NewGeneris: A European Study on Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Child Health

Development and Validation of a New, Sensitive Immunochemical Assay for O6-Methylguanine in DNA and Its Application in a Population Study

“…Samples of buffy coat were collected in the context of the NewGeneris project from subjects participating in the l l l Rhea mother-child cohort, Crete (25), which is investigating the association between maternal exposures during pregnancy and birth outcomes and childhood disease. Ethical clearance for the study was provided by the University of Crete Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained from all participating subjects.…”

“…Following the above-mentioned extensive validation, the new assay was employed in the analysis of 120 pairs of maternal and cord blood DNA samples collected from the Rhea mother-child cohort (25). Using 10 mg of DNA per well, 84 (70%) maternal and 68 (57%) cord blood DNA samples contained detectable levels of O6-meG.…”

How Much of a Contribution Do Exposures Experienced between Conception and Adolescence Make to the Burden of Cancer in Adults?

“…These cohorts range from a few thousand subjects to several hundred thousand (15,16). Some have progressed to such an extent that their participants are young adults, but a relative paucity of adolescent cohorts remains.…”

“…Many comprise not only detailed questionnaire and clinical data but also valuable banks of biological specimens. Encouragingly, international consortia of birth cohorts such as the I4C (15) or NewGeneris (16) have been formed and promise much in terms of pooled analyses. However, while these cohorts permit opportunities for associations between early life exposures and such childhood conditions as asthma or behavioral problems, what of cancer?…”

Perinatal health in the Danube region – new birth cohort justified

“…From well-established studies on maternal and fetal health in birth cohorts, the adverse effects of environmental exposures on reproductive health like reduced fertility, decreased fertility rate, increased numbers of preterm births and children born with low birthweights as well as increased risk of allergies, adverse effects on respiratory system and neurobehavior have been demonstrated (6)(7)(8)(9)(10). These studies mainly originate in the northern and western parts of Europe with only studies published in the Czech and Slovak Republics of the Danube area (11)(12)(13).…”