Would-be moms, beware: Smoking e-cigarettes during pregnancy could cause birth defects

Smoking e-cigarettes during pregnancy could cause facial defects in the babies, a study warns. The findings suggested that e-cigarettes pose health risks despite being widely considered a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes. Researchers exposed frog embryos and samples of mammalian neural crest cells to saline infused with e-cigarette vapour. Frogs, like other vertebrates, are similar to humans embryonically, said Amanda Dickinson, from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the US. “This means that if a chemical perturbs a frog embryo, it’s likely to do the same thing to a human…

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Marmite could prevent miscarriages and birth defects, study shows

Love it or hate it, it turns out that marmite is actually pretty good for our health. Earlier this year we reported that the salty breakfast staple has been shown to boost brain function, and now it seems that it may also be beneficial for pregnant women and their unborn babies, too. A 12-year Australian study has concluded that marmite can reduce the risk of miscarriage and birth defects, as the high levels of vitamin B3 it contains work to treat molecular deficiencies in pregnant women. The research Scientists used genetic sequencing on…

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Antibiotics may up birth defects in newborns

Beware would-be-mothers as a study has recently found that certain antibiotics during pregnancy may increase risk of major birth defects in your newborn. The findings indicated that amoxicillin, cephalosporins and nitrofurantoin were not associated with birth defects. Although the absolute risks for birth defects were small, physicians should consider prescribing other antibiotics when treating patients with infections during pregnancy. Senior author Anick Berard said that infections during pregnancy are frequent and should be treated. Berard added that the study highlights safer options for treatment of infections, more specifically urinary tract infections or…

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Lab-Grown Blood Vessels To Help Kids With Heart Defects

In a groundbreaking feat, a team of biomedical engineers has successfully implanted lab-grown artificial blood vessels in young lambs which are capable of growth within the recipient. If confirmed in humans, these new vessel grafts would prevent the need for repeated surgeries in some children with congenital heart defects, said the team from the University of Minnesota. “This might be the first time we have an ‘off-the-shelf’ material that doctors can implant in a patient and it can grow in the body,” said professor Robert Tranquillo from the University of…

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dwelling bone grown in lab to reinforce therapy for facial defects

In a first, scientists have grown a residing bone inside the lab to restore massive defects inside the head and face of patient, taking a step forward in enhancing treatments for human beings with cranio-facial defects. a new technique advanced through Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, professor at Columbia university , uses car logous stem cells derived from a small sample of the recipient’s fats and replicates the original anatomical shape of the bone. “we’ve got been capable to show, in a scientific-length porcine model of jaw repair, that this bone, grown in…

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Drug used for anxiety can also increase hazard of birth defects

A drug usually used to treat ache, epilepsy , tension and different intellectual fitness disorders can be related to an expanded risk of foremost start defects , a take a look at warns. The drug pregabalin is authorised by using the us meals and Drug management (FDA) to treat epilepsy, fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain, which include ache from diabetic neuropathy or ache after shingles or spinal wire harm. it is also used for generalized tension sickness and different intellectual fitness issues. “those outcomes do sign that there may be an…

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