Women's Health News

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Probiotic may reduce rate of recurrent urinary tract infections in women

Urinary tract infections are common in women, costing an estimated $2.5 billion per year to treat in 2000 in the United States alone. These infections frequently recur, affecting 2 to 3 percent of all women.

16 Apr 2011

Safer-sex education leads to fewer episodes of unprotected sex

Teaching young women how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increases condom use and might reduce their number of sexual partners, but little research exists on whether educational programs reduce rates of STIs such as human papillomavirus, according to an updated research review from England.

15 Apr 2011

Mandatory single embryo transfers for IVF may decrease risk and cost

The number of couples struggling with infertility is on the rise, and these couples often use assisted reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization (IVF), to get pregnant. Although IVF can be successful, it can also increase the risk of multiple pregnancies, which are often caused by transferring more than one embryo. Twins and triplets are likely to be born prematurely, and, as a result, many have medical complications.

15 Apr 2011

New mixed-carb plus protein formulation more effective for female athletes

A "low-carb, mixed-carb" sports drink with added protein leads to prolonged endurance performance in trained female athletes, according to a study in the April issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

15 Apr 2011

Nearly all 2.6 million stillbirths worldwide occur in low-, middle-income countries, Lancet series says

Approximately 2.6 million pregnancies worldwide end in stillbirth - most commonly defined as death in the final trimester - each year, "with the poorest nations worst affected," according to a series of articles published Thursday in the Lancet, BBC reports.

15 Apr 2011

Normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer - healthy cells.

15 Apr 2011

Diet and exercise most effective when done together for losing weight and body fat

Everyone knows that eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet and getting regular exercise helps shed pounds, but a new study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that when it comes to losing weight and body fat, diet and exercise are most effective when done together as compared to either strategy alone.

15 Apr 2011

High rates of induction, C-section do not improve infant outcomes in low-risk women

In low-risk pregnant women, high induction and first-cesarean delivery rates do not lead to improved outcomes for newborns, according to new research published in the April issue of The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

15 Apr 2011

Obesity and smoking linked to stillbirths: Report

According to experts, excessive weight, smoking and late maternal age over 35 are contributing to thousands of stillbirths each year in high-income countries, including Australia, and the trend looks set to continue. These figures were published in the Lancet medical journal.

13 Apr 2011

Sex in Australian prisons: the facts

We all know what goes on in prison. Or do we? A study examining sexual behaviour and sexual culture in jails in NSW and Queensland suggests that popular beliefs about prison sex are largely myths.

12 Apr 2011

Study finds SAVI applicator for breast brachytherapy safe for women with breast implants

The SAVI® applicator for breast brachytherapy was used to safely deliver post-lumpectomy radiation therapy to a woman with breast implants, according to a newly published paper in a peer-reviewed journal. The case study showed that SAVI produced an "optimal" clinical outcome and "excellent cosmetic results that pleased the patient," wrote the authors.

12 Apr 2011

Specific oestrogen might serve as effective treatment for osteoporosis

Oestrogen treatment for osteoporosis has often been associated with serious side-effects. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now, in mice, found a way of utilising the positive effects of oestrogen in mice so that only the skeleton is acted on, current research at the Academy shows.

12 Apr 2011

Sirolimus may help treat lymphangioleiomyomatosis in women

An Oregon Health & Science University researcher has co-authored an international study that revealed a drug approved to prevent rejection in organ transplant patients helped treat a rare lung disease in women.

12 Apr 2011

Changes in hormonal status have no impact on women's voice parameters

In recent years several studies have suggested that women's voices change at different times over the menstrual cycle, with the tone rising as ovulation approaches. Now a study conducted by researchers at the West Texas A&M University in which women's voices were subjected to computerized acoustical analysis contradicts those findings.

12 Apr 2011

Older women with high vitamin D status less likely to have early AMD

Women under the age of 75 with high vitamin D status were less likely to have early age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in adults, a University at Buffalo study has shown. The disease affects approximately 9 percent of Americans aged 40 and older.

12 Apr 2011

New maternity scheme in Queensland

Queensland Health has introduced a new maternity scheme. The expecting mothers in Dysart, Middlemount, Moranbah, Clermont and Glenden shall now have a wider variety of options to choose from when it comes to choosing how their pregnancy be managed.

11 Apr 2011

Study shows how specific nutritional combination may help maintain healthy breast tissue

Researchers from Canada and the United States today told attendees of the Experimental Biology 2011 Scientific Meeting that they have uncovered a possible means of enabling women to favorably influence whether the estrogens in their bodies take a "beneficial path" or a "disease-potential" path.

11 Apr 2011

NBCAM events increase breast cancer diagnosis

Each October, the color pink marks the arrival of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Media coverage, product promotions and even the football gridirons showcase the national effort to promote screenings and early detection of the cancer that 200,000 American women are diagnosed with each year.

11 Apr 2011

Tai chi, green tea may help reduce inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women

C.S. Lewis, the famous author and Oxford academic, once proclaimed "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." We sip it with toast in the morning, enjoy it with sweets and biscuits in the afternoon, and relax with it at the end of the day.

11 Apr 2011

Planned Parenthood funding a major stumbling block in budget negotiations

On the brink of a painful government shutdown, the Obama administration readied furlough notices for hundreds of thousands of workers Friday as Republican and Democratic leaders accused each other of refusing to give ground on a deal to keep operations running. ... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused the Republicans of blocking a compromise because they were determined to make it harder 'for women to get cancer screenings' -- a Planned Parenthood funding reference.

11 Apr 2011