Women's Health News

RSS

Pregnant mums taking miscarriage prevention drug decades ago may have put their girls at risk of infertility and cancers

A new study reveals that a drug that was taken by millions of pregnant women decades ago to prevent miscarriage and complications has put their daughters at higher risk for breast cancer and other health problems. The study shows that many of these daughters are now over 40 and may not even know of their risk if their mothers never realized or told them they had used the drug, a synthetic estrogen called DES or Diethyl stilbesterol.

6 Oct 2011

Vitamin D deficiency might be common in fair skinned people: Study

The British study suggests that pale people tend to be deficient in the “sunshine” vitamin and that without supplements they're unlikely to get their levels up without getting sunburned. That can put them at risk for bone loss, heart disease, and poorer survival from breast cancer, according to the study's authors.

5 Oct 2011

Drink driving reduced by 30% but more needs to be done: CDC report

A new survey brings welcome news – drink driving in the U.S. is down by nearly 30% from its peak in 2006. This is in spite of the fact that an estimated 4 million Americans still admit to at least once having operated a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, resulting in about 112 million “alcohol impaired driving episodes” and thousands of fatalities, wrote researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a paper published Tuesday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

5 Oct 2011

Hormonal contraceptive shots and risk of HIV in African women

A new study from Africa reveals that using a hormone shot given every three months - the most popular contraceptive for women in eastern and southern Africa, may make it easier for HIV to spread between heterosexual sex partners.

5 Oct 2011

Australian project aims to improve the early detection of breast cancer

The University of Sydney, in partnership with BreastScreen NSW and Ziltron, has developed a pioneering web-based programme to monitor the performance of radiologists in detecting and diagnosing abnormalities in breast x-rays. Currently commencing its nationwide rollout, the BREAST Project has the potential to improve the early detection of breast cancer through screening and in turn reduce breast cancer mortality and morbidity.

4 Oct 2011

New research relates role of gender and weight management in overall sleep patterns

The benefits of a good night's sleep to overall health have long been reported. Now, new research has emerged relating to the role gender and weight management play in overall sleep patterns. The abstract, Gender Differences in a Naturalistic Observational Study of Sleep and BMI, was presented during a poster session at the annual Obesity Society meeting in Orlando, Florida this week.

4 Oct 2011

Many average-risk women receive genetic testing for hereditary breast, ovarian cancers

Too many average-risk women and too few high-risk women receive genetic counseling and testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, research shows. Experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center share advice to help patients and their doctors better evaluate family history and make more sound decisions about who should be tested.

4 Oct 2011

Higher maternal diet quality may reduce risk of birth defects

Healthier dietary choices by pregnant women are associated with reduced risks of birth defects, including neural tube defects and orofacial clefts, according to a study published Online First by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Oct 2011

New review explores how nanotechnology may develop safer breast implants

A new review published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology explores how nanotechnology may be used to develop safer breast implants as an alternative to silicone rubber, minimizing health complications.

4 Oct 2011

IPS examines the practice of breast ironing in Cameroon

Inter Press Service reports on the practice of breast ironing in Cameroon, a custom carried out by one-quarter of mothers in the country that is meant to reverse female sexual development in an effort "to avoid sexual contact between young girls and boys."

4 Oct 2011

Council On Foreign Relations examines maternal health in Afghanistan

Isobel Coleman, senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and director of the Civil Society, Markets and Democracy Initiative at the Council On Foreign Relations, reports on the council's website on maternal health in Afghanistan, writing that one out of 11 Afghan women is likely to die in childbirth during her lifetime; Afghan women are 200 times more likely to die giving birth than by a bomb or bullet. Not surprisingly, Save the Children this year ranked Afghanistan the worst country in the world to be a mother. Yet, there are some positive signs.

4 Oct 2011

Brave breast cancer survivors on camera – scars and all

David Jay is a fashion photographer who has spent years capturing images of perfectly formed beautiful women. About five years ago, he began shooting young breast cancer survivors after his girlfriend's twin sister was diagnosed with the disease in her late 20s. His motive was to raise awareness that breast cancer can ravage young women as well as old.

3 Oct 2011

Despite increase in cases, awareness of male breast cancer is low

Awareness of male breast cancer is low and most men do not even know they are at risk despite an increase in cases, reveals new research from the University of Leeds.

3 Oct 2011

EntreMed announces data from ENMD-2076 Phase 2 study in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

EntreMed, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer today announced the final data for the primary endpoint of progression free survival rate at 6 months for its Phase 2 study with ENMD-2076 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients.

3 Oct 2011

Perinatal exposure to BPA affects mammary hormone response

A recent study accepted for publication in Molecular Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society, found that perinatal exposure to environmentally relevant doses of bisphenol A (BPA) alters long-term hormone response and breast development in mice that may increase the propensity to develop cancer.

3 Oct 2011

Scientists discover 16 million SNPs that associate with increased risk of ovarian cancer

Scientists at deCODE Genetics and academic collaborators from Iceland, The Netherlands, Spain and Finland today report the discovery of variants in the human genome that associate with increased risk of invasive ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer in women.

3 Oct 2011

FDA clears Nucletron's new VCMC Applicator for gynecologic cancers

During the first day of the annual conference for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Miami, Nucletron, an Elekta company, today announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its new Vaginal CT/MR Multi Channel (VCMC) Applicator, offering a brachytherapy solution that enables very precise dose delivery for gynecologic cancers.

From Elekta 3 Oct 2011

Radiation risk in cigarettes hidden by tobacco companies

A new study of historical documents revealed that tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades.

2 Oct 2011

Smoking worst among miners, hoteliers and construction workers: CDC report

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report reveals that miners, construction workers and people in the hotel and food service industry have the highest smoking rates, while those in education have the lowest.

2 Oct 2011

Third Annual Walk for Lupus Now! to take place in Richmond on Oct. 29

Purple passion will cap a month of pink ribbons—raising funds and awareness for people with lupus, a still-unknown disease. More than 1,000 people with lupus, their families, friends and co-workers dressed in purple will carry butterflies in the Third Annual Walk for Lupus Now! Richmond on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:00 p.m.

1 Oct 2011