Latest news with #UniversityofMilano-Bicocca
Medscape
5 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Tracking Triptan Safety During Pregnancy
Prenatal exposure to triptans, alone or with other migraine medications, was not associated with a significantly increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in children born to mothers with a history of migraine in a new study. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a registry-based cohort study in Norway, using data from multiple national health registries between 2008 and 2023. The study included more than 26,000 children born to mothers with migraine, with the children followed up to 14 years of age. Among the mothers, 81% used triptans and 19% did not. Prenatal exposure to triptans and other antimigraine medications was determined by prescription fills from 12 months before pregnancy until delivery. Exposure was grouped as low use (42%), short-term low use (31%), moderate use (21%), and high use (6%). The primary outcome was diagnosis in the children of a composite of any NDD, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and language or speech disorders. TAKEAWAY: Among the 4% of children who developed an NDD during the study, ADHD was the most common condition. Children with any prenatal exposure to triptans had a slight but not substantial increased risk for NDD compared with those with no exposure (low use weighted hazard ratio [wHR], 1.08; short-term low use wHR, 1.05; moderate use wHR, 1.09; high use wHR, 1.16). These risks decreased to null when the comparator was in low use (wHR range, 0.94-1.01). A slightly increased risk for ASD was observed in children with moderate and high exposure to triptans (wHRs, 1.24 and 1.30, respectively), but the weighted risk differences were less than 1%. The probability of exposure to other antimigraine medications was less than 10%. Prenatal exposure to co-medications was not significantly associated with the composite NDD outcome. IN PRACTICE: 'These results are encouraging for people with migraine, who may be taking these drugs before they even know that they are pregnant, and this is helpful information for their physicians, who can make more informed decisions about treating people with debilitating migraine attacks,' study investigator Hedvig Nordeng, PhD, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, said in a press release. SOURCE: The study was led by Margherita Camanni, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy. It was published online on May 21 in Neurology . LIMITATIONS: The study relied on filled prescriptions instead of verified medication intake, potentially leading to exposure misclassification. The researchers could not assess the risk for specific NDDs in children after prenatal exposure to combined migraine treatments and individual triptans because of small sample sizes. Additionally, the study could not verify whether medication discontinuation at the last menstrual period was due to lower migraine severity. The possibility of live birth bias and confounding by other treatment indications could not be eliminated. DISCLOSURES: Camanni reported receiving a visiting scholarship from the Norwegian Research Council for this study. The other investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
JWST finds spiral galaxy about 5 times more massive than Milky Way — scientists call it 'Big Wheel'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A team of astronomers at the University of Milano-Bicocca has uncovered a colossal spiral galaxy that existed just 2 billion years after the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe some 13.8 billion years ago. Nicknamed "Big Wheel," it is in fact one of the largest galaxies ever observed from this early cosmic era. The scientists found Big Wheel near a quasar, which is a powerful and active supermassive black hole, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The galaxy lies 11.7 billion light-years away from our corner of the cosmos, and its given nickname comes from its remarkably fast rotation and huge size. It's five times more massive than the Milky Way, for context, stretches across 100,000 light-years. More specifically, the astronomers used new spectroscopic observations with the JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to confirm that Big Wheel is a rotating disk. The galaxy's rotation curve, an important characteristic of spiral galaxies, shows a pattern typical of flat rotation curves seen in mature galaxies. The velocity of the galaxy's rotation increases as you move outward from the center, reaching a maximum rotational velocity of several hundred miles per second, which is also similar to much more developed galaxies. Big Wheel's rotational velocity also aligns with the local Tully-Fisher relationship, a correlation between the size and rotation speed of galaxies observed today. What this all means it that, despite its youth, the galaxy behaves in a manner consistent with some of the largest, most mature spiral galaxies we see in the present universe. Big Wheel exists during a time when most galaxies are expected to be small and in their earliest stages of development. Yet, it's fully formed. "This galaxy is spectacular for being among the largest spiral galaxies ever found, which is unprecedented for this early era of the universe," Charles Steidel, the study's lead author and an astronomy professor at Caltech, in a statement. So, how could this happen? One potential clue lies in Big Wheel's environment. The galaxy resides in a dense region of space where galaxy number densities are more than ten times higher than the cosmic average. This dense environment could provide the perfect conditions for rapid galaxy growth. Sebastiano Cantalupo, co-author of the study, suggests Big Wheel may have benefited from efficient gas accretion, which carried the coherent angular momentum necessary for the formation of large disks. Additionally, the frequent mergers of gas-rich galaxies in this crowded region may have contributed to its massive size and rapid growth. "We think this may open the door to understanding how some galaxies were able to bypass the usual slow process of star formation and grow to enormous sizes in the early universe," Cantalupo said in the statement. The discovery suggests that galaxy formation might not be as slow or gradual as previously thought, especially in environments rich in gas and merging galaxies. Related Stories: — Scientists used JWST instruments 'wrong' on purpose to capture direct images of exoplanets — This astronomer found a sneaky extra star in James Webb Space Telescope data — James Webb Space Telescope investigates the origins of 'failed stars' in the Flame Nebula Big Wheel challenges current cosmological models. Its size and mass far exceed predictions for galaxies at similar redshifts, making it an outlier in the galaxy population. Down the line, astronomers may need to adjust their models to account for the possibility of rapid galaxy growth under such dense conditions. The study was published on March 17 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists share groundbreaking image of the 'cosmic web' connecting 2 galaxies near the dawn of time
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On a large scale, the universe is like a complex spider web, full of cosmic filaments of gas, dust and dark matter, separated by large voids. Now, in a remarkable new image, researchers captured one of these cosmic filaments connecting two galaxies from when the universe was just 2 billion years old. It's the most detailed image of an ancient strand of the cosmic web ever taken. Cosmic filaments stretch across millions of light-years and form what's known as the "cosmic web." Galaxies are strung together to form large filaments, and at their intersections are galaxy clusters — the densest regions of the web. These filaments funnel gas into galaxies, thereby helping them grow. They also funnel galaxies into galaxy clusters, thus creating the largest structures in the universe. The cosmic web's structure isn't random. It's shaped by dark matter, the mysterious entity that accounts for 85% of all the matter in the universe. Dark matter is heavy and doesn't interact with light, so it's tough to detect. But it does interact with normal, visible matter gravitationally; it pulls on it in ways we can see. Because of this, dark matter dominates normal matter. It holds everything together and gives it structure. It also shapes the cosmic web's filaments. The flow of gas within the filaments can provide insight into how galaxies form and evolve. However, it's difficult to observe the gas within these filaments because even the most abundant element, hydrogen, emits very faint light. Related: 5 space discoveries that scientists are struggling to explain To capture the new image, astronomers from the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy and the Max Planck Institute (MPA) in Germany utilized 150 hours of observations from the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture a highly detailed portrait of a cosmic filament stretching about 3 million light-years across and connecting two galaxies with supermassive black holes. From these observations, the researchers traced the boundary between the gas in the galaxies and the material in the cosmic web through direct measurements for the first time, lead author Davide Tornotti, a doctoral student at the University of Milano-Bicocca, said in a statement. The remarkable sensitivity of MUSE allowed the team to capture the filament's light after it had traveled for almost 12 billion years to reach Earth, the team explained in a study published Jan. 29, 2025, in the journal Nature Astronomy. RELATED STORIES —Astronomers discover 'Quipu', the single largest structure in the known universe —Euclid telescope spots rare 'Einstein ring' hiding near Earth — and an ancient, unnamed galaxy behind it —Astronomers catch black holes 'cooking' their own meals in bizarre, endless feeding cycle Based on the current cosmological model, the team simulated the expected filamentary structure within the cosmic web. "When comparing to the novel high-definition image of the cosmic web, we find substantial agreement between current theory and observations," Tornotti said. This adds support to the standard model of cosmology, which some researchers have started to question thanks to puzzling James Webb Space Telescope observations of the very early universe. The crisp image and its strong alignment with predictions open up new opportunities to study gas distribution in cosmic filaments and its impact on the formation of galaxies. Study co-author and MPA staff scientist Fabrizio Arrigoni Battaia added that the team plans to discover more filaments in future observations to get a complete view of how gas flows within the cosmic web.
