Contraceptive News and Research

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Court challenge to contraception coverage mandate paused as administration writes rules

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals allows suit by religious school to continue but says it will hold the government to its deadlines for revising rules for religiously affiliated employers.

21 Dec 2012

Gates Foundation awards $28M in grants to Bloomberg School for Advance Family Planning

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has received $28 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to continue and expand the Advance Family Planning advocacy initiative within the Bloomberg School's Bill & Melinda Gates Institute on Population and Reproductive Health.

21 Dec 2012

Celgene announces results from REVLIMID plus VIDAZA phase II study on AML

Celgene International Sàrl today announced that results from a study evaluating the combination of REVLIMID (lenalidomide) plus VIDAZA (azacitidine) in patients 60 years or older with untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Atlanta, GA.

11 Dec 2012

IRIN examines WHO's efforts to communicate HIV risk among injectable hormonal contraceptive users

IRIN examines the WHO's ongoing efforts to synthesize and communicate guidance about the risk of HIV infection and transmission for women taking injectable hormonal contraception, including a meeting scheduled for this week in Geneva.

7 Dec 2012

Benefits under health law will vary by state; Restaurant chain backs off plan to move to part-time workers to avoid insurance costs

The New York Times looks at the wide variations in essential health benefits defined by states, while The Associated Press reports that Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster, has decided not to try to avoid health law requirements and will not switch full-time employees to part-time status.

7 Dec 2012

Combined oral contraceptives increase risk of blood clots in women with PCOS

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who are taking combined oral contraceptives have a 2-fold risk of blood clots compared with women without the disorder who take contraceptives, states a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

4 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Disputing Obama's and GOP's commitment to cutting spending and avoiding fiscal cliff

President Obama has said he wants to reform entitlements eventually, someday, after Republicans raise taxes. Republicans want the President to sign on to serious reform now as part of any deal, since AARP and the left will kill anything that isn't passed immediately. Given the political difficulty of reforming entitlements, Republicans are right to try to get Mr. Obama's fingerprints on such a deal this year.

4 Dec 2012

University of Washington team develops electrically spun cloth to prevent pregnancy, HIV

The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations.

1 Dec 2012

Appeals court temporarily blocks contraception mandate for Missouri business owner

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction from the rule for Frank O'Brien and his company -- which is the fourth private business to secure such a temporary order.

1 Dec 2012

Sucampo receives supplement approval from FDA for AMITIZA

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company received a supplement approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that removes pregnancy "warnings and precautions" and clarifies information regarding the use of AMITIZA (lubiprostone) by pregnant and/or nursing women. In addition, the FDA expanded the labeling text of the Mechanism of Action section in the prescribing information for AMITIZA.

30 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

Congressional Republicans are insisting that big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid be on the table in the negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. That stance is largely a political move against two programs, which have been critical to the public welfare for the past half-century.

30 Nov 2012

Federal judge grants temporary injunction in Bible publisher's contraception rule challenge

In separate action, another judge ruled against Hobby Lobby's effort to be exempted from the contraception mandate.

21 Nov 2012

IUD insertion does not increase risk of pelvic inflammatory disease in women

The risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) following insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) is very low, whether or not women have been screened beforehand for gonorrhea and chlamydia, according to a joint study of nearly 60,000 women by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

21 Nov 2012

Janssen receives positive opinion from EMA CHMP for ZYTIGA to treat mCRPC

Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) announced today that the Committee for Medical Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted a positive opinion recommending approval of the oral, once-daily medication ZYTIGA for use in combination with prednisone or prednisolone in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), in adult men who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic after failure of androgen deprivation therapy and in whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated.

19 Nov 2012

Family planning is 'global priority' to be recognized as human right

Improving access to family planning for the 222 million women who lack such services would bring many benefits, including helping to reduce maternal mortality and improve infant survival, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin says in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog, citing the recently released State of the World Population 2012 report.

16 Nov 2012

Strokes affecting people at younger ages

Michelle Nimmerrichter was only 20 years old when she suffered a stroke that left her in a coma and on a ventilator.

15 Nov 2012

Premenopausal use of hormonal contraceptives may improve women’s cognitive abilities

Premenopausal use of hormonal contraceptives may improve the cognitive abilities of women in midlife and for years afterward. This finding may have implications for prevention of declining cognitive function that occurs with advancing age and in diseases such as Alzheimer's.

8 Nov 2012

Keep momentum going to pursue innovation in contraceptive options

"It has been a banner year for media attention, political will and global resources on family planning and women's and girls' rights and empowerment," Ward Cates, president emeritus of FHI 360; Laneta Dorflinger, a scientist with FHI 360; and Kirsten Vogelsong, a senior program officer with the family planning division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, write in the Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" blog, noting the London Summit on Family Planning, World Contraception Day, and the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child.

6 Nov 2012

Low literacy strongly predicts childbearing among US teens

New research released today at the American Public Health Association's 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco builds on previous knowledge about the link between teen pregnancy and social inequities internationally and suggests that, independent of other factors, low literacy in pre-teen girls strongly predicts childbearing among US teens.

1 Nov 2012

Blog examines PEPFAR restrictions regarding family planning

"Though the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been touted as one of our nation's most successful initiatives in global health (and certainly one of President George W. Bush's most positive legacies) it continues to miss the mark" when it comes to family planning, global gender specialist and freelance writer Jessica Mack writes in KPLU 88.5's "Humanosphere" blog.

29 Oct 2012