Eight-month-old twins from Hayward Heath, West Sussex, recently met the surgeon who saved their lives even before they were born. The BBC reports how their mother, Katerina Ahouansou, at six months pregnant, during a routine scan, uncovered a serious issue with their development and blood supply.

Doctors diagnosed the twins with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome or TTTS. It is a condition where one twin received more blood and nourishment than the other due to uneven blood vessel distribution in the placenta. In case there is no medical intervention, it could be fatal for both the twins.

A Specialist Steps In

This is when Ahouansou was referred to Professor Kypros Nicolaides at King’s College Hospital in London. Professor Nicolaides is a pioneer in fetal medicine and he specializes in a laser procedure that redistributes blood supply between twins in cases of TTTS.

When Ahouansou was scanned, Nicolaides observed that one of the twins were significantly smaller than the other. "There was a very high chance that if we did not intervene, both twins could die," he recalled.

An Operation No Less Than A Miracle

The life-saving laser surgery was performed and within a week the doctors saw an improvement with the twin who was smaller in size. When the twins were born, they weighed 1.5kg and 1.7kg. To recognize the efforts by the surgeon, Ahouansou named them Kai Kypros and Asher Nicolas after Professor Kypros Nicolaides.

Ahouansou also expressed deep gratitude for the professor's expertise and called him "proof that miracles can be performed by people who are devotees to their profession."

Professor Kypros Nicolaides has been at King’s College Hospital since 1980 and is widely regarded as a leader in fetal medicine. His groundbreaking research and development of screening and surgical techniques have saved countless lives.

Through his dedication, Professor Nicolaides has given many families hope, demonstrating how medical advancements continue to improve survival rates for complex fetal conditions like TTTS.

More about Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome

As per the John Hopkins Medicine, TTTS is a rare pregnancy condition that affects identical twins or other multiples. It happens in pregnancies where twins share one placenta and a network of blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients essential for development in the womb. These pregnancies are known as monochorionic.

Sometimes, the blood vessels in the placenta are unevenly distributed, causing an imbalance in blood flow between the twins. The donor twin loses more blood than it receives, leading to malnutrition and potential organ failure. Meanwhile, the recipient twin gets an excess of blood, putting strain on the heart and increasing the risk of cardiac complications.

Impact on the Donor Twin

The donor twin loses blood volume (hypovolemia), reducing kidney function and urine production. This leads to low amniotic fluid levels (oligohydramnios) or, in severe cases, a complete absence (anhydramnios). Without proper blood circulation, the donor twin faces cardiovascular issues, increasing the risk of death.

Impact on the Recipient Twin

The recipient twin experiences excess blood volume (hypervolemia), causing increased urination and excessive amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios). The overworked heart struggles to handle the surplus blood, leading to cardiovascular dysfunction, heart failure, and, in extreme cases, death.

We may now have a clearer explanation behind ‘mommy brain’ or ‘momnesia’. Walking into a room and forgetting why you went there or losing track of a conversation is not simply a side effect of becoming a mother.

A new study has discerned a possible explanation for the phenomenon commonly known as “momnesia,” “pregnancy brain” or “mommy brain”. The findings were published in Science Bulletin.

According to the study, persistent high levels of estrogen during pregnancy may disrupt a particular brain circuit involved in memory.

Researchers found that high estrogen affected communication between the hypothalamus and hippocampus, two brain regions involved in regulating different aspects of brain function, including memory.

What Is “Momnesia”?

Pregnancy-related forgetfulness is generally considered to be temporary changes in memory and cognition during pregnancy.

Researchers say forgetfulness can become noticeable in late pregnancy stage and may continue well into the postpartum period before improving.

Women may have trouble recalling names or words, keeping track of events or completing everyday tasks.

According to the author of the study Dr Zheng Sun of Baylor College of Medicine, about 80% of pregnant women report these changes. The researchers say that this condition does not appear to be a decline in intelligence or cognitive ability.

According to Reuters, Dr Yanlin He, another study leader, said, “The important point is that pregnancy does not simply make someone ‘less intelligent.’ The effects appear to be more subtle and specific to certain cognitive tasks.”

Also read: Vitamin D & Pregnancy: Could Vitamin D Deficiency Increase Risk Of Premature Birth?

Link Between Pregnancy Hormones And Memory

During pregnancy, estrogen levels increase drastically and reach its peak during the third trimester.

The researchers focused on estrogen receptor alpha in neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus. In experiments based on mice who were exposed to high estrogen level conditions like in pregnancy, these neurons became more active.

Those neurons send signals to the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory formation. The researchers found that increased activity in this region suppressed hippocampal activity and impaired performance on memory tests.

When researchers switched off the hypothalamus-to-hippocampus pathway, the memory problems in the mice were prevented. Activating the pathway, meanwhile, impaired memory even without elevated estrogen.

Removing estrogen receptors from the hypothalamic neurons also reversed the estrogen-related memory problems in the mice.

Also read: Preeclampsia May End With Pregnancy. Your Heart Risk May Not

Does Pregnancy Actually Make You Forgetful?

The researchers also assessed memory in 70 women, including women at different stages of pregnancy and women who were not pregnant.

Memory problems surfaced during late pregnancy stages and were linked with higher circulating estrogen levels. The researchers reported changes across several memory-related tasks.

But it is important to note that the researchers did not directly measure or manipulate this specific brain circuit in pregnant women. That means the human findings support the mechanism observed in mice, but do not prove that exactly the same circuit causes memory changes during human pregnancy.

The study has cemented evidence that many pregnant women experience forgetfulness, but it does not mean pregnancy causes permanent memory loss. For most women, pregnancy-related forgetfulness generally improves after childbirth.

The gut microbiome may influence how type 1 diabetes develops in children at high genetic risk, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that children whose gut microbiome stopped developing early had about three times the risk of developing type 1 diabetes or the immune attack that precedes it, compared with those whose microbiomes continued to mature.

The findings, published in Nature Metabolism, also showed that genetics influenced how strongly some microbiome patterns were associated with disease risk.

Type 1 diabetes affects more than 9 million people worldwide, including 1.8 million children and adolescents.

"Understanding the role of microbiome development in diabetes progression could lead to early prediction and prevention strategies, giving us more options to delay or even prevent the clinical manifestation of this disease," said co-corresponding author Daniel Wang, associate scientist with the Channing Division of Network Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine.

Study Tracked Children From Early Life

Also read: Brain Health After 40: How Diabetes, Menopause And Early Detection Affect Dementia Risk | World Alzheimer’s Day

The longitudinal observational TEDDY Study followed 887 children at high genetic risk of type 1 diabetes and analyzed more than 12,000 stool samples collected during their first six years.

Participants came from Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States.

Because the immune system can attack insulin-producing cells years before symptoms appear, researchers counted both the first detection of this immune attack and a clinical diagnosis as disease-related outcomes.

They identified three microbiome development patterns: early-matured, late-matured and early-plateaued.

Children with early-matured microbiomes developed greater bacterial diversity during their first year. Those with late-matured microbiomes started more slowly but eventually caught up.

The early-plateaued group showed slow development that failed to catch up, with low bacterial diversity persisting through the first three years.

Early Plateau Linked To Higher Risk

Children with an early-plateaued microbiome had about three times the risk of developing type 1 diabetes or its preceding immune attack.

The association was also seen when the researchers analyzed the immune stage and clinical diagnosis separately.

The finding emerged from repeated stool sampling over time, suggesting a single microbiome snapshot could have missed the association.

Read More: Trying For A Baby? Tobacco Smoking Hurting Male And Female Fertility, Warns WHO

Microbiome Reflected Dietary Changes

The bacterial differences also reflected how the children's microbiomes adapted as their diets changed.

In the early-matured group, bacteria shifted sooner from milk-adapted species such as Bifidobacterium toward bacteria that break down dietary fiber.

In the early-plateaued group, the microbiome remained more focused on digesting milk sugars even after solid foods were introduced and relied on a narrower range of bacterial species.

Genetics Also Played a Role

Lead author Danyue Dong, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Mass General Brigham shared that "genetic background" can also influence the risk. Dong noted that combining microbiome and genetic information gives a more accurate picture.

"By analyzing interactions between the microbiome and host genetics, we found genetic variants, particularly those involved in antimicrobial and antiviral immune responses, that shaped how strongly the late-matured pattern was related to disease risk. The early-plateaued pattern, by contrast, carried higher risk regardless of genetic background," the expert said.

What It Means for Prevention

The study was observational, so it cannot establish that microbiome changes cause type 1 diabetes. Clinical trials are needed to determine whether modifying the microbiome can reduce disease risk.

The findings also came from children already at high genetic risk, meaning they may not apply to the general population.

Researchers say future pediatric care could potentially include microbiome testing during the first years of life. However, approaches such as dietary supplements would need to prove effective in clinical trials before being used for prevention.

A baby girl who reportedly appeared healthy after being born died at just 14 months after getting afflicted with a devastating, ultra-rare genetic neurological disorder that made her incapable of moving, feeding and interacting with the world around her.

Poppy Massey was born in February 2022 with no signs or symptoms of any illness. Her mother Kaylee Massey's told PEOPLE that they began having concerns when Poppy was around four months old and her vision did not appear to be developing normally.

Further testing disclosed abnormalities in the corpus callosum, followed by diagnoses including microcephaly and cerebral visual impairment.

She eventually got diagnosed with TBCD leukodystrophy, a rare inherited disorder affecting the brain and nervous system. Poppy died on April 30, 2023.

What Is TBCD Leukodystrophy?

TBCD disorder is a rare genetic condition that affects the brain and nervous system. It is caused by changes in both copies of a gene called TBCD, which is important for the normal development and functioning of nerve cells.

A child usually inherits one faulty copy of the gene from each parent. The parents typically do not have symptoms because they carry only one altered copy.

The condition can cause severe complications in brain development, movement, muscle strength and vision. Children may grow normally at first but then start showing symptoms like developmental delays, poor muscle, difficulties in feeding and moving, seizures, vision problems and loss of skills they had acquired previously.

TBCD-related neurodegenerative disease is sometimes grouped among leukodystrophies, a group of disorders that affect the brain's white matter.

White matter contains nerve fibres covered by a protective layer called myelin, which helps electrical signals travel efficiently through the brain and nervous system.

When this system is disrupted, communication between nerve cells can become impaired, contributing to the severe neurological symptoms seen in patients.

Also read: Busy Philipps Reveals She Had Surgery To Remove A Rare Brain Tumour: What Is Oligodendroglioma?

Babies With TBCD Leukodystrophy May Initially Appear Healthy

One of the most difficult aspects of the disorder is that neurological problems may not be obvious immediately after birth. As the child's brain develops, symptoms can become more evident.

Brain imaging can show cerebral and cerebellar atrophy, a thin corpus callosum and impaired myelination. Some children subsequently experience stunted development.

In Poppy's case, her mother told PEOPLE that her condition deteriorated rapidly after diagnosis at nine months. She eventually lost the ability to suck and feed independently, lost movement in her legs and arms.

Also read: Neuro-Protection: How Your 30s And 40s Determine Your 70s And 80s

TBCD Is An Exceptionally Rare & Severe Disorder

The nervous system depends on organised cellular structures to develop, transport materials and communicate between neurons. Disruption of the TBCD protein can interfere with these processes during early brain development.

The disease involves brain atrophy and impaired myelination, affecting movement, development, vision, swallowing and other neurological functions.

TBCD is exceptionally rare. The TBCD Foundation says fewer than 50 diagnosed cases are known worldwide, although the true number may be higher because rare genetic disorders may largely remain undiagnosed.

Some affected children have very severe symptoms right from the onset of the disease disease, while others may survive longer. It varies depending partly on the specific genetic variants involved. Currently, there is no proven cure or treatment for TBCD disorder.