Monday 30 July 2012

Public Forum: Childbirth and the pelvic floor - new solutions to age old problems

Did you know:
25% of ALL women, and 50% of women who give birth, suffer symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse.
Symptoms include, urinary and bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
Most women suffer in silence because of the embarrassing nature of these symptoms and the poor public awareness of the condition.

The Ritchie centre, in conjunction with the Continence Foundation of Australia, Jean Hailes and Southern Health, is hosting a public forum to explain the causes of pelvic organ prolapse, ways to manage the symptoms and the cutting edge research being done to improve outcomes for women.

Check out www.ritchiecolloquium.org for details about the speakers at the public forum and to register your interest.

When: Wednesday 12th September 2012, 6-8pm,
Where: RMIT Storey Hall, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne.

This issue affects 1 in 4 of all women and 1 in 2 of all mothers, so tell your mum, your sister, your grandma, your aunt, your niece and all your friends to be at this public forum to learn the latest preventative strategies and treatment options.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Dr Leo Leader - Maternal stress during pregnancy affects infant neurodevelopment

Dr Leo Leader (University of New South Wales) presented his teams fascinating studies investigating maternal stress during pregnancy and the effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes. Maternal stress and anxiety are associated with increased rates of preterm birth, reduced birth weight and impaired neurodevelopment in infants.

Dr Leader presented a maternal stress study in pregnant women, which evaluated maternal physiology during stress, and the correlation between fetal movement and fetal cardiovascular function. Whilst watching distressing scenes from the film ‘Sophie’s Choice’ mothers who were affected emotionally by the film had elevated heart rate and variability which was also apparent in the fetus. Control women who watched a non-distressing film about the construction of Canberra did not display changes in heart rate or cardiovascular physiology and nor did the fetus.

Dr Leader also presented a long term follow up study of infants with mothers who were moderately anxious or stressed during pregnancy. The ‘still face’ test of maternal sensitivity and salivary cortisol levels were measured in babies at 6 months of age. Neurodevelopment tests such as the Bailey Development Score were also measured at 18 and 36 months of age. Maternal sensitivity was not different between anxious and non- anxious mothers. Infant cortisol levels were significantly altered in children of anxious mothers and mental development was also impaired at 18 and 36 months of age. Additionally, male children of anxious mothers had poorer outcomes than females. Dr Leader concluded that differences in function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis originate before birth and are affected by maternal stress or anxiety during pregnancy as well as infant sex.



Dr Joanne Britto - Formation of cortical layers


The Ritchie Centre was delighted to have Dr Joanne Britto recently present in our seminar series. Dr Britto heads a research team in the Brain Development and Regeneration Division at the Florey Neuroscience Institute in Melbourne. Her research focuses on identifying genes involved in neuronal generation and assembly in the cerebral cortex, particularly monitoring neuronal migration.

Dr Britto presented a fascinating talk about the lamination (formation of cortical layers) of interneurons during development and how this understanding this process better, may improve therapies to treat neurological disorders. Interneurons are neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) that form connections between other neurons. Interneurons are neither motor nor sensory. CNS interneurons are typically inhibitory, and use the neurotransmitter GABA or glycine. However, excitatory interneurons using glutamate also exist, as do interneurons releasing neuromodulators like acetylcholine. Abnormalities of interneuron function are thought to contribute to diseases such as Alzheimers and Schizophrenia.