Tag Archives: study
Study Finds No Acupuncture Benefit to Women in Labor
According to MSNBC, a study published in the obstetrics journal BJOG found evidence that acupuncture may not ease the pain of childbirth. The findings found that among 105 first-time moms having labor induction showed no benefit from acupuncture given to them before contractions started. The study warns new moms-to-be that acupuncture may not be the answer for a drug-free labor. Out of 105 first-time moms, two-thirds ended up requesting epidural pain medication during labor compared to 56 percent of women who received a placebo version of the procedure and 77 percent of those given no acupuncture treatment at all. This study followed two research studies in South Korea and the UK, which analyzed 10 previous clinical trials of acupuncture for labor pain and found no evidence that the procedure eases pain during birthing. The lead researcher on the current study said that he believed overwhelming research done by different groups…
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Researchers Link Down Syndrome Through More Accurate Blood Tests
According to MSNBC, researchers in Europe have been able to find Down syndrome prenatally through a blood test to pregnant women, perhaps lessening the need for more extensive procedures used to detect the condition. A report published in the Journal Nature Medicine is the latest of studies that suggests Down syndrome diagnosis through fetal DNA that has been shed in the mother’s bloodstream. Other research groups in Cyprus, Greece and England conducted blind tests in which they were able to correctly identify 14 cases of Down syndrome through a blood test and 26 normal fetuses. Down syndrome results in cognitive delays and is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome . Currently, a pregnant woman must go through blood tests and ultrasound to find out if the fetus is at risk for Down syndrome. The condition is estimated at 1 in…
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Posted in Pregnancy Tagged blood test, chromosome, down syndrome, Pregnancy, research, study 1 Comment
Brain Hibernation for Stroke Victims
According to Nursing Times, researchers have made recent claims that lowering the temperature of the brain could help victims of stroke by preventing death or disability from occurring. A group of these researchers are seeking to acquire funding for a trial in 21 countries in Europe, involving 80 hospitals. They hope to reach 1,500 patients. Lowering the temperature of the brain puts it into a state of hibernation, causing it to require less oxygen. This reduces damage and gives doctors more time to deal with damaged blood vessels. Currently, doctors use this same technique of putting the brain into hibernation for patients who have an elevated risk of brain damage, either due to cardiac health issues or due to birth defects. Dr. Malcom Macleod of the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh notes that one European dies from a stroke every 90 seconds. Approximately double that…
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Posted in Birth Trauma Tagged birth defect, brain injury, brain trauma, death, diability, stroke, study 1 Comment
