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Biomedical subjects

Alison Miller

Publications and source records attributed to Alison Miller.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Perinatal mortality and congenital anomalies in babies of women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: population based study.

OBJECTIVE: To provide perinatal mortality and congenital anomaly rates for babies born to women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. DESIGN: National population based pregnancy cohort. SETTING: 231 maternity units in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: 2359 pregnancies to women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who delivered between 1 March 2002 and 28 February 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stillbirth rates; perinatal and neonatal mortality; prevalence of congenital anomalies. RESULTS: Of 2359 women with diabetes, 652 had type 2 diabetes and 1707 had type 1 diabetes. Women with type 2 diabetes were more likely to come from a Black, Asian, or other ethnic minority group (type 2, 48.8%; type 1, 9.1%) and from a deprived area (type 2, 46.3% in most deprived fifth; type 1, 22.8%). Perinatal mortality in babies of women with diabetes was 31.8/1000 births. Perinatal mortality was comparable in babies of women with type 1 (31.7/1000 births) and type 2 diabetes (32.3/1000) and was nearly four times higher than that in the general maternity population. 141 major congenital anomalies were confirmed in 109 offspring. The prevalence of major congenital anomaly was 46/1000 births in women with diabetes (48/1000 births for type 1 diabetes; 43/1000 for type 2 diabetes), more than double that expected. This increase was driven by anomalies of the nervous system, notably neural tube defects (4.2-fold), and congenital heart disease (3.4-fold). Anomalies in 71/109 (65%) offspring were diagnosed antenatally. Congenital heart disease was diagnosed antenatally in 23/42 (54.8%) offspring; anomalies other than congenital heart disease were diagnosed antenatally in 48/67 (71.6%) offspring. CONCLUSION: Perinatal mortality and prevalence of congenital anomalies are high in the babies of women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The rates do not seem to differ between the two types of diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Advances in hematopoietic stem cell research through mouse genetics.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Successful bone marrow transplantation involves migration of hematopoietic stem cells through the blood, entering the extravascular hematopoietic cords, lodging in the proper niche, and expanding and differentiating to produce large numbers of mature cells -- all without depletion of the stem cell pool. An additional variable in these processes is the age of both the donor bone marrow and the recipient. Basic stem cell biology and transplant biology aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms controlling these processes. RECENT FINDINGS: Mouse genetics is a frequently used tool that allows dissection of individual pathways that influence properties of hematopoietic stem cells. Recently, the conception of a niche has been expanded to include evidence for a vascular and an endosteal niche. Additionally, hematopoietic stem cell interactions within the niche have been further defined, documenting the importance of cell cycle, cell adhesion, response to cytokine stimulation and age-dependent functional changes. A new model for hematopoietic stem cell aging was proposed that supports the hypothesis that stem cell aging is at least partially due to an accumulation of DNA damage leading to exhaustion. SUMMARY: This review focuses on the last year's progress using mouse genetics as a tool to study intrinsic mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cell biology.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Enantiomeric 1,2,4-trioxanes display equivalent in vitro antimalarial activity versus Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites: implications for the molecular mechanism of action of the artemisinins.

The aim of this study was to synthesise pure enantiomers of potent antimalarial 1,2,4-trioxanes, which are related to the natural antimalarial artemisinin, and then to assay each against a panel of Plasmodium falciparum strains. The working hypothesis was that if the artemisinin derivatives interact with a specific protein-target site, then there should be stereoselective differences in their activity. In five different P. falciparum isolates, however, the trioxane enantiomers (+)-7 a, (-)-7 a and (+)-7 b, (-)-7 b, showed the same level of in vitro antiparasitic activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Diabetes: lessons for midwives.

This study is larger than any other in describing pregnancy outcomes for women with pre-gestational diabetes. From the report, the three main messages for midwives are: Women with type 2 diabetes have a risk of poor outcome similar to those with type 1 diabetes. The same support and management of women with type 1 diabetes should be applied to women with type 2 diabetes pre-conceptionally and throughout the pregnancy and neonatal period. Pre-pregnancy care and advice should be made more flexible and advertised well in a variety of settings where diabetic women of childbearing age are most likely to see it. Women with diabetes should be encouraged and supported to breastfeed their babies from birth by giving them an understanding of the general and specific benefits this will provide.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Maternal representations of the infant: associations with infant response to the still face.

Mothers' representations of their infants may influence early development of emotional self-regulation. This study examined the associations between characteristics of mothers' (N = 100) narratives about their 7-month-old infants, maternal depression, and their infants' affect regulation during the Still Face procedure. Findings showed that (1) mothers' representations were linked with individual differences in their infants' behavior across the Still Face procedure, (2) the association between mothers' representations and their infants' behavior was mediated by parenting behavior, and (3) mothers' representations explained unique variance in their infants' affect regulation beyond the contribution of maternal depression. Although infants' displays of positive affect diminished while mothers held a still face, only infants of mothers in the balanced representation category returned to high levels of positive affect upon resuming interaction. These findings highlight the role of maternal representations in the process by which dyads repair temporary disruptions in interaction, as well as individual differences in infants' and mothers' responses to the Still Face.

Adolescent↗