• Zofran used during early pregnancy linked to brain and birth defects

    Date: 2015.04.14 | Category: birth defects | Response: 0

    birthDefectsZofran is one of the leading brand names of ondansetron and is used for treating vomiting and nausea. These are available as an injection, suppository, liquid or a tablet to be swallowed that dissolves in the mouth.
    One complication of pregnancy is called hyperemesis gravidarum which is characterized as intractable dehydration, vomiting and nausea, said to affect between 0.5 to 2.0% of women who are pregnant. Serious complications such as malnutrition which can result in electrolyte imbalance and fluid imbalance may result. In pregnancy, hyperemesis is considered a rare complication. Due to the vomiting and nausea that exists on a spectrum in pregnancy, it is not always easy to distinguish this condition from morning sickness.

    Pregnancy sickness proximate causes include an increase in liver enzymes resulting in bilirubin levels, an increase in odor sensitivity which over stimulates normal triggers for nausea, an increase in human chorionic gonadotropin which in itself may cause the feeling of being sick. There is also an increase in progesterone levels, lower blood sugar due to the placenta draining energy from the mother. In the first trimester, there is also excess salivation which tastes bitter and is ingested during the sleep of the mother.

    One Danish study recently found no increased malformation risk overall in ondansetron-exposed women. However, data from Sweden that has not been published suggests an increased birth and brain defects risk in mothers who took Zofran.

    Zofran used in early pregnancy causes birth defect. One study reported a period of 903,207 births with a prescription of Zofran (ondansetron) made in the first trimester by 1,368 women. Of the women, 4.7% or 61 had congenitally malformed offspring compared to 3.5% of the group that had not been exposed. The ratio of odds (OR) of having offspring with major malformation after Zofran exposure was 1.2. Primarily, the birth defects were caused by increased heart defect prevalence. A nationwide study cohort was conducted to test Zofran use during the first three months of pregnancy related with different malformation sub groupings.

    All women in Denmark between 1997 and 2010 were included in the study. The registry of medical birth was utilized for identifying all the women who gave birth and to identify the ones who gave birth with congenital malformed offspring, the National Hospital Register was used. The latter was also were all the data of prescription was taken. All primary groups and subgroups of the malformations were made according to the classification system of the EUROCAT.

  • Exercise can help recovery from a brain injury

    Date: 2014.09.14 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0



    The Sample Pool




    The Proof?



    The Results?



    What Do These Findings Mean for People with TBI?



  • Why Is It Important To Exercise Our Brains

    Date: 2014.09.04 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

    Brain Health and Brain Exercise Facts

    1. Why is it so important to exercise our brains?



    4. What foods increase the fitness of our brains?


  • Debunking 10 popular brain exercise myths

    Date: 2014.09.03 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0



    2. You are what you eat.


    4. You can’t fight Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline.

    5. You can either use it, or lose it.

    6. Training your brain will help reversing your brain age.

    7. Training your brain won’t help.

    8. Only video games can substantially improve the brain.

