Women's Health News

RSS

Transition to menopause may cause trouble learning

The largest study of its kind to date shows that women may not be able to learn as well shortly before menopause compared to other stages in life. The research is published in the May 26, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 May 2009

Extreme caffeinated soft drink diet leaves woman with serious health issues

Reports in the media of a New Zealand woman's extreme Red Bull diet where her weight plummeted from 105kg to 60kg by drinking 10 to 14 cans of the 'energy' drink each day say she has been left with serious health issues.

24 May 2009

$Older women underestimate risk of bone fracture$

Older women underestimate risk of bone fracture

Most women who are likely to have a bone fracture do not think they are at greater risk, said a leading Italian rheumatologist at a European conference. This could help to explain why many women do not adhere to preventive treatment.

24 May 2009

Pregnant women should steer clear of advice to "eat for two"

Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, reviewed data for more than 1,300 women and found that those who consumed extra calories, as well as fried foods and dairy products, were more likely to gain more than is recommended during pregnancy - that's 35 pounds or more for a woman with a normal body mass index, or BMI.

22 May 2009

Poor vitamin D status linked to common vaginal infection in pregnant women

Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to suffer from bacterial vaginosis (BV) - a common vaginal infection that increases a woman's risk for preterm delivery, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

22 May 2009

AIDS treatment activists push UNAIDS and WHO to meet commitments to reduce HIV in women and newborns

In a dramatic meeting today at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, members of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and AIDS-Free World met with the leaders and approximately 100 staff members of UNAIDS and WHO to present ITPC's latest Missing the Target report, Failing Women, Failing Children: HIV, Vertical Transmission and Women's Health, which identifies the failure of the international community in preventing vertical transmission (also known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission or PMTCT).

22 May 2009

HER2/neu protein predicts development of invasive breast cancer in women with ductal carcinoma in situ

Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who exhibit an overexpression of the protein HER2/neu have a six-fold increase in risk of invasive breast cancer, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

22 May 2009

African-American women breast cancer sufferers often refuse chemotherapy and radiation therapy

A new study finds that nearly one in four African American women with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, potentially life saving therapies.

22 May 2009

Money worries make women spend more

At times of crisis women are more inclined to spend themselves out of misery than at stable times, a new survey suggests. Psychologists say that the recession could force more women to overspend or increase their risk of mental illness.

20 May 2009

Parents needed to help curb teenage births among Hispanics, group says

A coalition of Hispanic organizations on Tuesday urged parents of Hispanic teenagers to talk with their children about sex to curb the high teenage birth rate among the group, the McClatchy/Miami Herald reports.

20 May 2009

Good advice for a healthy pregnancy

Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.

20 May 2009

Sex ‘too early’ a cause of regret and disappointment for many young girls

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) has found that teenage girls who lose their virginity when they are not ready, often at an earlier age, are more likely to feel disappointment and regret the experience.

19 May 2009

Genetic signature predicts clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer.

19 May 2009

HRT-breast cancer risk stays same, regardless of family history

The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded.

19 May 2009

Women more susceptible to damaging effects of smoking than men

Women may be more susceptible to the lung damaging effects of smoking than men, according to new research by Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, M.D., and her colleagues from Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and University of Bergen, Norway.

18 May 2009

Many low-income women breast cancer patients skipping hormonal therapy, lowering their survival rates

Many low-income women are failing to take the hormonal therapy prescribed as part of their breast cancer treatment, possibly lowering their survival rates, according to a study led by a researcher in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

18 May 2009

Thyroid surgery outcomes may be worse in pregnant women

Pregnant women appear to have worse clinical and economic outcomes after thyroid and parathyroid surgery compared with women who are not pregnant, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Surgery.

18 May 2009

Two new genes decide when a girl starts menstruation

An international team of researchers have identified two genes that are involved in determining when girls begin menstruation.

18 May 2009

Discovery of genes that determine when girls start menstruation

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, along with collaborators from research institutions across Europe and the United States, have for the first time identified two genes that are involved in determining when girls begin menstruation. The work will be published in Nature Genetics this weekend.

17 May 2009

Combining two chemotherapy drugs with Herceptin shows promise for metastatic HER2+ breast cancer

At the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida report that using a combination of capecitabine, vinorelbine, and trastuzumab offers a treatment option that is at least as beneficial as other current options - and doesn't cause hair loss in patients.

17 May 2009