Women's Health News

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Scientists identify networks of genes critical in embryonic-heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified networks of genes that play an important role in embryonic-heart development, advancing knowledge of how healthy hearts develop-and offering clues about how to combat a common birth defect known as congenital heart disease.

18 Apr 2011

First ever genome scan for womb cancer reveals genetic region that reduces risk of the disease

Scientists have carried out the first ever genome scan for womb cancer and discovered a genetic region that reduces risk of the disease, according to a study published in Nature Genetics.

18 Apr 2011

Mother’s Day can be tough when your Mum has cancer

This May, in the spirit of Mother’s Day, youth cancer charity CanTeen reaches out to the 15,000 Australians aged 12-24 years who have a parent diagnosed with cancer each year.

18 Apr 2011

New book on women's health and diabetes care

"If there is anything that this disease has done to improve my life, it taught me at a young age how to take care of myself." - Nikki Peterson, 24 years old, diabetes for 14 years.

16 Apr 2011

Women experience more severe and frequent domestic violence than men

Domestic violence knows no boundaries: cultural, socio-economic, religious, level of education, gender or age. It can occur in any relationship and to anyone, but especially to women. In fact, roughly 25 percent of women will become a victim at one time or another during her lifetime.

16 Apr 2011

NVP-BEZ235 inhibits growth of ovarian cancer cells, increases survival: Study

An experimental drug that blocks two points of a crucial cancer cell signaling pathway inhibits the growth of ovarian cancer cells and significantly increases survival in an ovarian cancer mouse model, a study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

16 Apr 2011

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