Health Tips and News Updates

 Autism Risk to Creases in Placenta After most pregnancies, the placenta is thrown out, having done its job of nourishing and supporting the developing baby. But a new study raises the possibility that analyzing the placenta after birth may provide clues to a child’s risk for developing autism . The study, which analyzed placentas from 217 births, found that in families at high genetic risk for having an autistic child, placentas were significantly more likely to have abnormal folds and creases. “It’s quite stark,” said Dr. Cheryl K. Walker, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Mind Institute at the University of California, Davis, and a co-author of the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. “Placentas from babies at risk for autism, clearly there’s something quite different about them.” Researchers will not know until at least next year how many of the children, who are between 2 and 5, whose placentas were studied will be found t...

 Epilepsy drug during pregnancy could increase risk of autism In recent years, numerous factors have been linked to increased risk of autism, from the age of the paternal grandfather to the length of the gestational period. Now a study from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark has concluded that use of the anti-epileptic drug valproate during pregnancy may increase the risk of autism in offspring.  Valproate is also used to treat other neuropsychological disorders. The population-based study covered all children born in Denmark between 1996 and 2006, using registers to identify children exposed to the drug and those who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.  Data was adjusted for other potential factors, including maternal and paternal ages at conception, parental psychiatric history, gestational age, birth weight, sex, congenital malformations and parity.  The analysis involved 655,615 children, of whom 5,437 were diagnosed with autis...