Birth Defects News

March 29, 2025

Top Headlines

Could an Arthritis Drug Unlock Lasting Relief from Epilepsy and Seizures? Promising Results in Mice

Mar. 25, 2025 — A drug typically prescribed for arthritis halts brain-damaging seizures in mice that have a condition like epilepsy, according to researchers. If the drug proves viable for human patients, it would ...

Re-Purposed FDA-Approved Drug Could Help Treat High-Grade Glioma

Mar. 13, 2025 — A study shows that high-grade glioma tumor cells harboring DNA alterations in the gene PDGFRA responded to the drug avapritinib, which is already approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors ...

Study Pinpoints the Impact of Prenatal Stress Across 27 Weeks of Pregnancy

Mar. 10, 2025 — Researchers found new insights on the timing of prenatal stress and its effect on infant stress reactivity and temperament -- including differences between ...

Prenatal Maternal Stressors Linked to Higher Blood Pressure During First Year After Birth, Study Shows

Mar. 4, 2025 — Psychosocial stress during pregnancy could lead to higher blood pressure during the first year postpartum according to new ...

Latest Headlines

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Embryo Development Holds Key to Healthy Lifestyles

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that the earliest days of embryo development have a measurable impact on a person's future health and ...

School Absence Patterns Could ID Children With Chronic GI Disorders, Research Suggests

Mar. 4, 2025 — Children who frequently miss school because of abdominal complaints are far more likely to be suffering from chronic disorders such as irritable ...

Strong Link Between Western Diet During Pregnancy and ADHD

Mar. 3, 2025 — New research reveals that a mother's diet during pregnancy -- characterized by a Western dietary pattern high in fat and sugar and low in fresh ingredients -- may increase the risk of ...

Lifestyle Choices During Pregnancy Can Impact Child's Motor Development Up to the Age of 5-6 Years

Feb. 25, 2025 — A healthy diet in early pregnancy supports the child's motor development at the age of 5-6 years. Higher maternal body fat mass, on the other hand, ...

One Gene Variant Is Poised to Cure a Devastating Inherited Disease

Feb. 27, 2025 — For more than 15 years, a pulmonologist has tried to understand the random path of devastation that a rare genetic condition carves through the families it ...

Child ADHD Risk Linked to Mother's Use of Acetaminophen

Feb. 20, 2025 — Fetal acetaminophen exposure increases the likelihood that a child will develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new ...

Hidden Genetic Causes of Congenital Heart Disease Identified

Feb. 20, 2025 — Scientists have identified novel genetic interactions that may contribute to congenital heart disease (CHD), a common birth ...

Promising Results from First Prenatal Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists report results from a promising new approach to treat the rare neurodegenerative ...

Air Pollution Exposure Late in Pregnancy Increases NICU Admission Risk

Feb. 14, 2025 — In a study measuring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions and satellite-based air pollution data, newborns exposed to higher levels of NO2 have a 30-35% higher risk of NICU admission and an ...

Gene Therapy for Rare Epilepsy Shows Promise in Mice

Feb. 14, 2025 — Recent research takes aim at the a variant in gene SCN1B, which causes a severe form of developmental epileptic ...

Research Suggests Common Viral Infection Worsens Deadly Condition Among Premature Babies

Feb. 24, 2025 — Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called ...

What Causes Reproductive Complications?

Feb. 12, 2025 — Our cells constantly receive DNA damage from factors such as ultraviolet rays, irradiations, toxins and chemicals. For women, that can lead to poor egg quality, which in turn can cause infertility, ...

New Blood Test Accurately Predicts Preeclampsia

Feb. 12, 2025 — A new blood test has an 80% accuracy in predicting preterm preeclampsia, according to a new study. The condition, which results in over 70,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 fetal deaths each year ...

Pregnancy Complications Linked to Cardiovascular Disease in the Family

Feb. 7, 2025 — Women who have experienced pregnancy complications have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study shows that sisters of women with complicated pregnancies are also at higher risk, ...

Is CBD Use During Pregnancy as Safe as People Think? New Study Uncovers Potential Risks to Babies

Feb. 5, 2025 — A new study has uncovered potential risks, including impaired fetal growth, associated with the use of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, as well as CBD, ...

Maternal Stress During Pregnancy Could Leave Traces in the Placenta That Could Affect the Baby's Development

Feb. 4, 2025 — Maternal stress could leave epigenetic imprints on genes in the placenta associated with cortisol -- a necessary hormone for fetal development -- and this would affect the baby's development ...

Music Can Touch the Heart, Even Inside the Womb

Feb. 4, 2025 — Researchers have used mathematical analysis tools to study the effect of classical music on a fetal heartbeat and identify patterns in heart rate variability. They recruited 36 pregnant women and ...

Vitamin D Matters During First Trimester

Feb. 3, 2025 — Maternal vitamin D levels in the first trimester were related to both prenatal growth and pregnancy outcomes, according to a new study. Low vitamin D levels during the first trimester of pregnancy ...

Researchers Identify Protective Properties of Amniotic Fluid

Jan. 31, 2025 — Researchers have made new discoveries about amniotic fluid, a substance historically not well understood in medical research due to the difficulty in obtaining it during pregnancy, especially across ...

Study Shows Potential of Resveratrol to Aid Fertility

Jan. 30, 2025 — A new study has highlighted the potential of resveratrol, a natural compound found in grapes, blueberries, and raspberries, to enhance female fertility. The systematic review found that resveratrol ...

Beneficial Prenatal Vitamins to Reduce Risk of Infant Death

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers publish landmark analysis on the impacts of prenatal vitamins on mothers and ...

SIDS Discovery Could ID Babies at Risk of Sudden Death

Jan. 22, 2025 — New research revealing the fingerprints of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome within blood samples could open the door to simple tests to identify babies at ...

Brain Changes in Huntington's Disease Decades Before Diagnosis Will Guide Future Prevention Trials

Jan. 17, 2025 — Subtle changes in the brain, detectable through advanced imaging, blood and spinal fluid analysis, happen approximately twenty years before a clinical motor diagnosis in people with Huntington's ...

Excess Weight Gain in First Trimester Associated With Fetal Fat Accumulation

Jan. 17, 2025 — Fetuses of pregnant people who gained excess weight in the first trimester of pregnancy show signs of excess fat distribution in the upper arm and in the abdomen, according to a new study. These ...

Study Finds Surprising Way That Genetic Mutation Causes Huntington's Disease, Transforming Understanding of the Disorder

Jan. 16, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a surprising mechanism by which the inherited genetic mutation known to cause Huntington's disease leads to the death of brain cells. The findings change the ...

Link Between Gene Duplications and Deletions Within Chromosome Region and Nonsyndromic Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

Jan. 15, 2025 — Large and rare duplications and deletions in a chromosome region known as 22q11.2 , which involves genes that regulate cardiac development, are linked to nonsyndromic bicuspid aortic valve ...

IVF Pregnancies at Greater Risk of Exposure to Medicines That Can Harm the Fetus

Jan. 15, 2025 — A new study has revealed a potential reason why some pregnancies achieved through assisted reproductive technology (ART) may result in birth defects in comparison to naturally conceived ...

Human 'Domainome' Reveals Root Cause of Heritable Disease

Jan. 8, 2025 — Unstable proteins are the main drivers of many different heritable diseases, according to a new study, including genetic disorders responsible for the formation of cataracts, and different types of ...

Study Links Gene Regulating Brain Circuit Formation to Autism and Seizures

Jan. 8, 2025 — A new study offers insights into how the gene neuropilin2 contributes to the development of behavioral changes associated with autism spectrum disorder and ...

'Smooth Brain' Disorders May Share a Common Cause -- and Potential Treatment

Jan. 2, 2025 — Lissencephaly is a spectrum of rare, genetic disorders in which the brain fails to develop its hallmark folds. The disorders are often associated with seizures and intellectual disability and ...