December 8, 2009
Filed under: Names — Alan @ 7:09 am
The New York City Health Department has released their list of the most popular names in NYC in 2009 with Sophia and Jayden topping the list.
What is unique about the New York City list is that outside of the most popular girls and boys names, the city also broke the top names down by ethnicity which proved to be interesting as well.
Even more unique is the fact that the top boys name in the city is actually the top name for the subcategories of black and Hispanic boys’ names as well.
Sophia the made the top of both the white and Asian lists as well, but only took first place in the Asian category while it dropped to third place in the subcategory of white girls names topped by Olivia, Esther, and Sarah. Madison topped the list of black girls’ names (6th overall) and Ashley (7th overall) topped the list of Hispanic names.
For boys the list remained largely unchanged from last year with Daniel (2nd overall) topping the list for white boys and Ryan (tied for 10th overall) topping the list for Asian boys. Thus, it seems that while girls’ names got a bit more creative, parents stuck to their familiar favourites for the family namesakes.
December 7, 2009
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 3:21 am
Scientists are a step closer to understanding how and why a blood vessel in the foetus can fail to close shortly after its birth.
The blood vessel is known as the ductus arteriosus and its failure causes heart failure and high blood pressure within the lungs. The area is also responsible for the blood forming clots.
The study was published in the journal of Nature Medicine by a German team of researchers working at the Technischen University in Munich.
The vessel in question is small in size but is responsible for connecting the aorta and the pulmonary artery effectively allowing the blood from the right portion of the heart to pass by the lungs. This allows the left side of the heart to get the blood it needs and the lungs relief.
However, the vessel is supposed to close just a few hours after birth once its work is done, but in some babies this does not happen causing a medical condition referred to as patient ductus arteriosus.
When not promptly corrected, it can lead to dizziness and shortness of breath due to pressure that builds up in the lung blood vessels. Over time, left untreated, the condition leads to congestive heart failure and irregular heart rhythms.
The condition was found to occur more commonly in babies that were born with a low birth weight prematurely and in those that did not have a high amount of blood platelets.
The scientists speculate in their research that a transfusion after birth may prevent the condition.
December 5, 2009
Filed under: IVF — Alan @ 6:06 am
Soon couples who undergo IVF may be facing stiffer bills after European regulators declared that between treatment cycles couples should be screened for diseases.
Although British doctors stated that it is highly unlikely that new infections such as syphilis or HIV would appear between cycles if they were not caught at the initial screening before treatment, regulators still want the additional safety precaution.
Thus, couples possibly may need tested for sexually transmitted diseases every month or two, which will add to the expense of IVF treatment, which commonly takes several cycles before it is successful.
Chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Dr. Luca Gianaroli, wrote to members of the group urging them to speak up about the EU’s commission, stating that over the last 30 years of IVF treatment not one case has been reported where a disease was transmitted under the current guidelines for testing.
Dr. Gianaroli also addressed the fact that if all patients must be tested at the beginning of each new treatment there will need to be a major overhaul in terms of how resources are allocated.
The head of the Department of Women’s Health at King’s College London, Professor Peter Braude, seconded Dr. Gianaroli’s call to action, when he stated that if clinics are forced to implement testing every cycle the cost of fertility treatment will rise substantially.
He also commented that fertility clinics already adhere to the EU rule that men be tested every year despite being a part of a committed couple.
December 4, 2009
Filed under: New Born — Alan @ 4:57 am
During Dafi Evans birth doctors used a form of superglue called Histoacryl to plug up a hole that had formed in his brain and would have caused his death within a few days of his birth.
The leak in his brain is part of a condition known as Vein of Galen malformation and is a condition in which the veins and arteries in the brain are missing capillaries that help increase the blood flow. As a result of the problem the brain is not able to absorb enough nutrients or oxygen.
Most of the time this leads to death due to stress on the heart or water that forms in the brain.
However, 16 months after his birth Dafi is now on par with a normal development path and his parents are sure that he was a miracle.
According to his mother, Catrin Evans, it is hard to look at Dafi now and believe that he is doing so well given that the operation was extremely dangerous but seemed so simple with only a simple cut required.
Evans first knew of the condition in her child when a scan showed that there was a dark patch on his brain and doctors informed her that there was not much hope her son would survive.
The procedure to seal the brain involves placing a catheter through the groin area and stringing it up to the brain area where the “superglue” is squeezed out.
December 3, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 7:07 am
Olli Reid has always looked upwards toward his twin brother, but not for the reason that most people would think. Instead, he looks up to his brother Alfie because despite being a twin Alfie was born at twice the birth weight of Olli, due to problems that occurred before the twins were born.
Olli was born at a low birth weight of four pounds, while Alfie was almost nine pounds due to the fact that Alfie’s size started to suffocate Olli and stole his nourishment in the womb.
Even though Alfie may have been a bully in the womb, the brothers have developed their normal twin bond outside of the womb, with their mother stating that Olli will not settle down for bed unless Alfie is beside him.
Doctors delivered the twins eight weeks early due to fears that Olli may not survive in womb, although there was a high risk that with his low birth weight he would not survive outside of it as well. However he defied the odds and now both boys are comfortable at their home in Banff, Aberdeenshire with their parents.
The twin’s parents had been trying to conceive for four years before the mother became pregnant and lost one child to a miscarriage before conceiving the twins. Doctors discovered the abnormal weight discrepancies after she was in a car accident and a scan was performed to check on the twins in the womb.
Doctors expect that it will take Olli about two years to level out at the same weight as his twin.
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