national institute of child health and human development
Risk of stillbirth associated with factors known early in pregnancy
GALVESTON, Dec. 13, 2011 — Stillbirth is associated with a range of health and socio-demographic factors identifiable before or at the start of pregnancy, including prior pregnancy outcomes, ethnicity and modifiable health factors, such as diabetes,…
Chinese health coverage increases with new government efforts
Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in…
Gene Identified for Obesity, Physical Activity, Sex Behaviors in Mice
A team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher Deborah J. Good has identified a gene that appears to play a role in obesity, physical activity, and sex behaviors in mice. Good works with so-called “knock-out” mice, which have a specific gene deleted. Scientists then monitor the animals for changes in their physiology and behavior, in an effort to determine the gene’s role. Her findings are detailed in the current issue of the journal Physiology and Behavior. The project is funded with a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and a two-year, $70,000 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both of the National Institutes of Health.
Hormone breast cancer risk normalizes after stopping pills
Researchers confirmed that a daily, combined dose of estrogen and progestin increases breast cancer risk in post menopausal women, but added that this risk begins to return to normal about six months after women stop taking the hormones. “It is reassuring that breast cancer risk begins to return to normal six months after women stop combined dose estrogen-progestin therapy,” said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD. “Women, in consultation with their physicians, need to make the most informed decision possible. The study authors have provided them with one more piece of important information.”