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Troubled effort to devise new cholesterol guidelines

The New York Times explores what went wrong as a group of doctors struggled to find common ground on how heart issues should be treated. Other stories also look at consumer frustration about a landmark settlement on hip implants and concerns being reviewed by the FDA about emergency contraceptive pills.

27 Nov 2013

Bangladesh outperforms Asian neighbours despite low spending on health care

Exceptional improvements in the survival of infants and children under 5 years of age, life expectancy, immunisation coverage, and tuberculosis control in Bangladesh are part of a remarkable success story for health in the South Asian country, according to a major new Series published in The Lancet. This is despite low spending on health care, a weak health system, and widespread poverty.

21 Nov 2013

Research shows oral contraceptive use over three years could be a risk factor for glaucoma

Research presented today, at the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans, has found that women who have taken oral contraceptives for three or more years are twice as likely to suffer from glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness which affects nearly 60 million worldwide. The researchers caution gynecologists and ophthalmologists to be aware of the fact that oral contraceptives might play a role in glaucomatous diseases, and inform patients to have their eyes screened for glaucoma if they also have other risk factors.

19 Nov 2013

Gilead Sciences gets marketing authorization from European Commission for Vitekta tablets

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Vitekta (elvitegravir 85 mg and 150 mg) tablets, an integrase inhibitor for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults without known mutations associated with resistance to elvitegravir.

18 Nov 2013

Researchers create intravaginal ring using MPT to protect women from HIV and unintended pregnancy

A new intravaginal ring (IVR) has been developed for the sustained 90-day co-delivery of tenofovir and levonorgestrel, an anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug and a contraceptive.

13 Nov 2013

EVIDENCE project responds to critical challenges for scaling up quality family planning, reproductive health programs

The Population Council has been granted a cooperative agreement from the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH).

5 Nov 2013

Appeals court decision is latest blow to birth control mandate, setting up possible Supreme Court consideration

A divided federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the health law's requirement that businesses with 50 or more workers cover birth control in employee health plans.

5 Nov 2013

Appeals court rules against health law's contraception rule

News outlets covered the blow to the Obama administration's requirement that insurance policies include free coverage for women's birth control.

4 Nov 2013

Researcher receives grant to determine reduction of unintended pregnancies by reproductive life planning

A Penn State College of Medicine researcher has received a three-year, $1.7 million grant to help determine if the number of unintended pregnancies can be reduced through reproductive life planning.

31 Oct 2013

New understanding of sperm capacitation may improve IVF success rates

Two new papers from reproductive biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with international partners, report advances in understanding the basic processes of sperm capacitation that may one day improve success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) by providing a shortcut to bypass problems, and may eventually lead to a male contraceptive.

29 Oct 2013

IPM receives US$40M from USAID to advance new HIV prevention tools for women

The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) announced today that it has received two competitive five-year awards with a combined US$40 million ceiling from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

23 Oct 2013

Results of Phase 3 clinical trial of contraceptive vaginal ring presented by Population Council

Today, the Population Council presented findings from a Phase 3 clinical trial that was designed to demonstrate the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of the Council's investigational one-year contraceptive vaginal ring (CVR).

16 Oct 2013

Federal appeals court mulls whether businesses can be exempt from birth control Mandate

The court is considering a case in which two brothers who own businesses in Ohio say the requirement to cover the cost of contraceptives to their employees would violate their Roman Catholic beliefs.

26 Sep 2013

Ten health care innovations could save lives of mothers and children

Ten health care innovations, if brought to scale immediately in low-resource countries, could have the potential to save the lives of some 1.2 million mothers and children in 2015.

26 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about projected health insurance premium costs on the health law's new online marketplaces, as well as news from Capitol Hill and a joint appearance by President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton to talk about the overhaul.

25 Sep 2013

Quartette tablets now available in U.S. for prevention of pregnancy

Teva Women's Health, a U.S. subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., today announced that the recently approved Quartette (levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol and ethinyl estradiol) tablets are now available via prescription in the U.S. for the prevention of pregnancy.

24 Sep 2013

Supreme Court may hear challenge to Obamacare's contraception rules

Some companies object to the health law's requirement that contraception services for women be provided free as part of a preventive care package.

21 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 20, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest on the Capitol Hill hijinx surrounding efforts to defund the health law and avert a government shutdown.

20 Sep 2013

Revised Medicaid sterilization policy supports minority women at risk for unintended pregnancies

A revised Medicaid sterilization policy that removes logistical barriers, including a mandatory 30-day waiting period, could potentially honor women's reproductive decisions, reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and save $215 million in public health costs each year, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

13 Sep 2013

Federal appeals court rejects company's contraception coverage challenge

The court's divided decision makes it more likely the Supreme Court will have to decide if companies making a secular product have to provide contraception coverage to their employees -- a major tenet of the 2010 health care law.

30 Jul 2013