Showing 20 articles starting at article 1
Categories: Birth Defects, Stress
Published Distinct brain activity triggered by memories of trauma



It is well known that people who have lived through traumatic events like sexual assault, domestic abuse, or violent combat can experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including terrifying flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the incident. But what exactly happens in the brains of PTSD patients as they recall these traumatic events? Are they remembered the same way as, say, the loss of a beloved pet -- or, for that matter, a relaxing walk on the beach?
Published Mindfulness-based intervention shows promise for PTSD in cardiac arrest survivors



A novel pilot study incorporating mindfulness into exposure therapy shows promise for reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress in cardiac arrest survivors. One in three survivors of cardiac arrest survivors develop PTSD, increasing their risk of mortality, yet no specific treatment has been developed for this population.
Published First multi-chamber heart organoids unravel human heart development and disease



Heart disease kills 18 million people each year, but the development of new therapies faces a bottleneck: no physiological model of the entire human heart exists -- so far. A new multi-chamber organoid that mirrors the heart's intricate structure enables scientists to advance screening platforms for drug development, toxicology studies, and understanding heart development.
Published Discrimination during pregnancy can affect infant's brain circuitry



Experiences of discrimination and acculturation are known to have a detrimental effect on a person's health. For pregnant women, these painful experiences can also affect the brain circuitry of their children, a new study finds. These effects, the researchers say, are separate from those caused by general stress and depression. The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Published Spike in premature births caused by COVID, halted by vaccines, study finds



COVID-19 caused an alarming surge in premature births, but vaccines were key to returning the early birth rate to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new analysis of California birth records.
Published Researchers develop new method for prenatal genetic testing



Researchers have developed a non-invasive genetic test that can screen the blood of pregnant individuals to survey all genes from the fetal genome.
Published Clinical trial results give new hope for children with rare gliomas



A collaboration of researchers has published successful results from a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of BRAF mutated low-grade paediatric gliomas.
Published Lab-grown 'small blood vessels' point to potential treatment for major cause of stroke and vascular dementia



Scientists have grown small blood vessel-like models in the lab and used them to show how damage to the scaffolding that supports these vessels can cause them to leak, leading to conditions such as vascular dementia and stroke.
Published High levels of maternal stress during pregnancy linked to children's behavior problems



Children whose mothers are highly stressed, anxious or depressed during pregnancy may be at higher risk for mental health and behavior issues during their childhood and teen years, according to new research.
Published Exposure to air pollution in utero may affect reproductive system development



From invisible wafts of diesel exhaust to sun-choking plumes of orange smoke, air pollution is known to damage respiratory well-being. Now, research suggests another reason to hold our breath: Polluted air also may hurt reproductive health. In a study of air pollution data in relation to markers of reproductive development in infancy, Rutgers researchers found certain pollutants may negatively alter anogenital distance, a measure of prenatal exposure to hormones.
Published Early-life stress changes more genes in brain than a head injury



A surprising thing happened when researchers began exploring whether early-life stress compounds the effects of a childhood head injury on health and behavior later in life: In an animal study, stress changed the activation level of many more genes in the brain than were changed by a bump to the head.
Published A thyroxine derivative enhances brain drug delivery



A new study shows that the delivery of drugs into the brain, and especially into glial cells, can be enhanced with prodrugs that temporarily incorporate thyroxine or a thyroxine-like molecule.
Published Why we don't all develop posttraumatic stress disorder after trauma



Researchers show why only a subset of individuals exposed to trauma develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research, centered on the body's stress hormone response, could pave the way for more targeted treatments for PTSD.
Published New clues to the mechanism behind treatment-resistant depression



Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a widespread mental health condition that for many is disabling. It has long been appreciated that MDD has genetic as well as environmental influences. In a new study researchers identify a gene that interacted with stress to mediate aspects of treatment-resistant MDD in an animal model.
Published Maternal microbiota can affect fetal development



Significant differences in the gene activity of the fetal intestine, brain and placenta were identified, depending on the microbes in the mother's body and the compounds produced by them. The findings indicate that maternal microbes are important to her offspring's development and health.
Published Lab unlocks keys to alcohol withdrawal headache



Researchers have discovered mechanisms by which specific cells are activated in alcohol withdrawal-induced headache. The research may benefit further studies of various substance use disorder mechanisms including withdrawal. It may be possible to develop a small-molecule drug therapy to inhibit interactions, resulting in fewer pain signals during alcohol withdrawal.
Published Zika infection in pregnant macaques slows fetal growth



Zika virus infection in pregnant rhesus macaques slows fetal growth and affects how infants and mothers interact in the first month of life, according to a new study. The work has implications for both humans exposed to Zika virus and for other viruses that can cross the placenta, including SARS-CoV2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published New clues to early development of schizophrenia



Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease that remains poorly understood and treated. Schizophrenia onset is typically in adolescence or early adulthood, but its underlying causes are thought to involve neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Because human prenatal and postnatal brain tissue is exceedingly difficult to procure and therefore study, researchers have had limited opportunities to identify early disease mechanisms, especially during the critical prenatal period. Now, a pair of studies use new technology to study schizophrenia in models of early human brain development.
Published How brain inflammation in children may cause neurological disorders



Severe inflammation in early childhood is a clinically known risk factor for developing autism and schizophrenia. Now, scientists have discovered that inflammation alters the development of vulnerable brain cells, and this could have mechanistic links to neurodevelopmental disorders.
Published Researchers construct first 'multiome' atlas of cell development in the human cerebral cortex from before birth to adulthood



A team of researchers has created the first 'multiome' atlas of brain cell development in the human cerebral cortex across six broad developmental time points from fetal development into adulthood, shedding new light on their roles during brain development and disease.