OBGYN & Reproduction Week articles from February 2003

OBGYN & Reproduction Week archives from February 2003

Link seen between assisted reproduction techniques and genetic disruption.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Evidence that assisted reproduction techniques may carry a risk of genetic "imprinting disorders" in the resulting babies has emerged in a new study from the University of Birmingham. To assess the...

Some cancers show more hereditary linkage than others in Swedish study.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Sweden, "familial risks for histopathology-specific cancers have not been determined. We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database on 10.2 million individuals...

Insecticide affects male offspring of pregnant and lactating rats.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The insectide deltamethrin appears to cause subtle changes in male rats that are exposed to it while in utero or while suckling. According to a study from Brazil, "the effects of low doses of...

Maternal and umbilical fatty acid status and mother's diet analyzed.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have analyzed mothers' diets in relation to maternal and umbilical fatty acid status. "The aim of this study was to describe the dietary fat intake during pregnancy and to study the...

Active Chlamydia trachomatis infection correlated to spontaneous abortion.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Couples infected with Chlamydia trachomatis stand a higher risk for early pregnancy lost. According to a study from Chile, "the incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection and the possible...

Former WebMD executive producer joins NewsRx.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A former WebMD executive producer and medical editor has joined Atlanta-based NewsRx, along with three board-certified editors. Dominique Walton Brooks, MD, with WebMD until 2001, will serve as...

Risk of pseudoaneurysm of the uterine artery proportionate to its size.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several factors characterize uterine pseudoaneurysm, according to the authors of a case study. According to recent research from Germany, "a pseudoaneurysm is an extraluminal collection of blood...

Researchers discover how embryo attaches to uterus.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health have discovered how an embryo initially attaches to the wall of the uterus - what appears to be one of the earliest steps needed to establish...

Study accounts postoperative practices for pain relief in Germany.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from Germany, researchers "surveyed current German practice in postoperative epidural analgesia (EA). Of 300 questionnaires sent anonymously, 147 (49%) were returned fully...

Bone morphogenetic protein-15 may be fertility regulator.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists report bone morphogenetic protein-15 regulates only one of a few hormones associated with human reproduction and may thus be a fertility modulator. According to a study from the United...

Cadmium absorption increases during pregnancy.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers say cadmium adsorption increases in pregnant female rats. "Increased intestinal absorption of essential nutrients is characteristic of pregnancy as the maternal gastrointestinal tract...

UCSF study of ancient fly gene offers insights into male fertility.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using a human gene, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) scientists were able to correct a defect in infertile flies that prevented them from carrying out a key step in the creation of sperm....

Ob-Gyns support president's call for medical liability reform.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has applauded President Bush for addressing the nation's medical liability insurance crisis at a roundtable discussion in Scranton,...

Lack of CYR61 (CCN1) correlates with vascular shortfall in placenta.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An extracellular protein known as CYR61 is an essential element of placenta formation and vascularity. "CYR61 (CCN1) is a member of the CCN family of secreted matricellular proteins that includes...

Pregnant women with pre-eclampsia have much narrower upper airways.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pregnant women diagnosed with an abnormal condition of pregnancy called pre-eclampsia, which raises blood pressure, demonstrated significantly smaller upper airways than did either nonpregnant women or...

Inhibitor Id2 needed for mammary cell differentiation in pregnancy.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Without the helix-loop-helix protein inhibitor of differentiation Id2, breast cells won't undergo differentiation like they should during pregnancy, researchers say. "Mammary alveolar development...

First large study shows high efficacy rate for minimally invasive treatment.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of the largest multicenter prospective uterine fibroid embolization study of 555 Canadian women shows a high clinical success rate with a low complication rate and rapid recovery as reported in...

Role of genes in the control of reproduction to be studied.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The problem of infertility is not confined to humans alone. There has been a noticeable decline in the reproductive ability of cattle that have been bred specifically for their high milk yields. ...

Ultrasound sufficient for monitoring patient with abdominal pregnancy.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists announced MRI would have been overkill for monitoring a patient who delivered a fetus following an abdominal pregnancy. Ultrasound imaging was sufficient, they said. According to a...

Women taking antiepileptic drugs need better access to information.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women who take antiepileptic therapies need better communication from their physicians about factors associated with reproduction and fertility. According to a study from England, "Women with...

Most blastocysts will exhibit genetic anomalies if they are present.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have now recognized that genetic anomalies are present during the blastocyst stage of embryogenesis. In a recent report, researchers in England conducted a study "to investigate the...

Microparticles may cause blood vessel damage.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vessel wall cells and blood cells have been found to release cell particles that can damage blood vessels. This was demonstrated in laboratory experiments carried out by Marja van Wijk during her...

Diagnostic evaluation of liquid-based cervical specimens may need fine-tuning.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The criteria for laboratory tests that use liquid specimens to detect cervicitis may need to be redefined. "A review of negative split-sample cervical cytology cases revealed five cases reported...

Calponin isoform may regulate cytokinesis.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An important isoform of calponin, h2-calponin, may regulate elements of cytokinesis, researchers suggest. According to recent research from the United States, "h2-Calponin is found in both smooth...

Spinal cord's neurons with estrogen receptor-alpha upregulated during pregnancy.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Estrogen receptor (ER) immunoreactivity and mRNAs are present in spinal cord neurons in locations that are associated with sensory and autonomic innervation of female reproductive organs. The present...

Control of female sexuality factors into genital mutilation.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers list the control of female sexuality as a primary reason for the practice of female circumcision. According to recent research from Canada, "the practice better described as female...

Robertsonian translocations can be detected with preimplantation screening.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Portugal, "Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an alternative to prenatal diagnosis for couples at risk of transmitting genetic disorders to their offspring....

Ovarian cells involved in tissue kallikrein-kinin cascade.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Granulosa cells and kallikrein-kinin signaling are associated with ovarian vascularization new research has found. According to recent research from South Africa, "the serine protease, tissue...

Avlimil improves sexual experience of women in clinical trial.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Warner Health Care, Inc., introduced Avlimil, a once-daily tablet clinically proven to improve the sexual well-being of women. In a clinical trial, 84% of the women who took Avlimil consistently...

Sperm's fertilizing potential in male smokers now the focus of study.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fertility researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown that nicotine and cotinine, a substance produced by nicotine's breakdown, cause sperm to change in ways that could reduce fertility...

Costly genetic tests unnecessary for some miscarriages.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Current standard practice in cases of repeated pregnancy loss frequently involves a lengthy series of diagnostic tests that often still do not pinpoint a cause yet amass thousands of dollars in...

Most see premature births as personal, not public health, problem.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although nearly one in eight babies in the United States is born prematurely, and about a quarter of them will suffer lifelong health problems as a result, many people view premature births as a...

Brain injury a risk for the survivors of feto-fetal transfusion syndrome.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Feto-fetal transfusion in twin pregnancies presents a high risk for infant mortality and brain injury, say doctors in Belgium. "Our objective was a retrospective evaluation of cranial ultrasound...

Outcomes of reciprocal translocation carriers in 3-day human embryos examined.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from England, "chromosomes involved in reciprocal translocations form quadrivalents at meiosis. These quadrivalents segregate, with or without recombination, to give 32...

Myometrial caldesmon heightens during pregnancy, falls during labor.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although myometrial caldesmon levels rise during pregnancy to suppress contractions, other signals will override its effects during labor, say researchers in the United States. "We used a...

Newborn girl presents with glaucoma and pyloric stenosis in rare disorder.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from France, "androgen-insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a major cause of male pseudohermaphroditism (MPH). Although AIS is usually reported as a monogenic disease resulting from...

Solution clears repeated vaginal infections in female adolescent.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Greece report a solution of sodium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, and povidone iodine can be beneficial for clearing recurrent bacterial vaginosis. According to research from Greece,...

Seminal plasma activates enzyme and hormone in cervical cancer cells.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from Scotland, "enhanced cyclooxygenase (COX) expression and prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) synthesis are regarded as promoters of neoplastic cell proliferation and angiogenesis....

Embryo gene mutation associated with vascular endothelial growth factor.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression may be stronger in embryos that carry a certain mutation. According to a study from Japan, "placentas of mice lacking p57(Kip2) expression...

HOXA10 regulation of EMX2 gene at implantation controls development.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "HOXA10 is necessary for mammalian reproduction; however, its transcriptional targets are not completely defined. EMX2, a divergent homeobox gene, is necessary for urogenital tract development. In...

Zebrafish a model for embryonic development and nicotine exposure.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Colorado report zebrafish may be an appropriate animal model for studying the effects of human embryo exposures to nicotine. "We show that transient exposure of...

Highest doses of therapy present adverse risk to children of epileptic mothers.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Only the highest doses of sodium valproate appear to present a risk to children of mothers who take antiepileptic therapies during pregnancy, researchers in England suggest. "The risk of an...

Research examines first-trimester features of Fowler syndrome.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in France have advised that Fowler syndrome should be considered when certain features are present with ultrasound and karyotyping. We describe the features of Fowler syndrome...

P. falciparum dynamics vary with blood sample type in pregnant women.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent research from Germany has provided new insight into Plasmodium falciparum population dynamics in pregnant women. F. Kassberger and colleagues at the University of Tuebingen conducted a...

Researchers examine effects of oral androstenedione in postmenopausal women.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from the United States, "androstenedione is a steroid hormone and an intermediate in the synthetic pathway of both testosterone and estradiol in men and women. It is...

Premature births soar in U.S., now No. 1 obstetric problem.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Citing the dramatic rise in the number of babies born prematurely in this country, the March of Dimes has launched a $75 million, 5-year national campaign. The campaign's goals will be to increase...

Study finds no link between taking folic acid and having twins.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New results from a study involving almost a quarter of a million women in China show that taking folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects does not increase a woman's chances of giving...

Thousands of maternal deaths are preventable with good prenatal care.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maternal mortality due to complications in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum is still incredibly high and constitutes one of the greatest inequities in the continent, according to Pan American...

Increased IL-7 is related to postoperative bone loss.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "postmenopausal bone loss stems from the inability of osteoblastic activity to match the increase in osteoclastic bone resorption induced by estrogen...

Study cites findings associated with adolescent pregnancy in Taiwan.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "This study was designed to explore the factors that differentiate sexually experienced teenagers who become pregnant from those who do not," according to researchers in Taiwan. "The study...

Scientists urge study of nutrition's effects on donor oocytes.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nutrition may have a significant impact on the quality of oocytes destined for somatic cell nuclear transfer, or cloning, based on an Australian study of cloned sheep. "The purpose of this study...

Pregnancy and childbirth not detrimental after total hip replacement.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pregnancy and childbirth can occur successfully in patients who have a total hip replacement, according to the results of a study presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' (AAOS)...

Parathyroid hormone may mediate pre-existing osteoporosis during pregnancy.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Scotland, "juvenile idiopathic osteoporosis (JIO) is rare, presenting with vertebral fractures in the immediate prepubertal years; however, recovery is normally...

Ethicists express concerns over prenatal genetic diagnosis.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hospital genetics units occasionally receive requests from women for prenatal tests for Huntington disease when their male partners are at risk but do not want to know their genetic status for the...

Most newborn brain injuries do not occur during childbirth.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A report issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concludes that the majority of newborn brain injury cases do not occur...

Demographics affect parental involvement in weaning in a Caribbean village.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from the United States, "predicting the timing of weaning in diverse environments is important because breast feeding significantly contributes to child survival and...

Research shows pregnancy is possible after radical trachelectomy.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study released at the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists annual meeting on Women's Cancer suggests that pregnancy is safe and realistic for women who have undergone a radical trachelectomy (the...

Endocrine disruptor BPA alters development of estrogen target organs.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Recent findings in the field of environmental endocrine disruption have revealed that developmental exposure to estrogenic chemicals induces morphological, functional, and behavioral anomalies...

Study shows improved EOC survival rate.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study released at the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists annual meeting on Women's Cancer shows that the survival rate of women diagnosed with primary invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has...

Mother's metabolism affects spontaneous fetal movement.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "Spontaneous fetal movement in the last third of human gestation is dominated by irregular oscillations on a scale of minutes (cyclic motility, CM). The...

Bioavailability of hormones doesn't depend on meals eaten.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The bioavailability of a combination of hormones contained in a continous hormone replacement therapy is not significantly affected by the meals a women eats, according to researchers at Pfizer Global...

Sumatriptan exposures to be avoided during pregnancy.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in the United States have cautioned that pregnant women should avoid exposures to sumatriptan if possible. According to a study from the United States, "the high prevalence of migraine...

New test readily detects gene deletion in incontinentia pligmenti.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new form of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can detect gene deletions associated with incontinentia pligmenti, a neurocutaneous syndrome, better than standard PCR can. According to a study from...

Somatosensory innervation is extensive in infants with brachial palsy.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "In the preoperative screening of infants with obstetric brachial palsy (OBP), the results of routine electromyography are often overly optimistic when compared to the perioperative findings,"...

"No justification" for routine heartbeat test at start of labor.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A routine test that has been used over the past 2 decades to electronically monitor the heartbeat of a baby at the start of labor is probably no better than intermittent monitoring with a stethoscope,...

Fertility can be preserved while treating tumors.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most young women with malignant ovarian germ cell tumors - even those with advanced-stage tumors - were able to conceive and have children after undergoing fertility-preserving surgery followed by...

Phase II OvaRex survival data presented.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AltaRex Corp. announced that Alan Gordon of U.S. Oncology and Texas Oncology PA of Dallas, Texas, presented updated survival data from a 20-patient OvaRex (oregovamab) phase II trial conducted by...

Villous trophoblast secretes soluble, activated CD8(+)-apoptotic HLA-G1.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from France, "One major materno-fetal interface in the human placenta is constituted by the syncytiotrophoblast, in contact with maternal blood of the intervillous space, which...

Cigna joins March of Dimes to raise public awareness.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Cigna Foundation said that it has signed on as a national sponsor of the March of Dimes' new multiyear campaign aimed to decrease the rate of premature birth through aggressive public education and...

Cancer radiotherapy-produced proctitis is cured by sucralfate enema.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from Malaysia, "Endoscopic thermal therapy and formalin are being increasingly recommended for the treatment of chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis. It may be too early,...

Trophoblast L-selectin-mediated adhesion important for establishing pregnancy.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Trophoblast L-selectin-mediated adhesion in the uterus may be an important element of reproductive viability, according to researchers in the United States. "Trophoblast adhesion to the uterine...

Task force issues two recommendations on screening for adults and pregnant women.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that adults with high blood pressure or high cholesterol be screened for type 2 diabetes (insulin-resistant diabetes) as part of an integrated...