Walk-in flu shots

Walk-in flu shots

AUSTINTOWN

The Mahoning County District Board of Health, 50 Westchester Drive, is offering a walk-in influenza vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. No appointment is needed. People unable to attend the walk-in clinic can contact the health board at 330-270-2855, ext. 125, to make an appointment.

The U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone older than 6 months should get an influenza vaccine. Most private insurances are accepted. Participants are urged to bring their insurance cards, driver’s license, Medicare and Medicaid cards so the cost of the vaccine can be billed. The nasal-spray influenza vaccine is not available. Flu shots are free with most insurances.

Available flu vaccines and their costs are: Quadrivalant (4 flu virus strains), $40; Quadrivalant (4 flu virus strains), short needle intra-dermal, $40; and high-dose trivalent (for persons 65 and over, $55.

Depression during pregnancy affects baby

COLUMBUS

Depression, a disorder common during pregnancy, not only affects the mother’s mood but has also been linked to influencing the newborn’s development, according to recent research.

Lower blood levels of a biomarker called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, have been associated with depression in multiple studies, mainly in nonpregnant adults. Now, in a study published in the journal “Psychoneuroendocrinology,” research from Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center found that BDNF levels change during pregnancy and can cause depression in the mother and low birthweight in the baby, said Lisa M. Christian, an associate professor of psychiatry in the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at the Wexner Medical Center, the study’s principal investigator.

Antidepressant medications have been shown to increase BDNF levels but are not without potential risks and side effects. Another effective way to increase BDNF levels is through exercise.

Staying physically active during pregnancy can help maintain BDNF levels, which has benefits for a woman’s mood, as well as for her baby’s development, Christian said.

Tumor treatment should be tailored

PITTSBURGH

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Magee-Women’s Research Institute have discovered molecular changes in the primary tumor of breast-cancer patients who developed brain metastases that are expected to lead to improved diagnosis and targeted therapies.

The results, published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology” and presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, indicate that patients’ treatments should be tailored not only for the original breast cancer but also the brain tumors, said Dr. Adrian Lee, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Precision Medicine, a joint effort by UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, and director of the Women’s Cancer Research Center, a collaboration between UPCI and MWRI.

Predicting baby’s sex

COLUMBUS

Women have claimed for years that their bodies react differently whether they’re pregnant with a male or female baby.

Evidence published in the February issue of the journal “Brain, Behavior and Immunity” shows the sex of a baby is associated with pregnant women’s immune responses.

Researchers from Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center followed 80 pregnant women during their pregnancy and examined whether they exhibited different levels of immune markers, called cytokines, based on fetal sex.