Defect

CDC reveals relationship between prepregnant weight and heart defects in infants

Keeping fit and in to be in shape is not only good for the individuals themselves but also for their siblings. Over weight, which is of course the predisposer of majority of the illness such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension etc., is now being studied in depth, the reason is to attain the destination of disease free environment, that are preventable.// Researchers from the US Cent...

IVF technique May Increase The Risk Of Birth Defects

The commonly used in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technique intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may increase the risk of babies being born with abnormalities such as ambiguous genitalia. Researchers from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, say that men whose infertility is genetic are likely to have other, more serious genetic faults that can be passed on when spermatozoa are injected direct...

Epilepsy Drugs Can Enhance Risk of Birth Defects

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder in which misfiring electrical impulses in the brain lead to seizures. About 2.3 million Americans have epilepsy, and more than a million are female. //Pregnant women who take anti-epileptic medications face a significant risk that their children will have problems ranging from congenital defects to slow development. A new study adds to growin...

Sex timing has no impact on risk of Birth defects

Researchers have found no bond between when a couple has sex and any subsequent risk of birth defects such as Down syndrome. Animal studies have suggested that the timing of sex might increase the risk of birth defects in offspring.// Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told the press that they haven't yet confirmed o...

Defective heart valve causes problems

According to researchers, a recent study shows that a leaky heart valve raises the risk of abnormal heart rhythms. In atrial fibrillation (AF) the upper chambers of the heart beat randomly and unsuccessfully. The condition is linked to heart attack and stroke.// Researchers at the University of Texas, have now shown that having a leaky heart valve - separating the upper and lower heart chambers...

MicroRNA provides new insight into birth defects

Molecules of microRNAs may be responsible for birth defects, cancer and other health problems.// The researchers of UF Genetics Institute have used genetically modified mice to see how the microRNAs are responsible for the physiological growth of animals. When the mice were grown without the microRNA molecules they grew to be malformed and with nonfunctional limbs. MicroRNA...

Gene defect linked to dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)

DCM is a condition which occurs when the heart becomes so enlarged that it is no longer able to pump blood efficiently. The condition affects 35 in every 100,000 people. Researchers in the United States have suggested in a recent study published in the journal Science that a defect in the gene phospholamban may trigger DCM. This gene plays a key role in regulating the flow of calcium through the...

Fortifying Foods Found To Reduce Birth Defects

Fortifying foods like flour, pasta and cornmeal with folic acid markedly reduces the number of infants born with neural tube defects like spina bifida, say researchers according to a new study. //Thus researchers advice pregnant women to take folic acid supplements in early pregnancy when the neural tube is forming. But women also need to maintain adequate levels of folic acid prior to pregnancy....

Infection in pregnancy can lead to congenital eye defects

In a study done by scientists of England, congenital eye defects in babies like small eyes or having no eyes //at all may be traced back to the maternal infections. Infections like Rubella in pregnancy are known to cause such birth defects. Now studies have shown that infections such as from Parvovirus and Coxsackie virus may also be responsible for birth defects in newborns....

Mutations in NOTCH1 cause an early developmental defect in the aortic valve

Dr. Srivastava and his colleagues of UT Southwestern Medical Center of Dallas// discovered that the mutation in a gene NOTCH1 is responsible for aortic valve disease. Aortic valve disease is a common heart birth defect which causes adult heart disease. The study was done in five generations of a Dallas family; the researchers studied the DNA mutations in all the 11 members of the family...

Making Fortification Mandatory In Order To Reduce Birth Defects

Based on findings of a recent study researchers say fortifying milk with folic acid //could offer an accessible source of the vitamin. Although adding folic acid to foods is not currently permitted in many European markets, in some places like US and Canada it is still added to flour order to prevent neural tube defects in babies. Ireland is currently consulting on whether it too shou...

Brain defect may play role in stammering

According to a new study, stuttering could be caused by a structural fault in the left hemisphere of the brain that triggers nerve disconnection in the regions controlling speech. Researchers from the Universities of Hamburg and Gottingen report chronic stuttering seems to be the result of a lapse in the brain's cortex// in the left hemisphere, the area responsible for speech. To demonstrate this...

Birth Defects Caused By Drugs Used For Epilepsy

It has been found that the verbal IQ levels of children exposed to the epilepsy drug in utero was comparatively lower than children who were not exposed to the drug.// The study was conducted in 249 children between the ages of 6 and 16 who were born to mothers with epilepsy and tests were performed on both the mother and child to produce a neuropsychological profile for each child. <...

Folic acid enriched grain reduces birth defects

Supplementation of food with folic acid as found to reduce the rate of birth defects. Results of the research published in the Journal Pediatrics have found that more than one third of birth defects are reduced by enriching flours, rice and pastas with folic acid.// Spina bifida and anencephaly, known as neural-tube defects, arise when the spinal column of a developing embryo does not properly cl...

Defect In Cardiac Cells Lead To Heart Failures

Defect in the molecular level in the cells of the heart may be responsible for causing heart failures. The findings, by researchers at The Ohio State University Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, // show that specialized proteins called ryanodine receptors (RyRs) malfunction in the failing heart. The RyRs form channels that become leaky, leading to calcium imbalances t...

A call to epileptic mothers to help reduce birth defects

The Epilepsy Foundation has urged women of childbearing age who take anticonvulsant medications for conditions that include epilepsy, migraine headaches, and certain psychiatric disorders, to talk to their healthcare // providers about treatment options. Nearly 2.1 million women are expected to join the cause towards reducing anti-convulsant medication related birth defects. The Epile...

Birth Defects Caused By Acne Medication Can Be Minimized By Voluntary Pregnancy Prevention

Isotretinoin is a drug used to treat severe acne that woks by reducing the sebum secretion. Research done on the effect of the drug in pregnant women reveals that it can cause birth defects//. In view of the potential risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the drug manufacturers developed a voluntary pregnancy prevention program (PPP) in 1988 to try and prevent conception in women takin...

Addition Of Folic Acid In Flour Proposed To Arrest Birth Defects In The UK

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in the UK has said that many babies could be spared the trauma of being born with birth defects if folic acid were to be incorporated in flour. //Folic acid plays a vital role in reducing commonly found neural tube defects like the spina bifida. The Committee also maintained that medical termination of pregnancy could be avoided if this simple precau...

Risk Of Birth Defects Slightly Increased Due To IVF

The risk of cardiovascular, muscular and skeletal defects is slightly higher in babies born through assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) // when compared to those conceived through natural means (6.2% Vs 4.4%). The above finding would be valuable in the United States where nearly 1 percent of all children born are conceived through IVF. The study howev...

Risk Of Birth Defects Increased Due To Anti-Depressant Medication

A warning has been issued to all physicians, more specifically to pregnant women against the prescription and consumption of Paxil, given for treatment of depression due to the risk of increased congenital// heart defects in newborns. The notice has been issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is based on early findings of two studies, which had demonstrated that women who...

Guidant sold defective defibrillators with full knowledge

Guidant Corporation had projected in an internal report that some patients might die due to short circuits in a heart device, but did not publicize the flaw to retain // acceptability, company records show. A company report shows Guidant had determined in mid-2002 that the consequences of the defibrillator’s electrical failure, though rare, could be 'life threatening.' Despite that asses...

Down’s Syndrome Is The Leading Birth Defect In the U

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that facial abnormalities and Down's syndrome are the leading birth defects in the country.// "It helps to understand the scope of these conditions so we can understand the import they have on families around the country," said Joann Petrini, director of the perinatal data cent...

Fungal toxins infected corn the reason for congenital defects

Fungal toxins in corn may be the reason for neural tube defects outbreak in the Rio Grande Valley during the early 1990's. The study published in the on line journal Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that corn and its products //that have been infected by fungal toxins might give rise to neural tube defects (NTD), if consumed during the first trimester of pregnancy....

Folic Acid Improves Survival Rate Of Children With Birth Defects

The survival rate of children born with birth defects is improved by incorporation of folic acid in the diet, a new study has found //. It has been known that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy can reduce the incidence of neurological birth defects such as spina bifida, anencephaly etc. The researchers analyzed the effect of consumption of folic acid fortified grains on nearl...

Defective ATM Gene Increases the Risk of Breast Cancer

Researchers at the Institute Of Cancer Research have discovered a new breast cancer gene which increases the risk of developing the disease.// It is found that if a person has the defective ATM gene then the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer doubles. This would serve as a new way of identifying women who face an increased risk of cancer and thereby help treat and prevent the di...

Gene Defects Determine Susceptibility to Cancer and Bone Marrow Failure

A new study has now highlighted that certain gene defects that control of protein synthesis can either increase or decrease an individual's susceptibility to cancer and other diseases. //Surprisingly, such genetic mechanisms can be responsible for cancer although the protein levels are normal, reveals the study that has been published in the journal, Science. Directed by molecular biolo...

Birth Defects Caused By Deficiencies In Cell Signaling Pathway

Cell signaling pathways are particularly essential for proper embryo development and disorders in these cellular pathways// can lead to birth defects such as cleft palate, spina bifida, reports a new study. The research is a collaborative effort of the University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center, and the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute. The findings of the research report,...

Birth Defects Link With ACE Inhibitor Use, FDA Reports

Taking ACE inhibitor, a common BP medication during first trimester of pregnancy have greater risk of developing birth defects in babies - The Food and Drug Administration reports from data collected by researchers at// Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The study, led by William Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at V...

Vasectomy Reversal to Lead to Birth Defects

Recent research has revealed that men who undergo a vasectomy reversal could be at an increased risk of producing abnormal sperm and probably even lead to birth defects in children. // The research was conducted by scientists at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The study was conducted on men who had undergone vasectomy, a procedure which does not interfere with sperm product...

Include folic acid in bread to reduce neural tube defects in new borns

Ireland :The alarming number of NTD's or neural tube defects in new borns has raised concern and now the national committee has recommended that most bread// in Ireland should include folic acid, which is a way to ensure dietary folic acid supplements in women. This would indeed help offsetting potential birth defects in children, especially when expectant mothers are low on folic aci...

Epilepsy Drug Poses High Risk for Fetal Death and Birth Defects

The epilepsy drug valproate poses a higher risk for fetal death and birth defects than other commonly used epilepsy drugs.// Of the four epilepsy drugs tested in the study, valproate posed the highest risk to the fetus with over 20 percent of the pregnancies exposed to valproate resulting in death or birth defects such as skull and limb deformities and brain, heart and lung problems....

Unmasking Nutrition's Role in Genes and Birth Defects

Expectant mothers may someday get a personalized menu of foods to eat during pregnancy to complement their genetic makeup as a result of new research at Washington University// School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers used transparent fish embryos to develop a way to discover how genes and diet interact to cause birth defects. "By the time most women know they are preg...

New Studies On Zebrafish Could Aid in Treating Birth Defects

In a new study published in the journal, Cell Metabolism, researchers have described the discovery of a mutation in the zebrafish that are remarkably similar to those observed// in children suffering from Menkes disease that could aid in finding new therapies for the disease. The finding has lead to the aquarium fish becoming an important animal model to better understand the diseas...

Brain Defect boy Compensated for Medical Error

A 16-year-old boy whose brain damage at birth has turned him into a virtual vegetable has finally won compensation from the doctors his parents hold guilty, but that is of// little use to him. The National Consumer Dispute Redressal (NCDR) forum has ordered the Cosmopolitan Hospital here and two doctors to pay Rs.1.1 million ($24,300) to the parents of Chakkara alias Naveen Thomas, ho...

Prenatal multivitamins reduce birth defects

As per the results of a Canadian study, a multivitamin pill should be taken daily by all women of childbearing age to reduce risks of having a child with birth defects.// According to the study, the possibility of a wide range of severe birth defects like neural tube defects such as spina bifida, brain-damaging hydrocephalus, heart malformations, truncated or missing limbs, urinary-tra...

Immense benefits with a daily dose of multivitamin for women, in reducing birth defects

A Canadian study has offered invaluable advice to women of childbearing age, who would indeed be wise to include a multivitamin daily, to cut the risks of delivering a child with birth defects. // The new research has indicated that by being regular with intake of vitamins and minerals, the risk of many severe birth defects can be offset. The defects that can be offset include neural...

Plastics in Common Household Items May Cause Fertility Defects

The contaminant bisphenol-A (BPA)—widely used to make many plastics found in food storage containers and dental products—can //have long-term effects in female// development, according to a recent study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. Lead investigator Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences (Ob/Gyn) at Yal...

Model Predicts Colon Cancer Inheritable Genetic Defects

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University and other institutions have developed a new prediction model for genetic defects known as Lynch syndrome// , which predisposes families to develop colorectal cancer. The model, called MMRpro, is based on an individual’s detailed family history of colorectal and endometrial cancer, as well as knowledge of how genetic mutations manifest themselves—in th...

Gene Involved In Common Birth Defect Also Regulates Skin Biology

Following up on an earlier discovery that a gene called IRF6 is involved in the common birth defect cleft lip and palate, researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and// Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and their colleagues have identified the function of the gene. Their latest findings, published online Oct. 15 in Nature Genetics, reveal an unexpected role for IRF6 in the growth and deve...

Brain stem Defects associated with SIDS

According to a recent research, an infant’s risk of cot death or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is increased by the brain defects that affect breathing and temperature control. // U.S. researchers conducted the study on babies who died of SIDS. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in which, the team had reported that these infants had fl...