(Press-News.org) (Boston) – A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women. The retrospective study, which is currently published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that if BMC had not done routine thyroid testing on pregnant women, approximately 80 percent of cases of mild hypothyroidism (a condition whereby the thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormone) would not have been detected.
It is known that the thyroid hormone is important for child development in the womb. However, while there are observational studies that show that even slight maternal hypothyroidism is associated with adverse obstetric outcomes and lower child IQ, there is currently no interventional study to show whether treatment for mild hypothyroidism will lead to better outcomes. This lack of information has caused controversy about whether universal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) screening is necessary in pregnancy.
Done under the direction of Elizabeth Pearce, MD, MSc, an associate professor of medicine at BUSM, and Donny Chang, MD, PhD, an endocrine fellow at BMC, the team looked at the medical charts of 1,000 pregnant women to determine when and if they received a TSH test during their first prenatal care visit at BMC. The women involved in the study, who were between the ages of 18 and 46, went for their first prenatal visit at either BMC's department of Obstetrics & Gynecology or Family Medicine in 2008. The women's age, race, insurance, gestational age, medical history (thyroid or other autoimmune disorders), obstetric history and thyroid function tests were ascertained.
The results of the study showed that BMC had a higher rate of testing than previously published surveys. While BMC did not conduct universal TSH screenings, they did conduct routine tests for women with no risk factors for hypothyroidism – a group who would normally not be tested under some current guidelines.
"Due to the fact that there are conflicting guidelines, we were surprised to find a high rate of testing here at BMC," said Pearce, from the section of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Nutrition at BMC. "Had BMC not conducted routine testing, there is the potential that many women with mild hypothyroidism would not have been identified."
###
Funding for this study was provided in part by a Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) grant.
BMC conducts high rates of thyroid testing in pregnant women, study finds
2011-07-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tropical Storm Arlene moves inland over Mexico: A GOES-13 satellite movie view
2011-07-01
VIDEO:
This movie of GOES-13 satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Arlene in 15 minute intervals from June 28 at 1415 (10:15 a.m. EDT) to the same time on June 30, shows...
Click here for more information.
Tropical Storm Arlene made landfall early today and is making its way through northeastern Mexico today as the GOES-13 satellite continues to track its movement. A movie from today's GOES satellite data shows Arlene making that landfall and moving inland.
Tropical Storm ...
Supreme Court Case and Amended Statute Bolster VA Implied Consent Laws
2011-07-01
Virginia is well known for its strict implied-consent law, which requires drivers to submit to chemical tests of their breath or blood when stopped on suspicion of drunk driving. When drivers refuse to give breath or blood samples, they automatically lose their driving privileges for at least one year, on top of any further penalties for DUI convictions.
A recent case from the Supreme Court of Virginia and a newly-amended statute both show the seriousness with which Virginia treats its implied consent laws. Consequently, anyone accused of chemical-test refusal or arrested ...
Key ingredient: Change in material boosts prospects of ultrafast single-photon detector
2011-07-01
By swapping one superconducting material for another, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a practical way to boost the efficiency of the world's fastest single-photon detector, while also extending light sensitivity to longer wavelengths. The new tungsten-silicon alloy could make the ultrafast detectors more practical for use in quantum communications and computing systems, experiments testing the nature of reality, and emerging applications such as remote sensing.
The detector, made of superconducting nanowires, is one ...
Should You Call the Police After a Car Crash in Florida? Yes!
2011-07-01
Some drivers question whether they should call police after being involved in a car accident in Florida, especially for relatively minor crashes. But, drivers should always call 911 after car accidents and wait for officers to arrive and fill out crash reports, regardless of the extent of injuries or property damage.
Calling police after a Florida car accident is important for several reasons, and if law enforcement is not summoned to the scene, it may affect an injured person's ability to hold the at-fault party accountable in a personal-injury lawsuit.
Florida Car ...
Scripps study finds plastic in 9 percent of 'garbage patch' fishes
2011-07-01
The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."
Two graduate students with the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition, or SEAPLEX, found evidence of plastic waste in more than nine percent of the stomachs of fish collected during their voyage to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Based on their evidence, authors ...
Newberry South Carolina Hotel Provides Nearby Accommodations for Guests Attending the July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza
2011-07-01
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Newberry South Carolina Hotel offers convenient lodging to guests attending Newberry's July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza. The festivities will take place at Newberry High School, located at 3113 Main Street. This is a fun family event with music provided by the group Still Cruisin', games for the kids, and food vendors. The activities and entertainment begin at 6pm, and fireworks will light up the sky at dusk.
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites is the top place to stay among other Newberry South Carolina hotels. The 4 story interior ...
A different kind of mentor
2011-07-01
MADISON, WI, JUNE 30, 2011 -- Mentoring is a recognized tool in career development and advancement. It brings a personal element to what might otherwise be a confusing process. Mentors can provide insight into the unwritten rules and culture of the professional workplace. With the click of a mouse, a student can have access to an ementor, a career professional who can expand the student's career horizon and help navigate their collegiate experience.
An ementoring program was designed in 2002 for first-time freshmen in animal science, conducted within a required freshmen ...
Scientists hope to get glimpse of adolescent universe from revolutionary instrument-on-a-chip
2011-07-01
Scientists know what the universe looked like when it was a baby. They know what it looks like today. What they don't know is how it looked in its youth. Thanks to technological advances, however, scientists hope to complete the photo album and provide a picture of how the cosmos developed into the kind of place that could support life like that found on Earth.
They plan to gather these never-before-obtained insights with a potentially "game-changing" instrument that is expected to be 10,000 times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art.
The instrument is being ...
Kirstie and Phil Launch House Hunter App
2011-07-01
Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer, the TV property gurus, have launched new research revealing UK home hunters overspent their combined budgets by a staggering GBP3.7 billion last year, despite falling house prices and what should be a buyers' market.
The survey of 2,000 home buyers, announced to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone app 'Kirstie & Phil's House Hunter', has revealed that almost half (49 per cent) blow their budget on average to the tune of over GBP10,000.
For one in ten home buyers (10 per cent) the situation is even more extreme, with finances ...
NASA's LRO mission gets a sunrise view of Tycho crater's peak
2011-07-01
On June 10, 2011, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft pointed the LRO Camera NACs to capture a dramatic sunrise view of Tycho crater.
A very popular target with amateur astronomers, Tycho is located at 43.37°S, 348.68°E, and is about 51 miles (82 km) in diameter. The summit of the central peak is 1.24 miles (2 km) above the crater floor. The distance from Tycho's floor to its rim is about 2.92 miles (4.7 km).
Many rock fragments ("clasts") ranging in size from some 33 feet (10 m) to hundreds of yards are exposed in the central peak slopes. Were these distinctive ...