CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Food and Drug Administration has given special designation to a treatment for a life threatening infant heart condition.
Dr. Anthony Rossi, a pediatric cardiologist with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital said the treatment could be an adjunct to surgery in babies born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, where the left side of the heart doesn’t function.
“This is very exciting what we’re talking about is a therapy with stem cells where stem cells are injected directly into the heart during one of the planned operations so it’s not an additional procedure and the thought is that either the stem cells can develop new myocardio cells or make the cells that are there function better.” he said.
Rossi said for babies who present with critical disease, hypoplastic left heart syndrome is one of the more common ones seen in major congenital heart centers and is one hundred percent fatal without treatment.
And a first of his kind study found that probiotics can significantly improve some of the so-called morning sickness and other common problems women face during pregnancy.
Probiotics, found in supplements and foods like yogurt, can support the gastrointestinal tract which is affected by hormonal changes during pregnancy.
Researchers at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine found that study participants experienced less pregnancy related nausea, vomiting and constipation.
Previous studies have shown the benefit of probiotics in preventing liver inflammation.
Further research may look at using probiotics to treat nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.