Insidermedicine in 60 - March 26, 2008

From Cambridge - Cervical length at mid-pregnancy is an independent risk factor for predicting who will deliver by c-section. While a short cervix is known to raise the risk of early labor, the researchers analyzed nearly 60,000 pregnancies and found that those with a longer cervix were 80% more likely to need a c-section, when compared to those with a shorter cervix.

From New York - Therapeutic cloning has shown promise for the management of Parkinson's disease in mice. In therapeutic cloning, the DNA of an individual is placed in an egg to create a series of cell lines that are not seen as foreign to the donor. In this study, mice with Parkinson's who were treated with therapeutic cloning grew new dopamine creating neurons and had an improvement of their symptoms.

And finally, from Florida - An 18-year old woman has died from anesthetic complications following breast augmentation surgery. It is believed she developed malignant hyperthermia from an agent used during her anesthesia. Malignant hyperthermia occurs in genetically predisposed individuals in whom an abnormality in muscle protein causes abnormal accumulation of calcium in muscle cells and sustained contraction of these cells. When a crisis occurs, muscles contract and body temperature can rise dramatically.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• cervix
• birth
• caesarean
• section
• pregnant
• dna
• clone
• parkinson's
• disease
• breast
• implant
• anesthesia
• hyperthermia
• muscle
• cell

[premed99]

What do they do it you have a short cervix early on?

[lockitupp]

Great! Keep it up!

[lockitupp]

Great! Keep it up!