Targeted Drug-Delivery In Pregnancy Complications

Targeted Drug-Delivery System May Treat Pregnancy Complications

 A treatment approach that typically targets tumors may also safely deliver medications directly to a pregnant woman's placenta, a new mouse study suggests.
This type of treatment might one day help reduce pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, the researchers said. And it could also help prevent premature deliveries without harming fetuses, they added.

"Placentas behave like well-controlled tumors," study author Lynda Harris, of the University of Manchester in England, explained in a news release from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in California. "They grow quickly, produce growth hormones and evade the immune system."

"A lot of cancer research focuses on finding ways of delivering drugs to kill the tumor without affecting the rest of the body," Harris added. "We had the idea that if we could selectively target the placenta in the same way, we could deliver other drugs to help improve placental function and therefore treat pregnancy complications."

Roughly 10 percent of babies are born prematurely, the March of Dimes reports, and a poorly functioning placenta is an underlying cause of many problems during pregnancy.
Without drugs to treat these issues, doctors are often forced to deliver babies early, the researchers explained.

Working with mice, the international team of scientists found that two chains of amino acids that are used to target tumors can also safely target placentas, delivering medication to support a growing mouse fetus. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

In the study, the researchers delivered a growth hormone to mice placenta through tiny amino acid-coated nanoparticles. The drug did not affect normal-sized fetuses, but it prompted those that were too small to grow.

At the same time, the drug did not accumulate inside either pregnant mice or developing mouse fetuses.

Directing medication to the placenta might also help treat complications during pregnancy and avoid some premature deliveries, according to authors of the study published May 6 in the journal Science Advances.

The researchers said their findings suggest this treatment approach could one day be used on humans, although animal research often does not pan out in people.

They noted the treatment might not be appropriate for women with undiagnosed cancers because these drugs could also target tumors. But cancer screening could get around this potential issue, they added.

"Only one drug for use during pregnancy has been licensed in the last 20 years," Harris said. "By developing this [drug delivery] platform, we have opened up the possibility that any number of new drugs can be adapted and then used safely to treat common and serious pregnancy complications."


More information
The American Pregnancy Association provides more information on the placenta.

Depressive Episode May Not Always Follow Mania

Depressive Episode May Not Always Follow Mania in Bipolar Disorder

While many may associate bipolar disorder with episodes of mania followed by periods of depression, a new study suggests that's often not the case.

Researchers say states of anxiety are equally as likely as to follow manic episodes as depression.

The finding might have implications for better treatment, the research team said.
"For years, we may have missed opportunities to evaluate the effects of treatments for bipolar disorder on anxiety," said study lead author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

"The results of our study suggest that researchers should begin to ask whether, and to what extent, treatments for bipolar disorder relieve anxiety as well as mania and depression," he added in a university new release.

According to the study authors, about 5.7 million Americans have bipolar disorder, which causes cycles of mania (elevated or irritable mood) and depression.

The new findings stem from an analysis of data from more than 34,000 American adults with bipolar disorder.

"Although it has long been widely assumed that bipolar disorder represents repeated episodes of mania and depression as poles along a single continuum of mood, the clinical reality is often far more complex," Olfson said.

He said that, based on the new findings, "patients whose main symptom is anxiety should be carefully assessed for a history of mania before starting treatment."

The study was published May 3 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

More information
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on bipolar disorder.

Pesticides May Raise Risk of Sclerosis

Pesticides Linked to Raised Risk of ALS

 Exposure to pesticides and other chemicals may increase the risk for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a fatal neurological disease, researchers say.

Three toxins in particular were associated with greater risk for the progressive condition, often called Lou Gehrig's disease because it killed the legendary baseball player with that name.
"We are identifying these toxic, persistent, environmental pollutants in higher amounts in ALS patients compared to those who do not have ALS," said study co-author Dr. Stephen Goutman. He is assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan and director of its ALS Clinic.

This new study doesn't prove pesticides cause ALS, but it does build on an association suggested in previous research, Goutman said. Scientists already suspect pesticides may contribute to Parkinson's disease, another neurodegenerative disorder.

For this study, Goutman and his colleagues evaluated 156 patients with ALS and 128 without the disease. Participants were asked about occupational and residential exposure to environmental toxins.
Blood samples were taken to measure pesticide levels.

The researchers looked at 122 environmental chemicals and pesticides. Three in particular were linked to heightened ALS risk, Goutman said.

Persistent exposure to the pesticide cis-chlordane increased ALS risk nearly sixfold. Exposure to pentachlorobenzene -- which was used in the manufacture of fungicides -- doubled the odds for ALS. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, used as a flame retardant in furnishings and textiles, raised the risk by about 2.7 times, the researchers said.

Military service was also linked to greater risk for developing ALS, but the investigators can't explain why.
ALS, a progressive disease, affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. As the nerve cells that
control muscles die, patients lose the ability to speak, move, breathe and eat, according to the ALS Association.

Experts contend that a combination of genetics and environmental factors triggers the condition, Goutman said.

The study was published online May 9 in JAMA Neurology.
The study, conducted between 2011 and 2014, was funded in part by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Merit Cudkowicz is director of the ALS Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital. She said the new study "raises possibilities of the association of certain pesticides and ALS, but is far from certain."
Those possible risk factors need to be studied further, added Cudkowicz, co-author of a journal editorial accompanying the study.

Goutman and Cudkowicz recommended avoiding pesticides. This is especially wise, Goutman said, for anyone with a family history of ALS.

However, it "really is hard to avoid" these chemicals, he noted, adding they're in the air and soil, and often linger for years.


More information
To learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, visit the ALS Association.

Effects of Artificial Sweeteners During Pregnancy

Artificial Sweeteners During Pregnancy May Make for Heavier Infants

Pregnant women who drink artificially sweetened drinks every day may be more likely to give birth to heavier babies who are then more likely to become overweight children, researchers report.

"Infants born to women who regularly consumed one or more artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy were twice as likely to be overweight by 1 year of age," said study author Meghan Azad, a research scientist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.

By her definition, an overweight baby weighs more than 97 percent of other babies of the same height and weight.

This is the first study to investigate the potential effect of consuming artificial sweeteners during pregnancy and infant weight gain, Azad said. Interestingly, the researchers did not find any connection between drinking sugar-sweetened drinks and infant weight.
And the effects were not explained by maternal weight, diet, total calories consumed or other obesity risk factors, she added.

Although the study didn't prove that artificially sweetened drinks cause infant weight gain, "caution is warranted," Azad said.
"Given the current epidemic of childhood obesity and widespread use of artificial sweeteners, further research is warranted to confirm our findings and investigate the underlying biological mechanisms.
Ultimately, this research could help improve dietary recommendations for pregnant women," Azad said.

For the study, Azad and her colleagues collected data on more than 3,000 mothers and their babies. The women were asked what drinks they consumed during pregnancy. Nearly 30 percent said they drank artificially sweetened beverages, including 5 percent who reported drinking them on a daily basis.

The consumption of artificially sweetened drinks was determined by how often women drank soda or iced tea containing artificial sweeteners or added sweeteners to coffee or tea, Azad explained. The researchers could not determine which artificial sweeteners were consumed in each case.

The study findings were published online May 9 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
One health expert had a theory on the potential link.

"Limited research has suggested that artificial sweeteners may degrade the body's innate mechanisms for sensing caloric intake and responding with feelings of fullness," said Mark Pereira, an associate professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

However, it may not be that artificially sweetened beverages cause these effects on the fetus and young child. It could instead be the physical and biological characteristics of the women who choose to consume these beverages frequently, he said.

"A couple of other studies have also raised concern about the possible negative impacts of maternal consumption of artificially sweetened beverages on the fetus and offspring," said Pereira, who co-authored a journal editorial accompanying the study.

"Since we do not yet really understand if these are real causal effects, women should refrain from consuming artificial sweeteners during pregnancy," he added.

The Calorie Control Council, which represents the low-calorie food and beverage industry, stood by the safety of artificial sweeteners.

"Before a low-calorie sweetener may be used in foods or beverages, it must be determined by relevant regulatory bodies to be safe for all populations, including special groups such as the elderly, children, and pregnant and nursing women," Robert Rankin, president of the council, said in a statement.

"These safety assessments include an evaluation of possible effects of low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy and [they] continue to show that these sweeteners are safe for pregnant women and their children," Rankin said.

Not only that, he added, but "low-calorie sweeteners can help pregnant women avoid excess calories... Excess weight gain during pregnancy can be harmful to both the mother and developing baby."

More information
Visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for more on healthy eating while pregnant.

Swaddling May Increase Chances of SIDS

 If infants are swaddled during sleep, their risk of dying from SIDS is higher, especially if they are placed on their stomachs, new research suggests.
Swaddling is defined in various ways, but it typically refers to wrapping a child snugly in a blanket or cloth, with head exposed but arms inside. Swaddling is thought to have a calming influence on babies that helps them sleep.
However, swaddling can be risky, the new study finds.
"Babies who were swaddled were 50 to 60 percent more likely to die of SIDS," said lead researcher Dr. Rachel Moon, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Moon's team analyzed the results of four previously published studies. The studies spanned two decades and included regions of England, Tasmania in Australia, as well as Chicago.
While the overall SIDS risk was increased with swaddling, the risk was even greater when swaddled babies were placed on their stomachs to sleep, Moon said. Those infants, compared to those not swaddled, had about 13 times the risk of dying from SIDS, also known as sudden infant death syndrome, she said.
The risk also increased as infants approached 6 months of age, Moon said, when they are likely to be able to roll over by themselves. Most babies can do that by around 4 months of age, she noted.
Moon said she couldn't explain the link, and the study could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between swaddling and SIDS risk.
The analysis also had some limitations, such as the fact that swaddling was defined differently in the four studies.
SIDS killed about 1,500 children in the United States in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's the leading cause of death in babies under 1 year of age. It is defined as a sudden death in an infant that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation, including an autopsy.
In the studies reviewed, 760 babies who died of SIDS were compared with 1,759 who did not.
The findings seem to support current medical advice to avoid placing infants on their stomach or side to sleep, Moon said.
"The take-home messages are, if the baby is getting old enough where they can roll, they shouldn't be swaddled," and they shouldn't sleep on their stomachs or sides, Moon said.
However, another expert sees a slightly different take-home message.
"I normally don't recommend swaddling to put them to sleep for the night," said Dr. Gloria Riefkohl, a pediatrician at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.
"I think swaddling should be done [only with observation]," she said. "Any swaddling should be done with the baby in your arms, or [while] observing the baby."
Even if the baby "co-sleeps" with the parents, Riefkohle does not recommend swaddling for nighttime sleep at all.
The study is published in the May 9 online edition of the journal Pediatrics.
More information
To learn more about SIDS, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What You Need to Know About the Zika Virus

What is Zika?


Zika is a virus first discovered in 1947 and named after the Zika forest in Uganda. The first human cases of Zika were detected in 1952, but until last year there had been only isolated outbreaks occurring mainly in tropical locales.


How is it transmitted?

Zika is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected by drinking the blood of a person infected with Zika, and then spread the disease to other people.
A man infected with Zika can transmit the virus through sexual intercourse. Also, people can be infected if they are given a blood transfusion tainted with Zika.


Who faces the greatest health risk from Zika?
Four out of five people infected with Zika do not develop any symptoms. Those who do most often suffer from mild symptoms that include fever, rash, joint pain or red eyes.
The true risk of Zika is to a developing fetus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that Zika can cause terrible birth defects if a pregnant woman is infected with the virus.

What kind of birth defects does Zika cause?
Microcephaly is the most common birth defect caused by Zika, and it involves abnormally small development of the head and brain. Zika also causes other brain-related birth defects, and can result in miscarriage, according to the CDC.


What are the chances Zika exposure during pregnancy will cause microcephaly?
Not every fetus exposed to Zika develops a birth defect. Women infected with Zika have given birth to apparently healthy babies, although health experts can't guarantee that these babies won't develop problems later in life. No one knows what the odds are that a birth defect will occur. This is one of the CDC's ongoing areas of research.


What can a woman who's pregnant or trying to get pregnant do to protect herself?
Women of child-bearing age who live in an active Zika region should protect themselves from mosquito bites by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, using mosquito repellent when outside, and staying indoors as much as possible.
Women should use condoms or refrain from sex with a male partner if they are living in an active Zika area. They also should follow these precautions for at least 8 weeks if the man has traveled to an active Zika area, or for at least 6 months if the man has been diagnosed with Zika.

What can be done if a pregnant woman is infected with Zika?
There is no cure or vaccine for Zika. Pregnant women infected with Zika will be monitored by doctors, who will closely track fetal development.

Will a Zika infection threaten all future pregnancies?
The CDC has said there's no evidence that a past Zika virus infection will endanger future pregnancies. It appears that once the virus has been cleared from a person's bloodstream, it poses no risk to any subsequent pregnancies.

What other illnesses can Zika cause?
Zika has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a rare disease of the nervous system in which a person's immune system attacks nerve cells. The disease causes muscle weakness and, less frequently, paralysis. Most people recover fully, but some have permanent damage and about one in 20 die.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden has said it is very likely that Zika causes GBS, given that the syndrome also is triggered by a number of different bacterial or viral infections. However, the link has not been confirmed. The CDC is investigating.


Where in the U.S. is Zika likely to become active?
Zika already is active in the territory of Puerto Rico, where one death has been reported, as well as American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Public health officials expect Zika to strike first in the continental United States in Florida, Louisiana or Texas, once the mosquito season gets underway. The A. aegypti mosquito can range as far north as San Francisco, Kansas City and New York City, although health officials have said infections that far north are unlikely.


What can I do to reduce the risk of Zika becoming active in my neighborhood?
People can help reduce their area's risk by eliminating mosquito habitats from their property. Get rid of any source of standing water, such as buckets, plastic covers, toys or old tires. Empty and change the water in bird baths, fountains, wading pools and potted plants once a week. Drain or fill with dirt any temporary pools of water, and keep swimming pool water treated and circulating, according to the CDC.
Report any mosquito activity in your neighborhood to your local mosquito control program.


What should I do if I think I've been exposed to Zika?
The CDC recommends that people contact their health care provider if they are suffering from Zika-like symptoms, particularly if they are pregnant. Tests are available that can confirm Zika infection.

Is there a vaccine for Zika?
No, but the CDC is working with pharmaceutical companies to ramp up research into a vaccine for the virus.

Scholarship Positions Newsletter

Scholarship Positions Newsletter

Apply by 17th of June for the Victoria University International Scholarships

International students must apply to study at the Victoria University, Australia by 17th of June to be considered for the Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships 2017. The Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships offer support to internationals to undertake study, research or professional development […] Apply Now

Jiangsu Province China Government Scholarships for International students, 2016

Jiangsu Provincial Government has set up the “Jasmine Jiangsu Government Scholarship” for international students. These scholarships will be provided to excellent overseas students or scholars to undertake full-time study in universities and colleges of Jiangsu province. The scholarship aim is […] Apply Now

2016-2017 ITTO Fellowship Programme for International Students, Japan

Applications are invited for ITTO Fellowship Programme available for international students from ITTO Member countries.[…] Apply Now

The Science of Everyday Thinking - UQx

Think smarter. Explore the psychology of everyday thinking. Understand how opinions are formed and why we often make irrational choices. Discover new ways to influence others and learn how to use scientific methods to boost your memory and make better decisions.

Yale University Visiting Graduate Student Summer Fellowships in USA, 2016

The Beinecke Library is pleased to offer Visiting Graduate Student Summer Fellowships for the year 2016. The US, as well as Non-US citizens, are eligible to apply for this fellowship programme. The University provides modern educational and research environments that […] Apply Now

SUPRA Nordic Scholarship Programme 2016

The SUPRA Nordic scholarship is one of the most important features of NIAS’ Support Programme for Asian Studies. It is designed to make NIAS’ digital library and other resources accessible to PhD candidates and MA students in the Nordic countries. […] Apply Now

Internship/Traineeship Opportunity – UNITAR Geneva

The UNITAR Knowledge Systems Innovation Unit (KSI) is offering an internship/traineeship opportunity for young professionals or postgraduate students to contribute to the communication and out reach activities of the International Law for Development portfolio. Starting date: 6 June 2016 Deadline […] Apply Now

One PhD Position, Lipid binding proteins in autophagy, Norway

One PhD position is available for 3 or 4 (including teaching) years at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Molecular Medicine, Division of Biochemistry in the research group of professor Anne Simonsen. Job Description The research fellow will work on the […] Apply Now

PhD Studentship in Data Analytics for Smart Healthcare at the University of Kent in UK, 2016

The University of Kent is pleased to offer Ph.D. Studentships in Data Analytics for Smart Healthcare. UK applicants are eligible to apply for the studentship. The main aim of this Ph.D. research programme is to explore the development of techniques […] Apply Now

Rihanna Launches Global Scholarship Program

Rihanna is rewarding hard work, work, work through a global scholarship program courtesy of her Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF). The Grammy-winning entertainer looks to award international students enrolling in a U.S. college. Clara Lionel Foundation Global Scholarship Program in USA, […] Apply Now

University of London Summer Sales Internship at Simplee Aloe Drinks, 2016

Applications are invited for Summer Internship – Sales Internship at Simplee Aloe Drinks in UK for the year 2016. Applicants must have Strong interpersonal skills and Fluent English is essential. Interns will get the salary £7.20 per hour and the internship […] Apply Now

UNICEF Internship for International Applicants In USA, 2016

UNICEF is pleased to offer internship in USA for the year 2016. Applicants will be enrolled in a graduate (Master’s) degree or undergraduate (Bachelor’s) degree. International applicants are eligible to apply for this internship programme. Internships at UNICEF are non-remunerative. […] Apply Now

Free Online Course to Prepare for Career Success at University

Goldsmiths, University of London is offering free course to Prepare for Career Success at University. This 3 week is aimed at anyone who is thinking about entering higher education or making a career change in the near future. The overall […] Apply Now