August 31, 2006, 4:44 AM CT

Diagnostic Tests Have Low Risk Of Miscarriage

Pregnant women who seek prenatal diagnostic testing to identify genetic or chromosomal abnormalities have a lower risk of miscarriage than previously believed, as per a UCSF study.

The findings appear in the September 2006 issue of the journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology".

Two standard tests--amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS)--are common prenatal tests performed during the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Early testing using the CVS procedure has typically been thought to have a higher rate of miscarriage than amniocentesis. However, in a 20-year retrospective comparison study of the two procedures, scientists observed that the loss rates for both procedures decreased over time.

"This is a significant finding for use as information in both patient counseling and in establishing widespread prenatal diagnostic and screening programs," said co-author of study Mary E. Norton, MD, who is medical director of the Prenatal Diagnostic Center at UCSF Medical Center and associate clinical professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

Both amniocentesis and CVS are invasive diagnostic screening methods that carry a small risk of pregnancy loss. Amniocentesis requires insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus to withdraw amniotic fluid. CVS is a biopsy procedure that involves removing a piece of tissue from the placenta. These samples are then cultured and chromosomes analyzed to determine abnormalities linked to Down syndrome and other genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle cell disease.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 5:03 AM CT

Dogs And Smog Don't Mix

A new study from scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) suggests that having a dog in the home may worsen the response to air pollution of a child with asthma. The study was published this week in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

In "Dog Ownership Enhances Symptomatic Responses to Air Pollution in Children with Asthma," scientists looked at the relationship between chronic cough, phlegm production or bronchitis and dog and cat ownership among 475 southern California children with asthma who participated in the Children's Health Study, a longitudinal study of air pollution and respiratory health.

Children with dogs had significantly increased cough, phlegm production and bronchitis responses to the measured pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter and acid vapor. There were no increases of these symptoms in children who lived in homes without pets or who lived with only cats.

"Further work is needed to determine what it is about dogs that may increase an asthmatic child's response to air pollution," says Rob McConnell, M.D., professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and lead author of the study.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

August 28, 2006, 10:06 PM CT

Lowering Diabetes Risk In Youth

As schools across the country reopen their doors this fall, hundreds of sixth graders in 42 middle schools will begin taking part in a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The HEALTHY study will determine if changes in school food services and physical education (PE) classes, along with activities that encourage healthy behaviors, lower risk factors for type 2 diabetes, an increasingly common disease in youth.

"The alarming rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes in all age groups poses a major public health crisis for this country. This important study is one component of a multi-faceted research agenda to address this dual epidemic, which threatens the health of our youth and the vitality of our health care system," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

Participating schools will be randomly assigned to a program group, which implements the changes, or to a comparison group, which continues to offer food choices and PE programs typically seen in middle schools across the country. Students in the program group will have .

• healthier choices from the cafeteria and vending machines (e.g., lower fat foods, more fruits and vegetables, and drinks with no added sugar)

• longer, more intense periods of physical activity, and

........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:36 PM CT

Genetic Link To Cot Death Identified

Babies born with specific variants of three key genes are 14 times more likely to die from cot death, new research has found.

The findings - published in Human Immunology - build on earlier research by The University of Manchester team that had already associated one of these genes with the condition.

The discovery of two further risk genes, say the paper's authors, is a major step forward in understanding the causes of cot death or 'sudden infant death syndrome' (SIDS).

"We first identified an association between SIDS and specific variants of a gene called Interleukin-10 five years ago," said microbiologist Dr David Drucker, who led the research. "Quite simply, a baby who had particular variations of this gene was at greater risk of SIDS than other babies.

"Now, we have discovered two more genes implicated in SIDS and when a baby has certain genetic variants or 'polymorphisms' of all three of these genes he or she can be up to 14 times more likely to die from the condition".

The genes investigated by the team all play a roll in the body's immune response to infection. Prior research, carried out with colleagues at Lancaster University, had shown that SIDS is linked to usually occurring bacteria that babies up to the age of one year may lack immunity to.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:29 PM CT

Waterborne infectious diseases could soon be history

Waterborne infectious diseases, which bring death and illness to millions of people around the world, could largely be consigned to history by 2015 if global health partnerships integrate their programmes, as per Alan Fenwick writing in today's Science.

Professor Fenwick, from Imperial College London, argues that up to seven neglected tropical diseases including river blindness could be brought under control, with infection by some eliminated entirely, if existing programmes increase their coverage.

In Africa some 500 million people need therapy to control diseases such as disfiguring elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), river blindness (onchocerciasis), schistosomiasis, intestinal worms and the blinding eye infection trachoma.

The donation of drugs by pharmaceutical companies, together with financial donations from foundations, is already having a sizeable impact, with numbers given therapy for these diseases increasing from virtually zero in 1986 to between 20 and 80 million individuals annually in 2006.

More funding is mandatory to convince decision makers of the benefits of therapy, to improve health education material and to deliver the drugs to those who need them. The cost can be as low as 25 pence per person per year, and the impact would be rapid.........

Posted by: Mark      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:23 PM CT

NSAIDs and congenital anomalies

Women who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) early in their pregnancies may be more likely to give birth to babies with congenital defects, especially cardiac septal defects. These are the findings of a case-control study reported in the recent issue of Birth Defects Research Part B, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also available online via Wiley Interscience (
A number of pregnant women get prescriptions for NSAIDs during their first trimester, and even more--up to 15 percent--take over-the-counter versions of these drugs. Prior studies have shown that taking NSAIDs toward the end of a pregnancy can cause certain circulatory problems--premature closure of the ductus arteriosus and patent ductus arteriosus, but the risks correlation to early-pregnancy ingestion are less well defined.

To better understand the relationship between first trimester use of NSAIDs and congenital birth defects, scientists led by Anick Berard, Ph.D. of St. Justine Hospital in Montreal, conducted a population-based case-control study. They gathered information from three administrative databases in Quebec and included 36,387 pregnant women in their study. They determined which women had filled prescriptions for NSAIDs during their first trimester and which had babies diagnosed with a congenital abnormality in the first year of life. Based on information from prior studies, the primary outcome of interest was cardiac septal closure and related abnormalities.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:20 PM CT

Better exam results?

Local Education Authorities in England achieve better GCSE examination results when they set targets and when central government provides financial incentives for achieving them, as per research at Cardiff University. The Cardiff Business School scientists compared the performance of local education authorities with such targets against the performance of those without them.

Professor George Boyne and Dr Alex Chen, Centre for Local and Regional Government Research, evaluated the impact of Round One Local Public Service Agreements between local authorities and central government. The purpose of the agreements is to enhance performance in a variety of key public service areas, including education.

Financial rewards are divided into 'Pump Priming Grants' and the 'Performance Reward Grant'. A Pump Priming Grant is paid at the start of the delivery period to assist local areas in delivering improvements, though they are also expected to contribute their own resources. And, a Performance Reward Grant is paid at the end as financial reward for achievement of the agreed outcomes.

The agreements are a major experiment for the UK public sector in "payment by results". In Round One Local Public Service Agreements, local authorities negotiated typically twelve targets with central government in exchange for a maximum reward of 2.5 percent of their net budget requirements. If all the first generation targets are achieved local authorities collectively would stand to receive in the region of an extra 1.3 billion.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:17 PM CT

Psychology Of Aggressive Students

As the disturbing trend of school violence continues to plague our education system, it is important for caregivers, educators, and doctors to join forces to be proactive in its prevention. A study in the recent issue of The Journal of Pediatrics shows that students displaying violent behaviors often have untreated learning disorders and psychiatric illnesses.

Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatry expert at Cambridge Health Alliance, and his colleagues from Harvard University reviewed 33 students in an urban public school district who were referred by school staff due to their aggressive behavior. The participants' ages ranged from 5 to 18 years old. The authors identified substance abuse in 11 students and at least one medical problem in 13 students. 28 of the 33 students (85%) reviewed had experienced a significant family crisis (such as sickness or death of a parent). 23 had participated in brief or intermittent psychosocial interventions, 5 of which included hospitalizations. 6 of the 18 students (33%) with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder had never received any kind of therapy for it.

These findings reflect the need for health care professionals, caregivers, and teachers to be able to identify potentially dangerous behavior patterns in aggressive students so that proper evaluations and diagnoses can be provided and subsequent therapys be made accessible.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

August 22, 2006, 8:08 PM CT

Self-inflicting injuries in teens

In a survey of more than 6,000 15 and 16-year-old school pupils, scientists observed that girls are four times more likely to have engaged in deliberate self-harm in comparison to boys, with 11 per cent of girls and 3 per cent of boys reporting that they had self-harmed within the last year.

Prior estimates for the amount self-harm in the country were based on the 25,000 'presentations' at hospitals in England and Wales each year that are the result of deliberate self-poisoning or self-injury amongst teenagers.

However, research by academics from the universities of Bath and Oxford has observed that only 13 per cent of self-harming incidents reported by the pupils had resulted in a hospital visit.

Eventhough self-poisoning is the most common form of self-harm reported in hospitals, the study revealed that self-cutting was the more prevalent form of self-harm (64.5 per cent), followed by self-poisoning through overdose (31 per cent).

"The study shows that deliberate self-harm is common amongst teenagers in England, particularly in girls who are four times more likely to self-harm than boys," said Dr Karen Rodham from the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath.

"Until now, most studies of deliberate self-harm in adolescents in the UK have been based on the cases that reach hospital.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source