Health Headlines - August 12

Parents Have Dead Daughter's Eggs Frozen

The Israeli parents of a 17-year-old traffic accident victim were granted permission by an Israeli court to have their daughter's eggs extracted and frozen.

Chen Aida Ayash was struck by a car and died 10 days later on Aug. 3. Her parents donated her organs and received court permission to remove and freeze her eggs, according to the Israeli English-language website Haaretz, ABC News reported.

The parents also wanted their daughter's eggs to be fertilized, but the court said the family would first have to prove that Chen had wanted to have children.

The court decision to allow the family to have their daughter's eggs removed and frozen is the first of its kind in Israel and possibly the world, according to ABC News.

-----

Behavioral Therapy Won't Curb Premature Ejaculation: Review

There's not enough evidence to support behavioral therapy for premature ejaculation, according to researchers who reviewed four previously published studies involving a total of 253 men.

The cause of premature ejaculation, which affects up to 30 percent of men worldwide, is unknown, ABC News reported.

Only four studies were included in the Cochrane Review because 13 others were too small or failed to meet certain standards.

Despite the findings, some experts believe that behavioral therapy meant to ease the anxiety about the condition can be helpful when used with medication, ABC Newsreported.

-----

Mother Influences Child's Food Tastes Before Birth

The food eaten by pregnant women influences their children's food preferences later in life, according to researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

The flavors of what the mother consumes fill the amniotic fluid that surrounds and nourishes the baby, who forms memories of these flavors even before birth.

"Things like vanilla, carrot, garlic, anise, mint -- these are just some of the flavors that have been shown to be transmitted to amniotic fluid or mother's milk," Monell researcher Julie Mennella told National Public Radio, ABC News reported.

This means that mothers can shape their children's lifetime food preferences. For example, eating broccoli during pregnancy could increase the chances that your baby will like broccoli.

The research may explain why children whose families eat a wide range of foods have more diverse diets, ABC News reported.