(Press-News.org) A new study has found there are no adverse long-term cardiovascular health consequences for the now-adult children of mothers who were given corticosteroids because they were at risk of early birth in a landmark trial conducted in Auckland, New Zealand, 50 years ago.
The Auckland Steroid Study by obstetrician Professor Graham ‘Mont’ Liggins and paediatrician colleague Dr Ross Howie from 1969 to 1974 in Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, found that two corticosteroid injections given to pregnant women at risk of early (preterm) birth halved the incidence of respiratory distress in the babies and significantly reduced neonatal deaths.
Co-author of the new study, Dr Anthony Walters, says: “It was clear there were short-term benefits, but steroids are potent medications, and some have serious side effects."
He and colleagues carried out an analysis of the health data of 424 of the 1218 infants born about half a century ago. Their research found no evidence of adverse consequences for cardiovascular health, pre-diabetes and diabetes - health issues that were a possible risk based on animal studies but unlikely to develop in humans until they reached middle age.
“We’ve proven we don’t need to worry,” Walters says. “We are confident that although preterm babies have a whole range of health problems as they grow up, these are not caused by the steroid.”
The Liggins Institute continues to look at how steroids might be used as a treatment to reduce complications at birth, says Professor Dame Jane Harding of the Liggins Institute’s LiFePATH research group. “There are ongoing trials about the use of steroids to prevent lung disease in newborn babies. This study provides reassurance that these trials should go ahead.”
The study is part of the ANCHOR research programme, following up on the original Auckland Steroid Study and the later ACTORDS study, a multi-centre study at 23 centres across New Zealand and Australia between 1998 and 2004 to see if repeated courses of corticosteroids reduced the risk of lung disease and other serious illness.
Cardiovascular outcomes 50 years after antenatal exposure to betamethasone: Follow-up of a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Plos Medicine
END
Follow-up 50 years on finds landmark steroid study remains safe
A follow-up analysis 50 years later finds no adverse heart health risk from Professor Graham 'Mont' Liggins' landmark steroid study to reduce illness and death for pre-term babies
2024-04-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Active military service may heighten women’s risk of having low birthweight babies
2024-04-23
Active military service may heighten a woman’s risk of having a low birthweight baby, suggests a review of the available scientific evidence published online in the journal BMJ Military Health.
The findings highlight the need for more research specifically focused on women in the armed forces, and their reproductive health in particular, conclude the study authors.
Worldwide, increasing numbers of women are on active service in their country’s armed forces. The UK Armed Forces, for example, has set a target of 30% female representation by 2030. And more and more countries are deploying women in combat ...
Significant global variation in national COVID-19 treatment guidelines
2024-04-23
National clinical guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 vary significantly around the world, with under-resourced countries the most likely to diverge from gold standard (World Health Organization; WHO) treatment recommendations, finds a comparative analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.
And nearly every national guideline recommends at least one treatment proven not to work, the analysis shows.
Significant variations in national COVID-19 treatment recommendations have been suspected since the advent of the pandemic, but these haven’t been ...
Cost increasingly important motive for quitting smoking for 1 in 4 adults in England
2024-04-23
Health concerns are still the primary motive for more than half of those who say they want to stop smoking in England, but cost is now a key factor for more than 1 in 4, finds an analysis of national survey responses, published in the open access journal BMJ Public Health.
Given this shift in thinking, making much more of the potential savings to be had might encourage more people to stub out for good, suggest the researchers.
Health concerns are generally the primary motive for people trying to stop smoking, with social and ...
Is there an association between HPV vaccination and anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis?
2024-04-22
Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (Anti-NMDA) receptor encephalitis is an acute
autoimmune disorder that develops both neurological symptoms and psychiatric
symptoms, including hallucination, cognitive disturbance, epilepsy, movement
disorder, and impaired consciousness. This disease may be misdiagnosed at the early
stage as a psychosis disease because of primary psychiatric symptoms. The
misdiagnosis may delay appropriate therapeutic intervention. Most patients with
anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis respond to immunotherapy [1, 2].
The pathology of this disease is ...
Blood-based multi-omics guided detection of a precancerous pancreatic tumor
2024-04-22
A new case report published in the peer-reviewed OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology describes how longitudinal multi-omics monitoring (LMOM) helped to detect a precancerous pancreatic tumor and led to a successful surgical intervention. Click here to read the article now.
The patient had undergone annual blood-based LMOM, in which 143 endogenous metabolites in serum and a panel of 140 proteins in plasma were measured. David Wishart, PhD, from the University of Alberta, ...
Eye-opener: Pupils enlarge when people focus on tasks
2024-04-22
Working memory is one of the brain’s executive functions, a skill that allows humans to process information without losing track of what they’re doing.
In the short term, working memory allows the brain to complete an immediate task, like loading the dishwasher. Long term, it helps the brain decide what to store for future use, such as whether more dishwasher soap will be needed.
University of Texas at Arlington researchers know that working memory varies greatly among individuals, but they aren’t sure exactly why. To better understand, Matthew Robison, assistant professor of psychology, and doctoral student Lauren D. Garner conducted an experiment to see if ...
Current Nanomaterials and Current Analytical Chemistry have been indexed in Ei Compendex
2024-04-22
Bentham Science is pleased to announce that two of its journals, Current Nanomaterials and Current Analytical Chemistry, have been officially indexed in the EI Compendex.
EI Compendex is one of the most comprehensive subject-specific literature databases, encompassing high-quality research articles from prominent engineering and applied science journals worldwide.
Current Nanomaterials, a leading peer-reviewed journal devoted to the exploration and dissemination of cutting-edge research in the field of nanomaterials, covers a broad spectrum ...
International balance of power determined by Chinese control over emerging technologies, study shows
2024-04-22
The fierce competition between China and the United States of America for control of emerging technologies such as AI and 5G will determine the international balance of power, a new study says.
Developments in quantum computing, the Internet of Things, and Big Data have transformed the global order and have led to new alliances and dynamics, the analysis shows.
Forming new allies has become imperative for the USA because the country cannot address the challenges posed by China in isolation. This has involved sharing sensitive advanced technologies with national security and ...
New writing therapy helps late-stage cancer patients face biggest fears
2024-04-22
Imagine your greatest fear.
Now, write it down and tell it in first-person, as if it’s happening right now. Vividly describe what it looks, sounds, smells, tastes and feels like. Don’t hold back.
Such an exercise could be daunting for anyone, dredging up feelings we try to avoid. But for late-stage cancer patients struggling with anxiety and other mental health issues, it can be remarkably therapeutic, new CU Boulder research has found.
“It’s often easier to write about something traumatic than to speak it out loud, especially to someone ...
National Jewish Health researchers identify connection between air pollutants and allergic diseases
2024-04-22
A new study by researchers at National Jewish Health published this month in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology reports that air pollutants — including particulate matter, pollen, greenhouse gases, and other harmful substances — can contribute to the development and exacerbation of allergic diseases by disrupting the skin barrier.
“People are aware of the connection between pollution and respiratory disease, but we wanted to take the next step and investigate how global warming is damaging ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks
Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems
Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions
Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing
New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture
The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet
Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy
Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab
Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy
Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues
New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children
Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer
It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections
From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine
Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023
No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults
NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders
Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds
University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant
Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research
Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma
Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue
Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species
Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity
Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change
Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses
Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal
Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild
Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems
[Press-News.org] Follow-up 50 years on finds landmark steroid study remains safeA follow-up analysis 50 years later finds no adverse heart health risk from Professor Graham 'Mont' Liggins' landmark steroid study to reduce illness and death for pre-term babies