Pregnant Smokers Have Babies With Smaller Brains, Behavioral Problems

If pregnant women needed another reason to quit smoking, here it is: there’s new evidence that children of mothers who smoked throughout pregnancy have smaller brains and more emotional problems, including depression and anxiety.

The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, involved 226 children, ages 6-8 years, in the Netherlands. Half of the group had not been exposed to cigarette smoke in utero. Of the other 113 children, 17 were born to smokers who kicked the habit the day they learned they were pregnant, reducing the length of time the fetus was exposed to smoke. The remaining 96 children in the study were exposed to maternal cigarette smoke throughout all trimesters, ranging from one to more than nine cigarettes a day.

Risky Addiction

Researchers assessed the children for behavioral problems and also performed MRI scans to study their brains’ volume. The 96 children whose mothers smoked throughout pregnancy had both smaller overall brain volumes and notably reduced cortical gray and white matter. Some of the most reduced brain regions were ones associated with behavior and emotions. Using established behavioral tests, researchers found the 96 children scored higher for a range of behavioral and emotional problems than other children in the study.

Interestingly, despite a wide range in the quantity of cigarettes smoked by the 96 women throughout their pregnancy, their children showed no difference in degree of cortical thinning, suggesting that even a single daily cigarette does the same harm as a pack-a-day habit.

The good news is that children whose mothers stopped smoking as soon as they learned they were pregnant showed the same levels of brain development and behavior as children who were not exposed to cigarette smoke in utero.

The authors stressed their study was observational and did not establish causality: It’s possible, for example, that the mothers themselves had genetically smaller brain volumes and a greater disposition toward emotional problems, traits their offspring inherited. Or perhaps a woman who continues to smoke while pregnant, despite mounting evidence of damage done to the fetus, has other parental shortcomings that result in long-term developmental issues for her children.

Via.... blogs.discovermagazine.com

The oceans are heating, acidifying and choking - environment - 04 October 2013 - New Scientist

The oceans are heating, acidifying and choking - environment - 04 October 2013 - New Scientist

Trying to treat stress, scientists may have accidentally stumbled on a cure for baldness

Your body responds to stress in many ways. It gives you bursts of energy, and a reduced response to pain. It lets you run faster and farther. It also entirely messes you up. Stress releases a battery of hormones that give you superhuman abilities, and they all have down sides. Many of them result in bone density loss or reduced immune response, but one, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a really nasty customer. It's been linked with severe gastrointestinal problems, increased drug use, and hair loss. A recent research group tried to cure the first of those symptoms, but stumbled into curing the third. At least in mice.

The group engineered mice with a heightened level of CRF. As a result, large patches of the test mice's hair fell out. The mice were tagged and photographed, and then given injections of a special hormone meant to suppress CRF, and put them back in their habitats. Three months later, scientists returned to find a habitat full of furry mice. The compound had caused them to regrow their hair. The researchers later found, in other tests, that the compound kept the mice from losing their hair at all.

The compound, called astressin-B, was also found to improve the gastrointestinal system of the mice, as well as tuning up their cardiovascular system. The compound improved every part of the body that had a receptor for CRF. (Which leaves us to wonder why CRF is being released into the body in the first place, since all it seems to do is try to murder us in various ways. Perhaps it's meant to kill us quickly so as not to give predators the satisfaction of doing it for us?)

Astressin-B could do a lot of good, but the cosmetic applications are really giving it heat; especially since one hundred percent of the mice regrew their hair. The group of scientists are now trying to raise money to get the compound into the next phase of testing. There's no guarantee that it will be as successful on humans as it is on mice - especially since the mice in the test only lost their hair in the first place because of an increase in the specific hormone that the compound was designed to repress. If the testing proves fruitful, a lot of things could change. (Although I hope the person pictured here never does. Don't do it Jean-Luc! You're perfect just the way you are!)

Via America Medical Association

Reading Literary Fiction Improves 'Mind-Reading' Skills

Ph.D. candidate David Comer Kidd and his advisor, professor of psychology Emanuele Castano performed five experiments to measure the effect of reading literary fiction on participants' Theory of Mind (ToM), the complex social skill of "mind-reading" to understand others' mental states. Their paper, which appears in the Oct. 3 issue of Science is entitled "Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind."

To choose texts for their study, Kidd and Castano relied on expert evaluations to define three types of writing: literary fiction, popular fiction, and nonfiction. Literary fiction works were represented by excerpts from recent National Book Award finalists or winners of the 2012 PEN/O. Henry Prize for short fiction; popular fiction works were drawn from Amazon bestsellers or an anthology of recent popular fiction; and non-fiction works were selected from Smithsonian Magazine.

After participants read texts from one of the three genres, Kidd and Castano tested their ToM capabilities using several well-established measures. One of these measures is the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test, which asks participants to look at black-and-white photographs of actors' eyes and indicate the emotion expressed by that actor. Another one is the Yoni test, which includes both affective trials and cognitive ones. "We used several measures of ToM to make sure the effects were not specific to one type of measure, thus accumulating converging evidence for our hypothesis, " the researchers said.

Across the five experiments, Kidd and Castano found that participants who were assigned to read literary fiction performed significantly better on the ToM tests than did participants assigned to the other experimental groups, who did not differ from one another.

The study shows that not just any fiction is effective in fostering ToM, rather the literary quality of the fiction is the determining factor. The literary texts used in the experiments had vastly different content and subject matter, but all produced similarly high ToM results.

"Experiment One showed that reading literary fiction, relative to nonfiction improves performance on an affective ToM task. Experiments Two through Five showed that this effect is specific to literary fiction," the paper reports.

Kidd and Castano suggest that the reason for literary fiction's impact on ToM is a direct result of the ways in which it involves the reader. Unlike popular fiction, literary fiction requires intellectual engagement and creative thought from their readers. "Features of the modern literary novel set it apart from most bestselling thrillers or romances. Through the use of […] stylistic devices, literary fiction defamiliarizes its readers," Kidd and Castano write. "Just as in real life, the worlds of literary fiction are replete with complicated individuals whose inner lives are rarely easily discerned but warrant exploration."

"We see this research as a step towards better understanding the interplay between a specific cultural artifact, literary fiction, and affective and cognitive processes," Kidd and Castano say

Smoking, Nipple Piercing Are Risk Factors for Developing Breast Abscesses, Study Finds

Researchers at the University of Iowa found the odds of developing primary breast abscess were six times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers, and smokers were 11 times more likely to develop subareolar abscess. Breast abscesses were 15 times more likely to recur in smokers than in nonsmokers. In addition, this study is one of the first to provide clinical evidence that nipple piercing is also a risk factor for subareolar breast abscess, with the onset of abscess occurring from one month to seven years from the time of piercing.

Breast abscesses, inflammatory lesions of the breast that are painful and difficult to treat, tend to recur at rates as high as 40 to 50 percent, according to previous retrospective studies. Until now, there has been a lack of research on the risk factors associated with this condition.

"Nearly 60 percent of patients with a recurrence of breast abscess were heavy smokers," said Vinod Gollapalli, MD, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City. "Since smoking appears to be a strong risk factor for both causing breast abscess and its recurrence, we recommend patients should be counseled to quit smoking as an integral part of treatment."

Using the surgical and radiologic databases at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, researchers identified 68 patients from January 1, 2004, to November 1, 2009, with a diagnosis of breast abscess who did not have a current or previous history of breast cancer, breast radiation therapy, or breast surgery within the past 12 months. Patients were considered to have recurrence of their breast abscess if they required a repeat drainage procedure in the same breast quadrant within six months. All breast abscesses were confirmed by ultrasound and/or drainage of purulent material. Of the 68 cases evaluated, 53 patients were identified as Caucasian, 43 were smokers and nine had a history of nipple piercing. Thirty-seven patients (53 percent) needed multiple surgical treatments, and of these, 22 were current heavy smokers (smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day). Five patients had developed mammary fistulas; all of these patients were heavy smokers. Age, smoking and the need for surgical treatment were found to be associated with increased risk of recurrence.

Univariate analysis indicated that smoking (odds ratio [OR] 8.0 [95 percent CI 3.4 to 19.4]), obesity (OR 3.6 [95 percent CI 1.5 to 9.2]), diabetes mellitus (OR 5.7 [95 percent CI 1.1 to 54.9]), and nipple piercing (OR 10.2 [95 percent CI 1.3 to 454.4]) were significant risk factors for development of primary breast abscess. Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed smoking as a significant risk factor for the development of primary breast abscess (OR 6.15 [95 percent CI 2.65 to 14.29]), and in the subtype of subareolar breast abscess, nipple piercing was identified as a risk factor (OR 20.26 [95 percent CI 2.01 to 204.28]) in addition to smoking (OR 11.49 [95 percent CI 4.41 to 29.94]). Multivariate logistic regression identified significant OR for an increase in recurrence related to age (OR 1.08 [95 percent CI 1.01 to 1.15] per year), smoking (OR 14.73 [95 percent CI 3.18 to 68.22]), surgical treatment (11.94 [95 percent CI 1.08 to 131.72]), and a decrease in recurrence after MRSA infections (OR 0.02 [95 percent CI 0.00 to 0.72]).

Smoking, Nipple Piercing Are Risk Factors for Developing Breast Abscesses, Study Finds

Researchers at the University of Iowa found the odds of developing primary breast abscess were six times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers, and smokers were 11 times more likely to develop subareolar abscess. Breast abscesses were 15 times more likely to recur in smokers than in nonsmokers. In addition, this study is one of the first to provide clinical evidence that nipple piercing is also a risk factor for subareolar breast abscess, with the onset of abscess occurring from one month to seven years from the time of piercing.

Breast abscesses, inflammatory lesions of the breast that are painful and difficult to treat, tend to recur at rates as high as 40 to 50 percent, according to previous retrospective studies. Until now, there has been a lack of research on the risk factors associated with this condition.

"Nearly 60 percent of patients with a recurrence of breast abscess were heavy smokers," said Vinod Gollapalli, MD, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City. "Since smoking appears to be a strong risk factor for both causing breast abscess and its recurrence, we recommend patients should be counseled to quit smoking as an integral part of treatment."

Using the surgical and radiologic databases at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, researchers identified 68 patients from January 1, 2004, to November 1, 2009, with a diagnosis of breast abscess who did not have a current or previous history of breast cancer, breast radiation therapy, or breast surgery within the past 12 months. Patients were considered to have recurrence of their breast abscess if they required a repeat drainage procedure in the same breast quadrant within six months. All breast abscesses were confirmed by ultrasound and/or drainage of purulent material. Of the 68 cases evaluated, 53 patients were identified as Caucasian, 43 were smokers and nine had a history of nipple piercing. Thirty-seven patients (53 percent) needed multiple surgical treatments, and of these, 22 were current heavy smokers (smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day). Five patients had developed mammary fistulas; all of these patients were heavy smokers. Age, smoking and the need for surgical treatment were found to be associated with increased risk of recurrence.

Univariate analysis indicated that smoking (odds ratio [OR] 8.0 [95 percent CI 3.4 to 19.4]), obesity (OR 3.6 [95 percent CI 1.5 to 9.2]), diabetes mellitus (OR 5.7 [95 percent CI 1.1 to 54.9]), and nipple piercing (OR 10.2 [95 percent CI 1.3 to 454.4]) were significant risk factors for development of primary breast abscess. Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed smoking as a significant risk factor for the development of primary breast abscess (OR 6.15 [95 percent CI 2.65 to 14.29]), and in the subtype of subareolar breast abscess, nipple piercing was identified as a risk factor (OR 20.26 [95 percent CI 2.01 to 204.28]) in addition to smoking (OR 11.49 [95 percent CI 4.41 to 29.94]). Multivariate logistic regression identified significant OR for an increase in recurrence related to age (OR 1.08 [95 percent CI 1.01 to 1.15] per year), smoking (OR 14.73 [95 percent CI 3.18 to 68.22]), surgical treatment (11.94 [95 percent CI 1.08 to 131.72]), and a decrease in recurrence after MRSA infections (OR 0.02 [95 percent CI 0.00 to 0.72]).

Sparing the body, breast cancer treatment via nipple injection

Sparing the body, breast cancer treatment via nipple injection