According to a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, pregnant women who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to give birth to infants who have delayed neurodevelopment.

According to the study, babies born to pregnant women who slept fewer than seven hours a day on average had serious neurodevelopmental problems, with boys being especially at risk. Pregnancy-related sleep deprivation has been associated with impairments in the children’s emotional, behavioral, motor, cognitive, and language development.

Additionally, elevated C-peptide levels in the umbilical cord blood of these kids were discovered, which suggests that insulin manufacturing has changed. One result of the pancreas’ production of insulin is C-peptide.

Additionally, the study demonstrated that disorders like impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, and gestational diabetes—all of which were previously linked to inadequate sleep during pregnancy—can affect a child’s neurodevelopment.

The study team clarified that maternal glucose metabolism during pregnancy may influence fetal insulin secretion, which in turn may effect neurodevelopment, even if they were unable to conclusively demonstrate that sleep deprivation actually causes neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

A recent international study found that genetics plays a role in the architecture of the heart and might be used to predict the risk of cardiovascular illnesses.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London, King’s College London, University College London, University of Zaragoza, and Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña are the first to use machine learning and advanced 3D imaging to investigate the genetic basis of the left and right ventricles of the heart.

Previous studies mostly concentrated on the size, volume, and individual chambers of the heart. By examining both ventricles simultaneously, the team was able to capture the heart’s more complex, multifaceted form.

This novel method of investigating shape has improved our knowledge of the molecular processes connecting heart shape to cardiovascular illness and resulted in the identification of new genes linked to the heart.

One of the main causes of death in the UK and around the world is cardiovascular disease. The results of this study may alter the way that the risk of heart disease is assessed. A risk score for heart disease can be derived from genetic data pertaining to heart shape, thereby enabling earlier and more individualized evaluation in clinical settings.

This study offers fresh insights into our understanding of the risk of heart disease. Although we’ve long known that the heart’s size and volume are important, we’re learning more about genetic risks by looking at the heart’s shape. This finding may give doctors useful new resources to help them make more accurate and early disease predictions.

Patricia B. Munroe, a Queen Mary molecular medicine professor and study co-author

The scientists created 3D models of the ventricles using cardiovascular MRI images from more than 40,000 people from the UK Biobank, a comprehensive biological database and research resource that contains genetic and health data from half a million UK participants. They discovered 11 shape characteristics that best capture the main variances in heart shape through statistical analysis.

45 distinct regions of the human genome were connected to various heart morphologies by further genetic study. It was previously unknown that 14 of these regions influenced cardiac characteristics.

Dr. Richard Burns, a statistical geneticist at Queen Mary, stated, “This study sets an important foundation for the exploration of genetics in both ventricles” “The study confirms that combined cardiac shape is influenced by genetics, and demonstrates the usefulness of cardiac shape analysis in both ventricles for predicting individual risk of cardiometabolic diseases alongside established clinical measures.”

In addition to opening the door to more research on how these findings could be applied in clinical practice, this study represents an exciting new chapter in our understanding of how genetics affect the heart and could ultimately help millions of people at risk of heart disease.

A new study suggests that eating fish during pregnancy could reduce the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by 20%. However, taking fish oil supplements did not have the same effect.

“This study adds to the growing evidence supporting the safety and benefits of regular fish consumption during pregnancy,” said Dr. Emily Oken, co-author of the study and professor at Harvard Medical School. “Other benefits include a lower risk of preterm birth and improved cognitive development.”

Health experts recommend that pregnant women consume 8 to 12 ounces of low-mercury seafood per week to support fetal brain development. Despite these guidelines, the study, led by researchers from Drexel University’s A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, found that about 25% of pregnant women didn’t eat any fish.

The study analyzed data from 10,800 pregnant women regarding their fish intake and 12,646 women who took fish oil supplements, looking for links to autism diagnoses and autism-related traits. The results showed that 65% to 85% of the participants did not take fish oil or omega-3 supplements.

Omega-3 fatty acids, essential for heart, brain, and eye function, are found in fish, walnuts, flax seeds, and leafy greens, but the body cannot produce them naturally. Interestingly, the study found that fish consumption during pregnancy was more strongly associated with a reduced autism risk in female children.

The researchers noted that omega-3 supplements did not show any association with autism diagnoses or related traits. Autism is a complex developmental disorder affecting behavior, communication, and social interaction, and its causes are not yet fully understood.

The findings, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, acknowledge some limitations, including the inability to specify which types of fish were eaten, the timing of consumption, or the omega-3 content of supplements. The researchers are urging clearer public guidance on the importance of eating fish during pregnancy.