Can Fertility Treatments Influence Later Breast Cancer Risk?

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Early full-term babies may face later school woes

Even for infants born full-term, a little more time in the womb may matter.

The extra time results in more brain development, and a study suggests perhaps better scores on academic tests, too.

Full-term is generally between 37 weeks and 41 weeks; newborns born before 37 weeks are called premature and are known to face increased chances for health and developmental problems.

The children in the study were all full-term, and the vast majority did fine on third-grade math and reading tests. The differences were small, but the study found that more kids born at 37 or 38 weeks did poorly than did kids born even a week or two later.

The researchers and other experts said the results suggest that the definition of prematurity should be reconsidered.

The findings also raise questions about hastening childbirth by scheduling cesarean deliveries for convenience

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Leaded Gas Exposure Linked to Later Violence: Study

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Urban areas contaminated decades ago by airborne lead dust now face an increased incidence of aggravated assault, according to a new study.

The surge in violence is linked to exposure to the lead dust emitted from older vehicles that ran on leaded gasoline, according to the researchers, who say improper handling of lead-based paint could have played a role as well.

"Children are extremely sensitive to lead dust, and lead exposure has latent neuroanatomical effects that severely impact future societal behavior and welfare," said study co-author Howard Mielke, a research professor in the pharmacology department at the Tulane University School of Medicine, in a Tulane news release.

The researchers compared the amount of lead released from 1950 to 1985 in Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans and San Diego.

Exposure to lead dust in the air surged during that time period because of the use of leaded gasoline, the study found. Two decades later, rates of aggravated assault in those cities increased as well. Exposure to lead dust had negative effects on children's behavior as adults, according to the researchers, who said the association held true even after they took other factors into consideration, such as household income and education.

The current rate of aggravated assault rose by almost one-half of a percentage point for every 1 percent increase in tonnages of environmental lead that was released more than two decades earlier, the study found.

"Up to 90 percent of the variation in aggravated assault across the cities is explained by the amount of lead dust released 22 years earlier," Mielke said in the release.

The study is published online, ahead of print publication in the August issue of the journal Environment International.

While the study found an association between lead contamination and future violence, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides more information on lead in dust.

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Use of Ecstasy, Speed by Teens Tied to Later Depression

HealthDay – 29 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Teens who use the party drugs ecstasy (MDMA) and speed (methamphetamine and/or amphetamine) appear to face a notably higher risk of depression afterward, new Canadian research suggests.

Interviews and mental health assessments conducted among nearly 3,900 10th-grade residents of Quebec revealed that, compared to non-users, adolescents who acknowledged taking either speed or ecstasy had a 60 percent to 70 percent greater risk of experiencing telltale signs of depression a year after their last recorded use.

What's more, those who said they had tried both speed and ecstasy showed double the risk for depressive symptoms, when compared to non-users.

Nevertheless, study co-author Jean-Sebastien Fallu, an associate professor in the school of educational psychology at the University of Montreal, cautioned that his team cannot draw a specific cause-and-effect line between such recreational drug use and depression.

"But researchers have advanced two possible mechanisms," he said. "That these drugs have a neurotoxic affect on serotonin

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Study: False-Positive Mammograms May Indicate Later Risk

This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor A study published this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has shown a connection between having previously received a false-positive mammogram and an increased risk of developing breast cancer later on. The study, which was released on Thursday, was conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen.

How was the study conducted?

Scientists analyzed the case histories and mammography results of some 58,003 women, all of whom were 50 to 69 years old. The women were screened from 1991 to 2005, according to My Health News Daily.

What did the study find?

After analyzing the data, researchers found that women that had previously had a false-positive mammogram result had a 67 percent greater risk of being diagnosed with the disease at a later date, at a rate of 583 per 100,000. This increased risk appeared to be prevalent for at least six years after the false-positive results. Comparatively only 339 per 100,000 women who had previously had only negative results went on to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later date. This disparity showed a decrease from the year 2000 and onward.

Why did the disparity shrink for women who were screened after 2000?

Breast cancer specialist Stephanie Bernik said the primary reason might be attributable to the fact our screening processes have gotten better. The number of false-positive tests in general has dropped since then, according to WebMD.

What do researchers think causes this increased risk?

The study only proved an association, so the causes remain unknown. Still, breast cancer experts such as Susan Love have weighed in. Love told ABC News that women with a family history of breast cancer are more likely to receive a false-positive result at some point. She also theorized that it was possible that the testing involved in verifying the results of a false-positive may cause an inflammatory reaction of some kind that increases a woman's risk. Lastly, she pointed out that the false-positives may be catching subtle changes that do not yet signal cancer, which is why some women got a true positive result later on. But, she stressed that scientists do not know the real reason for the increased risk as of yet.

My von Euler-Chelpin, a researcher and associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen, reiterated that improvements in screening technology may account for much of the drop in false-positives after 2000. She said that there may have been a higher incidence of missed diagnoses previously that would account for cancer then being found at a later date, hence the appearance of greater risk.

Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in health and nutrition issues.

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Emotional Trauma May Hurt Toddlers' Later Learning

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