Pregnant women who suffer from severe morning sickness and vomiting which in its severest manifestation is termed hyperemesis gravidarum can now find relief: The popular anti-nausea drug Ondansetron (Zofran) was found to pose no increased risk of harm to their developing babies.

In a study published in The Lancet, scientists reported on the discovery that five major psychiatric disorders autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia may share common genetic risk factors. Specifically, these include variations in genes involved in the balancing of calcium in brain cells.

A little over a month ago, we reported a swine flu vaccine scare suggesting a link with narcolepsy in children. The scare cited 795 reported narcolepsy cases in 30 million vaccine recipients, to which ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross said Incidence of narcolepsy in the general population is estimated to be between 200-500 cases per million. Meaning that the incidence of narcolepsy in vaccine recipients appears to be less than the general population.

Here is some relief for women experiencing pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia), one of the most common problems reported by postmenopausal women. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just approved a new drug to treat mild to moderate dyspareunia. Osphena acts like estrogen, making vaginal tissues thicker and less fragile, resulting in a reduction in pain.

Metastatic breast cancer which has already spread on initial presentation was found to have increased slightly among young women, ages 25 to 39, a 34-year analysis suggests. More research is needed to verify the finding, and scientists are not sure what may have caused the apparent increase.

Type 2 diabetes affects about 26 million Americans and this number continues to increase. A new study published in the journal Diabetes Care found that gastric bypass surgery (in which parts of the stomach and small intestine are bypassed, allowing less time and surface area for food digestion) can reverse pancreatic damage that often accompanies Type 2 diabetes, and produce better outcomes than medication alone.

A new study links caffeine consumption by pregnant women with reduced birth weight in their offspring. For each 100 milligrams of caffeine consumed daily, as recorded in daily food diaries, the newborn on average had a birth weight between three quarters to an ounce lower than women who ingested no caffeine. (A 16 oz. cup of Starbucks Pike Place Roast has 330 mgs of caffeine, according to Starbucks website).

ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross calls him America s greatest surgeon general ever. C. Everett Koop, surgeon general from 1982 to 1989, and longtime friend of ACSH, passed away yesterday in Hanover, N.H., at the age of 96.
He was in the forefront of transmitting science-based information about AIDS, says Dr. Ross. Nobody even talked about it officially before he did. For someone who came from a very conservative, traditional mindset he said he was using Christian compassion to deal with the sick and potentially sick people, whatever their personal behaviors.

In her Personal Health column in today s NY Times Science section, Jane Brody sheds light on the pregnancy hazards linked to many medicinal substances, and new findings which show that during the last 30 years, the use of prescription drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy has grown by more than 60 percent.

It has long been recommended that women take vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent fractures from osteoporosis. However, the U.S Preventive Services Task Force is now recommending against the use of low or moderate doses of the supplements for postmenopausal women, saying that they do not work to prevent fractures and may put women at higher risk for kidney stones.