Birth Defects News

December 23, 2024

Top Headlines

Breakthrough Study Reveals How Assisted Reproduction Affects Placenta and Child's Growth

Dec. 19, 2024 — Researchers have studied placental genes to explore how Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) affects a child's development. Differences showed up between pregnancies from frozen and fresh embryo ...

Developmental Disorder Discovery Could Lead to Better Treatments for Rett Syndrome

Dec. 19, 2024 — New discoveries about the severe developmental disorder known as Rett syndrome could open the door to better treatments for the devastating, life-shortening ...

Delivery Timing in Mothers With Chronic Hypertension

Dec. 19, 2024 — Physician researchers found 39 weeks of gestation is optimal for delivery in mothers with chronic ...

Building a Backbone: Scientists Recreate the Body's 'GPS System' in the Lab

Dec. 18, 2024 — Scientists have generated human stem cell models which contain notochord -- a tissue in the developing embryo that acts like a navigation system, directing cells where to build the spine and nervous system (the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:44pm EST

Every Cell Has a Story: Tumor and Immune Cell Interactions Within Craniopharyngiomas

Dec. 16, 2024 — Craniopharyngiomas are brain tumors that negatively impact the hormonal function of the nearby pituitary. The tumor location often prevents necessary ...

Fetal Defense: Study Reveals Early Immune Protection in the Womb

Dec. 9, 2024 — Research revealed that foetuses are not as defenceless as once thought; they can actually fight infections from within the womb. This new understanding could significantly change the way doctors ...

Scientists Identify a Probable Contributor to Weakness of the Aorta in People With Genetic Disorder

Dec. 9, 2024 — Studying the cells of people and genetically engineered mice, scientists say they have uncovered a potential reason why patients with Loeys-Dietz ...

Changes in Blood Cell Production Over the Lifetime Could Impact Leukemia Outcomes

Dec. 5, 2024 — The first comprehensive map of the dramatic changes that take place in the blood system over the course of the human lifetime could have implications ...

Fine Particulate Air Pollution May Play a Role in Adverse Birth Outcomes

Nov. 29, 2024 — For pregnant women, exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) was associated with altered immune responses that can lead to adverse birth outcomes, according to a new study. The study is ...

Newer Epilepsy Medications Used During Pregnancy Do Not Affect Neurological Development in Children

Nov. 27, 2024 — Children of mothers who took certain anti-seizure medications while pregnant do not have worse neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6, according to a ...

How Human Brain Functional Networks Emerge and Develop During the Birth Transition

Nov. 19, 2024 — Brain-imaging data collected from fetuses and infants has revealed a rapid surge in functional connectivity between brain regions on a global scale ...

Women Who Suffer Pregnancy Complications Have Fewer Children

Nov. 25, 2024 — Women who suffer severe complications during their first pregnancy or delivery are less inclined to have more babies, a study reports. Given the recent steady decline in birth rate in Sweden, the ...

Less Than 50% of Many Prenatal Supplements Have the Adequate Amount of Choline and Iodine

Nov. 21, 2024 — New research reveals many prenatal vitamins don't contain enough of the nutrients that are essential for a healthy pregnancy, while others contain ...

Signals of Inflammation During Pregnancy Linked to Aging and Memory Changes 50 Years Later

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study analyzed data from participants who have been followed for over 50 years, starting before their births. Researchers found that maternal ...

Could a Genetic Flaw Be the Key to Stopping People Craving Sugary Treats?

Nov. 19, 2024 — New research has found that people with a genetic defect in their ability to digest sucrose eat less cake, sweets and chocolate, which could hold the key to helping the wider population to eat less ...

New Subtypes of Common Brain Disorder

Nov. 18, 2024 — Researchers have used AI tools to describe three sub-types of Chiari type-1, which will help guide clinicians to make the most effective treatment decisions for their patients. Chiari type-1 ...

Standardized Autism Screening During Pediatric Well Visits Identified More, Younger Children With High Likelihood for Autism Diagnosis

Nov. 14, 2024 — New research found that the use of standardized autism screening during pediatric well-child visits identifies more children with high autism likelihood at a younger age, including those presenting ...

Exposure to Marijuana in the Womb May Increase Risk of Addiction to Opioids Later in Life, Study Finds

Nov. 14, 2024 — Evidence has been growing to suggest that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, poses risks to the developing fetus by impacting brain development. Now a new ...

Frequent Emergency Care During Pregnancy Could Signal Greater Risk for Severe Maternal Morbidity

Nov. 14, 2024 — A new study found that, among nearly 775,000 pregnant people in Massachusetts, 31 percent of these individuals had at least one unscheduled emergency visit to the hospital, and 3.3 percent had four ...

Huntington's Disease Gene Also Enhances Early Brain Development and Intelligence, Study Finds

Nov. 13, 2024 — The Huntington's disease (HD) mutation eventually causes a fatal brain disease in adulthood, but a new study finds that early in life, children with the HD mutation have bigger brains and higher ...

Human Stem Cell-Derived Heart Cells Are Safe in Monkeys, Could Treat Congenital Heart Disease

Nov. 13, 2024 — A research team reported recently that heart muscle cells grown from induced pluripotent stem cells can integrate into the hearts of monkeys with a state of pressure ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

Oct. 29, 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 ...

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 differences to develop better ...

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. 10, 2024 — A new study has failed to find any strong links between drinking coffee during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental difficulties in ...

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 ...