Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Environmental Risks, JAMA, OBGYNE / 01.11.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yu-Han Chiu, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Animal experiments suggest that ingestion of pesticide mixtures at environmentally relevant concentrations decreases the number of live-born pups. However, it is unclear whether intake of pesticide residues has any adverse effects in humans, especially for susceptible populations such as pregnant women and their fetuses. Therefore, in this study we examined the association of preconception intake of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables with pregnancy outcomes among 325 women undergoing assisted reproduction. A pesticide is far cheaper than pest control services, like termite control los angeles, so it makes sense why most farmers choose to use pesticide for their farmhouse and crops. However, this isn't necessarily the best procedure for human health, or consumption! We found that intake of high pesticide residue fruits and vegetables were associated with higher risks of pregnancy loss, while low pesticide residue fruit and vegetable intake was associated with lower risks of early pregnancy loss. These data suggest dietary pesticide exposure within the range of typical human exposure may be associated with adverse reproductive consequences (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, OBGYNE / 30.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hatem A. Azim Jr, MD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, American University of Beirut (AUB) Beirut, Lebanon  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study aimed at evaluating the safety of pregnancy after breast cancer particularly in patient with history of ER+ breast cancer; a subset in which safety of future pregnancy is always put into question by oncologists and obstetricians. This study included more than 300 pregnant women and 800 non-pregnant breast cancer patients who acted as a comparator group The results show that after more than 7 years after pregnancy, women who became pregnant did not have an increased risk of recurrence compared to those who did not become pregnant irrespective of ER status. There was no impact of breastfeeding, abortion or time of pregnancy on patient outcome. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Social Issues / 20.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer Buher Kane PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology University of California, Irvine 92697-510  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It’s not uncommon for new parents to relocate in search of neighborhoods with better schools, safer streets and healthier, more kid-friendly activities. But our new study found that living in such neighborhoods before a baby is born protects against the risks of poor birth outcomes. Published online this month in SSM – Population Health, the research shows that having highly educated, wealthy neighbors reduces an expectant mother’s risk of delivering a low-weight or preterm baby – health markers that can be associated with neurodevelopmental problems, language disorders, learning disabilities and poor health later in life. Our study is the first to look at how both the level of affluence and disadvantage — two sociologically distinct attributes of neighborhoods — affect newborn health; past studies have only explored the impact of neighborhood disadvantage. Neighborhood disadvantage signals factors such as poverty, unemployment, or underemployment. On the other hand, neighborhood affluence is thought to signal the presence of locally-based community organizations that can meet the needs of all residents – health-related and otherwise – regardless of one’s own socioeconomic resources. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, JAMA, OBGYNE / 17.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cuilin Zhang MD, PhD Senior Investigator Epidemiology Branch Division of Intramural Population Health Research NICHD/National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, MD 20817 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication. The American Heart Association identifies gestational diabetes as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women, based on consistent evidence for the relationships between gestational diabetes and subsequent hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, vascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Also, previous studies identify GDM as a risk factor for intermediate markers of CVD risk; however, few are prospective, evaluate hard cardiovascular disease end points, or account for shared risk factors including body weight and lifestyle. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 03.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tami H Skoff Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GeorgiaTami H Skoff Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Infants are at greatest risk for severe pertussis (whooping cough) morbidity and mortality, especially during the first months of life before infant immunizations begin.  CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) currently recommend that women receive a dose of Tdap during the third trimester of each pregnancy.  This recommendation has been in place since 2012.  By getting Tdap, pregnant women pass critical short-term protection to their unborn babies. This helps protect babies until they are old enough to start getting their own whooping cough vaccines at 2 months of age. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of maternal Tdap during pregnancy at preventing whooping cough in infants <2 months of age. In our evaluation, Tdap administration during the third trimester of pregnancy prevented more than 3 in 4 (78%) infant cases.  Additionally, Tdap vaccination during pregnancy was even more effective (90%) at preventing whooping cough serious enough that the baby had to get treatment in a hospital. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Toxin Research, UC Davis / 12.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca J. Schmidt, M.S., Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences UC Davis California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Maternal folic acid taken near conception has been linked to reduced risk for autism in the child in previous studies. Separate studies show that exposure to pesticides during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for autism. Animal studies demonstrate that folic acid and other B-vitamins can attenuate effects of certain environmental contaminants, including pesticides. This case-control study examined combined maternal folic acid and pesticide exposures in relation to autism in the child. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Mental Health Research, OBGYNE, Pharmacology / 10.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xiaoqin Liu, PhD Department of Economics and Business Economics Aarhus University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previous research on the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use during pregnancy has primarily focused on offspring risk of autism spectrum disorder. Given SSRIs cross the placental barrier and affect the fetal brain, in-utero SSRI exposure may increase risks of other psychiatric disorders as well as autism spectrum disorder. We conducted a population-based study to look at a range of diagnostic groups of psychiatric disorders in children whose mothers used antidepressants during pregnancy. This was possible because of the nature of information available in Danish population registers, allowing us to follow children for many years. We found increased risks of various diagnostic groups of psychiatric disorders in children whose mothers continued antidepressant treatment during pregnancy, in comparison to children whose mothers stopped antidepressant treatment before pregnancy. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMC, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 05.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jan Alexander, MD,PhD Norwegian Institute of Public Health Oslo Norway  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background for this study was the widespread uncertainty and general concern among the public about increasing exposure to weak radio frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF-RF). The concern on whether using your cell phone while pregnant can harm your foetus are mainly due to the extensive use of cell phones, that emit EMF-RF. Even though the RF-EMF exposure that may reach the foetus is very low, evidence from previous epidemiological studies with mothers and children are inconsistent as to whether EMF-RF emission from cell phone might harm the developing brain of the foetus. This includes also animal experiments where the exposure may be very different from that in humans. We therefore studied the association between maternal cell phone use during pregnancy and child’s neurodevelopment at 3 and 5 years. We included around 45,000 mother and their children from all over Norway from the Norwegian Mother and Child Study (MoBa study) and used language development as the outcome because we in previous studies found this parameter to be sensitive to exposure to neurotoxicants. T here was no evidence of a harmful effect of the mother using her cell phone during pregnancy on her child’s neurodevelopment at 3 and 5 years. Surprisingly, we even found that the more the mother was using her cell phone during pregnancy the better language and motor skills her child had at 3 years of age. We observed no associations when the child was 5 years old. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, PLoS, Weight Research / 23.08.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Deborah A Lawlor MSc(Lond), MBChB, PhD(Bristol), MPH(Leeds), MRCGP, MFPHM Professor of Epidemiology MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As the obesity epidemic has occurred there has been increasing concern about pregnant women being more adipose (having higher levels of fat) during their pregnancy. One particular concern is that women who are on average fatter will have more extreme changes in pregnancy on their lipid, fatty acid, amino acid and glucose levels. In normal ‘healthy’ pregnancy these metabolites increase during pregnancy as part of the physiological response to pregnancy which ensures that the developing fetus has sufficient fuel (nutrients – fats, proteins, sugars) for healthy growth and development. Women who are more adipose tend to have a more extreme change in these fuels and as a consequence the developing fetus is ‘overfed’. There is a linear relationship between a pregnant woman’s body mass index and her infants birth weight, such that each increment greater adiposity (body mass index) of the mother there is on average and increment greater infant birth weight. Recently, using a method that uses genetic variants (Mendelian randomization) we have shown that this association is likely to be causal (JAMA 2016). But whether there is a lasting effect on offspring health of being overfed in the uterus is unknown. There are concerns that there will be a lasting effect and that for daughters of more adipose women, this would mean that they go into their pregnancies on average fatter and with higher levels of the metabolites that could then overfeed their developing fetus. If this were the case it would mean the obesity epidemic could be accelerated across generations. There are associations of mothers body mass index with later offspring body mass index, BUT this might not be anything to do with developmental overfeeding of the feeding in the uterus – it could simply reflect shared lifestyles that offspring adopt from their mother (and father) or shared genetic effects. In this study we tried to separate out whether there was evidence for a long-term offspring effect on their lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, glucose, and an inflammatory marker, of having a mother who was on average fatter during her pregnancy that was due to overfeeding in the uterus, as opposed to shared family lifestyle and genetics. We did this by comparing associations of mothers pre-pregnancy BMI with offspring outcomes to the same associations of fathers pre-pregnancy BMI with the same outcomes. Our assumption here was that fathers BMI could not directly result in overfeeding of the fetus and so if the associations were similar this would suggest that they were largely driven by family factors. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Exercise - Fitness, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shakila Thangaratinam Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health Joint Director of BARC (Barts Research Centre for Women's Health) Women's Health Research Unit | Multidisciplinary Evidence Synthesis Hub (MESH) Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry R & D Director for Women's Health Queen Mary University of London  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women who are overweight or obese, or who gain excess weight gain in pregnancy are at high risk of complications. We wanted to find
  1. If healthy diet and physical activity in pregnancy reduced weight gain, and improved outcomes for the mother and baby
  2. If the effects of the interventions differed according to the characteristics of the mother such as body mass index, parity, ethnicity, and underlying medical condition
We established a network (International Weight Management in Pregnancy i-WIP) of researchers from 16 countries, and 41 institutions to answer the above. We found that women who followed a healthy diet and moderate physical activity gained less weight in pregnancy than other women; this beneficial effect was observed irrespective of mother's body mass index, parity, ethnicity, and underlying medical condition. Diet and physical activity in pregnancy has a beneficial effect on weight gain in pregnancy, and lowers the odds of caesarean section, and gestational diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Testosterone / 23.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David M. Kristensen, PhD Assistant Professor                                                                                                         Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3A, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We have demonstrated that a reduced level of testosterone during fetal life by paracetamol means that male characteristics do not develop as they should. This also affects sex drive. In the trial, mice exposed to paracetamol at the foetal stage were simply unable to copulate in the same way as our control animals. Male programming had not been properly established during their foetal development and this could be seen long afterwards in their adult life. Moreover, the area of the brain that controls sex drive - the sexual dimorphic nucleus - had half as many neurons in the mice that had received paracetamol as the control mice. The inhibition of testosterone seem to have led to less activity in an area of the brain that is significant for male characteristics. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 07.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:   Professor Helena Teede MBBS, FRACP, PhD Executive Director Monash Partners Academic Health Research Translation Centre Director Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation Monash University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Reproductive aged women are gaining weight rapidly both before and during pregnancy. Here in 1.3 million pregnancies internationally we show that almost 3 in 4 have unhealthy weight gain (half with excess weight gain and one quarter with inadequate gain) MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: For women establish your healthy weight for your height and try to stay within this for better fertility, pregnancy and for your and your child's health. Regardless of your starting weigh,  aim to gain within targets in pregnancy. Seek help to do so. For health professionals: unhealthy weight gain in pregnancy is now the norm, we must monitor women in pregnancy wand support them to gain healthy weight for better health outcomes. Weighing is not enough with health professionals needing skills in healthy conversations and support strategies for women. For governments and policy makers this life stage around pregnancy is an optimal time to tackle obesity prevention and is targeted by WHO. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Flu - Influenza, OBGYNE, Vaccine Studies / 31.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Elyse Olshen Kharbanda, MD MPH HealthPartners Institute Minneapolis, MN MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women who get the flu are at an increased risk for severe illness. To protect pregnant women, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends women receive inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) during any trimester of their pregnancy. This study used data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink to evaluate if there was an increased risk for selected major structural birth defects for infants whose mothers received IIV in the first trimester of pregnancy versus infants who were unexposed to IIV. Among over 425,000 live births, including 52,856 whose mothers received IIV during first trimester, we evaluated risks for major structural birth defects.  In this large observational study, we did not observe increased risks for major structural birth defects in offspring following first trimester maternal inactivated influenza vaccine exposure. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, PLoS / 31.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sarka Lisonkova, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia. Children’s and Women’s Health Centre MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Adverse fetal and infant outcomes associated with maternal age were known and our study confirms that the risk of fetal and neonatal death and severe neonatal morbidity increases among mothers over 30 years. We also knew that older mothers are more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, and they are more likely to develop gestational diabetes, hypertension during pregnancy, and preeclampsia. These complications may put the fetus or newborn at risk, but are generally not considered to be potentially life threatening to the mother. Our study adds new information on the rates of severe maternal morbidities that have a high case-fatality rate, lead to organ damage, or have serious health implications such as hysterectomy. Our study also adds the information on the rates of any severe adverse birth outcome - for baby or mom - in the association with maternal age, which is important for counseling. Women usually want to know ‘what are the chances that anything bad happens’. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, OBGYNE, Stroke / 27.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eliza Miller, M.D. Vascular neurology fellow New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center New York City  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Preeclampsia is a common disorder that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy. It affects about 1 in 20 pregnant women. Women with preeclampsia are at higher risk for stroke during pregnancy and post-partum, but it’s very difficult to predict who is going to have a stroke. Our study looked at a large dataset of billing data from New York State, and compared women who had preeclampsia and strokes to women who had preeclampsia but did not have a stroke. We found that preeclamptic women with urinary tract infections, bleeding or clotting disorders, or preexisting high blood pressure were at higher risk of having strokes during pregnancy or postpartum. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE / 23.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hirohito Ichii, M.D, Ph.D, FACS Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery University of California, Irvine, Orange CA 92868 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a critical complication after surgery. Although pregnancy is known to increase the risk of VTE 4- to 5-fold, there are scarce data on the risk of VTE among pregnant women who are undergoing surgery. In this study using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data, we observed that pregnant women, compared to matched non-pregnant women, experienced 93% higher likelihood of developing VTE. Absolute incidence of VTE among pregnant vs. matched non-pregnant were 0.5% vs. 0.3%. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Fertility, Karolinski Institute, OBGYNE / 08.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Neda Razaz, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral Fellow Reproductive Epidemiology Unit Karolinska Institutet MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Multiple births of twins and triplets – and the associated health risks – have increased in many high-income countries, with a respective two-fold and three-fold increase in recent decades. In Canada, triplet births or higher have increased from 52.2 per 100 000 live births to 83.5 between 1991 and 2009, mainly because of an increase in fertility treatments for older women of child-bearing age. In this study we found that among twin and triplet pregnancies that were reduced to singleton or twin pregnancies, there was a substantial reduction in complications such as preterm birth and very preterm birth. Although rates of death and serious illness were not lower among all multifetal pregnancies that were reduced, pregnancies that resulted from fertility treatments did show a significant reduction in rates of death or serious illness following fetal reduction. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Infections, OBGYNE / 03.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anick Bérard PhD FISPE Research chair FRQS on Medications and Pregnancy Director, Réseau Québécois de recherche sur le médicament (RQRM) Professor, Research Chair on Medications, Pregnancy and Lactation Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Montreal Director, Research Unit on Medications and Pregnancy Research Center, CHU Ste-Justine MedicalResearch.com: The Danish study you cite reported a connection between antibiotics and miscarriage – why was further research of this topic necessary? Response: Given that a single study will assess an association, repetition of findings are essential in order to assess causality. For example, we were able to conclude that smoking was causing lung cancer after 10 years of observational research on the topic showing concordant associations. In addition, antibiotic prescription patterns vary from country to country, hence the importance of studying the research question in various patient populations. Finally, our cohort has validated exposure status, gestational age (first day of pregnancy) and miscarriage cases - our study was also able to look at types of antibiotics. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, JAMA, OBGYNE / 01.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Maureen Phipps, USPTS Task Force member Department chair and Chace-Joukowsky professor of obstetrics and gynecology Assistant dean for teaching and research on women's health Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Preeclampsia, which includes high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy, is one of the most serious health problems affecting pregnant women. After reviewing the evidence, the Task Force found the benefits of screening for preeclampsia outweighed the harms and recommended screening pregnant women for preeclampsia with blood pressure measurements throughout pregnancy. The evidence showed mothers and their babies are likely to benefit from screening, as screening leads to treatment that reduces their risk of severe complications, including death. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 01.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deborah L. Dee, PhD Division of Reproductive Health National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although the national teen birth rate has dropped to a historic low (22.3 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 years in 2015), many teens continue to have repeat births. Because repeat teen births are more likely than first teen births to be preterm and low birth weight, and giving birth more than once as a teenager can significantly limit a mother’s ability to attend school and obtain work experience, it’s important to assess patterns in repeat teen births and better understand contraceptive use within this population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Depression, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 19.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Simone Vigod, MD, MSc, FRCPC Psychiatrist and Lead, Reproductive Life Stages Program Women’s Mental Health Program Women’s College Hospital Toronto, ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Depression is one of the most common problems that can complicate a pregnancy. Untreated, or incompletely treated, it can be associated with significant harm to mother and child. While psychotherapies alone may be effective for women with mild (or even moderate) severity symptoms, sometimes antidepressant medication is required. In these cases, the benefits of treatment must be weighed against potential risks. Previous research suggested that there may be an increased risk for autism in children exposed to antidepressant medication during pregnancy. However, previous studies were limited in their ability to account for other potential causes of autism in their analyses. In our study, we used several different strategies to try to compare children whose pregnancy exposures were very similar, except for exposure to an antidepressant. The main finding was that after using these strategies, there was no longer a statistically significant association between in-utero antidepressant exposure and autism. (more…)
AstraZeneca, Author Interviews, Autism, Boehringer Ingelheim, Depression, Eli Lilly, J&J-Janssen, JAMA, Merck, OBGYNE / 17.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Florence Gressier MD PhD Insermk Department of psychiatry CHU de Bicêtrem Le Kremlin Bicêtre France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Results from recent studies have suggested an increased risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in children exposed to antidepressants in utero. We performed a systematic review of and a meta-analysis of published studies to assess the association between ASDs and fetal exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy for each trimester of pregnancy and preconception. Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggests a significant association between increased ASD risk and maternal use of antidepressants during pregnancy; however, it appears to be more consistent during the preconception period than during each trimester. In addition, the association was weaker when controlled for past maternal mental illness. Maternal psychiatric disorders in treatment before pregnancy rather than antenatal exposure to antidepressants could have a major role in the risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders. (more…)
Author Interviews, Epilepsy, JAMA, Karolinski Institute, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 06.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Neda Razaz-Vandyke, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral Fellow Reproductive Epidemiology Unit Karolinska Institutet   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:   There is a growing concern about long-term neurological effects of prenatal exposure to maternal overweight and obesity. The etiology of epilepsy is poorly understood and in more than 60% of cases no definitive cause can be determined. We found that maternal overweight and obesity increased the risks of childhood epilepsy in a dose-response pattern. (more…)
Author Interviews, HPV, NEJM, OBGYNE, Vaccine Studies / 30.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anders Hviid Senior Investigator, M.Sc.,Dr.Med.Sci. Department of Epidemiology Research Division of National Health Surveillance & Research MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: HPV vaccination targeting girls and young women has been introduced in many countries throughout the world. HPV vaccines are not recommended for use in pregnancy, but given the target group, inadvertent exposure will occur in early unrecognized pregnancies. However, data on the safety of HPV vaccination in pregnancy is lacking. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pediatrics, Smoking, Tobacco Research / 15.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Saskia Trump PhD Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Department of Environmental Immunology Leipzig, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Environmental chemicals have long been discussed to contribute to the exacerbation or even the development of allergic diseases. In our study we were particularly interested in the effect of tobacco smoke exposure, which is the main source for indoor benzene exposure, on regulatory T cell (Treg) function and its relation to the development of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Tregs play a critical in controlling T effector cell activity by avoiding overexpression. A deficiency in this T cell subset increases the risk for allergic inflammation. We have previously described that exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy can decrease the number of regulatory T cells (Treg) in the cord blood and predispose the child to the development of AD (1). In this subsequent study we were interested in the underlying mechanism involved. Benzene itself is not considered to be toxic, however its metabolization leads to the formation of highly reactive molecules. In humans for example the metabolite 1,4-benzochinone (1,4-BQ) can be found in the blood as a consequence of benzene exposure. To further assess the effect of benzene on Treg and the development of AD we combined in vitro studies, evaluating the impact of 1,4-BQ on human expanded Treg, with data from our prospective mother-child cohort LINA. The LINA study, recruited in Leipzig, Germany, is a longitudinal evaluation of mother-child pairs with respect to lifestyle and environmental factors that might contribute to disease development in the child. Based on this deeply phenotyped cohort we were able to translate our in vitro findings to the in vivo scenario. (more…)
Author Interviews, NEJM, OBGYNE, Thyroid Disease, UT Southwestern / 01.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Brian Casey, M.D. Gillette Professorship of Obstetrics and Gynecology UT Southwestern Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For several decades now, subclinical thyroid disease, variously defined, has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.  In 1999, two studies are responsible for increasing interest in subclinical thyroid disease during pregnancy because it was associated with impaired neuropsychological development in the fetus.  One study showed that children born to women with the highest TSH levels had lower IQ levels.  The other showed that children of women with isolated low free thyroid hormone levels performed worse on early psychomotor developmental tests. Together, these findings led several experts and professional organizations to recommend routine screening for and treatment of subclinical thyroid disease during pregnancy. Our study was designed to determine whether screening for either of these two diagnoses and treatment with thyroid hormone replacement during pregnancy actually improved IQ in children at 5 years of age. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Flu - Influenza, Karolinski Institute, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Pharmacology / 01.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Sophie Graner Department of Women's and Childrens Health Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women are at increased risks of severe disease and death due to influensa infection, as well as hospitalization. Also influenza and fever increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for their infants such as intrauterine death and preterm birth. Due to this, the regulatory agencies in Europe and the US recommended post exposure prophylaxis and treatment for pregnant women with neuraminidase inhibitors during the last influenza pandemic 2009-10. Despite the recommendations, the knowledge on the effect of neuraminidase inhibitors on the infant has been limited. Previously published studies have not shown any increased risk, but they have had limited power to assess specific neonatal outcomes such as stillbirth, neonatal mortality, preterm birth, low Agar score, neonatal morbidity and congenital malformations. (more…)
Author Interviews / 28.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amanda Mitchell PhD Postdoctoral researcher Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our study followed 80 pregnant women across the course of their pregnancy – throughout 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters. We examined whether women exhibited different levels of immune markers called cytokines based on fetal sex. We looked at this in two ways – levels of cytokines in the blood, and levels produced by a sample of immune cells that were exposed to bacteria in the laboratory. While women did not exhibit differences in blood cytokine levels based on fetal sex, we found that the immune cells of women carrying female fetuses produced more proinflammatory cytokines when exposed to bacteria. This means that women carrying female fetuses exhibited a heightened inflammatory response when their immune system was challenged compared to women carrying male fetuses. (more…)