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NIH selects Women & Infants to participate in Pelvic Floor Disorders Network

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to participate in the national Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). Women & Infants is one of just eight medical centers from across the US, and the only one in the Northeast, to work collaboratively to develop and perform research studies related to women with pelvic floor disorders.

21 Oct 2011

University kicks off campaign to collect mobile phones to help fund maternal health programs in Congo, Nepal

On Tuesday at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Chelsea Clinton, board member of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts, helped launch the GW + Phones = Hope campaign, which is "working with the national nonprofit Hope Phones to collect phones to benefit maternal health programs in Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal," the "GW Hatchet" blog reports.

21 Oct 2011

CERT gene silencing makes breast cancer cells more sensitive to drugs

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered that switching off a gene called CERT makes breast cancer cells more sensitive to a range of drugs. The research is published in the Journal of Pathology.

21 Oct 2011

Study links leptin levels with symptoms of depression, anxiety

A new study has for the first time in humans linked levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells, with symptoms of depression and anxiety independent of weight.

21 Oct 2011

Poor neighborhoods bad for women’s health: Study

“This study proves that concentrated poverty is not only bad policy, it's bad for your health,” Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “It's not enough to simply move families into different neighborhoods,” Donovan said. Instead, new ways must be found to help families “break the cycle of poverty that can quite literally make them sick.”

20 Oct 2011

Americans on a sodium high: CDC report

A new study by federal government researchers shows that most Americans consume too much sodium, and new strategies and stronger efforts are needed to reduce the amount of dietary salt. Experts add that high levels of sodium consumption are associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke.

20 Oct 2011

A more accurate blood test to detect fetal Downs syndrome launched

Pregnant mothers in the U.S. who wish to know whether they're carrying a fetus with Down syndrome now have access to a commercial genetic blood test that has a 99 per cent accuracy rate.

20 Oct 2011

Pap test the best for cervical cancer screening

The Pap test - a lab exam of cells scraped from the cervix, the gateway to the uterus - is an effective way to screen young and middle-aged women - and it's only needed once every three years, say scientists advising the government.

20 Oct 2011

Women with MET genetic variant and autoantibodies more likely to have autistic children

A study by researchers at UC Davis has found that pregnant women with a particular gene variation are more likely to produce autoantibodies to the brains of their developing fetuses and that the children of these mothers are at greater risk of later being diagnosed with autism.

20 Oct 2011

Study explores how internet message boards help women after pregnancy loss

Nearly one in six pregnancies end in miscarriage or stillbirth, but parents' losses are frequently minimized or not acknowledged by friends, family or the community.

20 Oct 2011

Study: Women still have hot flushes/night sweats years after menopause

Women still have hot flushes and night sweats years after the menopause finds a new study published today in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

20 Oct 2011

Experts recommending fewer cancer screenings

New cervical cancer screening guidelines are the latest example of this emerging cautious view.

20 Oct 2011

USAID funding PATH projects to improve health in resource-poor settings

USAID this week announced investments in two new projects to be led by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), according to a USAID press release.

20 Oct 2011

Estrogen regulates energy expenditure, appetite and body weight

A recent UT Southwestern Medical Center study found that estrogen regulates energy expenditure, appetite and body weight, while insufficient estrogen receptors in specific parts of the brain may lead to obesity.

20 Oct 2011

IRIN examines improvements in maternal, infant mortality indicators in Myanmar

IRIN examines maternal and child health in "conflict-afflicted eastern Myanmar, [where] until recently obstetric care was often crude, unsterile and dangerous for both mother and child, health experts say." To address high rates of maternal and infant mortality in the region, "in 2005 several CBOs, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and the Global Health Access Program launched the Mobile Obstetric Medics (MOM) project -- dramatically boosting access to care," IRIN writes.

20 Oct 2011

Link between neighborhood poverty and low-income women's health

Low-income women with children who move from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods experience notable long-term improvements in some aspects of their health, namely reductions in diabetes and extreme obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and partner institutions.

20 Oct 2011

BRA Day to promote awareness on breast reconstruction surgery

Only seven per cent of female breast cancer patients opt for breast reconstruction surgery. Dr. Melinda Musgrave is determined to find out why.

20 Oct 2011

USAID, Kimberly-Clark announce partnership to improve maternal, child health in Andean region

USAID and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a manufacturer of health and hygiene products, on Tuesday announced "they will work together to improve maternal and child health in the Andean region, starting in Colombia and Ecuador," according to a USAID press release.

20 Oct 2011

New guidelines for prevention and early detection of cervical cancer

The American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) have proposed new guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer.

20 Oct 2011

AAGL to showcase innovative surgical approaches, teaching tools at 40th Global Congress

Technology has radically changed the way surgeons practice medicine, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of gynecologic endoscopy. AAGL, the oldest professional organization devoted to teaching minimally invasive treatment for women's health problems, will showcase a number of innovative surgical approaches and teaching tools among the hundreds of postgraduate courses and practice labs offered at its annual Global Congress, November 6-11, 2011 at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL.

19 Oct 2011