In extremely rare cases, COVID-19 can harm the brains of fetuses during pregnancy

The researchers shared two unusual cases among hundreds of pregnant and postpartum mothers who tested positive for COVID-19.

In both cases, the babies tested negative for "Covid-19" at birth, but had significantly elevated antibodies to the virus in their blood. This indicates that the antibodies crossed the placenta or that the virus was transmitted to the baby and that the immune response was to the infant.

Both infants had seizures, microcephaly and developmental delays. One of them died at the age of 13 months.

"Many women are affected by" COVID-19 "during pregnancy, but clearly seeing these types of problems in their babies at birth is unusual," said Dr. Shahnaz Duara, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"We are trying to understand what made these two pregnancies different, so that we can direct the research towards protecting children at risk," Dawara explained in a press release.

Early in the epidemic, the researchers noted, they noticed transient lung disease and sometimes blood pressure problems among newborns born to mothers with "Covid-19" but who tested negative at birth.

The researchers said this indicated infection. However, it was not clear whether the problems were caused by inflammatory placental cytokines or whether the virus crossed the placenta and infected the baby.

"If we saw a baby born this way, we would call it hypoxic encephalopathy (brain damage caused by reduced blood flow)," explained study co-author Dr. Michael Pedas, professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences in the College of Medicine. "It was the placenta that caused it. The best we can tell is that it was a viral infection."

Pedas and Arumugam Jayakumar, a neuroscientist and molecular biologist at the College of Medicine, discovered the presence of the virus in both the patient's placenta and also in the brain of the deceased infant.

The researchers said that analysis of the placenta clearly showed severe inflammatory changes in each placenta. The researchers were also surprised by the absence of an important placental hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is essential for fetal development, especially for brain development.

The researchers noted that in both cases, the mothers became infected in the second trimester. Despite later recovering, one of them suffered recurrent infections in the third trimester of pregnancy. This indicates an unusual immune response of the mother and/or fetus to the virus.

The study results were published April 6 in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: Medical Express

Hiccups may be a sign of deadly cancer and 9 other hidden conditions

Hiccups, or hiccups, are an annoying and embarrassing condition for most of us, and because they go away on their own after a short time we tend to think of them as harmless.

Small, annoying cramps often have no apparent cause, and can be caused by stress, eating food, drinking a soft drink, or drinking too much alcohol.

However, in some rare cases, hiccups can be a sign of something serious.

Cancer Research UK said harmless hiccups could be a sign of cancer.

And a study published in the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine confirmed that up to 40% of cancer patients get hiccups.

Another study found that for one in 10 cancer patients, the hiccups could last for more than 48 hours.

The Atlantic magazine reported that those who suffer from cancer in their chest, throat, or head, and anywhere in the body associated with the course of the hiccups, may experience this condition.

But the medications prescribed to cancer patients, including chemotherapy drugs, steroids and opioids, can also cause them to hiccup.

One study published in 2022 showed that hiccups affected the quality of life of about one in 20 cancer patients surveyed.

In another study of 320 cancer patients, hiccups sent 1 in 10 to the hospital for help.

About 40 percent of the healthcare providers surveyed said their cancer patients' hiccups were worse than their nausea and vomiting.

What is the hiccup?

Hiccups occur when the diaphragm begins to contract and the muscles in the chest and abdomen begin to vibrate. The classic hiccup sound is just air being expelled from the lungs.

The diaphragm is a large, dome-shaped muscle located under the lungs that contracts rhythmically to help you breathe.

Two things happen that make your body hiccup. Your diaphragm contracts and pulls down between your normal breaths, sucking air in.

Immediately after this, the top of the windpipe is closed briefly, to prevent more air from entering, and this is when you will make the hiccup sound.

You cannot control this unwanted condition but, in most cases, hiccups tend to go away on their own. But in some cases, a person can continue to feel uncomfortable shivers in the chest for minutes or hours, and these are "severe" hiccups.

It becomes "ongoing" if it usually lasts more than 48 hours.

Hiccups are described as "intractable" if a person has been hiccups for more than a month.

Cancer Research UK said persistent hiccups could cause complications such as tiredness, fatigue or lack of sleep. It can also cause psychological stress or embarrassment.

If the hiccups interfere with your daily life, such as eating and sleeping, it is important to see a doctor.

What other conditions can cause hiccups?

Certain medications could be the culprit: some stimulants, sedatives, opioid-based pain relievers (such as morphine), and methyldopa, which are prescribed for blood pressure.

Changes in blood chemistry such as alcohol, high blood sugar, or lack of calcium or potassium in the blood.

Gastrointestinal problems such as acid reflux, stomach upset, cholecystitis, or subdiaphragmatic inflammation.

Other gut conditions that can cause hiccups include hiatal hernia and esophageal cancer.

Abdominal masses, such as an enlarged liver or an enlarged spleen

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Conditions affecting the neck, chest, or abdomen: This ranges from surgery to infections such as pneumonia. Swellings or tumors in these parts of the body can also be a factor.

Some heart conditions may also cause hiccups, such as a heart attack or inflammation around the heart.

Brain conditions such as stroke, head injury, or brain infection.

Source: The Sun

A new blood test could reveal whether you will develop type 2 diabetes in a decade!

Scientists have developed a blood test that can tell people if they are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years of their lives.

The test looks for DNA 'methylation' - chemical changes in the blood that show the activity of diabetes-related genes is 'turned up' or 'down' when someone is in the early stages of its development.

This provides a more accurate prediction when combined with the method doctors use - which determines risk based on factors including age, weight and family history of the disease.

Professor Riccardo Marioni, lead author of the study that developed the blood test, from the University of Edinburgh, said: "A blood test that gives people their risk of developing type 2 diabetes could be part of improving health in the future."

To develop the blood test, researchers looked at 14,613 people who agreed to have their health monitored for 15 years in a study in Scotland.

Using half of this group, they were able to see how the blood of those who developed type 2 diabetes differed from that of those who did not.

They then checked how well their test worked in the other half - to predict which cases occurred within a decade after the blood test was given.

The blood test, published in the journal Nature Aging, could catch an additional 18% of people who will develop type 2 diabetes in the next decade.

This brought the percentage of at-risk people detected using the standard method doctors use, which was 30%, to 48% when the blood test was used at the same time.

Source: Daily Mail