Mother and Child

A viral infection in a pregnant woman not only affects her subsequent ability to provide maternal care but can also trigger depression in her offspring, which can then even extend into the next generation as a result of changes to genetic mechanisms in the brain.  The researchers were able to demonstrate the following effects in the mouse model: 1.) stimulation of the immune system, comparable with a viral infection in the pregnant mother, results in diminished maternal behaviour towards her offspring after birth. 2.) this results in the tendency for offspring to develop depression and 3.) that daughters in their turn are less maternal towards their own offspring, even if they suffer no infection, so that the next generation is also more likely to develop depression. "We were therefore able to show that there is a transgenerational effect and that epigenetic changes occur in the brain," explains Daniela Pollak, who, together with her team, is generally concerned with ...

It’s happening; the world is waking up to the need for not just a beautiful body, but also a healthy one. Fitness is a journey and a lifestyle, so it is only befitting to have a festival for such a necessary activity of life. FitFam™ Fest will be hosting the largest African comprehensive fitness festival on the 11th of December 2016, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island Lagos. The festival is bringing this holistic campaign to Lagos, and it would be the first of its kind. It is themed “Healthy Fun for Everyone”. It is going to be a celebration of fitness and wellness attracting men, women and children of all ages. Top notch trainers and fitness enthusiasts will converge in one place to throw out an array of fitness and beauty activities that would make Lagos the fitness capital of Africa. This well thought out event will gather over 7,000 fitness pundits and fans from different parts of the world, and also include International and local fitnes...

The key to preventing obesity in future generations is to make their parents healthier before they conceive, leading health researchers suggest. In a series of papers, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, the researchers say that the time before couples conceive represents a missed opportunity to prevent the transmission of obesity risk from one generation to the next. They argue that a new approach is needed to motivate future parents to live a healthier lifestyle. There is now a wealth of evidence that the risk of obesity and its associated conditions, such as heart disease diabetes and some cancers, could impact the developing baby. In turn, when the child becomes a young adult they may pass the risk of obesity on to their children -- it is a vicious cycle. The nature of this problem is not adequately appreciated. Many young people, whilst appearing outwardly healthy, are nonetheless on a risky path to obesity and chronic disease and more likely to pass th...

Men can take birth control shots to prevent pregnancy in their female partners, according to a new study. Researchers are still working to perfect the combination of hormonal contraceptives to reduce the risk of mild to moderate side effects, including depression and other mood disorders.  Researchers are still working to perfect the combination of hormonal contraceptives to reduce the risk of mild to moderate side effects, including depression and other mood disorders. While women can choose from a number of birth control methods, men have few options to control their own fertility. Available methods for men include condoms, vasectomies and withdrawal. Better birth control options are needed for men. In 2012, 40 percent of all pregnancies worldwide were unintended, according to the Guttmacher Institute. "The study found it is possible to have a hormonal contraceptive for men that reduces the risk of unplanned pregnancies in the partners of men who use it," said ...

A ground-breaking study into the changes that occur in a woman’s breast, from growing into one that provides milk for a new-born, and then back to its normal state, has discovered that milk-producing cells are, in effect, cannibalized by other cells following the period of breastfeeding. The human body can usually cope with the limited amount of detritus created from normal cellular lifecycles through the deployment of immune cells to remove the material. But just how it manages to eradicate the large amounts of dead or redundant mammary cells, and left over milk, following breastfeeding without triggering inflammation due to the quantities of immune cells which would be needed, wasn't fully known. During the lactation process, women produce vast quantities of milk for their babies -- up to nearly a litre per day. To do this breasts change dramatically during pregnancy, developing the tissue so that cells can make lots of milk. But when weaning finishes, the breasts ne...

Key sex-determining genes continue to operate in a mammalian species that lacks the Y chromosome, taking us a step further toward understanding sex differentiation. In most placental mammals, the Y chromosome induces male differentiation during development, whereas embryos without it become female.  The sex-determining gene SRY is present on the Y chromosome and induces other regulatory genes that suppress female differentiation. The Amami spiny rat (Tokudaia osimensis) is exceptional as it lacks a Y chromosome and thus the SRY gene, raising the question of why male differentiation can still occur. Tomofumi Otake and Asako Kuroiwa of Hokkaido University in Japan performed gene mapping to determine the chromosomal locations of sex-related genes in the T. osimensis genome.  They then compared its nucleotide and amino acid sequences with those of the mouse and rat. Furthermore, using cultured cells, they examined how the sex-related genes were regulated. SR...

New research reveals that in pregnant women, Zika virus infection damages certain cells that affect placental formation and function. Furthermore, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) infection augments placental sensitivity to Zika virus by enhancing the expression of receptors that allow Zika virus to enter cells. The findings may help explain the mechanism by which Zika virus breaches the placental barrier to access the fetus. They also suggest that fetuses in pregnant women with HSV-2 infection are at a higher risk for microcephaly and other effects caused by Zika virus. "Investigators in Brazil have suspected that something more than Zika virus is causing the high intensity and severity of cases. Our study suggests that the immune response to an early infection, HSV-2, may be the additional factor that increases the risk for severity of Zika virus-induced disease," said Dr. Gil Mor, senior author of the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology study. Sour...

The amount of nutrients transported to the fetus by the placenta adjusts according to both the fetal drive for growth and the mother’s physical ability to provide, new research suggests. Researchers have shown for the first time how the placenta "umpires" a fight for nutrients between a pregnant mother and her unborn baby. The study suggests that the placenta will adjust the amount of nutrients transported to the fetus for growth in line with the mother's physical ability to supply. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, suggest that if the bodily environment that a mother provides for her baby is unfavourable, for example through small body size or metabolic dysfunction, the placenta will change the flow of nutrients to the fetus relative to her own state. This can affect fetal development, resulting in complications at birth. It is the first time that scientists have been able to provide clear evidence that the placenta plays the decisive role in this...

Individuals born by cesarean delivery were 15 percent more likely to become obese as children than individuals born by vaginal birth -- and the increased risk may persist through adulthood, according to a large new study. The researchers also found that individuals born via vaginal birth among women who had undergone a previous cesarean delivery were 31% less likely to become obese compared with those born via cesarean birth following a cesarean birth. "Cesarean deliveries are without a doubt a necessary and lifesaving procedure in many cases," said Jorge Chavarro, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study. "But cesareans also have some known risks to the mother and the newborn. Our findings show that risk of obesity in the offspring could another factor to consider." Nearly 1.3 million cesareans are performed each year in the U.S., accounting for one-third of all deliveries. While a number o...

Twins should be delivered at 37 weeks' gestation to minimize stillbirths and newborn deaths, and there is no clear evidence to support routine delivery before 36 weeks' gestation, finds a large international study. It is well known that the risk of stillbirth is higher in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies. Uncomplicated twin pregnancies are often delivered early in an attempt to prevent stillbirth, but the optimal gestational age for delivery that minimises risks to newborns is not known. Current recommendations vary on the timing of delivery, starting from 34 up to 37 weeks' gestation in monochorionic twin pregnancies (twins that share the same placenta) and from 37 up to 39 weeks in dichorionic twin pregnancies (twins that have two individual placentas). So an international team of researchers decided to examine the evidence behind these recommendations. They analysed the results of 32 studies, published within the past 10 years, of women wit...