Peds/OB/GYN

Removing Ovaries Puts Bones and Carotids at Risk (CME/CE)
After excluding women who used estrogen or bisphosphonates, women without their ovaries showed a larger rate of bone mineral density decline in the lumbar spine compared with women with intact ovaries, both 5 to 10 years after menopause (-11.2, 95% CI -19.8-minus 2.53, P=0.02) and more than 10 years after menopause (-6.45, 95% CI -14.1-1.24, P=0.08), Sara J. Mucowski, MD, of the University of Southern California Keck Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues wrote online Feb. 14 in Fertility and Sterility. MedPage Today

Pregnancy study leads to fewer high birth weight babies
In the first major results from the LIMIT Study, published this week in the British Medical Journal, the researchers say that providing advice and assistance to adopt a healthy diet and regular exercise during pregnancy has led to an 18% reduction in the chance of a baby being born over 4kg. MedicalXpress

Is fathers' drinking also responsible for foetal disorders?
Published in Animal Cells and Systems, researchers studied male mice exposed to varying concentrations of alcohol and one control group exposed only to saline. After exposure the mice were mated and resulting foetuses examined. The findings revealed previously unknown and riveting evidence that paternal alcohol consumption can directly affect foetal development. MedicalXpress

Loyola researchers identify risk factor for life-threatening disease in preemies
Many premature infants suffer a life-threatening bowel infection called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).  Researchers at Loyola University Health System have identified a marker to identify those at risk for the infection, enabling doctors to employ early preventive strategies. These findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Eurekalert!

Vanderbilt study shows mother's voice improves hospitalization and feeding in preemies
Premature babies who receive an interventional therapy combining their mother's voice and a pacifier-activated music player learn to eat more efficiently and have their feeding tubes removed sooner than other preemies, according to a Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt study published today in Pediatrics. Eurekalert!