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New Information On Due Date Tests And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Revealed

PITTSBURGH (KDKA)- New tests are becoming available for expecting mothers that may help doctors find a better due date.

Due Date Tests

How do doctors know when a pregnant woman will deliver?

Most expectant mothers are given a window of about a month, based on the date of their last menstrual period, or measurements on a first trimester ultrasound. But researchers at Thomas Jefferson University say one routine ultrasound around 37-39 weeks can measure the woman's cervix (a cylinder of tissue at the lower end of the womb that connects the uterus with the vagina), and narrow the delivery date to within a week from the time of the test.

"If the cervix is short near term, we know they're going to deliver sooner rather than later. if the cervix is still long, perhaps they still have a while to go," says West Penn Hospital Obstetrician Dr. Paul Weinbaum.

Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Two treatments are bringing people relief from chronic fatigue syndrome.

A study in Lancet Psychiatry says patients have experienced long-term benefits from cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of psychotherapy to retrain thoughts and behaviors from graded exercise therapy.

That's a course of physical activity that increases gradually over time.

An initial study in 2011 showed benefit from these therapies at one year. But some people with chronic fatigue syndrome criticized the research, saying exercise could trigger a relapse. They were concerned the recommendations suggest the condition is all in their minds.

A follow-up study showed continued benefit for at least an additional one and a half years.

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