Rare Heart Condition Misdiagnosed as Hangover Sparks Near-Fatal Crisis

Recent coverage highlights calcium as essential not only for bones but also for cardiovascular health, pregnancy, and cancer prevention. In Thailand, where cuisine is diverse and flavors are abundant, the question remains: are daily diets delivering enough calcium?

Calcium helps prevent bone-weakening conditions such as osteoporosis and rickets. But its benefits extend beyond bones, influencing overall health and reducing risks for several serious conditions. With shifting dietary patterns in Thailand, it’s important to assess whether current eating habits meet daily calcium needs.

A new international study provides striking evidence that cannabis exposure could affect female fertility at the cellular level and may lower the likelihood of producing chromosomally normal embryos in IVF. The research, published in a leading science journal, combined a retrospective clinical analysis of follicular fluid from patients undergoing IVF with a laboratory investigation using immature human egg cells. In the clinical arm, researchers detected traces of THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, in a small but notable portion of follicular fluid samples. In the lab arm, they exposed immature egg cells to THC and examined how these cells mature, how their chromosomes align, and how their gene expression changes. Taken together, the study suggests that cannabis exposure could be linked to changes in oocyte maturation, chromosome segregation, and ultimately the chromosomal health of embryos.

A groundbreaking study from the University of Toronto raises a cautionary flag for anyone undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF): high levels of cannabis exposure may be linked to chromosomal abnormalities in eggs used for IVF. Researchers tested 1,059 samples of follicular fluid—the fluid surrounding developing eggs—and found that 62 samples contained tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of cannabis. In fluids with detectable THC, immature egg cells tended to show more chromosomal abnormalities, and these eggs tended to mature faster than those without THC. The researchers then repeated some experiments with eggs from 24 consenting patients and observed a similar pattern: unfertilized eggs exposed to THC concentrations higher than the study’s average exhibited nearly 10 percent more chromosome errors and reached maturation more quickly. While the findings point to a potential reproductive risk, the study authors caution that the small sample size means other factors, most notably age, could influence results and were not fully controlled.