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Bayer's oral contraceptives may increase risk of blood clots, stroke or heart attack

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is aware of two studies published today in The British Medical Journal, ONLINE FIRST.

25 Apr 2011

Bayer's birth control pills may increase risk of venous thromboembolism

The following release is being issued by law firms RodaNast, P.C.; Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman and Feldman & Pinto: According to two new studies published in the online edition of the British Medical Journal, Bayer's birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, containing a new progestin drospirenone, carry up to triple the risk of serious blood clots over traditional pills containing the progestin levonorgestrel.

25 Apr 2011

African AIDS drug trial stopped prematurely

One of the studies in three African countries where women were given an AIDS drug to prevent HIV infection is being stopped because the project is not working, researchers said Monday. These women on the trial were taking a daily dose of the drug Truvada or a look-alike placebo pill and had an equal chance of becoming infected. The ones taking Truvada were expected to have had a much lower infection rate.

19 Apr 2011

Drospirenone doesn't carry any risk of gall bladder disease

Drospirenone, the top-selling oral contraceptive marketed as Yaz or Yasmin in the U.S. and Canada, doesn't carry any more risk of gall bladder disease than the older generation of birth control pills, despite claims by some consumers and lawyers in both countries, according to a new study by University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Mahyar Etminan.

19 Apr 2011

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics announces voluntary recall of TOPAMAX 100mg Tablets

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced it is voluntarily recalling two lots of TOPAMAX® (topiramate) 100mg Tablets. These two lots were shipped between 10/19/2010 and 12/28/2010 and distributed in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

15 Apr 2011

Gilenya can reduce risk of disability progression in patients with RRMS

A new analysis demonstrated that Gilenya reduced the risk of disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, regardless of treatment history. This analysis of the phase III two-year FREEDOMS study is one of 11 abstracts on Gilenya being presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Apr 2011

Supplements are less well regulated than drugs and may have side effects, drug interactions and toxicities

Vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements are sold as natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals and many people turn to them in an attempt to improve their health. Others seek supplements to lose weight or after hearing that they can help with serious medical conditions.

7 Apr 2011

Teenage birth rate in the U.S. falls

Encouraging new data shows the teenage birth rate in the U.S. fell to the lowest level on record in 2009 - but is still one of the highest in developed countries. Numbers dropped to 39.1 births per 1,000 females from 61.8 births in 1991, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The latest figures record that 410,000 teenage girls aged 15 to 19 years old gave birth in the United States in 2009. The rate is especially high among black and Hispanic teens. Geography plays a key role too with young mothers more common in some states than others.

5 Apr 2011

Ectopic pregnancies on the rise

Ectopic - or tubal - pregnancies can be dangerous for mothers, leading to rupture of the fallopian tube and possible hemorrhage, and they appear to be on the rise, according to a new study.

5 Apr 2011

Merck's VICTRELIS phase III study results against HCV presented at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced results from several new data analyses from the pivotal Phase III studies evaluating the addition of its investigational oral protease inhibitor VICTRELIS to peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin in adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection.

1 Apr 2011

New study examines teenage fatherhood's negative educational and economic outcomes

Public interest in the issue of teenage childbearing has recently increased, largely due to increases in both the teen pregnancy rate and the teen birth rate. A new study from Economic Inquiry examines the negative educational and economic outcomes of teenage fatherhood, a topic far less researched than teenage motherhood.

31 Mar 2011

Routine sonograms after IUD insertion can reduce pregnancy complications

A retrospective study of women who became pregnant while using intrauterine devices shows that more than half of the IUDs were malpositioned.

30 Mar 2011

Poll finds proposal to cut Planned Parenthood funding deepens gender gap

Meanwhile, in a second story, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says the funding fight is far from over.

28 Mar 2011

Study finds increased risk of VTE during first year of combination oral contraceptive usage

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that interim results from a large, prospective, observational cohort safety study offer insights into the increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clots, which is a well-established risk in women who use combination oral contraceptives (COCs), also known as "the Pill".

25 Mar 2011

Multivitamin supplements can optimize body's metabolic performance

Eating well is a difficult task for most people given the frantic pace of everyday living. Convenient pre-packaged and fast foods, rich in calories and low in nutrients, offer an easy solution to those short on time, but neglect to provide daily essential nutrients. And the short-changing of necessary nutritional requirements for good health is furthered by routine stress itself.

22 Mar 2011

On The Issues Magazine examines how environmental health affects women's lives

The Spring 2011 edition of On The Issues Magazine – "The Ecology of Women" – examines how environmental health affects women's lives, particularly the toxins and chemicals that enter our bodies from the air, water, food and consumer products. These toxins are implicated as possible causes of conditions like cancer, early puberty, infertility, miscarriages, and birth defects.

16 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Health law's individual mandate, fighting the deficit by pinching health care pennies

Like anyone who writes regularly about what passes for economic and fiscal debate in American politics, I've developed a strong tolerance for nonsense. After all, if I got upset every time powerful people were illogical and/or dishonest, I'd spend every waking hour in a state of raging despair. ... if you're serious about deficits, you shouldn't be pinching pennies now; you should be looking for ways to rein in health spending over the long term.

11 Mar 2011

Abortion wars continue: Funding and insurance coverage issues are among key battlegrounds

News outlets report on the latest developments related to congressional Republican efforts to cut Planned Parenthood funding and state efforts to prohibit health insurance plans sold in their new marketplaces from covering abortion services.

11 Mar 2011

First Lady Obama, Sec. Clinton mark International Women's Day

First Lady Michelle Obama joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to mark International Women's Day on Tuesday by honoring recent gains in addressing global women's issues while reflecting on the scope of the task of achieving gender equity in the future, the Associated Press reports.

10 Mar 2011

Merck to present VICTRELIS phase III study data against HCV at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that several new data analyses from Phase III studies of VICTRELIS, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented at The International Liver CongressTM / 46th European Association for the Study of the Liver annual meeting.

9 Mar 2011