Women's Health: Relationship between asthma, cortisol, and complications in pregnancy ♦ Home births lead to higher infant mortality,♦ Socially integrated women have lower suicide risk

Blood markers identify women at risk for postpartum depression The hormone oxytocin, sometimes called 'the love hormone,' may be a factor in postpartum depression, when a mother has a lower than normal level. A blood marker now may help identify the risk.

Home births lead to higher infant mortality, at least for mothers living in poorer areas Home births lead to higher infant mortality than hospital births, at least for mothers living in poorer areas. This is the conclusion of a new study that examines 356,412 low-risk Dutch women who delivered between 2000 and 2008 and who were allowed to choose between a home and a hospital birth.

Hair samples may offer new insights into the relationship between asthma, cortisol, and complications in pregnancy Hair samples can be used to measure the effects of asthma on the cortisol levels of women during pregnancy, according to new research. This research also shows that levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, tend to be lower among pregnant women with asthma than among pregnant women without the chronic, inflammatory lung disease

Socially integrated women have lower suicide risk Women who were socially well integrated had a lower risk for suicide in a new analysis of data from the Nurses' Health Study, according to an article. Suicide is among the top 10 leading causes of death among middle-age women in the United States.

Autism Research: Elevated cortisol in autism ♦ Social and sensory over stimulation drives autistic behaviors ♦ link between a genetic mutation and autistic behaviors

Researchers unravel a link between a genetic mutation and autistic behaviors, then find a way to undo it The mechanisms behind a genetic mutation that produces certain autistic behaviors in mice has been identified by researchers, as well as therapeutic strategies to restore normal behaviors.

Social and sensory over stimulation drives autistic behaviors, animal study suggests A new study shows that social and sensory over stimulation drives autistic behaviors. The study, conducted on rats exposed to a known risk factor in humans, supports the unconventional view of the autistic brain as hyper-functional, and offers new hope with therapeutic emphasis on paced and non-surprising environments tailored to the individual's sensitivity

Elevated cortisol in autism Functional level appears to play a critical role in the stress levels of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), new research shows. Specifically, lower-functioning children with ASD (LFASD) exhibited significantly higher levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone in humans, than both high-functioning children with ASD (HFASD) and typical children.

Is dietary supplementation appropriate for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder? Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often picky eaters, which can lead parents to suspect that their children might not be getting adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals. This sometimes leads parents of children with ASD to try nutritional supplements and dietary regimens such as gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF) diets without professional supervision. In the largest study of its kind, researchers report that these well-intentioned efforts can result in both insufficient nutrients and excessive nutrients. Despite supplementation, children with ASD still were deficient in calcium, for example, while some were consuming excessive amounts of vitamin A and other nutrients

10/20/2013 Daily Health News: Strict Rules GMO’s, Health Supplement hurts E coli, Prolonged Stress on Kids, Alzheimer’s Breakthrough, Type 1 Diabetes

On Kauai, GMO Hearing Ends With Strict Rules For Biotech

HONOLULU - After a marathon hearing, the Kauai County Council passed a hotly debated bill on Wednesday that could lead to prison time or fines for employees of agricultural companies if they don’t divulge specifics about pesticide use, abide by strict setback rules for spraying chemicals or disclose when they grow genetically engineered crops.Continue Reading

STUDY: HEALTH SUPPLEMENT COULD REDUCE STRENGTH OF E. COLI

Researchers at North Dakota State University have discovered that a mood-enhancing substance can help reduce the virulence of E. coli. In testing a series of chemicals on E. coli in beef broth, researchers found that a neurotransmitter called phenylethylamine (PEA) reduced the bacterial biofilms. “Biofilms are complex communities of bacteria that attach themselves to surfaces... Continue Reading

Cortisol in Hair a Marker of Prolonged Stress in Kids

The level of cortisol in hair may be a marker of prolonged stress in children, which could be a useful "complement" to other ways of studying how stress influences the health of children, report researchers from Sweden. In a prospective study, Jerker Karlén, MD, and colleagues from Linköping University found a correlation between mother and child hair cortisol levels; high levels of cortisol were related to indicators of psychosocial stress in the child.  Continue Reading

Alzheimer's Breakthrough Hailed as 'Turning Point'

The discovery of the first chemical to prevent the death of brain tissue in a neurodegenerative disease has been hailed as the "turning point" in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. More work is needed to develop a drug that could be taken by patients. But scientists say a resulting medicine could treat Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and other diseases. In tests on mice, the Medical Research Council showed all brain cell death from prion disease could be prevented. Prof Roger Morris, from King's College London, said: "This finding, I suspect, will be judged by history as a turning point in the search for medicines to control and prevent Alzheimer's disease." He told the BBC a cure for Alzheimer's was not imminent but: "I'm very excited, it's the first proof in any living animal that you can delay neurodegeneration."The world won't change tomorrow, but this is a landmark study.": Continue Reading

Most with Type 1 Diabetes Secrete Small Amounts of Insulin

Contrary to conventional wisdom, most patients with even longstanding type 1 diabetes still have beta cells that secrete small amounts of insulin after a meal, according to a new study published online October 9 in Diabetologia. "Using a new, very sensitive assay for C-peptide — a marker of insulin secretion — we found that 73% [of] people with type 1 diabetes, even with a long duration, had detectable insulin production," lead author Richard A. Oram, MD, from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, told Medscape Medical News.                                                Source: http://www.medscape.com/