Women's Health News

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Health overhaul provisions raise moral, religious debates

The new health law has renewed concerns about some moral and religious issues, such as the government's role in providing sex education and health care workers' ability to opt out of providing end-of-life care and abortions.

12 May 2010

EntreMed adds DF/HCC hospitals to Phase 2 study of ENMD-2076 for platinum resistant ovarian cancer

EntreMed, Inc., today announced the addition of Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) to the Phase 2 multi-center study entitled "A Phase 2 Study of Oral ENMD-2076 Administered to Patients with Platinum Resistant Ovarian Cancer." Ursula Matulonis, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, will serve as principal investigator.

11 May 2010

Minn. negotiators seek compromise to expand Medicaid while a nursing home tax and cuts to a screening program grab headlines in other states

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: Members of a legislative conference committee in Minnesota "agreed Sunday that expanding Medicaid should be part of the eventual compromise they will take to the House and Senate as early as Monday in a package of health and human service measures to cut the state's budget deficit. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has strongly opposed expanding Medicaid to cover health care for childless adults earning less than 75 percent of the poverty guideline.

11 May 2010

Older Americans staying sexually active but not practicing safe sex

Sexual activity continues to thrive with the 45+ demographic according to a new AARP sex survey, Sex, Romance, and Relationships: AARP Survey of Midlife and Older Adults, released today. However, older adults are not necessarily practicing what they preach to younger generations, with results showing a low use of protection among sexually active dating singles with only one in five reporting use of condoms regularly.

11 May 2010

Globe and Mail special issue examines Africa, includes look ahead at G20 meeting, interview with Pres. Obama

The Globe and Mail examines Ethiopia and Malawi's role in next month's G20 talks in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has invited both countries to participate in the meeting, which could significantly affect Africa because it has become the "premier forum for confronting global economic problems and for co-ordinating solutions," according to the Globe and Mail.

11 May 2010

New combination therapy may help treat anti-estrogen resistant ER+ breast cancer

A study by researchers from the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) identifies a potential new combination therapy to "rescue" treatment sensitivity to fulvestrant in estrogen receptor positive breast cancers.

11 May 2010

$Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women$

Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women

Proton pump inhibitors, medications that suppress acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with fractures in postmenopausal women and bacterial infections in many patients, and higher doses do not appear any more beneficial for treating bleeding ulcers, according to a series of reports in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 May 2010

Pregnant women at risk for pregnancy problems caused by oral bacteria

Even healthy pregnant women can be at risk for pregnancy problems caused by oral bacteria. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University began to understand which bacteria from the 700 species living in the mouth are responsible for the growing health problem of preterm and stillbirths.

11 May 2010

Folic acid supplement may improve blood flow in young amenorrheic runners

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O. at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has found that oral folic acid may provide a safe and inexpensive treatment to improve vascular function in young female runners who are amenorrheic (not menstruating).

11 May 2010

Today's Opinions: The need for federal review of rate increases; Dems and GOP share blame for health costs; A phoney deal on Medicaid

This hodgepodge of controls over premiums needs to be backstopped by a national law that would allow the federal government to block unjustified rate increases where state officials lack the authority to do so. Attempts to include such powers in the newly enacted health care reform law failed (5/9).

10 May 2010

BIOTX introduces Estrofil menopause supplements in North America

BIOTX Limited – a manufacturer and developer of dietary supplements based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, today launched Estrofil in North America - an all-natural nutritional menopause supplement for the relief of menopausal symptoms. This new menopause natural remedy is not estrogen or hormone replacement therapy.

10 May 2010

Ferring to acquire global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA

Ferring Pharmaceuticals today announced an agreement that will expand its Women's Health product portfolio with the acquisition of the global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA™ (tranexamic acid), a first-in-class, non-hormonal therapy indicated specifically for treatment of women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

10 May 2010

More genetic sites associated with increase in breast cancer risk discovered

Scientists have found five new regions of the genome that increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by between six and 16 per cent, according to a study in Nature Genetics today (Sunday)1.

10 May 2010

Lancet examines Canada's G8 strategy for maternal, child health initiatives

A Lancet World Report examines the details of the Canadian government's strategy for the G8 maternal and child health initiative and reactions from global health leaders and politicians to the plan, including the announcement during a meeting of G8 leaders Halifax, Nova Scotia, that the initiative would not support abortion.

10 May 2010

Women's empowerment, regional integration, malaria prevention discussed at WEF on Africa

On the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, Graca Machel, founder and president of the Foundation for Community Development, called on African governments to implement strategies aimed at empowering women in order to accelerate the continent's social and economic development, Tanzania Daily News/allAfrica.com reports.

10 May 2010

50 years of the Contraceptive Pill

The Contraceptive Pill celebrated its 50th birthday on Mother's Day this year. The Pill was approved by the FDA in 1960 giving greater control to women about when they would like to give birth. The choice was supposed to help eliminate unwanted pregnancies and help couples grow closer. It was also supposed to help the couple financially by not placing burdens of early children on them.

9 May 2010

Discovery of new genetic clues to breast cancer

Researchers at Cambridge University have identified five genetic clues for women who have a family history of breast cancer. The study brings up the number of common genetic variations linked to increased risk of breast cancer in women to 18. The study was published in Nature Genetics.

9 May 2010

NPWH launches ETIQ campaign to improve access to information about menopause, estrogen therapy

The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health announced the launch of Estrogen Therapy I.Q. a campaign devoted to improving access to credible information about menopause and advances in estrogen therapy.

7 May 2010

Study examines social pressures, attitudes on pregnancy

For years, a widely held assumption was that women of childbearing age fell neatly into two camps: those trying to have children, and those not trying to have children.

7 May 2010

Postpartum hemorrhage increases 28% between 1995 and 2004

A new study of U.S. maternal outcomes after vaginal and cesarean deliveries published in the May 2010 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, a peer-reviewed academic journal, shows that between 1995 and 2004, postpartum hemorrhage (excessive blood loss after delivery) increased 28% in prevalence. Postpartum hemorrhage is one of today's most common complications for delivering mothers that according to the study, "markedly increases the odds of in-hospital mortality" and causes 19% of in-hospital maternal deaths.

7 May 2010