PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Inflammation may link obesity and adverse pregnancy outcomes

Evidence reviewed in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology

2012-01-11
(Press-News.org) Amsterdam, NL -- A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a review published in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, researchers from the Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine at Swansea University in the UK examine the impact of maternal obesity on the inflammatory responses in tissues of both the mother and the child.

"While great progress has been made in elucidating the immunological mechanisms that ensure reproductive success, we now need to understand the impact of a very modern epidemic on immune response at the materno-fetal interface, as well on the mother and the child," said lead investigator Catherine A. Thornton, PhD. "Inflammation may have a key role in many of the detrimental effects of obesity in non-pregnant individuals, and emerging data suggest that inflammation also links obesity and adverse pregnancy outcomes."

Evidence of altered inflammatory status with obesity in the circulation of both the mother and child in pregnancy is emerging. For example, obese pregnant women have elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is also increased in the cord plasma of offspring of obese mothers, and is associated with increased fetal adiposity and, in a rat model, to hypertension and increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in adulthood. Altered inflammatory status of the placenta in association with maternal obesity may have a critical role in the short term programming of health and disease in the offspring, the researchers commented. Maternal obesity is associated with an inflammatory response by the placenta including elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression.

The negative impact of maternal obesity on the immune function of mother and child includes an increased risk for preeclampsia, likely mediated via inflammation and triglycerides. Increased maternal body mass index is associated with an increased risk of neonatal early onset group B streptococcal disease, and an increased risk of respiratory tract infections. The inflammatory response and immune function of the newborn might relate to later health outcomes. Hyper-responsiveness of inflammatory function at birth is linked to the development of allergic disease in infancy.

Maternal metabolic status during pregnancy and weaning is particularly relevant to healthy development of hypothalamic neurones that regulate weight and feeding in offspring, the researchers report. One study demonstrated that a high-fat diet during pregnancy can induce the expression of hypothalamic peptides involved in the regulation of food intake and body composition in weanling rats. More recently, female offspring of fathers fed a chronic high fat diet had impaired glucose tolerance and insulin secretion. "These findings lead to the suggestion that such programmed expression has a role to play in adult physiology, including increased food intake, preference for a fat-rich diet, weight gain, and metabolic dysfunction," says Dr. Thornton.

"Diseases once found only in adults are increasing in the paediatric population. The focus has been on diseases with a clear metabolic component and it remains relatively unknown what risk maternal obesity during pregnancy imposes for the development of autoimmune diseases, allergy and asthma, and neurodevelopment and cognitive behavior," stated Dr. Thornton. "Animal models indicate that the provision of a normal diet to the offspring once weaned does not overcome the effects of maternal overnutrition, so simple dietary changes may prove ineffective. Targeted maternal immunomodulation might be needed to curtail this potential pandemic."

###The article is "Inflammation, Obesity, and Neuromodulation in Pregnancy and Fetal Development," by C.A. Thornton, R.H. Jones, A. Doekhie, A.H. Bryant, A.L. Beynon, and J.S. Davies. Advances in Neuroimmune Biology 1 (2011) 193-203. DOI 10.3233/NIB-2011-015. Published by IOS Press.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

FTC Rules on Deceptive Debt Relief Practices Continue to Evolve

2012-01-11
They are wolves posing as shepherds. Companies that claim they will lead you out of debt quickly and often just want to take your last dollar -- leaving you more exposed to creditors than ever. If the economy weren't so bad, these companies would be more recognizable for what they really are: predators. But debt and desperation have a way of playing tricks with your vision. What seems like a viable way out from a mountain of debt can turn out to be a counter-productive mirage unless you're careful at avoiding fraud and finding the legitimate services you need. Keep ...

NASA'S RXTE helps pinpoint launch of 'bullets' in a black hole's jet

NASAS RXTE helps pinpoint launch of bullets in a black holes jet
2012-01-11
Using observations from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope, an international team of astronomers has identified the moment when a black hole in our galaxy launched super-fast knots of gas into space. Racing outward at about one-quarter the speed of light, these "bullets" of ionized gas are thought to arise from a region located just outside the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing can escape. "Like a referee at a sports game, we essentially ...

New York Court of Appeals Rules on Workers' Compensation Reforms

2012-01-11
In 2007, the New York Legislature unanimously passed sweeping reforms to the state's workers' compensation laws. Included among the reforms was a requirement that insurers deposit the present value of permanent partial disability awards into the New York Workers' Compensation Aggregate Trust Fund. Injured workers will then be paid by the trust fund instead of by the insurance company. The reform is definitely a boon to injured workers. Prior to the change, insurance companies generally decided how and when a workers' compensation settlement would be paid. Further, ...

New York City Workplace Deaths Rose in 2010

2012-01-11
New York City's workplaces became more hazardous in 2010, according to recently-released preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of workplace fatalities rose to 68 in 2010, up from 63 in 2009. Included in that number are 13 fatal fall from heights injuries, a nearly three-fold increase from the five that occurred in 2009. The largest number of fatalities occurred in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Those workers saw 21 deaths in 2010. The deaths also disparately affected the Hispanic community, which accounted for approximately ...

Asian-Americans getting better heart attack care

2012-01-11
Care for Asian-American heart attack patients improved between 2003 and 2008, according to a study published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The study found Asian-Americans and whites received about the same level of care, and that differences in care between the two groups decreased over time. The study is significant because little is known about the treatment and outcomes of Asian-Americans who've suffered a heart attack. "When it comes to disparities in cardiovascular care, most research has focused ...

Hubble pinpoints farthest protocluster of galaxies ever seen

Hubble pinpoints farthest protocluster of galaxies ever seen
2012-01-11
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of development. It is the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe. In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble found five tiny galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young -- existing just 600 million years after the big bang. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe, comprising hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together ...

Supreme Decision: Life Sentences for Juveniles 14 and Younger

2012-01-11
Illinois is among 19 states that imposes life sentences to juveniles 14 and younger, according to the Los Angeles Times. That could soon change. According to the Times report, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to consider whether to limit life sentences for juveniles 14 and younger. Currently, 73 people are serving life sentences with no chance of parole for their involvement in homicides committed at the age of 14 or younger. In fact, a research by the University of San Francisco School of Law found that the U.S. is one of two countries worldwide to sentence ...

TravelShark(TM) Wins a Prestigious Gold Adrian Award for its Viral Video Repositioning Campaign

TravelShark(TM) Wins a Prestigious Gold Adrian Award for its Viral Video Repositioning Campaign
2012-01-11
January 11, 2012 - The prestigious Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) annual Adrian Awards honored TravelShark with a Gold Award for their social-media-fueled viral video advertising campaign, which announced the company's rebranding from "Swiftrank" to "TravelShark." TravelShark's advertising campaign was built on a razor-thin budget and relied on grassroots social media dissemination for success. The online travel startup was honored alongside more traditional campaigns run by some of largest companies in travel, including ...

Young women often fail to spot their weight gain

2012-01-11
GALVESTON, January 10, 2012 – Despite popular belief about women's weight concerns, young women commonly fail to recognize recent gain of as many as 11 pounds – putting them at risk for cardiovascular disease and other obesity-related conditions. Self-perception of weight gain also appears to be significantly influenced by race, ethnicity and contraceptive methods. In a study published online and in the March issue of the Journal of Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) researchers found that a significant number of women evaluated at six-month intervals ...

NASA's Fermi Space Telescope explores new energy extremes

NASAs Fermi Space Telescope explores new energy extremes
2012-01-11
After more than three years in space, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is extending its view of the high-energy sky into a largely unexplored electromagnetic range. Today, the Fermi team announced its first census of energy sources in this new realm. Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) scans the entire sky every three hours, continually deepening its portrait of the sky in gamma rays, the most energetic form of light. While the energy of visible light falls between about 2 and 3 electron volts, the LAT detects gamma rays with energies ranging from 20 million to more ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Metabolically active visceral fat linked to aggressive endometrial cancer, new study reveals

Scientists glimpse how enzymes “dance” while they work, and why that’s important

California partnership aided COVID-19 response and health equity, report finds

University of Oklahoma secures $19.9 million for revolutionary radar technology

Study finds restoring order to dividing cancer cells may prevent metastasis

High-accuracy tumor detection with label-free microscopy and neural networks

Wayne State research reveals fetuses exposed to Zika virus have long-term immune challenges

Researchers deconstruct chikungunya outbreaks to improve prediction and vaccine development

Study finds one-year change on CT scans linked to future outcomes in fibrotic lung disease

Discovery of a novel intracellular trafficking pathway in plant cells

New tool helps forecast volcano slope collapses and tsunamis

Molecular coating cleans up noisy quantum light

From Parkinson's to rare diseases, discovered a key switch for cellular health

Tiny sugars in the brain disrupt emotional circuits, fueling depression

Mini-organs reveal how the cervix defends itself

Africa, climate, and food: How to feed a continent without increasing its carbon footprint

Researchers demonstrates substrate design principles for scalable superconducting quantum materials

How better software choices could cut US health care costs

Concussion history in NCAA athletes yields mixed health outcomes

Counting plastic reveals hidden waste and sparks action

Warming oceans may pose a serious threat to American lobsters

Deaths from drug-induced unintentional injury rise across the US

In car crashes with pedestrians, age and zip code may predict extent of traumatic injuries

AI optimizes evacuation, diagnosis, and treatment of wounded soldiers in Ukraine

Mastectomy linked to worsened sexual health, body image after surgery

Drop in credit score after cancer diagnosis linked to increased mortality, study shows

Use of weight loss drugs before bariatric surgery has soared in recent years, study finds

EMS call times in rural areas take at least 20 minutes longer than national average

Rectal bleeding in young adults linked to 8.5 times higher risk of colorectal cancer

Hospital closures disproportionately affect socioeconomically disadvantaged communities

[Press-News.org] Inflammation may link obesity and adverse pregnancy outcomes
Evidence reviewed in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology