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Siemens launches MAMMOMAT Inspiration Full-Field Digital Mammography System in the U.S.

Siemens announces that the MAMMOMAT® Inspiration Full-Field Digital Mammography System is now commercially available in the United States. The MAMMOMAT Inspiration offers digital screening and diagnostic mammography, stereotactic biopsy, and upgrade capability to future technologies all in one system.

17 Nov 2010

Mammograms bungled: Rush to fix the problem

Nearly 5,300 mammograms will need a review because of a computer error at Breast Screen Victoria. In a serious error a radiologist noticed a mismatch between the names of patients and their images. This may mean that some women may not have had their mammograms checked twice by two different radiologists as is the usual protocol.

17 Nov 2010

Study finds interrupted sleep as a burden borne disproportionately by women

Working mothers are two-and-a-half times as likely as working fathers to interrupt their sleep to take care of others.

17 Nov 2010

8 states get better grade on 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Eight states earned a better grade on the 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card and 32 others and the District of Columbia saw their preterm birth rates improve.

17 Nov 2010

Risk of radiation-induced breast cancer from mammographic screening slight in comparison to benefits

The risk of radiation-induced breast cancer from mammography screening is slight in comparison to the benefit of expected lives saved, according to a new study appearing online and in the January issue of the journal Radiology.

17 Nov 2010

New findings could help bypass unnecessary use of oxytocin in normal deliveries

It is standard practice in Swedish delivery rooms to use oxytocin to stimulate a labour that has been slow to start or has grind to a halt for a few hours. However, it is also fine to wait for a further three hours in first-time mothers, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

17 Nov 2010

Active management of third stage of labour leads to less blood loss

Active management of the third stage of labour means that women lose less blood than with a more expectant approach, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in conjunction with Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

17 Nov 2010

Insuring your health: Many individual health policies do not cover pregnancy

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "Individual health insurance policies generally don't cover maternity care, as a recent investigation by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce reported.

16 Nov 2010

New mechanism breaks drug resistance in ovarian cancer

Drug resistance is a major obstacle in curing ovarian cancer but new research from the Centenary Institute has discovered a treatment that kills ovarian cancer cells in a new way that can break the resistance mechanism.

16 Nov 2010

Leaders speak at Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health conference

Education for women is the most important factor for positively influencing the health of women and children, Indian President Pratibha Patil said on Saturday at a meeting in New Delhi of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), IANS/Sify News reports. "Education is a powerful driver of health. The relationship between poverty, lack of education and limited access to health services, is well recognised," Patil said at the start of the two-day conference (11/13).

16 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

New study finds PEM reduces unnecessary breast biopsies

The Radiology journal released new data from an NIH-sponsored, multi-site study of hundreds of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer that shows Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) may reduce unnecessary breast biopsies. The study found that PEM was significantly more precise at identifying benign and cancerous lesions, in what scientists call "Positive Predictive Value" or "PPV," therefore reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies.

15 Nov 2010

Reproductive health forum in Ghana addresses unsafe abortions in Africa

The issue of unsafe abortion and its role in women's health was the focus of a four-day conference this week in Accra, Ghana, involving health experts, policymakers and health workers from across Africa, Ghana News Agency reports.

15 Nov 2010

Oregon scientist investigates safety, effectiveness of novel low-cost family-planning option

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded nationally prominent Oregon Health & Science University reproductive scientist Jeffrey T. Jensen, M.D., M.P.H., a $100,000 grant to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a novel low-cost family-planning option that may be applicable to women in low-resource countries worldwide.

15 Nov 2010

Research on E.Coli bacteria could help develop new vaccine for urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections are a painful, recurring problem for millions of women. They are also getting more dangerous as bacteria develop resistance to the most common treatments.

15 Nov 2010

Job strain can increase risk of cardiovascular disease in women

Women who report having high job strain have a 40 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and the need for procedures to open blocked arteries, compared to those with low job strain, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

14 Nov 2010

Female veterans less likely to engage in binge drinking

According to a new spotlight by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), female veterans aged 20-39 are far less likely to engage in binge drinking or the use of substances such as cigarettes and illicit drugs than male veterans of the same age group.

12 Nov 2010

Screening colonoscopy rates for women do not increase when offered to be done by female endoscopists: Study

A new study from researchers in Colorado shows that women offered a female endoscopist were not more likely to undergo a screening colonoscopy than those who were not offered this choice. Past surveys have shown preferences for female endoscopists seem to be common among women. In this study, a patient outreach program failed to support the notion that rates of screening colonoscopy can be increased by offering women the option of a screening colonoscopy performed by a female endoscopist.

12 Nov 2010

Mutual accountability on women's and children's health goals essential to Millennium Development Goal success

This year, governments, foundations, businesses, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and health care professional associations publicly pledged more than $ 40 billion* to improve maternal and child health and save million of lives.

12 Nov 2010

Researchers study Rett neurons in a Petri dish

A collaborative effort between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego, successfully used human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from patients with Rett syndrome to replicate autism in the lab and study the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.

12 Nov 2010