Aurora magazine

Quitting smoking is difficult for everyone, including future moms. A study on the dependencies of the University of Buffalo showed that managing negative emotions could help with the purpose.

Research involved 70 pregnant smokers and intend to quit. Many of them were going through a difficult time, due to economic insecurity and unemployment. Women have noted all the stress episodes, reporting how many times they had smoked in those occasions. It turned out that negative emotions were making it harder to quit smoking.

Half of the women underwent psychological therapy alone, with tips on improving their lifestyle. The other half underwent psychological therapy, combined with a treatment for emotion management. The therapists urged the participants to imagine stressful situations, helping them overcome the negative moment without smoking.

Compared with the patients in the first group, the second group women who stopped smoking were many more. 23% of them remained "smoke-free" for two months after the start of treatment against 0% of the first group. Even the women of the second group who have not stopped, have however reduced the daily number of cigarettes.

Source: buffalo.edu

Already 13 years ago, Professor Jonathan Tilly discovered that mammalian females produce new eggs every day. The discovery was in open contradiction with the common belief that the number of eggs would be fixed by birth. Now Tilly and her team have tried the theory: females - and women - have stem cells specializing in egg production.

Jonathan Tilly described stem cells that support the production of new ovules in 2012. The new study condenses eight years of research and describes three different experiments, confirming what has already been said. Researchers have isolated stem cells from the ovarian tissue of some cavities. They have thus monitored the transit of cells and their role in conception.

To test the importance of egg-producing stem cells, they used the suicide gene. The technology allows you to turn off and reactivate the control cells. In this way, the researchers could turn off and restart the stem, testing the effects on the ovaries.

Each female mouse has about 1,000 to 2,000 eggs. The study reveals that every female produces 60-70 eggs a day, but production slows down and stops as the subject ages. At some point the ovaries continue to work, but they have no more eggs.

Ovules from adenoid stem cells from stem cells were functioning. By fertilizing them, the researchers have obtained healthy puppies and can conceive in their own right. Then adjusting ovarian stem cells could facilitate conception and perhaps delay menopause. This latter goal has already been achieved in the lab on some cavities.

The stop of menopause would have beneficial effects that would far be far from being conceived. It would be a way to prevent the problems associated with this phase of aging. Mice treated for not having menopause had less bone problems and gained cognitive benefits.

Source: neu.edu

Psychiatric disorders in pregnancy are not associated with complications for either the mother or the fetus. Whether it is panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and major depression episodes, the fetus is safe. However, the study found a correlation between drug use and negative consequences. The result is in contradiction with other studies, which instead say the opposite.

Professor Kimberly Ann Yonkers's team, author of the study, analyzed the data of 2,654 women. The women were between the first and the 17th week of gestation and suffered from various kinds of psychiatric illnesses. Doctors interviewed participants at the beginning, around the 28th week and 8 weeks after giving birth.

They have shown that those who used benzopyridine were more at risk of premature delivery. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, on the other hand, have been associated with maternal hypertension and respiratory difficulties in neonates.

Many perceive psychiatric pharmacological treatments as something optional. In most cases, this is not the case. Some disorders are so debilitating to prevent pregnancy. It is good news that the disorder itself is not harmful to the fetus, but the women who suffer from it still have the right to be cured.
According to the authors of the study, the solution to be taken is the same as in cases of diabetes or epilepsy. The physician should evaluate the benefits and possible damages resulting from drug intake. Only in this way is it possible to understand whether it is best to stop the treatment or move on.

Source: medscape.com

Researchers at the RIKEN Research Institute have discovered a new link between pregnancy and psychiatric illnesses. Pregnancy deficiency of omega 3 and omega 6 facilitates the appearance of schizophrenia in adulthood. The consequences are even more serious if deprivation concerns the early stages of gestation.

Dr. Takeo Yoshikawa's study analyzed how malnutrition in pregnant women affects the development of the fetal brain. The data show that after great famine the rate of schizophrenia doubles. This made it possible to think of a direct link between lack of nutrients and abnormal brain development.
Scientists have made a list of possible nutrients whose deficiency could cause schizophrenia. After several analyzes they concentrated on omega 3 and omega 6, two fatty acids present in large quantities in the brain. They have deprived some pregnant mice of the two nutrients and have followed the development of their little ones. Once adults, many puppies showed similar symptoms to schizophrenia.

One of the main features of schizophrenia is the presence of dysfunctions in the prefrontal cortex. The team analyzed whether deprivation of the two fatty acids had affected the genes linked to that area. They have thus discovered anomalies that have been linked to the disease in the past. In addition, they detected dysfunctions in the genes regulating GABA neurotransmitters.

Locating genes affected by omega 3 and omega 6 deficits, scientists have studied how to reverse the process. They administered a drug that acts as a nuclear RXR receptor. Therapy has regulated the action of the affected genes and has normalized many cavity behaviors.

Source: riken.jp/en