It could help prevent anemia and cut down on the ...