Women whose first pregnancy is ectopic are likely to have fewer children in the following 20-30 years than women whose first pregnancy ends in a delivery, miscarriage or abortion, according to results from a study of nearly 3,000 women in Denmark. In addition, these women have a five-fold increased risk of a subsequent ectopic pregnancy. […]
Results from world’s first registry of pregnancy and heart disease reveals important differences between countries and heart conditions
Results from the world’s first registry of pregnancy and heart disease have shown that most women with heart disease can go through pregnancy and delivery safely, so long as they are adequately evaluated, counselled and receive high quality care. However, this is not always the case: women and babies in developing countries are more likely […]
“Fitness and fatness”: not all obese people have the same prognosis. Second study sheds light on the ‘obesity paradox’
People can be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, with no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people, according to the largest study ever to have investigated this, which is published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. The findings show there is a subset of obese […]
Study finds increased risk of prematurity and low birth weight in babies born after three or more abortions
One of the largest studies to look at the effect of induced abortions on a subsequent first birth has found that women who have had three or more abortions have a higher risk of some adverse birth outcomes, such as delivering a baby prematurely and with a low birth weight. The research, which is published […]
Spouses of people suffering a heart attack need care for increased risk of depression and suicide
Spouses of people who suffer a sudden heart attack (an acute myocardial infarction) have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, or suicide after the event, even if their partner survives, according to new research published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. They suffer more than spouses of people who die from, or survive, other […]
Access to clinical trials drives dramatic increases in survival from childhood cancer
More children are surviving cancer in Britain than ever before according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. The improvement in survival has been driven by the increasing numbers taking part in clinical trials since 1977 when the UK Children’s Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) [2] was established. The UKCCSG’s principal […]
Genetic heart diseases may be responsible for unexplained stillbirths
Nuremberg, Germany: Genetic researchers have made an important step towards resolving the mystery of the causes of intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD), or stillbirth, where a baby dies in the womb after the 14th week of gestation. IUFD is responsible for 60% of perinatal mortality and occurs in about one in every two hundred pregnancies in […]
Exome sequencing gives cheaper, faster diagnosis in heterogeneous disease; results from first use of this technique in the clinic
Nuremberg, Germany: The first report of the diagnostic use of the technique of exome sequencing, where short sequences of DNA are analysed, shows that it can give good results at low cost, a researcher from The Netherlands told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics. The scientists were able to perform a […]
Genome-wide analysis shows previously undetected abnormalities in parents of affected children
Nuremberg, Germany: The use of genome-wide array analysis[1] in parents whose children are suspected of having a genetic disease shows that the parents frequently also have previously undetected genetic abnormalities, a researcher from The Netherlands told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics. Being aware of this is important to parents because […]
Predicting treatment response in central nervous system diseases; researchers find a simple way of avoiding dangerous side effects
Nuremberg, Germany: The commonly-used epilepsy drug, valproic acid (VPA), can have a highly beneficial effect on some babies born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the number one genetic killer during early infancy. But in about two-thirds of such cases it is either damaging or simply has no effect. Now, for the first time, researchers have […]