The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.
~ "'Operation Rescue' Founder Warns of 'Violent Convulsions' if Health Bill Doesn't Ban Abortions," Ian Millhiser, Think Progress: Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry is "probably the first public figure to raise terrorism as a potential response to a health bill which allows Americans to keep the same access to reproductive care that they currently enjoy," Millhiser writes in a blog post responding to Terry's warning "that his supporters may engage in violent acts of terrorism unless Congress prohibits abortion services from being covered in the new health reform legislation." According to Millhiser, Terry recently said that there are some people "'who will be tempted to acts of violence'" and that "'history will hold those in power responsible for the violent convulsions that follow'" the legislation. Millhiser writes that many conservative policymakers are "pushing a poison pill amendment" to Congress' reform bill that would prohibit the coverage of abortion services in plans offered within a national health insurance exchange. He notes that 71% of U.S. residents oppose an amendment that would "cut off women's access to reproductive care" (Millhiser, Think Progress, 7/20).
~ "Gestation Is a Life-Changing Experience for Women," Jessica Grose, XX Factor: Grose's post responds to Francis Kissling's recent Salon opinion piece discussing the "'new pro-lifers.'" According to Grose, this movement "seeks to make bearing and raising children easier, and reducing abortion that way." She continues, "It almost sounds reasonable to pro-choice Kissling, except for one thing: making bearing children 'easier' doesn't acknowledge how gestation can change a woman's life." According to Kissling, the "'new pro-lifers barely acknowledge the difficulties of childbirth,'" and the movement "'denies the reality that even in modern Western culture, in the high-tech U.S., every woman who agrees to be pregnant still risks dying if the pregnancy goes awry.'" Kissling also wrote that the "'new antiabortionists want to use their rosy view of pregnancy as the frame for public policy, and that is where they become indistinguishable from the old antiabortion movement. For both groups, women are passive participants in gestation.'" Grose writes that "many of the new pro-lifers don't support efforts to bring contraception to women who don't have access to it," an issue that is "likely to come back in a big way in the next few months as the administration's new health plan is debated" (Grose, XX Factor, 7/20).
~ "Thanks, Abstinence-Only Education!" Feministing: "Thanks to a decade of misinformation and masquerading as sex education, teens are having the same amount of sex, using contraception less and getting pregnant more," a Feministing blog entry states. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that trends in reproductive and sexual health of U.S. teens and young adults "'have flattened, or in some instances may be worsening.'" According to the blog entry, "We're reaping what we've sowed." Although President Obama's 2010 budget proposal includes cuts in abstinence-only education funding, "de-funding these programs is not enough," the blog says. It adds, "We have to undo the damage that's been done to young people and support real solutions." The blog concludes, "The purity-pushers are not going anywhere, but this is about more than politics, ... it's about our health and futures" (Feministing, 7/20).
~ "Human Rights Resolution Spotlights Disparities in Maternal Health Care in the U.S.," Ximena Andion Ibanez et al., RH Reality Check: A "vast majority" of pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths are "preventable and can therefore be understood to reflect widespread indifference to the rights of the world's poorest women," Ibanez writes in a blog post co-authored by Center for Reproductive Rights Deputy Director Laura Katzive and Michelle Movahead, an attorney at the center. This "great global injustice is also evident, on a smaller scale" in the U.S., which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, according to the blog. The Human Rights Council's Maternal Mortality Resolution recognizes that maternal deaths "occur in all countries of the world and that there is a collective responsibility to eliminate it," the blog continues. It adds that U.S. involvement with the resolution is a "heartening step towards putting women's human rights front and center" and a "welcome shift towards positive and constructive engagement" with HRC. However, "[w]hat is needed now is to transform this commitment into concrete action to eliminate preventable maternal death and disease worldwide," the blog states, concluding that the U.S. "has an opportunity to be a leader on this front, both at home and around the world" (Ibanez et al., RH Reality Check, 7/21).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 25 декабря 2011 г.
воскресенье, 18 декабря 2011 г.
Young British Girls To Be Routinely Vaccinated Against HPV From September 2008
The British government has announced that 12-13 year-old girls will be routinely vaccinated against HPV (human papillomavirus), as from September 2008. Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, during yesterday's announcement said this move signals the government's commitment to improve preventative measures.
According to official estimates, the whole program will cost approximately ??100 million ($200m) annually. Further money will be spent on a catch-up campaign to make sure all girls up to the age of 18 are vaccinated, say officials.
Mr Johnson said "As a society we need to do more to prevent disease and not just treat it. Prevention is always better than cure and this vaccine will prevent many women from catching the human papillomavirus in the first place, potentially saving around 400 hundred lives a year."
Harpal Kimar, CEO, Cancer Research UK, said "This is an exciting step towards preventing cervical cancer in the UK. While the vaccine has the potential to prevent many cases of the disease, the impact of a vaccination program won't be felt for many years. Cervical screening remains vital in preventing the disease. We urge all women take up the invitation when they receive it."
Officials have stressed that the screening program will continue after the HPV vaccine is introduced. This is because the vaccine protects against several, but not all cancer-causing strains of HPV.
Which Vaccine Will Be Used?
The Department of Health has not yet decided which of the two licensed vaccines it will use - Gardasil or Cervarix.
-- gardasil
-- Cervical cancer information - GSK web site
-- Department of Health (UK)
View drug information on Cervarix [Human Papillomavirus Bivalent; Gardasil.
According to official estimates, the whole program will cost approximately ??100 million ($200m) annually. Further money will be spent on a catch-up campaign to make sure all girls up to the age of 18 are vaccinated, say officials.
Mr Johnson said "As a society we need to do more to prevent disease and not just treat it. Prevention is always better than cure and this vaccine will prevent many women from catching the human papillomavirus in the first place, potentially saving around 400 hundred lives a year."
Harpal Kimar, CEO, Cancer Research UK, said "This is an exciting step towards preventing cervical cancer in the UK. While the vaccine has the potential to prevent many cases of the disease, the impact of a vaccination program won't be felt for many years. Cervical screening remains vital in preventing the disease. We urge all women take up the invitation when they receive it."
Officials have stressed that the screening program will continue after the HPV vaccine is introduced. This is because the vaccine protects against several, but not all cancer-causing strains of HPV.
Which Vaccine Will Be Used?
The Department of Health has not yet decided which of the two licensed vaccines it will use - Gardasil or Cervarix.
-- gardasil
-- Cervical cancer information - GSK web site
-- Department of Health (UK)
View drug information on Cervarix [Human Papillomavirus Bivalent; Gardasil.
воскресенье, 11 декабря 2011 г.
What Is A Rectocele? What Causes A Rectocele?
A rectocele, also called a proctocele, results from a tear in the normally tough, fibrous, sheet-like divider between the rectum and vagina (rectovaginal septum), causing a bulge to protrude as a hernia into the vagina when there is a bowel movement. It is mainly caused by childbirth or a hysterectomy. It is more likely to occur as a result of childbirth if the baby weighs over nine pounds, or the birth was fast.
If the rectocele is small the patient may not notice it, there may be no signs or symptoms at all. In larger cases there may be a perceptible protrusion of tissue through the vaginal opening. The woman may experience some discomfort - pain is rare.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary a rectocele is:
"Prolapse or herniation of the rectum."
In the majority of cases the patient can treat the rectocele with self-care and other non-surgical methods. Surgery may be required in severe cases.
Males may also develop a rectocele (extremely rare).
What are the signs and symptoms of a rectocele?
A symptom is something the patient senses and describes, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. For example, drowsiness may be a symptom while dilated pupils may be a sign.
In mild cases the woman may sense pressure within the vagina, she may feel that her bowels have not been completely emptied after going to the toilet.
In moderate cases an attempt to evacuate can push the stool into the rectocele rather that out through the anus, there may be pain and discomfort during evacuation. There is a higher chance of having constipation. Some women may experience pain during sexual intercourse.
Some women say it feels as if "something is falling out/down" within the pelvis.
In severe cases there may be vaginal bleeding, occasional fecal incontinence, and sometimes the prolapse of the bulge through the mouth of the vagina, or rectal prolapse through the anus.
Many females have rectoceles, but only a few may feel any symptoms.
What can cause a rectocele?
Roctoceles can have several causes, the most common being childbirth, especially when the baby is big (over nine pounds). Rapid births are also common causes. Experts say that using forceps during delivery is more likely to cause vaginal injury than directly cause the tear that leads to a rectocele.
The more vaginal births a woman has had, the higher her risk. However, females who have never given birth can also develop a rectocele.
The following may also cause rectoceles:
A drop in estrogen levels when a woman gets older (menopause) can make pelvic tissues less elastic, increasing the risk of developing a rectocele
A hysterectomy
Chronic constipation
Lots of long-term coughing, as in chronic bronchitis
Pelvic surgery
Sexual abuse during childhood (often an overlooked cause)
Obesity or overweight
The underlying cause is the weakening of the pelvic support structures and weakening of the rectovaginal septum.
Females who only have cesarean births have a significantly lower chance of developing rectoceles compared to those who give birth naturally.
How is a rectocele diagnosed?
Doctors can usually diagnose a rectocele after examining the vagina and rectum. However, determining how big it is can sometimes be difficult. The patient may have to answer a questionnaire which helps the physician assess the degree of prolapse and whether it is having any impact on the her quality of life.
Imaging tests are not usually needed for an accurate diagnosis. However, the doctor may detect something during the physical examination that requires identification. In such cases an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan or an X-ray may be ordered. Imaging tests can also show how big the rectocele is and how well the patient is emptying her rectum. A defecagram (defecrography) is a type of X-ray study that helps the doctor determine the size of the rectoceles and how well the patient is evacuating.
What are the treatment options for a rectocele?
In mild cases no medical treatment, apart from some pelvic exercises (Kegel exercises), is required. The patient should consume plenty of fluids and eat fiber to avoid constipation. It is important that she avoids prolonged straining when going to the toilet.
A woman with a rectoceles should avoid any type of heavy lifting and/or prolonged coughing.
If the patient is overweight or obese the doctor will advise her to try to lose weight.
The doctor may prescribe stool softeners. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be recommended for post-menopausal women.
A vaginal pessary (plastic/rubber ring inserted into the vagina) helps support the protruding tissues.
Surgery, if necessary, is directed at repairs to the rectovaginal septum, which involves a simple incision (placation) of the vaginal skin.
Prevention
Don't smoke. Smoking increases the risk of having a chronic cough.
Do your Kegel exercises regularly, especially after you have given birth.
Try to maintain a healthy body weight.
If you have a chronic cough, get it treated.
Avoid constipation and prolonged straining when going to the toilet.
If the rectocele is small the patient may not notice it, there may be no signs or symptoms at all. In larger cases there may be a perceptible protrusion of tissue through the vaginal opening. The woman may experience some discomfort - pain is rare.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary a rectocele is:
"Prolapse or herniation of the rectum."
In the majority of cases the patient can treat the rectocele with self-care and other non-surgical methods. Surgery may be required in severe cases.
Males may also develop a rectocele (extremely rare).
What are the signs and symptoms of a rectocele?
A symptom is something the patient senses and describes, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. For example, drowsiness may be a symptom while dilated pupils may be a sign.
In mild cases the woman may sense pressure within the vagina, she may feel that her bowels have not been completely emptied after going to the toilet.
In moderate cases an attempt to evacuate can push the stool into the rectocele rather that out through the anus, there may be pain and discomfort during evacuation. There is a higher chance of having constipation. Some women may experience pain during sexual intercourse.
Some women say it feels as if "something is falling out/down" within the pelvis.
In severe cases there may be vaginal bleeding, occasional fecal incontinence, and sometimes the prolapse of the bulge through the mouth of the vagina, or rectal prolapse through the anus.
Many females have rectoceles, but only a few may feel any symptoms.
What can cause a rectocele?
Roctoceles can have several causes, the most common being childbirth, especially when the baby is big (over nine pounds). Rapid births are also common causes. Experts say that using forceps during delivery is more likely to cause vaginal injury than directly cause the tear that leads to a rectocele.
The more vaginal births a woman has had, the higher her risk. However, females who have never given birth can also develop a rectocele.
The following may also cause rectoceles:
A drop in estrogen levels when a woman gets older (menopause) can make pelvic tissues less elastic, increasing the risk of developing a rectocele
A hysterectomy
Chronic constipation
Lots of long-term coughing, as in chronic bronchitis
Pelvic surgery
Sexual abuse during childhood (often an overlooked cause)
Obesity or overweight
The underlying cause is the weakening of the pelvic support structures and weakening of the rectovaginal septum.
Females who only have cesarean births have a significantly lower chance of developing rectoceles compared to those who give birth naturally.
How is a rectocele diagnosed?
Doctors can usually diagnose a rectocele after examining the vagina and rectum. However, determining how big it is can sometimes be difficult. The patient may have to answer a questionnaire which helps the physician assess the degree of prolapse and whether it is having any impact on the her quality of life.
Imaging tests are not usually needed for an accurate diagnosis. However, the doctor may detect something during the physical examination that requires identification. In such cases an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan or an X-ray may be ordered. Imaging tests can also show how big the rectocele is and how well the patient is emptying her rectum. A defecagram (defecrography) is a type of X-ray study that helps the doctor determine the size of the rectoceles and how well the patient is evacuating.
What are the treatment options for a rectocele?
In mild cases no medical treatment, apart from some pelvic exercises (Kegel exercises), is required. The patient should consume plenty of fluids and eat fiber to avoid constipation. It is important that she avoids prolonged straining when going to the toilet.
A woman with a rectoceles should avoid any type of heavy lifting and/or prolonged coughing.
If the patient is overweight or obese the doctor will advise her to try to lose weight.
The doctor may prescribe stool softeners. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be recommended for post-menopausal women.
A vaginal pessary (plastic/rubber ring inserted into the vagina) helps support the protruding tissues.
Surgery, if necessary, is directed at repairs to the rectovaginal septum, which involves a simple incision (placation) of the vaginal skin.
Prevention
Don't smoke. Smoking increases the risk of having a chronic cough.
Do your Kegel exercises regularly, especially after you have given birth.
Try to maintain a healthy body weight.
If you have a chronic cough, get it treated.
Avoid constipation and prolonged straining when going to the toilet.
воскресенье, 4 декабря 2011 г.
GlaxoSmithKline Announces Expanded Indication For Hycamtin(R) To Treat Cervical Cancer In Combination Chemotherapy
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:
GSK) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved Hycamtin (topotecan HCl) in combination with cisplatin, for the
treatment of stage IV-B, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix,
which is not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation
therapy. Following a six-month priority review by the FDA, the expanded
indication is based on Phase III results that demonstrated a survival
advantage by using Hycamtin in combination with cisplatin compared to
cisplatin alone.
"Advanced cervical cancer can have a very poor prognosis, even with
current treatments, so physicians are always looking for new and effective
therapies," said Bradley Monk, M.D., Associate Professor, Division of
Oncologic Gynecology at University of California, Irvine. "These results
show that Hycamtin extended the survival of these women, which is the
ultimate goal."
The randomized, multicenter trial was designed and conducted by the
Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) and results were published last year in
the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study found that Hycamtin, in
combination with cisplatin, was effective in treating cervical cancers
which were not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation
therapy.
"The expanded use of Hycamtin in treating these patients with cervical
cancer demonstrates GSK's ongoing commitment to bringing therapies to
physicians for the treatment of women with cancer," said Kevin Lokay, Vice
President of Oncology and Acute Care at GSK. "In addition to developing
treatments, GSK is also developing therapies for the prevention of this
disease. We are currently developing a vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus
(HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer."
About the trial
The trial enrolled women with measurable, histologically-proven stage
IVB, recurrent or persistent carcinoma of the cervix, who had recovered
from the effects of prior surgery, radiation or chemoradiation. Patients
were originally randomized into three arms: single-agent cisplatin (n=146,
50 mg/m2, every 21 days), Hycamtin plus cisplatin (n=147, Hycamtin 0.75
mg/m2, day 1-3 plus cisplatin 50 mg/m2 day 1 every 21 days), or MVAC
(methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin every 28 days).
However, the MVAC arm was closed after 64 patients were enrolled, due to
excessive toxicity.(1)
The study showed a statistically significant improvement in overall
survival for Hycamtin plus cisplatin arm (log-rank P=0.033). Median
survival for Hycamtin plus cisplatin was 9.4 months when compared to 6.5
months for cisplatin alone.(1) This GOG study was led by Dr. Harry J. Long
III, Professor of Oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester,
Minn.
The Hycamtin plus cisplatin combination was generally well-tolerated.
The most common dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression. Major
hematologic adverse events (Grade 3 and 4) were more frequent in the
combination arm than in the single-agent arm and included neutropenia (74%
vs. 2%), thrombocytopenia (33% vs. 3%), Infection-febrile neutropenia (19%
vs. 8%), respectively. The most common non-hematologic adverse events
reported were constitutional*, Gastrointestinal, pain and metabolic
toxicities.
About Hycamtin
Hycamtin is currently marketed in the United States by GlaxoSmithKline.
It belongs to a class of drugs known as the topoisomerase I (topo-I)
inhibitors. Topo-I is a naturally produced protein essential for cell
division in both normal and cancer cells. Interaction between topo-I and
Hycamtin results in permanent damage to the cell's genetic material and the
death of dividing cancer cells. Hycamtin was originally approved for the
treatment of small cell lung cancer sensitive disease after failure of
first-line chemotherapy and for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of
the ovary after failure of initial or subsequent chemotherapy. For more
information and full prescribing information, visit
hycamtin.
Important Safety Information
Hycamtin can suppress the body's ability to produce disease fighting
white blood cells, a condition known as neutropenia. In addition, the
amount of clotting cells can decrease (thrombocytopenia). Generally,
Hycamtin has a mild to moderate non-hematologic toxicity profile. Side
effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss (alopecia).
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline -- one of the world's leading research-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies -- is committed to improving the
quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live
longer. For company information, visit hycamtin.
-- Constitutional includes fatigue (lethargy, malaise, asthenia), fever
(in the absence of neutropenia), rigors, chills sweating, and weight
gain or loss.
References
1. Long HJ. Randomized phase III trial of cisplatin with or without
topotecan in carcinoma of the uterine cervix: A Gynecologic Oncology
Group Study. J Clin Oncol.
GlaxoSmithKline
hycamtin
View drug information on Hycamtin.
GSK) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved Hycamtin (topotecan HCl) in combination with cisplatin, for the
treatment of stage IV-B, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix,
which is not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation
therapy. Following a six-month priority review by the FDA, the expanded
indication is based on Phase III results that demonstrated a survival
advantage by using Hycamtin in combination with cisplatin compared to
cisplatin alone.
"Advanced cervical cancer can have a very poor prognosis, even with
current treatments, so physicians are always looking for new and effective
therapies," said Bradley Monk, M.D., Associate Professor, Division of
Oncologic Gynecology at University of California, Irvine. "These results
show that Hycamtin extended the survival of these women, which is the
ultimate goal."
The randomized, multicenter trial was designed and conducted by the
Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) and results were published last year in
the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study found that Hycamtin, in
combination with cisplatin, was effective in treating cervical cancers
which were not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation
therapy.
"The expanded use of Hycamtin in treating these patients with cervical
cancer demonstrates GSK's ongoing commitment to bringing therapies to
physicians for the treatment of women with cancer," said Kevin Lokay, Vice
President of Oncology and Acute Care at GSK. "In addition to developing
treatments, GSK is also developing therapies for the prevention of this
disease. We are currently developing a vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus
(HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer."
About the trial
The trial enrolled women with measurable, histologically-proven stage
IVB, recurrent or persistent carcinoma of the cervix, who had recovered
from the effects of prior surgery, radiation or chemoradiation. Patients
were originally randomized into three arms: single-agent cisplatin (n=146,
50 mg/m2, every 21 days), Hycamtin plus cisplatin (n=147, Hycamtin 0.75
mg/m2, day 1-3 plus cisplatin 50 mg/m2 day 1 every 21 days), or MVAC
(methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin every 28 days).
However, the MVAC arm was closed after 64 patients were enrolled, due to
excessive toxicity.(1)
The study showed a statistically significant improvement in overall
survival for Hycamtin plus cisplatin arm (log-rank P=0.033). Median
survival for Hycamtin plus cisplatin was 9.4 months when compared to 6.5
months for cisplatin alone.(1) This GOG study was led by Dr. Harry J. Long
III, Professor of Oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester,
Minn.
The Hycamtin plus cisplatin combination was generally well-tolerated.
The most common dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression. Major
hematologic adverse events (Grade 3 and 4) were more frequent in the
combination arm than in the single-agent arm and included neutropenia (74%
vs. 2%), thrombocytopenia (33% vs. 3%), Infection-febrile neutropenia (19%
vs. 8%), respectively. The most common non-hematologic adverse events
reported were constitutional*, Gastrointestinal, pain and metabolic
toxicities.
About Hycamtin
Hycamtin is currently marketed in the United States by GlaxoSmithKline.
It belongs to a class of drugs known as the topoisomerase I (topo-I)
inhibitors. Topo-I is a naturally produced protein essential for cell
division in both normal and cancer cells. Interaction between topo-I and
Hycamtin results in permanent damage to the cell's genetic material and the
death of dividing cancer cells. Hycamtin was originally approved for the
treatment of small cell lung cancer sensitive disease after failure of
first-line chemotherapy and for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of
the ovary after failure of initial or subsequent chemotherapy. For more
information and full prescribing information, visit
hycamtin.
Important Safety Information
Hycamtin can suppress the body's ability to produce disease fighting
white blood cells, a condition known as neutropenia. In addition, the
amount of clotting cells can decrease (thrombocytopenia). Generally,
Hycamtin has a mild to moderate non-hematologic toxicity profile. Side
effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss (alopecia).
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline -- one of the world's leading research-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies -- is committed to improving the
quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live
longer. For company information, visit hycamtin.
-- Constitutional includes fatigue (lethargy, malaise, asthenia), fever
(in the absence of neutropenia), rigors, chills sweating, and weight
gain or loss.
References
1. Long HJ. Randomized phase III trial of cisplatin with or without
topotecan in carcinoma of the uterine cervix: A Gynecologic Oncology
Group Study. J Clin Oncol.
GlaxoSmithKline
hycamtin
View drug information on Hycamtin.
воскресенье, 27 ноября 2011 г.
Beyond The Abstract - Insight Into Urogynecologic Features Of Women With Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome
UroToday - Interstitial cystitis (IC) is not "one disease." It is a sum of many different symptoms, and every patient needs to be treated as unique. Success can be achieved only if there is good collaboration between the patient, who needs to make lifestyle changes, the physicians and physical therapists.
What IC patients have in common is varying degrees of voiding dysfunction.
They are miserable, and often no one has acknowledged that they have a
real problem.
The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) defines Vulvodynia as chronic vulvar discomfort or pain, characterized by burning, stinging, irritation or rawness of the female genitalia in cases in which there is no infection or skin disease of the vulva or vagina causing these symptoms. Burning sensations are the most common, but the type and severity of symptoms are highly individualized. Pain may be constant or intermittent, localized or diffuse.
Vulvodynia, as with most chronic pain conditions, can have a profound impact on a woman's quality of life. It typically affects her ability to engage in sexual activity and may interfere with daily functioning, e.g., sitting at a desk, engaging in physical exercise, and participating in social activities. These limitations can negatively affect self-image and lead to depression.
This paper contributes to examining interrelation and coexistence between these
two conditions, vulvodyinia and IC.
Daniele Porru, MD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations, etc., of their research by referencing the published abstract.
Link to full abstract
UroToday - the only urology website with original content global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to:
www.urotoday
Copyright © 2008 - UroToday
What IC patients have in common is varying degrees of voiding dysfunction.
They are miserable, and often no one has acknowledged that they have a
real problem.
The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) defines Vulvodynia as chronic vulvar discomfort or pain, characterized by burning, stinging, irritation or rawness of the female genitalia in cases in which there is no infection or skin disease of the vulva or vagina causing these symptoms. Burning sensations are the most common, but the type and severity of symptoms are highly individualized. Pain may be constant or intermittent, localized or diffuse.
Vulvodynia, as with most chronic pain conditions, can have a profound impact on a woman's quality of life. It typically affects her ability to engage in sexual activity and may interfere with daily functioning, e.g., sitting at a desk, engaging in physical exercise, and participating in social activities. These limitations can negatively affect self-image and lead to depression.
This paper contributes to examining interrelation and coexistence between these
two conditions, vulvodyinia and IC.
Daniele Porru, MD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations, etc., of their research by referencing the published abstract.
Link to full abstract
UroToday - the only urology website with original content global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.
To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to:
www.urotoday
Copyright © 2008 - UroToday
воскресенье, 20 ноября 2011 г.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization Shows Fertility Rates Comparable To Myomectomy
Uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure that blocks blood supply to treat painful uterine fibroids, has a comparable fertility rate to myomectomy, the surgical removal of uterine fibroids, for women who want to conceive, according to the first study on the subject released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.
"This study is significant because it shows comparable fertility rates between the two primary uterus-sparing treatments widely available to treat fibroids: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) and surgical myomectomy, which is considered the gold standard for symptomatic fibroids in women who wish to conceive," said Jo??o Martins Pisco, M.D., an interventional radiologist at St. Louis Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. "These results are surprising because other studies have favored surgical myomectomy over UFE for women who want to conceive. In this study of 743 women, UFE had a fertility rate of 58.1 percent, which is comparable to surgical fibroid removal (myomectomy), which has a fertility rate of 57 percent," noted Pisco. "Our study proves that UFE not only allows women who were unable to conceive to become pregnant but also allows them to have normal pregnancies with similar complication rates as the general population in spite of being a high risk group," he added. "In the future, UFE will probably be a first-line treatment option even for women who wish to conceive and are unable due to the presence uterine fibroids," he noted.
Uterine fibroids are benign tumors in the uterus that can cause prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding that can be severe enough to cause anemia or require transfusion, disabling pelvic pain and pressure, urinary frequency, pain during intercourse, miscarriage, interference with fertility and an abnormally large uterus resembling pregnancy. Twenty to 40 percent of American women 35 and older have uterine fibroids, and nearly 50 percent of premenopausal African American women have fibroids of a significant size.
An increasing number of women are delaying pregnancy until their late thirties, which is also the most likely time for fibroids to develop, said Pisco. There is conflicting evidence in the medical literature regarding the impact of fibroids on pregnancy; however, the risk and type of complication appear to be related to the size, number and location. Women may not know they have fibroids (asymptomatic) and undergo in vitro fertilization treatments - rather than getting treatment for fibroids. "We want women to know that uterine fibroids may be a cause of infertility, that their treatment is mandatory and that UFE may be the only effective treatment for some women," said Pisco.
The conventional treatment of uterine fibroids in patients who wish to become pregnant is myomectomy, which is surgical fibroid removal. This treatment is usually effective, particularly if the fibroids are in small number and of small or medium size. UFE, which has a lower complication rate than myomectomy, may be performed if a woman has many fibroids or large-sized fibroids and a gynecologist cannot rule out a hysterectomy (uterus removal) during myomectomy or if myomectomy is unsuccessful.
In the Portuguese study, most women opted for UFE as a fertility treatment after failure of myomectomy or in vitro fertilization or because hysterectomy was the only suggested option. Of the 743 patients who received UFE treatment, 74 wanted to conceive and had been unable. Of these 74 women, 43 or 58.1 percent (average age, 36.2) became pregnant; the time between UFE and conception ranged from 2 to 22 months. At this time, there have been 36 completed pregnancies, resulting in 30 births (83.3 percent); seven women are still pregnant.
"Most of the pregnancies after uterine fibroid embolization had good outcomes with few complications. The complication rate of the pregnancies was expected to be higher than the general population because these were high-risk patients who had already undergone fertility treatments and were unable to conceive," said Pisco. "However, the percentage of the spontaneous abortions (11.1 percent), pre-term delivery (10.0 percent) and low birth weight (13.3 percent) was the same as the general population," he stated.
Uterine fibroid embolization is performed by interventional radiologists. These physicians are board certified and fellowship trained to perform this and other types of embolization and minimally invasive targeted treatments. An interventional radiologist makes a tiny nick in the skin, about the size of a pencil tip, and inserts a catheter into the femoral artery. Using real-time imaging, the physician guides the catheter through the artery and then releases tiny particles, the size of a grain of sand, into the blood vessels feeding the fibroid, cutting off its blood flow and causing it to shrink and symptoms to subside. Most women return home the same day and can resume normal activities within two to five days afterwards.
Myomectomy is usually major surgery that involves cutting out the biggest fibroid or collection of fibroids and then stitching the uterus back together. Most women have multiple fibroids, and it is not physically possible to remove all the fibroids because it would remove too much of the uterus. While myomectomy is frequently successful in controlling symptoms, the more fibroids the patient has, generally, the less successful the surgery. In addition, fibroids may grow back. Because of this, myomectomy surgery often needs to be repeated.
This was a small retrospective study based on patients being treated for fibroids by UFE in a single institution, said Pisco. He said that larger, multicentered, randomized prospective studies are needed comparing UFE and myomectomy.
Abstract 50: "The Outcome of Pregnancy Following Uterine Fibroid Embolization," J.M. Pisco, M. Duarte and T. Bilhim, all at St. Louis Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal, and the Faculty of Medical Sciences, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, SIR 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13, 2010, Tampa, Fla..
Source:
Maryann Verrillo
Society of Interventional Radiology
"This study is significant because it shows comparable fertility rates between the two primary uterus-sparing treatments widely available to treat fibroids: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) and surgical myomectomy, which is considered the gold standard for symptomatic fibroids in women who wish to conceive," said Jo??o Martins Pisco, M.D., an interventional radiologist at St. Louis Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. "These results are surprising because other studies have favored surgical myomectomy over UFE for women who want to conceive. In this study of 743 women, UFE had a fertility rate of 58.1 percent, which is comparable to surgical fibroid removal (myomectomy), which has a fertility rate of 57 percent," noted Pisco. "Our study proves that UFE not only allows women who were unable to conceive to become pregnant but also allows them to have normal pregnancies with similar complication rates as the general population in spite of being a high risk group," he added. "In the future, UFE will probably be a first-line treatment option even for women who wish to conceive and are unable due to the presence uterine fibroids," he noted.
Uterine fibroids are benign tumors in the uterus that can cause prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding that can be severe enough to cause anemia or require transfusion, disabling pelvic pain and pressure, urinary frequency, pain during intercourse, miscarriage, interference with fertility and an abnormally large uterus resembling pregnancy. Twenty to 40 percent of American women 35 and older have uterine fibroids, and nearly 50 percent of premenopausal African American women have fibroids of a significant size.
An increasing number of women are delaying pregnancy until their late thirties, which is also the most likely time for fibroids to develop, said Pisco. There is conflicting evidence in the medical literature regarding the impact of fibroids on pregnancy; however, the risk and type of complication appear to be related to the size, number and location. Women may not know they have fibroids (asymptomatic) and undergo in vitro fertilization treatments - rather than getting treatment for fibroids. "We want women to know that uterine fibroids may be a cause of infertility, that their treatment is mandatory and that UFE may be the only effective treatment for some women," said Pisco.
The conventional treatment of uterine fibroids in patients who wish to become pregnant is myomectomy, which is surgical fibroid removal. This treatment is usually effective, particularly if the fibroids are in small number and of small or medium size. UFE, which has a lower complication rate than myomectomy, may be performed if a woman has many fibroids or large-sized fibroids and a gynecologist cannot rule out a hysterectomy (uterus removal) during myomectomy or if myomectomy is unsuccessful.
In the Portuguese study, most women opted for UFE as a fertility treatment after failure of myomectomy or in vitro fertilization or because hysterectomy was the only suggested option. Of the 743 patients who received UFE treatment, 74 wanted to conceive and had been unable. Of these 74 women, 43 or 58.1 percent (average age, 36.2) became pregnant; the time between UFE and conception ranged from 2 to 22 months. At this time, there have been 36 completed pregnancies, resulting in 30 births (83.3 percent); seven women are still pregnant.
"Most of the pregnancies after uterine fibroid embolization had good outcomes with few complications. The complication rate of the pregnancies was expected to be higher than the general population because these were high-risk patients who had already undergone fertility treatments and were unable to conceive," said Pisco. "However, the percentage of the spontaneous abortions (11.1 percent), pre-term delivery (10.0 percent) and low birth weight (13.3 percent) was the same as the general population," he stated.
Uterine fibroid embolization is performed by interventional radiologists. These physicians are board certified and fellowship trained to perform this and other types of embolization and minimally invasive targeted treatments. An interventional radiologist makes a tiny nick in the skin, about the size of a pencil tip, and inserts a catheter into the femoral artery. Using real-time imaging, the physician guides the catheter through the artery and then releases tiny particles, the size of a grain of sand, into the blood vessels feeding the fibroid, cutting off its blood flow and causing it to shrink and symptoms to subside. Most women return home the same day and can resume normal activities within two to five days afterwards.
Myomectomy is usually major surgery that involves cutting out the biggest fibroid or collection of fibroids and then stitching the uterus back together. Most women have multiple fibroids, and it is not physically possible to remove all the fibroids because it would remove too much of the uterus. While myomectomy is frequently successful in controlling symptoms, the more fibroids the patient has, generally, the less successful the surgery. In addition, fibroids may grow back. Because of this, myomectomy surgery often needs to be repeated.
This was a small retrospective study based on patients being treated for fibroids by UFE in a single institution, said Pisco. He said that larger, multicentered, randomized prospective studies are needed comparing UFE and myomectomy.
Abstract 50: "The Outcome of Pregnancy Following Uterine Fibroid Embolization," J.M. Pisco, M. Duarte and T. Bilhim, all at St. Louis Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal, and the Faculty of Medical Sciences, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, SIR 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13, 2010, Tampa, Fla..
Source:
Maryann Verrillo
Society of Interventional Radiology
воскресенье, 13 ноября 2011 г.
Smaller Arteries May Reduce A Woman's Likelihood For Successful Catheterization
A new study shows that smaller arterial size in women may account for the reduced likelihood of successful catheterization. Over a four-month period, researchers from New York recorded the age, body mass index (BMI), and gender of 40 patients requiring arterial catheters. Radial and femoral arteries were measured, and the association between their size and patient characteristics was assessed. Researchers concluded that, even after adjusted for age and BMI, the diameters for both radial and femoral arteries were significantly smaller in women than in men, possibly causing unsuccessful catheterizations in critically ill women.
CHEST 2006 abstract briefs
Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians
CHEST 2006 abstract briefs
Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians
воскресенье, 6 ноября 2011 г.
One third of Albanian wives suffer violence from their husbands
Intimate partner violence affects women worldwide, but in Albania, more than a third of married women experience violence from their husbands during a year, and more empowered women are at greater risk, according to a study in this week's BMJ.
Researchers at the University of Tirana, the capital city of Albania surveyed 1039 married women aged 25-65 living in Tirana.
Women were asked about their experience of being hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by the husband. Information on other social and demographic characteristics was also collected.
More than a third (37%) of women had experienced violence. Risk was greatest among women aged 25-34, women with more than 12 years of education, women in white collar jobs, women with least educated husbands, and women married to men raised in rural areas. Women were also at higher risk if they were more educated than their husbands.
These findings, related to women's and men's status, are in keeping with theories that argue that violence is used to enforce gender hierarchies and, particularly, when men have a sense of powerlessness because their social position makes them feel "unsuccessful" as men, say the authors.
Research from other countries has often shown that the most educationally and socially empowered women gain a level of protection, but such protection is not seen among the women of Tirana, possibly because Albania is known to be a country with particularly conservative ideas about sex roles.
Among the challenges for post-communist Albania, and it's health professionals, is the need to reduce the prevalence of intimate partner violence, as well as to provide support for women who are in, or who have been in, violent relationships and to be aware of the ways in which intimate partner violence influences psychological and physical health, they conclude.
Factors associated with spousal physical violence in Albania: cross sectional study, BMJ Volume 331, pp 197-201
Emma Dickinson
edickinsonbmj
44-207-383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
bmj
Researchers at the University of Tirana, the capital city of Albania surveyed 1039 married women aged 25-65 living in Tirana.
Women were asked about their experience of being hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by the husband. Information on other social and demographic characteristics was also collected.
More than a third (37%) of women had experienced violence. Risk was greatest among women aged 25-34, women with more than 12 years of education, women in white collar jobs, women with least educated husbands, and women married to men raised in rural areas. Women were also at higher risk if they were more educated than their husbands.
These findings, related to women's and men's status, are in keeping with theories that argue that violence is used to enforce gender hierarchies and, particularly, when men have a sense of powerlessness because their social position makes them feel "unsuccessful" as men, say the authors.
Research from other countries has often shown that the most educationally and socially empowered women gain a level of protection, but such protection is not seen among the women of Tirana, possibly because Albania is known to be a country with particularly conservative ideas about sex roles.
Among the challenges for post-communist Albania, and it's health professionals, is the need to reduce the prevalence of intimate partner violence, as well as to provide support for women who are in, or who have been in, violent relationships and to be aware of the ways in which intimate partner violence influences psychological and physical health, they conclude.
Factors associated with spousal physical violence in Albania: cross sectional study, BMJ Volume 331, pp 197-201
Emma Dickinson
edickinsonbmj
44-207-383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
bmj
воскресенье, 30 октября 2011 г.
New Mothers Speak Out Report Paints A Troubling Picture Of American Women In Postpartum Period
Childbirth Connection, a leading national not-for-profit organization that works to improve the quality of maternity care, today released New Mothers Speak Out, National Survey Results Highlight Women's Postpartum Experiences. The report is based on new data from the national Listening to Mothers II Postpartum survey, and includes relevant results from the national Listening to Mothers II survey, which was conducted six months earlier and focused on childbearing experiences of the same women. Combined survey results from these landmark surveys provide an in-depth look at women's postpartum experiences during the first eighteen months after giving birth.
Persistent Physical and Emotional Health Problems
Many mothers grappled with ongoing physical and emotional health problems while caring for their baby. The women reported high rates of newly experienced problems in the first two months after birth. At six or more months after birth, substantial proportions of mothers were still feeling stressed (43%), had problems with weight control (40%), experienced sleep loss (34%), lack of sexual desire (26%) and backache (24%). Among those who had a cesarean birth, 31% reported numbness and 18% reported continued pain at the incision site after at least six months. One-third of mothers reported that during the first two months after birth, their postpartum physical health (33%) or emotional health (30%) interfered at least "some" with their ability to care for their baby, with 44% of all mothers reporting that physical and/or emotional health impairment had interfered with the care of their babies. A year after giving birth mothers reported a net weight gain of six pounds from their pre-pregnancy weight.
"Postpartum mothers experience a troubling burden of physical and emotional health challenges after giving birth. Although many of these problems abate over time, far too many women were still experiencing them from 6 to 18 months after birth. With more than 4.3 million births each year in the United States, it is an urgent priority to better understand the reason for these challenges, their implications for women and their families, ways to prevent distress and morbidity, and ways to help women and families before they experience detrimental effects," stated Maureen Corry, MPH, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection.
Breastfeeding Experiences
Although 61% of the mothers had intended to exclusively breastfeed as they neared the end of their pregnancies, just 51% were doing so a week after the birth. Those mothers had experienced high rates of hospital practices that can disrupt breastfeeding such as water or formula supplementation and formula samples or offers. Fewer than half (46%) of the mothers who were breastfeeding at one week and not breastfeeding at the time of the Listening to Mothers II Postpartum survey reported that they had breastfed as long as they wanted. One-third or fewer of black non-Hispanic women, younger women and women with lower incomes breastfed as long as they wished.
Co-sleeping and Demographic Variation
The study reveals significant disparities in experiences across major U.S. race/ethnicity subgroups in a practice that has been the subject of considerable attention - infants sleeping in the same bed as their parents. Overall 18% of mothers reported that their baby "always" slept in bed with them and another 10% reported their infant "often" did in the first six months after birth. Among black non-Hispanic mothers more than a third (36%) reported their baby slept with them "always" compared to 30% of Hispanic mothers and 12% among white non-Hispanic mothers. Dr. Eugene Declercq of Boston University School of Public Health and lead author of the report stated, "Co-sleeping was one of the many areas, including breastfeeding, pregnancy intention and circumcision rates, in which we found postpartum experiences of mothers varying widely by race/ethnicity. These variations merit further research."
Nonexistent or Insufficient Social Support from Husbands, Partners and Others
Having a spouse or partner did not necessarily ensure that women received various forms of support. Overall, most of the mothers (73%) said that they provided more of the child care than their husband or partner. Even among mothers who were employed full time, 49% reported they provided most of the child care, in contrast to just 3% of husbands or partners who provided most of the child care and 48% who shared it equally. About 20 percent of women with a husband or partner reported that person provided affectionate, emotional, enjoyment or practical support "none" or "little" of the time.
Meager Paid Maternity Leave Benefits and Multiple Employment Challenges
Of those mothers who had been employed by someone else during pregnancy, 40% said that their employer provided paid maternity leave benefits, with 50% of those working full-time and 14% working part-time receiving these benefits. Among mothers who received paid maternity benefits, 50% indicated they received 100% of pay. Thus for the entire survey sample, the results indicate that of those women employed full-time outside of their home while pregnant, 23% received at least six weeks of their full pay as a maternity benefit and 38% received at least six weeks of half-pay or more as a maternity benefit.
Almost 3 in 10 (29%) of the mothers in the postpartum survey said they were currently employed full-time. Another 14% were employed part-time. Those mothers currently employed were more likely to have one child rather than two or more and be unmarried with a partner rather than married. Among formerly employed mothers more than a third had returned to work by 6 weeks, and most (84%) were back to work by 12 weeks. About half (48%) of mothers who had returned to work by the time of the survey said they had not stayed home as long as they wanted. The leading reason cited for returning to work prematurely (81%) was because they could not afford more time off. When we asked employed mothers and mothers on maternity leave what would be the ideal amount of time off with their baby, the overall average was seven months, with 60% of mothers naming six months or more as the ideal maternity leave. By contrast, just 1% of mothers who had been employed outside the home during pregnancy had fully paid leave of four or more months.
Mothers returning to work reported facing numerous challenges. For example, 79% reported that being apart from their baby was a major or minor challenge in their transition to employment, followed in frequency by childcare arrangements (50%), breastfeeding issues (37%), amount of support by partner/spouse (36%) and lack of support in the workplace as a new mother (29%).
"This important new study underscores the urgent need to improve maternity and pregnancy-related benefits for women in the United States," said National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra L. Ness. "While nearly every other economically competitive nation provides paid maternity leave and stronger supports for working mothers, women here struggle to cobble together the time off, income and childcare they need. This survey shows the toll that is taking on mothers and families. We can and must do better."
"The overall picture is of recent mothers engaged in a juggling act, carrying multiple and sometimes conflicting responsibilities while experiencing high levels of social, physical and emotional health challenges. There are concerns about whether large segments of this population have access to adequate health and social services and social support. We are letting our mothers and babies down at one of the most critical and vulnerable times in their lives. These survey results are a clarion call to action for programs, policies, clinical services, and research to better understand and improve the experiences of new mothers and their families," said Corry.
About New Mothers Speak Out
New Mothers Speak Out, National Survey Results Highlight Women's Postpartum Experiences, is based on new data from the national Listening to Mothers II Postpartum survey and includes relevant results from the national Listening to Mothers II survey, which was conducted six months earlier and focused on women's childbearing experiences. Combined survey results from these landmark surveys provide an in-depth look at women's postpartum experiences during the first eighteen months after giving birth.
The Listening to Mothers Postpartum survey reached 903 U.S. women, ages 18-45, who gave birth in a hospital to a single infant in 2005, with the infant still living at the time of the survey. The survey was carried out in partnership with Lamaze International and conducted by Harris Interactive®.
The New Mothers Speak Out report, along with survey questionnaires, details about the survey methodology and related documents, are available at www.childbirthconnection/newmothersspeakout
About Childbirth Connection
Childbirth Connection is a national not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1918 as Maternity Center Association. Our mission is to improve the quality of maternity care through research, education, advocacy and policy. Childbirth Connection is a voice for the needs and interests of childbearing families. More information about Childbirth Connection may be obtained at www.childbirthconnection
About Lamaze International
Since its founding in 1960, Lamaze International has worked to promote, support and protect normal birth through education and advocacy through the dedicated efforts of professional childbirth educators, providers and parents. An international organization with regional, state and area affiliates, its members and volunteer leaders include childbirth educators, nurses, nurse midwives, physicians, students and consumers. More information about Lamaze International may be obtained at www.lamaze
Persistent Physical and Emotional Health Problems
Many mothers grappled with ongoing physical and emotional health problems while caring for their baby. The women reported high rates of newly experienced problems in the first two months after birth. At six or more months after birth, substantial proportions of mothers were still feeling stressed (43%), had problems with weight control (40%), experienced sleep loss (34%), lack of sexual desire (26%) and backache (24%). Among those who had a cesarean birth, 31% reported numbness and 18% reported continued pain at the incision site after at least six months. One-third of mothers reported that during the first two months after birth, their postpartum physical health (33%) or emotional health (30%) interfered at least "some" with their ability to care for their baby, with 44% of all mothers reporting that physical and/or emotional health impairment had interfered with the care of their babies. A year after giving birth mothers reported a net weight gain of six pounds from their pre-pregnancy weight.
"Postpartum mothers experience a troubling burden of physical and emotional health challenges after giving birth. Although many of these problems abate over time, far too many women were still experiencing them from 6 to 18 months after birth. With more than 4.3 million births each year in the United States, it is an urgent priority to better understand the reason for these challenges, their implications for women and their families, ways to prevent distress and morbidity, and ways to help women and families before they experience detrimental effects," stated Maureen Corry, MPH, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection.
Breastfeeding Experiences
Although 61% of the mothers had intended to exclusively breastfeed as they neared the end of their pregnancies, just 51% were doing so a week after the birth. Those mothers had experienced high rates of hospital practices that can disrupt breastfeeding such as water or formula supplementation and formula samples or offers. Fewer than half (46%) of the mothers who were breastfeeding at one week and not breastfeeding at the time of the Listening to Mothers II Postpartum survey reported that they had breastfed as long as they wanted. One-third or fewer of black non-Hispanic women, younger women and women with lower incomes breastfed as long as they wished.
Co-sleeping and Demographic Variation
The study reveals significant disparities in experiences across major U.S. race/ethnicity subgroups in a practice that has been the subject of considerable attention - infants sleeping in the same bed as their parents. Overall 18% of mothers reported that their baby "always" slept in bed with them and another 10% reported their infant "often" did in the first six months after birth. Among black non-Hispanic mothers more than a third (36%) reported their baby slept with them "always" compared to 30% of Hispanic mothers and 12% among white non-Hispanic mothers. Dr. Eugene Declercq of Boston University School of Public Health and lead author of the report stated, "Co-sleeping was one of the many areas, including breastfeeding, pregnancy intention and circumcision rates, in which we found postpartum experiences of mothers varying widely by race/ethnicity. These variations merit further research."
Nonexistent or Insufficient Social Support from Husbands, Partners and Others
Having a spouse or partner did not necessarily ensure that women received various forms of support. Overall, most of the mothers (73%) said that they provided more of the child care than their husband or partner. Even among mothers who were employed full time, 49% reported they provided most of the child care, in contrast to just 3% of husbands or partners who provided most of the child care and 48% who shared it equally. About 20 percent of women with a husband or partner reported that person provided affectionate, emotional, enjoyment or practical support "none" or "little" of the time.
Meager Paid Maternity Leave Benefits and Multiple Employment Challenges
Of those mothers who had been employed by someone else during pregnancy, 40% said that their employer provided paid maternity leave benefits, with 50% of those working full-time and 14% working part-time receiving these benefits. Among mothers who received paid maternity benefits, 50% indicated they received 100% of pay. Thus for the entire survey sample, the results indicate that of those women employed full-time outside of their home while pregnant, 23% received at least six weeks of their full pay as a maternity benefit and 38% received at least six weeks of half-pay or more as a maternity benefit.
Almost 3 in 10 (29%) of the mothers in the postpartum survey said they were currently employed full-time. Another 14% were employed part-time. Those mothers currently employed were more likely to have one child rather than two or more and be unmarried with a partner rather than married. Among formerly employed mothers more than a third had returned to work by 6 weeks, and most (84%) were back to work by 12 weeks. About half (48%) of mothers who had returned to work by the time of the survey said they had not stayed home as long as they wanted. The leading reason cited for returning to work prematurely (81%) was because they could not afford more time off. When we asked employed mothers and mothers on maternity leave what would be the ideal amount of time off with their baby, the overall average was seven months, with 60% of mothers naming six months or more as the ideal maternity leave. By contrast, just 1% of mothers who had been employed outside the home during pregnancy had fully paid leave of four or more months.
Mothers returning to work reported facing numerous challenges. For example, 79% reported that being apart from their baby was a major or minor challenge in their transition to employment, followed in frequency by childcare arrangements (50%), breastfeeding issues (37%), amount of support by partner/spouse (36%) and lack of support in the workplace as a new mother (29%).
"This important new study underscores the urgent need to improve maternity and pregnancy-related benefits for women in the United States," said National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra L. Ness. "While nearly every other economically competitive nation provides paid maternity leave and stronger supports for working mothers, women here struggle to cobble together the time off, income and childcare they need. This survey shows the toll that is taking on mothers and families. We can and must do better."
"The overall picture is of recent mothers engaged in a juggling act, carrying multiple and sometimes conflicting responsibilities while experiencing high levels of social, physical and emotional health challenges. There are concerns about whether large segments of this population have access to adequate health and social services and social support. We are letting our mothers and babies down at one of the most critical and vulnerable times in their lives. These survey results are a clarion call to action for programs, policies, clinical services, and research to better understand and improve the experiences of new mothers and their families," said Corry.
About New Mothers Speak Out
New Mothers Speak Out, National Survey Results Highlight Women's Postpartum Experiences, is based on new data from the national Listening to Mothers II Postpartum survey and includes relevant results from the national Listening to Mothers II survey, which was conducted six months earlier and focused on women's childbearing experiences. Combined survey results from these landmark surveys provide an in-depth look at women's postpartum experiences during the first eighteen months after giving birth.
The Listening to Mothers Postpartum survey reached 903 U.S. women, ages 18-45, who gave birth in a hospital to a single infant in 2005, with the infant still living at the time of the survey. The survey was carried out in partnership with Lamaze International and conducted by Harris Interactive®.
The New Mothers Speak Out report, along with survey questionnaires, details about the survey methodology and related documents, are available at www.childbirthconnection/newmothersspeakout
About Childbirth Connection
Childbirth Connection is a national not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1918 as Maternity Center Association. Our mission is to improve the quality of maternity care through research, education, advocacy and policy. Childbirth Connection is a voice for the needs and interests of childbearing families. More information about Childbirth Connection may be obtained at www.childbirthconnection
About Lamaze International
Since its founding in 1960, Lamaze International has worked to promote, support and protect normal birth through education and advocacy through the dedicated efforts of professional childbirth educators, providers and parents. An international organization with regional, state and area affiliates, its members and volunteer leaders include childbirth educators, nurses, nurse midwives, physicians, students and consumers. More information about Lamaze International may be obtained at www.lamaze
воскресенье, 23 октября 2011 г.
GE Healthcare Launches Diagnostic Advancements On Premier Women's Health Ultrasound System At AIUM 2008
GE Healthcare launched enhancements to its premier ultrasound system for obstetrics and gynecology, the Voluson E8 Breakthrough 2008, at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) Annual Meeting, March 12-15 in San Diego. GE's new proprietary software program, Sonography-based Automated Volume Count (SonoAVC), delivers an efficient method of calculating the number and volume of ovarian follicles. This is an initial step in assisted reproductive medicine. The Voluson E8 Breakthrough 2008 also features improved probe imaging capabilities, which enable clinicians to see more anatomical detail. GE, the global leader in ultrasound, also showcased its leading console and compact LOGIQ systems to improve patient care in radiology and emergency medicine.
The dilemma of infertility affects approximately 80 million people globally; in the U.S., approximately 6.1 million couples have difficulty conceiving, about 10-15 percent of the U.S. population, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC).
In assisted reproductive medicine, ultrasound is part of baseline evaluation with the patient. Ultrasound imaging can include an assessment of the anatomy such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and endometrium. Ultrasound can help in surgery planning, as well as helping to detect abnormalities and cysts. GE's new exclusive software, SonoAVC, automatically measures and calculates the number and volume of hypoechoic structures, such as ovarian follicles, in a volume sweep. This is a critical diagnostic step in assisted reproductive medicine, because each fluid-filled follicle contains hormone producing cells and a maturing ovum (egg).
Bringing automation to the exam can significantly reduce a physician or clinician's time for follicular assessment and reporting, as much as 7.6 minutes per patient. SonoAVC's automation and standardization of the exam increases efficiency and consistency between physicians across clinics, and patient to patient. SonoAVC also generates instant results a patient can see in an easy-to-view report format.
"The ability to automate the follicular assessment using ultrasound enhances the efficiency of follicular volume measurement," said Alfred Z. Abuhamad, M.D., Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. "Displaying ovarian follicles in a 3-D mode allows for an easy visual depiction of the geometric shape of individual follicles and thus enhances the optimal evaluation of the stimulated ovary. A software system that automates and simplifies follicular assessment has great promise in clinical practice. SonoAVC represents a giant step towards that goal."
Voluson E8 Breakthrough 2008 highlights for Obstetrics and Gynecology
GE also introduced new abdominal and transvaginal transducers with an expanded 195-degree field of view, compared to the previous 120-degree field of view, to help clinicians image more of the reproductive anatomy in a single view. GE's proprietary ultrasound beam-steering technology helps give clinicians a larger field of view to see more in one image. This helps in evaluating anatomy, such as the uterus, both ovaries, or abnormalities. In addition, Voluson's new 4D high frequency transvaginal probe can detect anatomical detail earlier in the first trimester and in gynecological exams.
New on the Voluson 730 Expert system is the proprietary software that can automate the acquisition of ultrasound images used by physicians to diagnose fetal heart defects. This software, called Sonography based Volume Computer Aided Diagnosis (SonoVCAD), was first launched on the Voluson E8 in 2006. GE licensed SonoVCAD, patented by Dr. Abuhamad, who developed the automation protocol. Abuhamad's protocol automates the acquisition of images to display the planes that are needed for a complete ultrasound evaluation with a four-chamber view of the fetal heart. Dr. Abuhamad has created algorithms that allow the other planes to be generated from that four-chamber view. Those views allow physicians to identify the type and severity of fetal heart defects.
LOGIQ Care Area Series for Radiology
The LOGIQ Care Area Series ultrasound systems, introduced at RSNA 2007, are customized to radiology specialty areas such as pediatric radiology, vascular laboratories and breast imaging. Built on the multi-specialty LOGIQ platform, the Care Area Series provides specialty-specific tools for advanced care areas: ventricular volume measurements of hydrocephalus in the newborn; real-time ultrasound imaging of the hemodynamics of a pseudoaneurysm in the elderly; and women undergoing ultrasound imaging of breast lesions in the coronal plane are all examples of this Care Area focus.
GE designed the new care area systems with two objectives in mind: excellent imaging performance optimized for each clinical area, and optimal clinical workflow designed to improve healthcare quality and efficiency. LOGIQ continues to be based on GE's raw data approach to ultrasound imaging. Rather than storing ultrasound images as video pixels, the data is stored as digitized ultrasound waveforms. GE's experience has been that this architecture gives extremely high ultrasound fidelity. In the LOGIQ Care Area Series systems, this raw data can be captured in three dimensions in near real-time. This makes ultrasound imaging much like CT or MR imaging in that clinicians, regardless of care area, can view, reprocess, re-slice, and review images even after the patient has left the building.
LOGIQ e Breakthrough 2008 Emergency Medicine Edition
This compact system is designed with dedicated software specifically for unique clinical needs, and automatic image optimization with one-button operation. The report package can automatically send clinical images to a network folder where a PDF can be picked up by the patient's electronic medical record (EMR), a key need in emergency medicine. This laptop-style system can be moved quickly from room to room for imaging traumatic injuries, internal bleeding, pregnancy related complaints, soft tissue infections, and certain cardiac conditions.
"Each field of medicine uses ultrasound in a unique way. GE offers a broad range of ultrasound systems that cater to the unique needs of different medical practitioners," said Omar Ishrak, CEO and president of GE Healthcare's Clinical Systems business unit. "We are helping improve clinicians' diagnostic capabilities and their care for patients across women's healthcare, radiology and emergency medicine. In each field, GE delivers the premium image quality, workflow efficiencies and portability with compact systems that are suited for each unique user."
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.
GE Healthcare
The dilemma of infertility affects approximately 80 million people globally; in the U.S., approximately 6.1 million couples have difficulty conceiving, about 10-15 percent of the U.S. population, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC).
In assisted reproductive medicine, ultrasound is part of baseline evaluation with the patient. Ultrasound imaging can include an assessment of the anatomy such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and endometrium. Ultrasound can help in surgery planning, as well as helping to detect abnormalities and cysts. GE's new exclusive software, SonoAVC, automatically measures and calculates the number and volume of hypoechoic structures, such as ovarian follicles, in a volume sweep. This is a critical diagnostic step in assisted reproductive medicine, because each fluid-filled follicle contains hormone producing cells and a maturing ovum (egg).
Bringing automation to the exam can significantly reduce a physician or clinician's time for follicular assessment and reporting, as much as 7.6 minutes per patient. SonoAVC's automation and standardization of the exam increases efficiency and consistency between physicians across clinics, and patient to patient. SonoAVC also generates instant results a patient can see in an easy-to-view report format.
"The ability to automate the follicular assessment using ultrasound enhances the efficiency of follicular volume measurement," said Alfred Z. Abuhamad, M.D., Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. "Displaying ovarian follicles in a 3-D mode allows for an easy visual depiction of the geometric shape of individual follicles and thus enhances the optimal evaluation of the stimulated ovary. A software system that automates and simplifies follicular assessment has great promise in clinical practice. SonoAVC represents a giant step towards that goal."
Voluson E8 Breakthrough 2008 highlights for Obstetrics and Gynecology
GE also introduced new abdominal and transvaginal transducers with an expanded 195-degree field of view, compared to the previous 120-degree field of view, to help clinicians image more of the reproductive anatomy in a single view. GE's proprietary ultrasound beam-steering technology helps give clinicians a larger field of view to see more in one image. This helps in evaluating anatomy, such as the uterus, both ovaries, or abnormalities. In addition, Voluson's new 4D high frequency transvaginal probe can detect anatomical detail earlier in the first trimester and in gynecological exams.
New on the Voluson 730 Expert system is the proprietary software that can automate the acquisition of ultrasound images used by physicians to diagnose fetal heart defects. This software, called Sonography based Volume Computer Aided Diagnosis (SonoVCAD), was first launched on the Voluson E8 in 2006. GE licensed SonoVCAD, patented by Dr. Abuhamad, who developed the automation protocol. Abuhamad's protocol automates the acquisition of images to display the planes that are needed for a complete ultrasound evaluation with a four-chamber view of the fetal heart. Dr. Abuhamad has created algorithms that allow the other planes to be generated from that four-chamber view. Those views allow physicians to identify the type and severity of fetal heart defects.
LOGIQ Care Area Series for Radiology
The LOGIQ Care Area Series ultrasound systems, introduced at RSNA 2007, are customized to radiology specialty areas such as pediatric radiology, vascular laboratories and breast imaging. Built on the multi-specialty LOGIQ platform, the Care Area Series provides specialty-specific tools for advanced care areas: ventricular volume measurements of hydrocephalus in the newborn; real-time ultrasound imaging of the hemodynamics of a pseudoaneurysm in the elderly; and women undergoing ultrasound imaging of breast lesions in the coronal plane are all examples of this Care Area focus.
GE designed the new care area systems with two objectives in mind: excellent imaging performance optimized for each clinical area, and optimal clinical workflow designed to improve healthcare quality and efficiency. LOGIQ continues to be based on GE's raw data approach to ultrasound imaging. Rather than storing ultrasound images as video pixels, the data is stored as digitized ultrasound waveforms. GE's experience has been that this architecture gives extremely high ultrasound fidelity. In the LOGIQ Care Area Series systems, this raw data can be captured in three dimensions in near real-time. This makes ultrasound imaging much like CT or MR imaging in that clinicians, regardless of care area, can view, reprocess, re-slice, and review images even after the patient has left the building.
LOGIQ e Breakthrough 2008 Emergency Medicine Edition
This compact system is designed with dedicated software specifically for unique clinical needs, and automatic image optimization with one-button operation. The report package can automatically send clinical images to a network folder where a PDF can be picked up by the patient's electronic medical record (EMR), a key need in emergency medicine. This laptop-style system can be moved quickly from room to room for imaging traumatic injuries, internal bleeding, pregnancy related complaints, soft tissue infections, and certain cardiac conditions.
"Each field of medicine uses ultrasound in a unique way. GE offers a broad range of ultrasound systems that cater to the unique needs of different medical practitioners," said Omar Ishrak, CEO and president of GE Healthcare's Clinical Systems business unit. "We are helping improve clinicians' diagnostic capabilities and their care for patients across women's healthcare, radiology and emergency medicine. In each field, GE delivers the premium image quality, workflow efficiencies and portability with compact systems that are suited for each unique user."
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.
GE Healthcare
воскресенье, 16 октября 2011 г.
Anonymous Private Donation Will Boost Services Under Colorado Family Planning Program
Colorado's family planning budget has received a $3 million confidential private grant, which will be disbursed over three to five years as part of an effort to reduce unintended pregnancies in the state, the Denver Post reports. The grant will allow Colorado to provide thousands more low-income residents with low or no-cost contraception, vasectomies and tubal ligation procedures. The funding also will allow the state to provide more family planning program participants with long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as intrauterine devices and the NuvaRing, which are more effective than birth control pills but also more costly. The Post reports that the state currently spends about $4 million annually on the program, while local health agencies contribute about $10 million. The subsidies allow state clinics to offer procedures, such as vasectomies, at a reduced cost. For example, vasectomies are offered for about $200, compared with the $900 cost at many private providers, the Post reports.
Currently, the family planning program serves about 52,000 of the 200,000 low-income residents who qualify for the assistance, according to Candace Grosz, director of women's health for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The state estimates that for every dollar spent toward family planning services, it saves about $2.48 in costs related to prenatal care, deliveries and other services that result from unintended pregnancies. According to a federal study, 40% of pregnant women surveyed in Colorado said they did not intend to become pregnant. Grosz said, "It's important for clients to be pregnant when they want to be pregnant and when they're able to care for their children" (Booth, Denver Post, 12/3).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
View drug information on NuvaRing.
Currently, the family planning program serves about 52,000 of the 200,000 low-income residents who qualify for the assistance, according to Candace Grosz, director of women's health for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The state estimates that for every dollar spent toward family planning services, it saves about $2.48 in costs related to prenatal care, deliveries and other services that result from unintended pregnancies. According to a federal study, 40% of pregnant women surveyed in Colorado said they did not intend to become pregnant. Grosz said, "It's important for clients to be pregnant when they want to be pregnant and when they're able to care for their children" (Booth, Denver Post, 12/3).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
View drug information on NuvaRing.
воскресенье, 9 октября 2011 г.
Most Recent Mammography Recommendations Confuse Public
When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, released its recommendations on mammography screenings for US women on November 16, 2009, there was immediate and considerable controversy. In a study published in the May 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators report that these new recommendations confused women (30.0%) more than they helped them understand when to get a mammogram (6.2%). Confusion was greatest among women aged 40-49 years and women who had never had a mammogram or who had one more than 2 years ago.
The USPSTF announcement included three sets of recommendations for women aged 40-49, 50-74 and 75 and over. Investigators from RTI International (Bethesda, MD, and Research Triangle Park, NC) assessed the volume and framing of the public discourse around the mammography recommendations to determine if women were knowledgeable about the new recommendations.
According to Linda B. Squiers, PhD, senior health communication analyst, RTI, Bethesda, MD, and her co-authors, results from this study will allow public health professionals to understand how the USPSTF's 2009 mammography screening recommendations were discussed in the media and whether women understood the reason for the debate and the new recommendations approximately one month after their release. Media coverage of the new recommendations peaked immediately following their release and was unbalanced. The majority of news articles and social media posts were unsupportive of the recommendations. The new recommendations were released during the heated debate about healthcare reform legislation, so it is not surprising that they were portrayed by some as an example of how the Obama administration planned to ration health care if the legislation passed.
RTI researchers analyzed news reports and social media posts around the time of the announcement, both of which shape public perceptions of and opinions about new information and topics. In addition, they surveyed 1,221 women for two months beginning one month after the announcement.
From 233 newspaper articles, blog posts, and tweets analyzed, 51.9% were unsupportive, and only 17.6% were supportive. Most newspaper articles and blog posts expressed negative sentiment (55.0% and 66.2%, respectively), whereas tweets were predominantly neutral (48.8%). The most common reasons mentioned for being unsupportive of the new recommendations were the belief that delaying screening would lead to later detection of more advanced breast cancer and subsequently more breast cancer-related deaths (22.5%) and the belief that the recommendations reflected government rationing of healthcare (21.9%).
In the web-based survey, the majority of respondents reported paying attention to the recommendations and those who paid more attention understood better the reasons for the controversy. However, despite the media flurry, only 20.3% of women aged 40-49 years and 23.4% of all women in the sample correctly identified the mammography recommendation for women aged 40-49 years. Overall, the new recommendations confused women more than they helped them understand when to get a mammogram. Women aged 40-49 years were significantly more likely to be confused about when they should get a mammogram than the older age group.
"The USPSTF plays a vital role in reviewing the latest scientific evidence and advising providers and consumers about prevention," concluded Squiers and her co-investigators. "For recommendations to be accepted by both groups, they first must be understood. In the field of health communication, message testing with individuals is frequently used to ensure that messages are understandable, credible, and use language that resonates with the target audience. Using message testing in the future may help identify specific components or words (e.g., routine, against) within the recommendations that could cause providers, consumers, and advocacy agencies to be confused or concerned."
In an accompanying commentary, Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH, from Arizona State University and Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, from the Colorado Trust, note that while the USPSTF has played a leadership role in the evidence-based medicine movement, there seems to be "a media bias in favor of mammography screening" which may be due to vested interests in the women's health and breast cancer advocacy groups. They suggest that "further application of qualitative research methods to the data on media coverage of the mammography screening guidelines might yield insights into the kinds of interests that underlay the most negative media accounts about the mammography recommendations. This information might contribute to a better understanding of the sources of negative media responses to evidence and evidence-based recommendations."
The article is "The Public's Response to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's 2009 Recommendations on Mammography Screening" by Linda B. Squiers, PhD, Debra J. Holden, PhD, Suzanne E. Dolina, MPH, Annice E. Kim, PhD, Carla M. Bann, PhD and Jeanette M. Renaud, PhD (doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2010.12.027). The commentary is "Media Coverage of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations" by Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH, and Ned Calonge, MD, MPH (doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.02.009).
Source:
Elsevier
The USPSTF announcement included three sets of recommendations for women aged 40-49, 50-74 and 75 and over. Investigators from RTI International (Bethesda, MD, and Research Triangle Park, NC) assessed the volume and framing of the public discourse around the mammography recommendations to determine if women were knowledgeable about the new recommendations.
According to Linda B. Squiers, PhD, senior health communication analyst, RTI, Bethesda, MD, and her co-authors, results from this study will allow public health professionals to understand how the USPSTF's 2009 mammography screening recommendations were discussed in the media and whether women understood the reason for the debate and the new recommendations approximately one month after their release. Media coverage of the new recommendations peaked immediately following their release and was unbalanced. The majority of news articles and social media posts were unsupportive of the recommendations. The new recommendations were released during the heated debate about healthcare reform legislation, so it is not surprising that they were portrayed by some as an example of how the Obama administration planned to ration health care if the legislation passed.
RTI researchers analyzed news reports and social media posts around the time of the announcement, both of which shape public perceptions of and opinions about new information and topics. In addition, they surveyed 1,221 women for two months beginning one month after the announcement.
From 233 newspaper articles, blog posts, and tweets analyzed, 51.9% were unsupportive, and only 17.6% were supportive. Most newspaper articles and blog posts expressed negative sentiment (55.0% and 66.2%, respectively), whereas tweets were predominantly neutral (48.8%). The most common reasons mentioned for being unsupportive of the new recommendations were the belief that delaying screening would lead to later detection of more advanced breast cancer and subsequently more breast cancer-related deaths (22.5%) and the belief that the recommendations reflected government rationing of healthcare (21.9%).
In the web-based survey, the majority of respondents reported paying attention to the recommendations and those who paid more attention understood better the reasons for the controversy. However, despite the media flurry, only 20.3% of women aged 40-49 years and 23.4% of all women in the sample correctly identified the mammography recommendation for women aged 40-49 years. Overall, the new recommendations confused women more than they helped them understand when to get a mammogram. Women aged 40-49 years were significantly more likely to be confused about when they should get a mammogram than the older age group.
"The USPSTF plays a vital role in reviewing the latest scientific evidence and advising providers and consumers about prevention," concluded Squiers and her co-investigators. "For recommendations to be accepted by both groups, they first must be understood. In the field of health communication, message testing with individuals is frequently used to ensure that messages are understandable, credible, and use language that resonates with the target audience. Using message testing in the future may help identify specific components or words (e.g., routine, against) within the recommendations that could cause providers, consumers, and advocacy agencies to be confused or concerned."
In an accompanying commentary, Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH, from Arizona State University and Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, from the Colorado Trust, note that while the USPSTF has played a leadership role in the evidence-based medicine movement, there seems to be "a media bias in favor of mammography screening" which may be due to vested interests in the women's health and breast cancer advocacy groups. They suggest that "further application of qualitative research methods to the data on media coverage of the mammography screening guidelines might yield insights into the kinds of interests that underlay the most negative media accounts about the mammography recommendations. This information might contribute to a better understanding of the sources of negative media responses to evidence and evidence-based recommendations."
The article is "The Public's Response to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's 2009 Recommendations on Mammography Screening" by Linda B. Squiers, PhD, Debra J. Holden, PhD, Suzanne E. Dolina, MPH, Annice E. Kim, PhD, Carla M. Bann, PhD and Jeanette M. Renaud, PhD (doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2010.12.027). The commentary is "Media Coverage of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations" by Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH, and Ned Calonge, MD, MPH (doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.02.009).
Source:
Elsevier
воскресенье, 2 октября 2011 г.
Kansas Breast And Cervical Cancer Screening Program For Low-Income, Uninsured Women Runs Out Of Funding
The Kansas Early Detection Works program, which provides uninsured low-income women in the state with breast and cervical cancer screenings at no cost, has depleted its operating funds and will delay almost all cancer screenings until July 1, the Wichita Eagle reports. Janet Neff, director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said the program has received about $2.3 million annually in recent years from CDC. The program also receives some funding from the state and the Mid-Kansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.
The screening program depleted its funds in March. However, program officials reserved a limited amount of funding to provide diagnostic tests until the new fiscal year begins on July 1 to women who display symptoms of breast or cervical cancer. Women who inquire about the program will be placed on a waiting list and will be screened when funding becomes available. Kansas women ages 40 to 64 who are uninsured and meet income guidelines are eligible for the program. According to Neff, about 5,800 of the at least 27,000 women in Kansas who qualify to receive no-cost screenings have done so since July 1, 2007.
Neff said she requested slightly more than $2.3 million in federal funds for FY 2009 (Shideler, Wichita Eagle, 5/5).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
The screening program depleted its funds in March. However, program officials reserved a limited amount of funding to provide diagnostic tests until the new fiscal year begins on July 1 to women who display symptoms of breast or cervical cancer. Women who inquire about the program will be placed on a waiting list and will be screened when funding becomes available. Kansas women ages 40 to 64 who are uninsured and meet income guidelines are eligible for the program. According to Neff, about 5,800 of the at least 27,000 women in Kansas who qualify to receive no-cost screenings have done so since July 1, 2007.
Neff said she requested slightly more than $2.3 million in federal funds for FY 2009 (Shideler, Wichita Eagle, 5/5).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 25 сентября 2011 г.
Breastfeeding A Child May Protect Women From Metabolic Syndrome, A Condition Linked To Diabetes And Heart Disease In Women
Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman's risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes in women, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that was published online ahead of print and will appear in the February issue of Diabetes, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. The protective association was even stronger for women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, according to the study's lead author, Erica Gunderson, PhD, an epidemiologist and research scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
Breastfeeding a child lowers risk by 39 to 56 percent (depending on the duration of breastfeeding) for women without gestational diabetes, and 44 to 86 percent (depending on the duration of breastfeeding) for women with gestational diabetes, researchers said. Investigators looked at durations that included 0-1 month of lactation up to greater than 9 months of lactation.
Previous research has shown that lactating women have more favorable blood levels of glucose and lipids within several weeks after delivery than women who were not lactating. Other studies have reported much weaker protective associations of breastfeeding with the presence of Metabolic Syndrome and diabetes in middle-aged and older women.
Funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, this 20-year prospective study is the first to measure all components of Metabolic Syndrome both before pregnancy and after weaning in women of childbearing age, enabling researchers to examine breastfeeding in relation to new onset of Metabolic Syndrome, explained Gunderson.
"The findings indicate that breastfeeding a child may have lasting favorable effects on a woman's risk factors for later developing diabetes or heart disease," she said, explaining that the benefits don't appear to be due to differences in weight gain, physical activity, or other health behaviors. However, in this study, less belly fat and higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL-C) were characteristic of women who did not develop Metabolic Syndrome, Gunderson said.
Among the 704 women who were aged 18 to 30 years at enrollment, had never previously given birth and were free of Metabolic Syndrome before all their pregnancies, there were 120 new cases of Metabolic Syndrome after pregnancies during 20 years of follow-up.
"The Metabolic Syndrome is a clustering of risk factors related to obesity and metabolism that strongly predicts future diabetes and possibly, coronary heart disease during midlife and early death for women," Gunderson said.
"Because the Metabolic Syndrome affects about 18 to 37 percent of U.S. women between ages 20-59, the childbearing years may be a vulnerable period for its development. Postpartum screening of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease may offer an important opportunity for primary prevention."
Recent studies suggest a stronger link between Metabolic Syndrome to diabetes than coronary heart disease.
Another recent Kaiser Permanente study by Gunderson published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in August 2009 found that women with gestational diabetes are 2.5 times more likely to develop Metabolic Syndrome after pregnancy.
Gunderson explained that further research is needed to learn more about the mechanism(s) through which lactation may influence risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Further research also is needed to learn about whether lifestyle modifications, including lactation duration, may affect development of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes, particularly among high-risk groups, such as women with a history of gestational diabetes.
This study was part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, a multi-center, longitudinal, population-based, observational study designed to describe the development of risk factors for coronary heart disease in young black and white adults recruited from four geographic areas in the United States: Birmingham, Ala..; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland.
This study is part of Kaiser Permanente's larger ongoing effort to research and promote the health benefits of breastfeeding. For example, Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento, Hayward and Fremont facilities have received the international recognition by the World Health Organization and UNICEF as Baby-Friendly™ birth facilities for offering an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Additional investigators on the study include: David R. Jacobs, Jr., University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and University of Oslo, Department of Nutrition; Vicky Chang, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Cora E. Lewis, University of Alabama Birmingham, Division of Preventive Medicine and the Diabetes Research and Training Center; Juanran Feng, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Charles P. Quesenberry, Jr., Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; and Stephen Sidney, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study was funded by U.S. National Institutes of Health (Contracts # N01-HC-48047, N01-HC-48048, N01-HC-48049, N01-HC-48050, and N01-HC-95095, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Career Development Award, Grant number K01 DK059944 from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases) and a Research Award from the American Diabetes Association.
Source: Danielle Cass
Kaiser Permanente
Breastfeeding a child lowers risk by 39 to 56 percent (depending on the duration of breastfeeding) for women without gestational diabetes, and 44 to 86 percent (depending on the duration of breastfeeding) for women with gestational diabetes, researchers said. Investigators looked at durations that included 0-1 month of lactation up to greater than 9 months of lactation.
Previous research has shown that lactating women have more favorable blood levels of glucose and lipids within several weeks after delivery than women who were not lactating. Other studies have reported much weaker protective associations of breastfeeding with the presence of Metabolic Syndrome and diabetes in middle-aged and older women.
Funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, this 20-year prospective study is the first to measure all components of Metabolic Syndrome both before pregnancy and after weaning in women of childbearing age, enabling researchers to examine breastfeeding in relation to new onset of Metabolic Syndrome, explained Gunderson.
"The findings indicate that breastfeeding a child may have lasting favorable effects on a woman's risk factors for later developing diabetes or heart disease," she said, explaining that the benefits don't appear to be due to differences in weight gain, physical activity, or other health behaviors. However, in this study, less belly fat and higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL-C) were characteristic of women who did not develop Metabolic Syndrome, Gunderson said.
Among the 704 women who were aged 18 to 30 years at enrollment, had never previously given birth and were free of Metabolic Syndrome before all their pregnancies, there were 120 new cases of Metabolic Syndrome after pregnancies during 20 years of follow-up.
"The Metabolic Syndrome is a clustering of risk factors related to obesity and metabolism that strongly predicts future diabetes and possibly, coronary heart disease during midlife and early death for women," Gunderson said.
"Because the Metabolic Syndrome affects about 18 to 37 percent of U.S. women between ages 20-59, the childbearing years may be a vulnerable period for its development. Postpartum screening of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease may offer an important opportunity for primary prevention."
Recent studies suggest a stronger link between Metabolic Syndrome to diabetes than coronary heart disease.
Another recent Kaiser Permanente study by Gunderson published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in August 2009 found that women with gestational diabetes are 2.5 times more likely to develop Metabolic Syndrome after pregnancy.
Gunderson explained that further research is needed to learn more about the mechanism(s) through which lactation may influence risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Further research also is needed to learn about whether lifestyle modifications, including lactation duration, may affect development of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes, particularly among high-risk groups, such as women with a history of gestational diabetes.
This study was part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, a multi-center, longitudinal, population-based, observational study designed to describe the development of risk factors for coronary heart disease in young black and white adults recruited from four geographic areas in the United States: Birmingham, Ala..; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland.
This study is part of Kaiser Permanente's larger ongoing effort to research and promote the health benefits of breastfeeding. For example, Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento, Hayward and Fremont facilities have received the international recognition by the World Health Organization and UNICEF as Baby-Friendly™ birth facilities for offering an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Additional investigators on the study include: David R. Jacobs, Jr., University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and University of Oslo, Department of Nutrition; Vicky Chang, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Cora E. Lewis, University of Alabama Birmingham, Division of Preventive Medicine and the Diabetes Research and Training Center; Juanran Feng, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Charles P. Quesenberry, Jr., Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; and Stephen Sidney, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study was funded by U.S. National Institutes of Health (Contracts # N01-HC-48047, N01-HC-48048, N01-HC-48049, N01-HC-48050, and N01-HC-95095, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Career Development Award, Grant number K01 DK059944 from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases) and a Research Award from the American Diabetes Association.
Source: Danielle Cass
Kaiser Permanente
воскресенье, 18 сентября 2011 г.
Healthy Women With High Cholesterol At Increased Risk Of Stroke
Healthy women with no history of heart disease or stroke significantly increase their chances of having a stroke if they have high cholesterol, according to a study of more than 27,000 women published in the February 20, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"Our findings further underscore the importance of cholesterol levels as a risk factor for stroke, even if you have no history of heart disease and are otherwise healthy," said study author Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
The 11-year study involved women from the United States and Puerto Rico who were part of the Women's Health Study. All of the women were health care professionals who were at least age 45, had no history of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other major illness. Cholesterol levels were taken at the beginning of the study.
According to researchers, 282 strokes occurred during the 11-year period, meaning nine out of every 10,000 women had a stroke each year. The study found a strong association between total cholesterol levels and later stroke.
"Our findings show otherwise healthy women with high cholesterol were more than twice as likely to suffer a stroke compared to healthy women with lower cholesterol levels," said Kurth. "Our data strongly supports the notion that cholesterol levels are a biologic risk factor for stroke and that avoiding unfavorable cholesterol levels may help prevent stroke."
Kurth said there were several limitations to the study, including that cholesterol levels were measured only once and that participants in the study were all health professionals and mostly white.
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and grants from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and the Leducq Foundation.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit aan.
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
1080 Montreal Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55116
United States
neurology
"Our findings further underscore the importance of cholesterol levels as a risk factor for stroke, even if you have no history of heart disease and are otherwise healthy," said study author Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
The 11-year study involved women from the United States and Puerto Rico who were part of the Women's Health Study. All of the women were health care professionals who were at least age 45, had no history of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other major illness. Cholesterol levels were taken at the beginning of the study.
According to researchers, 282 strokes occurred during the 11-year period, meaning nine out of every 10,000 women had a stroke each year. The study found a strong association between total cholesterol levels and later stroke.
"Our findings show otherwise healthy women with high cholesterol were more than twice as likely to suffer a stroke compared to healthy women with lower cholesterol levels," said Kurth. "Our data strongly supports the notion that cholesterol levels are a biologic risk factor for stroke and that avoiding unfavorable cholesterol levels may help prevent stroke."
Kurth said there were several limitations to the study, including that cholesterol levels were measured only once and that participants in the study were all health professionals and mostly white.
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and grants from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and the Leducq Foundation.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit aan.
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
1080 Montreal Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55116
United States
neurology
воскресенье, 11 сентября 2011 г.
Cardiovascular, Breast Safety Study Of Libigel In Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
Michael C. Snabes, MD, PhD, vice president of clinical development of BioSante Pharmaceuticals, will be presenting an overview of a key study in the LibiGel® (testosterone gel) development program at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco at the Moscone Center on Sunday, June 15, 2008. The poster, titled "A Cardiovascular And Breast Safety Study Of Libigel® In Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD): Study Design And Description Of Endpoints," is co-authored by investigators and consultants at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Berry Consultants, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
A news conference will be held on Sunday, June 15, 2008, during which reporters are invited to view the poster and discuss LibiGel and the described study with Dr. Snabes.
BioSante is conducting the safety study, in post-menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA's request is in line with the call for more safety data from the Endocrine Society, a medical specialty society that focuses on endocrine and metabolic diseases.
Dr. Snabes noted the significance of this precedent-setting study. "This seminal clinical trial, to examine the long-term effects of testosterone in post-menopausal women, may be one of the first large, cardiovascular event-driven, pre-approval studies undertaken in the absence of clear safety signals."
BioSante expects to enroll and test approximately three thousand post-menopausal women between the ages of fifty and eighty and who have at least one cardiovascular risk factor. The primary safety outcome for this trial is the effect of treatment on the incidence of cardiovascular events, including cardiovascular-related death, heart attack, and stroke. The incidence of invasive breast cancer is a co-primary safety endpoint, and investigators also will look for benign breast masses and non-invasive breast cancers. Patients will be assessed for hirsutism, acne, and voice or skin reactions, as well as blood testosterone levels during each study visit.
HSDD is characterized by low libido and a general lack of interest in sex. If safety endpoints are met and the FDA approves the drug, LibiGel will become the first FDA-sanctioned treatment specifically indicated for HSDD in menopausal women. BioSante anticipates FDA approval some time during 2010 or 2011.
Female sexual dysfunction can arise from many causes, including relationship problems, the use of prescription pharmaceuticals, disease, or chemical imbalances. HSDD has been treated successfully and safely with testosterone for many years, albeit to date not approved for that use. In a completed Phase II study LibiGel showed excellent safety and efficacy. However, FDA recently has become concerned with the cardiovascular and cancer risks associated with broad classes of drugs, among them potential therapies for FSD. The Phase III safety study is designed to confirm LibiGel's long-term safety.
The placebo-controlled study will examine the effect of LibiGel in post-menopausal women at a dose of 300 micrograms per day over twelve months. BioSante specifically will focus on cardiovascular events and the incidence of breast cancer. After twelve months BioSante plans to apply for FDA approval through a New Drug Application (NDA). FDA requires BioSante to follow the study group for an additional forty-eight months, after NDA submission and potential approval, to compare the occurrence of cardiac events and breast cancer between the treatment group and a matched group of women who receive a placebo gel.
LibiGel® is a 1% testosterone gel that women apply, once a day, to their upper arm. The pea-sized volume of gel is carried rapidly through the skin, from where it delivers a steady dose of testosterone to the blood.
Although testosterone is thought of as a male hormone, it also is found in women at levels appropriate with their age. Researchers believe that testosterone levels, which fall with increasing age, may control a woman's sexual desire. For example, a woman in her forties has about half the level of blood testosterone as a woman in her twenties.
The incidence of HSDD also increases with age and after certain surgical procedures. Approximately 14% of premenopausal women between the ages of twenty and forty-nine reported symptoms of HSDD, compared with 26% of women who had had their ovaries surgically removed. Similarly, the incidence of HSDD rises to 9% for "naturally" menopausal women. LibiGel® is designed to restore testosterone levels in post-menopausal women to levels that are considered normal to maintain a healthy libido.
Study results that bear out previous safety findings finally should lay to rest safety concerns regarding testosterone treatment in women, and lead to the approval of the first safe, effective treatment specifically indicated for HSDD in menopausal women.
For more information, log on to BioSantepharma.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals
BioSantepharma
A news conference will be held on Sunday, June 15, 2008, during which reporters are invited to view the poster and discuss LibiGel and the described study with Dr. Snabes.
BioSante is conducting the safety study, in post-menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA's request is in line with the call for more safety data from the Endocrine Society, a medical specialty society that focuses on endocrine and metabolic diseases.
Dr. Snabes noted the significance of this precedent-setting study. "This seminal clinical trial, to examine the long-term effects of testosterone in post-menopausal women, may be one of the first large, cardiovascular event-driven, pre-approval studies undertaken in the absence of clear safety signals."
BioSante expects to enroll and test approximately three thousand post-menopausal women between the ages of fifty and eighty and who have at least one cardiovascular risk factor. The primary safety outcome for this trial is the effect of treatment on the incidence of cardiovascular events, including cardiovascular-related death, heart attack, and stroke. The incidence of invasive breast cancer is a co-primary safety endpoint, and investigators also will look for benign breast masses and non-invasive breast cancers. Patients will be assessed for hirsutism, acne, and voice or skin reactions, as well as blood testosterone levels during each study visit.
HSDD is characterized by low libido and a general lack of interest in sex. If safety endpoints are met and the FDA approves the drug, LibiGel will become the first FDA-sanctioned treatment specifically indicated for HSDD in menopausal women. BioSante anticipates FDA approval some time during 2010 or 2011.
Female sexual dysfunction can arise from many causes, including relationship problems, the use of prescription pharmaceuticals, disease, or chemical imbalances. HSDD has been treated successfully and safely with testosterone for many years, albeit to date not approved for that use. In a completed Phase II study LibiGel showed excellent safety and efficacy. However, FDA recently has become concerned with the cardiovascular and cancer risks associated with broad classes of drugs, among them potential therapies for FSD. The Phase III safety study is designed to confirm LibiGel's long-term safety.
The placebo-controlled study will examine the effect of LibiGel in post-menopausal women at a dose of 300 micrograms per day over twelve months. BioSante specifically will focus on cardiovascular events and the incidence of breast cancer. After twelve months BioSante plans to apply for FDA approval through a New Drug Application (NDA). FDA requires BioSante to follow the study group for an additional forty-eight months, after NDA submission and potential approval, to compare the occurrence of cardiac events and breast cancer between the treatment group and a matched group of women who receive a placebo gel.
LibiGel® is a 1% testosterone gel that women apply, once a day, to their upper arm. The pea-sized volume of gel is carried rapidly through the skin, from where it delivers a steady dose of testosterone to the blood.
Although testosterone is thought of as a male hormone, it also is found in women at levels appropriate with their age. Researchers believe that testosterone levels, which fall with increasing age, may control a woman's sexual desire. For example, a woman in her forties has about half the level of blood testosterone as a woman in her twenties.
The incidence of HSDD also increases with age and after certain surgical procedures. Approximately 14% of premenopausal women between the ages of twenty and forty-nine reported symptoms of HSDD, compared with 26% of women who had had their ovaries surgically removed. Similarly, the incidence of HSDD rises to 9% for "naturally" menopausal women. LibiGel® is designed to restore testosterone levels in post-menopausal women to levels that are considered normal to maintain a healthy libido.
Study results that bear out previous safety findings finally should lay to rest safety concerns regarding testosterone treatment in women, and lead to the approval of the first safe, effective treatment specifically indicated for HSDD in menopausal women.
For more information, log on to BioSantepharma.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals
BioSantepharma
воскресенье, 4 сентября 2011 г.
Eating Habits Of Female Footballers And Consequences For Sporting Activity
For a week Ms Gravina evaluated players from the first two Athletic teams (Superleague and National League), in order to observe their eating habits and where they could improve. The evaluation lasted a week and the studies were carried out on the days prior to the match, on the same day of the game and after the match. Using this data she wrote her PhD thesis: Estudio nutricional en mujeres futbolistas de ?©lite y su relaci??n con los cambios hematol??gicos, de estr?©s oxidativo y da?±o muscular tras jugar un partido de f??tbol (Nutritional study of top-class women footballers and the relation with changes in haematology, oxidative stress and muscular damage after playing a football match).
Playing football game triggers a whole series of reactions in the human body. With the leucocytes or white blood cells, for example, Ms Gravina was able to observe that, due to the physical exertion involved, those of the neutrophyle type increased in number while the lymphocytes diminished. Moreover, the resulting lack of lymphocytes facilitates infections. Also notable was the muscular and cell damage involved and the alterations in electrolytes and hormones.
At the same time, Superleague players have greater antioxidative capacity than those of the second team, meaning more effective muscular contraction, less risk of inflammation and greater capacity of organisms to combat the toxicity of free radicals. Nevertheless, it has to be taken account that the body receives greater punishment at matches than in the second team fixtures suffering greater cell damage, rupture of red blood cells, tiredness and dehydration.
Those in the Superleague, somewhat better
In order to carry out physical activity correctly it is essential to have the required nutrients for the body. According to Ms Gravina, this depends on eating habits and nutrition.
According to the researcher, the eating habits of the Superleague players are better than those of the second team. They ingest less protein and fat and more fibre. Moreover, the percentage majority of energy consumed due to physical exertion comes from carbohydrates and not fat. In any case, neither of the teams eat correctly. To start with, they do not ingest sufficient carbohydrate. Moreover, their hydration is insufficient and this causes an increase in heartbeat. The percentages of electrolytes are also inappropriate, as they ingest too little potassium and too much (double the required amount) of sodium and chloride. As Ms Gravina pointed out, potassium is fundamental to guarantee electrolytic equilibrium, essential for correct neuronal transmission and for the mechanisms in active transport.
Moreover, Ms Gravina also observed deficiencies in those substances that make metabolism possible. Players from both teams lacked folic acid, vitamin D, calcium, iodine and fluoride; moreover, those in the second team did not have sufficient magnesium. The researcher wished to underpin that these nutrients are highly important for sportspeople: vitamin D, calcium and fluoride for the bones, iodine for the metabolic process in general and magnesium for the various functions that affect muscular functions.
Enhancing performance by changing eating habits
Given all this, in the view of Ms Gravina, effective measures can be taken that affect nutrition and enhance sporting performance, and she makes a number of proposals to this end. For example, the number of red blood cells increases with greater ingestion of proteins, folic acid and vitamin C. To counteract the inflammation caused by physical activity, she points to vitamins, carotenoids and certain vegetable-source substances. In order to combat oxidation, on the other hand, she mentions carbohydrates and fibre and certain vitamins and vegetable-source substances. As regards reducing cell damage, she proposes, amongst other things, ingesting fibre and carotenes. With these and other examples, Ms. Gravina has tried to demonstrate that, through developing new eating strategies, body changes caused by sport activity can be reduced, thus enhancing performance.
Source: Elhuyar Fundazioa
Playing football game triggers a whole series of reactions in the human body. With the leucocytes or white blood cells, for example, Ms Gravina was able to observe that, due to the physical exertion involved, those of the neutrophyle type increased in number while the lymphocytes diminished. Moreover, the resulting lack of lymphocytes facilitates infections. Also notable was the muscular and cell damage involved and the alterations in electrolytes and hormones.
At the same time, Superleague players have greater antioxidative capacity than those of the second team, meaning more effective muscular contraction, less risk of inflammation and greater capacity of organisms to combat the toxicity of free radicals. Nevertheless, it has to be taken account that the body receives greater punishment at matches than in the second team fixtures suffering greater cell damage, rupture of red blood cells, tiredness and dehydration.
Those in the Superleague, somewhat better
In order to carry out physical activity correctly it is essential to have the required nutrients for the body. According to Ms Gravina, this depends on eating habits and nutrition.
According to the researcher, the eating habits of the Superleague players are better than those of the second team. They ingest less protein and fat and more fibre. Moreover, the percentage majority of energy consumed due to physical exertion comes from carbohydrates and not fat. In any case, neither of the teams eat correctly. To start with, they do not ingest sufficient carbohydrate. Moreover, their hydration is insufficient and this causes an increase in heartbeat. The percentages of electrolytes are also inappropriate, as they ingest too little potassium and too much (double the required amount) of sodium and chloride. As Ms Gravina pointed out, potassium is fundamental to guarantee electrolytic equilibrium, essential for correct neuronal transmission and for the mechanisms in active transport.
Moreover, Ms Gravina also observed deficiencies in those substances that make metabolism possible. Players from both teams lacked folic acid, vitamin D, calcium, iodine and fluoride; moreover, those in the second team did not have sufficient magnesium. The researcher wished to underpin that these nutrients are highly important for sportspeople: vitamin D, calcium and fluoride for the bones, iodine for the metabolic process in general and magnesium for the various functions that affect muscular functions.
Enhancing performance by changing eating habits
Given all this, in the view of Ms Gravina, effective measures can be taken that affect nutrition and enhance sporting performance, and she makes a number of proposals to this end. For example, the number of red blood cells increases with greater ingestion of proteins, folic acid and vitamin C. To counteract the inflammation caused by physical activity, she points to vitamins, carotenoids and certain vegetable-source substances. In order to combat oxidation, on the other hand, she mentions carbohydrates and fibre and certain vitamins and vegetable-source substances. As regards reducing cell damage, she proposes, amongst other things, ingesting fibre and carotenes. With these and other examples, Ms. Gravina has tried to demonstrate that, through developing new eating strategies, body changes caused by sport activity can be reduced, thus enhancing performance.
Source: Elhuyar Fundazioa
воскресенье, 28 августа 2011 г.
Ultrasound Might Affect Newborn Brain Development
If studies on pregnant mice also apply to humans, exposing a pregnant mother to ultrasound for over 30 minutes could adversely affect the baby's brain development, say scientists from Yale University, USA. They found that some nerve cells did not make their way to the correct parts of the developing brain.
You can read about this study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientists said that their results call for further investigations in larger and slower-developing brains of non-human primates and comprehensive epidemiological studies in humans.
However, head researcher, Dr. Pasko Rakic, added that if he had a daughter and she was pregnant he would still advise her to have an ultrasound for medical reasons.
The scientists stressed that mice and humans are very different. Just because baby mice seemed to be affected does not mean humans are. The period during which cells migrate to specific parts of the developing pain is much longer for humans than for mice. It is possible that 30 minutes of ultrasound has a much bigger impact on a mouse's developing brain than a human's. In order to see what the effect may be on humans we would need to carry out similar tests on animals that are more similar to humans, the researchers said.
This study may persuade many doctors and pregnant women to carry out ultrasound for medical reasons only, and not for entertainment.
There have been studies which showed repeat ultrasounds are safe for humans. There was one in 2004, carried out in Australia, which included over 2,700 children. The children were followed up at the ages of 2, 3, 5 and 8 years. No significant adverse effects were found.
Most ultrasounds on pregnant women do not last more than 20 minutes. Current guidelines for pregnant mothers state that the ultrasound settings should be as low as possible to get a diagnosis.
Department of Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine
pnas
You can read about this study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientists said that their results call for further investigations in larger and slower-developing brains of non-human primates and comprehensive epidemiological studies in humans.
However, head researcher, Dr. Pasko Rakic, added that if he had a daughter and she was pregnant he would still advise her to have an ultrasound for medical reasons.
The scientists stressed that mice and humans are very different. Just because baby mice seemed to be affected does not mean humans are. The period during which cells migrate to specific parts of the developing pain is much longer for humans than for mice. It is possible that 30 minutes of ultrasound has a much bigger impact on a mouse's developing brain than a human's. In order to see what the effect may be on humans we would need to carry out similar tests on animals that are more similar to humans, the researchers said.
This study may persuade many doctors and pregnant women to carry out ultrasound for medical reasons only, and not for entertainment.
There have been studies which showed repeat ultrasounds are safe for humans. There was one in 2004, carried out in Australia, which included over 2,700 children. The children were followed up at the ages of 2, 3, 5 and 8 years. No significant adverse effects were found.
Most ultrasounds on pregnant women do not last more than 20 minutes. Current guidelines for pregnant mothers state that the ultrasound settings should be as low as possible to get a diagnosis.
Department of Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine
pnas
воскресенье, 21 августа 2011 г.
Over 5 Chlamydia Tests A Day Since Clamelle Launch
Customers have already begun to use the NPA Chlamydia Test and Treat service since Clamelle (OTC Azithromycin) was officially launched as a Pharmacy medicine earlier this month. Between 5 and 10 tests a day are being received by GLG Laboratories, the NPA partner in this service.
70% of NPA members are now signed up to provide the NPA service.
John Turk, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "It is particularly gratifying that this is happening in advance of the launch of the planned national consumer advertising campaign. Community pharmacy is uniquely placed to provide chlamydia testing and treatment - and many other services besides - because pharmacies are particularly accessible and convenient.
"This service will complement existing NHS provision and make it easier and quicker for people to receive screening and appropriate treatment. Now that many pharmacies have consultation areas where you can have a confidential discussion with your pharmacist, I believe that people will be much better served in future and find community pharmacy their preferred option for chlamydia testing and treatment."
Notes
Members wishing to set up a Chlamydia Testing Service will need to register with the NPA, obtain the NPA Chlamydia Resource Pack alongside the Clamelle training pack. The NPA Chlamydia Resource Pack can be obtained from NPA Sales on 01727 800401 or online.
For assistance with setting up a Chlamydia testing service, members should contact the NPA Information Department on 01727 891 800 or email informationnpa.
Members of the public can purchase a chlamydia test kit from any participating pharmacy for ??25, send a urine sample for testing and, if a positive result is returned, purchase treatment over the counter for a further ??20. Testing of samples is included in the cost of the test kit, with results returned either direct to the customer or to the pharmacy where the test kit was purchased - or both.
Azithromcyin is available as Clamelle Tablets for people 16 years and over who have tested positive for chlamydia but have no symptoms and for their sexual partners.
Pharmacists can only supply Clamelle tablets to individuals who are confirmed as having a positive Nucleic Acid Amplification Technique (NAAT) chlamydia test result and to their sexual partners (without them needing to take a test).
National Pharmacy Association
70% of NPA members are now signed up to provide the NPA service.
John Turk, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "It is particularly gratifying that this is happening in advance of the launch of the planned national consumer advertising campaign. Community pharmacy is uniquely placed to provide chlamydia testing and treatment - and many other services besides - because pharmacies are particularly accessible and convenient.
"This service will complement existing NHS provision and make it easier and quicker for people to receive screening and appropriate treatment. Now that many pharmacies have consultation areas where you can have a confidential discussion with your pharmacist, I believe that people will be much better served in future and find community pharmacy their preferred option for chlamydia testing and treatment."
Notes
Members wishing to set up a Chlamydia Testing Service will need to register with the NPA, obtain the NPA Chlamydia Resource Pack alongside the Clamelle training pack. The NPA Chlamydia Resource Pack can be obtained from NPA Sales on 01727 800401 or online.
For assistance with setting up a Chlamydia testing service, members should contact the NPA Information Department on 01727 891 800 or email informationnpa.
Members of the public can purchase a chlamydia test kit from any participating pharmacy for ??25, send a urine sample for testing and, if a positive result is returned, purchase treatment over the counter for a further ??20. Testing of samples is included in the cost of the test kit, with results returned either direct to the customer or to the pharmacy where the test kit was purchased - or both.
Azithromcyin is available as Clamelle Tablets for people 16 years and over who have tested positive for chlamydia but have no symptoms and for their sexual partners.
Pharmacists can only supply Clamelle tablets to individuals who are confirmed as having a positive Nucleic Acid Amplification Technique (NAAT) chlamydia test result and to their sexual partners (without them needing to take a test).
National Pharmacy Association
воскресенье, 14 августа 2011 г.
Wall Street Journal Examines Concerns About Safety Of Administering Epidurals Through Lower-Back Tattoos
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined concerns that administering an epidural through a tattoo might pose health risks to the pregnant woman. According to the Journal, there has been an increase in recent years in women's lower-back tattoos, which often cover the surface near the vertebrae where the epidural needles are inserted. The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2006 reported that nearly 25% of U.S. residents ages 18 to 50 are tattooed, and 20% of tattooed women in the age group have lower-back tattoos. Epidurals are used in almost 65% of the four million births reported in the U.S. annually, the Journal reports.
A 2002 study published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia questioned whether complications such as inflammation or nerve damage might occur if the epidural needle pulled some of the dyed skin along with it and then deposited it into the region outside the spinal column. The study of three women -- conducted by Joanne Douglas and colleagues from the British Columbia Women's Hospital -- found no conclusive evidence that the procedure was unsafe, but it "set off a mini-wave of panic" among pregnant women, according to the Journal.
Douglas recommended that anesthesiologists avoid the tattoo when administering an epidural or create a nick in the skin before injecting the needle, which could minimize the likelihood of skin being pulled down with the injection. Douglas also said that physicians should tell women that while there is no proof that complications will occur when administering an epidural through a tattoo, there remains a potential risk.
William Camann, chief of obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said women with lower-back tattoos should not be concerned about the epidural as long as the ink has dried fully and the wound is healed. He said at that point the dye is set and even the microscopic amount of skin that might be drawn into the body should pose no risk. FDA said tattoo inks and pigments are regulated by the agency, but due to other health priorities, the agency has not approved any specific inks. Two FDA-sponsored studies are ongoing to assess possible adverse side effects to the ink and methods to test it for toxicity, the Journal reports (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 9/18).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
A 2002 study published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia questioned whether complications such as inflammation or nerve damage might occur if the epidural needle pulled some of the dyed skin along with it and then deposited it into the region outside the spinal column. The study of three women -- conducted by Joanne Douglas and colleagues from the British Columbia Women's Hospital -- found no conclusive evidence that the procedure was unsafe, but it "set off a mini-wave of panic" among pregnant women, according to the Journal.
Douglas recommended that anesthesiologists avoid the tattoo when administering an epidural or create a nick in the skin before injecting the needle, which could minimize the likelihood of skin being pulled down with the injection. Douglas also said that physicians should tell women that while there is no proof that complications will occur when administering an epidural through a tattoo, there remains a potential risk.
William Camann, chief of obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said women with lower-back tattoos should not be concerned about the epidural as long as the ink has dried fully and the wound is healed. He said at that point the dye is set and even the microscopic amount of skin that might be drawn into the body should pose no risk. FDA said tattoo inks and pigments are regulated by the agency, but due to other health priorities, the agency has not approved any specific inks. Two FDA-sponsored studies are ongoing to assess possible adverse side effects to the ink and methods to test it for toxicity, the Journal reports (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 9/18).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 7 августа 2011 г.
Annually Breast Cancer Screening Younger Women Lowers Mastectomy Risk
If women are screened for breast cancer every year, starting at the age of 40, their risk of mastectomy following breast cancer is considerably lower, researchers from The London Breast Institute, London, England, explained at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America - RSNA 2010.
In 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening women every two years from the age of fifty years. The American Cancer Society recommends a yearly screening from 40 years. The UK has no current guidelines for routine screening of females under the age of 50.
Lead author Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R., said:
"The results of this study support the importance of regular screening in the 40 to 50 age group. Women in this age group who had undergone mammography the previous year had a mastectomy rate of less than half that of the others."
The authors explained that by the end of this year, approximately 207,090 people in the United States will have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
Dr. Perry and team set out to determine what the relationship might be between frequency of breast screening for women aged 40 to 50 and the type of treatment following a breast cancer diagnosis.
They gathered data on women aged 40 to 50 who had had a breast cancer diagnosis at The London Breast Institute and had treatment there too. They collected information on 971 women between 2003 and 2009.
40% (393) of the patients were under 50 at time of diagnosis. 156 of them completed their treatment at the Institute. 73% (114) of them had never been screened for breast cancer before. 42 had had a previous mammogram, of whom 29 had had at least one screening during the previous 24 months. 16 of them had had a mammogram during the previous twelve months.
Dr. Perry said:
"We reviewed the records of the women needing mastectomy to determine whether or not they had undergone mammography the previous year. We were surprised at the degree of benefit obtained from yearly screening in this age group."
Of the 16 women who had been screened during the previous twelve months, 19% (3) of them required a mastectomy, versus 46% (64) of the 140 patients who had had no screening during the previous twelve months.
Dr. Perry said:
"Regular screening is already proven to lower the chance of women dying from breast cancer. The results of our study support the importance of regular screening in the under-50 age group and confirm that annual mammography improves the chances of breast conservation should breast cancer develop."
"Prior Mammography in Women Aged 40-50 at a UK Center in Accordance with ACS Guidelines Lowers Mastectomy Rate Following Breast Cancer"
Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R, Sue Milner, B.Sc., D.C.R., Kefah Mokbel, M.B.B.S., M.S., F.R.C.S., Stephen W. Duffy, B.Sc., M.Sc., and Katja Pinker, M.D.
RSNA 2010
CODE: SSQ01-08 SESSION: ISP: Breast Imaging (Tomosynthesis and Digital Mammography)
Christian Nordvist
In 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening women every two years from the age of fifty years. The American Cancer Society recommends a yearly screening from 40 years. The UK has no current guidelines for routine screening of females under the age of 50.
Lead author Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R., said:
"The results of this study support the importance of regular screening in the 40 to 50 age group. Women in this age group who had undergone mammography the previous year had a mastectomy rate of less than half that of the others."
The authors explained that by the end of this year, approximately 207,090 people in the United States will have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
Dr. Perry and team set out to determine what the relationship might be between frequency of breast screening for women aged 40 to 50 and the type of treatment following a breast cancer diagnosis.
They gathered data on women aged 40 to 50 who had had a breast cancer diagnosis at The London Breast Institute and had treatment there too. They collected information on 971 women between 2003 and 2009.
40% (393) of the patients were under 50 at time of diagnosis. 156 of them completed their treatment at the Institute. 73% (114) of them had never been screened for breast cancer before. 42 had had a previous mammogram, of whom 29 had had at least one screening during the previous 24 months. 16 of them had had a mammogram during the previous twelve months.
Dr. Perry said:
"We reviewed the records of the women needing mastectomy to determine whether or not they had undergone mammography the previous year. We were surprised at the degree of benefit obtained from yearly screening in this age group."
Of the 16 women who had been screened during the previous twelve months, 19% (3) of them required a mastectomy, versus 46% (64) of the 140 patients who had had no screening during the previous twelve months.
Dr. Perry said:
"Regular screening is already proven to lower the chance of women dying from breast cancer. The results of our study support the importance of regular screening in the under-50 age group and confirm that annual mammography improves the chances of breast conservation should breast cancer develop."
"Prior Mammography in Women Aged 40-50 at a UK Center in Accordance with ACS Guidelines Lowers Mastectomy Rate Following Breast Cancer"
Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R, Sue Milner, B.Sc., D.C.R., Kefah Mokbel, M.B.B.S., M.S., F.R.C.S., Stephen W. Duffy, B.Sc., M.Sc., and Katja Pinker, M.D.
RSNA 2010
CODE: SSQ01-08 SESSION: ISP: Breast Imaging (Tomosynthesis and Digital Mammography)
Christian Nordvist
воскресенье, 31 июля 2011 г.
Colo. Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Description Of 'Personhood' Ballot Initiative
On Thursday, Denver District Court Judge Robert Hyatt dismissed an attempt by abortion-rights opponents to change the description of a "personhood" ballot initiative in a state voters' guide, the AP/Greeley Tribune reports. The ballot initiative, called Amendment 62, seeks to change the state constitution to say that rights of citizens are granted from the "beginning of biological development." If approved, the amendment would ban abortion services, as well as some forms of birth control and fertility treatments (Wyatt, AP/Greeley Tribune, 9/30).
In its lawsuit, Personhood Colorado claimed that the language used in the analysis of Amendment 62 was not "fair or impartial, but in fact generally biased against Amendment 62." (Marcus, Denver Daily, 10/1). In particular, the group objected to a statement that Amendment 62 could restrict access to "treatment for miscarriages."
Hyatt ruled that the courts do not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the state Legislature's production of the voters' guide, called the Blue Book. He added that voters had already received the guide and that issuing a press release -- as Personhood Colorado requested -- to note that the language was under review would have little practical effect (AP/Greeley Tribune, 9/30).
Personhood Colorado plans to appeal the decision. According to Denver Daily, since 1996, there have been five lawsuits in the Denver District Court to change the content of the Blue Book, all of which were dismissed (Denver Daily, 10/1).
Editorial Urges Voters To Reject Amendment
A Denver Post editorial encourages Coloradans to vote against Amendment 62 calling the measure a "retread of a nearly identical 'personhood' amendment that 73%of voters rejected two years ago." The editorial adds that although "reasonable people can disagree on the merits of abortion" and when life begins, Amendment 62's "attempt to end the established practices under Roe v. Wade would usher in far too many unintended consequences," such as outlawing certain contraceptives, restricting stem cell research and jeopardizing the legality of "potentially life-saving operations" for women with ectopic pregnancies (Denver Post, 10/1).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 24 июля 2011 г.
President Of African First Ladies Group Calls For Increased Political Power Among Women To Fight HIV/AIDS
Ethiopian first lady Azeb Mesfin, the newly elected president of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, recently said that women in Africa need increased political power to effectively fight HIV/AIDS on the continent, the Panafrican News Agency reports. Mesfin in her inaugural address said that African women "must have access to power. If we want to win the war against the poverty, we must empower them also to fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic." Mainstream politics in Africa often marginalize women, leaving them without the power to influence decisions on their social and economic development, Mesfin said, adding that women "must be free to make choices to reduce HIV/AIDS."
Mesfin said that OAFLA's role in promoting the rights of women has become more critical in light of the global economic crisis. "OAFLA's role becomes more urgent in the face of global recession because women are the most vulnerable segment of society," she said, adding, "OAFLA therefore wants to play a greater role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa." Mesfin also addressed the increasing incidence of sexual violence against women, and said, "We deserve to be in a world free of violence, where safety is real and where opportunities are boundless."
Also at the event, Meskerem Gunitzy Bekele, Ethiopia's country director for UNAIDS, said that 60% of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS are women and children. "As high-profile advocates, OAFLA must contribute to effective response to the pandemic," Gunitzy Bekele said (Kwayera, Panafrican News Agency, 2/3).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Mesfin said that OAFLA's role in promoting the rights of women has become more critical in light of the global economic crisis. "OAFLA's role becomes more urgent in the face of global recession because women are the most vulnerable segment of society," she said, adding, "OAFLA therefore wants to play a greater role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa." Mesfin also addressed the increasing incidence of sexual violence against women, and said, "We deserve to be in a world free of violence, where safety is real and where opportunities are boundless."
Also at the event, Meskerem Gunitzy Bekele, Ethiopia's country director for UNAIDS, said that 60% of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS are women and children. "As high-profile advocates, OAFLA must contribute to effective response to the pandemic," Gunitzy Bekele said (Kwayera, Panafrican News Agency, 2/3).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 17 июля 2011 г.
Michigan Runs Out Of Funding For Breast And Cervical Screening Program For Low-Income, Uninsured Women
Michigan has run out of state and federal funding under CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which offers screening services to low-income women without insurance, and the program next year is expected to serve fewer women because of funding cuts, the Detroit Free Press reports. The program provides Pap tests and other screenings for qualified women ages 18 to 64 and mammograms for qualified women ages 40 to 64. To qualify, the women must be uninsured and have annual incomes lower than 250% of the federal poverty level (Anstett, Detroit Free Press, 8/7). Under the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, enacted in 2000, states can request an expansion of their Medicaid programs to include uninsured women younger than age 65 diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. Women who qualify receive medical coverage throughout their cancer treatment, with the federal government covering up to 85% of the cost of treatment (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30/03). In 2005, 404,736 women received mammograms, and 357,519 received Pap tests nationwide through the program, which is intended to provide services for about 13% of the 3.3 million women who qualify for it, according to Lisa Mariani, acting CDC branch chief for program services. Under the current funding structure, the Michigan Department of Community Health has lowered its estimate for the number of women it will serve through the program from 25,000 this year to 22,310 next year. Eleven Michigan counties currently are telling thousands of women they will have to wait until October to receive services because of a lack of funding, according to the Free Press. Michigan this year received $9 million in federal funding and provided $1 million in state funding for the program. A bill (S 1687), co-sponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), currently pending in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would reauthorize the program and increase by $50 million its funding to $250 million annually beginning in 2007. According to the Free Press, the funding increase would allow 147,000 more U.S. women to receive services under the program (Detroit Free Press, 8/7).
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
воскресенье, 10 июля 2011 г.
Endometriosis Diagnosis, Treatment Increasing For Young Women
Endometriosis -- a condition in which the tissue that normally lines the uterus develops in other parts of the body -- is increasingly being diagnosed in young women, and while physicians are improving treatments for such women, they "don't always work," the Boston Globe reports. According to NIH, about 5.5 million women in North America are living with endometriosis, and the condition causes infertility in 30% to 40% of cases. There is no known cause for the development of the condition, but Meredith Loveless, head of pediatric and adolescent gynecology services at Johns Hopkins University, said patients initially are treated with contraceptive pills containing estrogen and progestin to stop monthly periods. Doctors use laparoscopic surgery to remove lesions if the condition persists, and some older teens and adults also take the drug Lupron to halt ovulation. "The hope is that by treating young women with endometriosis earlier, we can get better outcomes in terms of both pain and fertility," Claire Templeman -- assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and surgery at the University of Southern California -- said, adding, "But so far, there's no data on long-term outcomes." In addition, diagnosis of the condition is challenging because many other conditions can cause abdominal pain and because teenagers often fear receiving a pelvic exam, according to the Globe. A 2005 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists report said it takes about nine years for most adult women to be properly diagnosed with endometriosis (Foreman, Boston Globe, 10/30).
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
View drug information on Lupron Depot.
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
View drug information on Lupron Depot.
воскресенье, 3 июля 2011 г.
Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Issues In Various US States
The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health issues.
Abortion Regulations
Indiana: The state House on Wednesday approved 70-30 a bill (HB 1172) that would require physicians to tell women seeking abortion that life begins when a human egg is fertilized by human sperm, the AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reports (Smith, AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2). Current Indiana law states that women seeking abortion must receive in-person counseling at least 18 hours prior to undergoing the procedure, but it does not dictate what physicians tell women. The bill also would require doctors to tell women seeking abortion that fetuses can feel pain, that an anesthetic can be provided for fetuses of more than 20 weeks' gestation and that health insurance might not cover the cost of the procedure. (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30). The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration (AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2).
Indiana: The state House on Wednesday approved 60-38 a bill (HB 1080) that would require abortion clinics in the state to meet new standards -- including specified widths of hallways and sizes of rooms -- by Jan. 1, 2007, the Indianapolis Star reports (Schneider, Indianapolis Star, 2/1). The Planned Parenthood Association of Indiana said that the bill likely would force all of the state's nine abortion clinics to close, adding that it would fight the measure in court if it becomes law (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30). State Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R), who sponsored the measure, said the intent of the measure is not to close the clinics but to protect the health of women who use them (Indianapolis Star, 2/1). The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration (AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2).
South Dakota: The state House on Wednesday voted 65-2 to approve a bill (HB 1198) that would require abortion clinics to obtain special licenses and undergo state inspections, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports (Michael, AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1). The measure would require the state Department of Health to charge a fee before inspecting the facility for compliance with state requirements and issuing a license. The bill approved in the state House Health and Human Services Committee would have capped the licensing fee at $10,000 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/1). According to the AP/American News, the fee has been changed to a "much lower amount" and is now equal to those that outpatient surgery clinics are required to pay (AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1). The state Senate on Tuesday voted to approve a similar bill (SB 185) that would cap the fee at $2,000 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/2). The House bill now moves to the Senate for consideration (AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1).
Regulations on Minors
South Dakota: The state House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday voted 8-5 to reject a bill that would have required health care providers who treat a minor for a sexually transmitted disease to notify the minor's parents, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Donna Schafer (R), would have required health care providers to notify parents within 72 hours of treating their child for syphilis, gonorrhea or chancroid. Schafer also proposed requiring parental notification for treatment of chlamydia, as well as adding the disease to the list of STDs recorded and monitored by the state. It is a Class 2 misdemeanor to expose another person to an STD included on the list. According to the Argus Leader, the committee agreed that the continued debate over the bill indicated that it required further modifications before going to the House for consideration (Myers, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2/1).
Stem Cell Research
Michigan: State Rep. Andrew Meisner (D) on Wednesday reiterated his call for the state Legislature to ease restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, the AP/woodtv reports (AP/woodtv, 2/1). Michigan law permits research in the state using adult stem cells. It also allows research on embryonic stem cell lines that have been developed outside the state, but it prohibits the destruction of embryos and embryonic cloning. Meisner has introduced legislation to modify the bans, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) during her State of the State speech last week endorsed Meisner's bill (HB 4900) (Bell, Detroit Free Press, 2/1).
Pennsylvania: Gov. Ed Rendell (D) on Wednesday announced a proposal to spend $1 billion to develop the state's bioscience research industry, prompting debate over public funding for embryonic stem cell research, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Although Rendell said he "enthusiastically" supports embryonic stem cell research, he rejected the idea that the program was designed for such research (Worden, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/2). He added that the legality of embryonic stem cell research is not clear under Pennsylvania abortion control law. Rendell plans to present his proposal to the General Assembly on Feb. 8 (Levy, AP/phillyBurbs, 2/1).
Abortion Regulations
Indiana: The state House on Wednesday approved 70-30 a bill (HB 1172) that would require physicians to tell women seeking abortion that life begins when a human egg is fertilized by human sperm, the AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reports (Smith, AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2). Current Indiana law states that women seeking abortion must receive in-person counseling at least 18 hours prior to undergoing the procedure, but it does not dictate what physicians tell women. The bill also would require doctors to tell women seeking abortion that fetuses can feel pain, that an anesthetic can be provided for fetuses of more than 20 weeks' gestation and that health insurance might not cover the cost of the procedure. (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30). The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration (AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2).
Indiana: The state House on Wednesday approved 60-38 a bill (HB 1080) that would require abortion clinics in the state to meet new standards -- including specified widths of hallways and sizes of rooms -- by Jan. 1, 2007, the Indianapolis Star reports (Schneider, Indianapolis Star, 2/1). The Planned Parenthood Association of Indiana said that the bill likely would force all of the state's nine abortion clinics to close, adding that it would fight the measure in court if it becomes law (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30). State Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R), who sponsored the measure, said the intent of the measure is not to close the clinics but to protect the health of women who use them (Indianapolis Star, 2/1). The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration (AP/Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 2/2).
South Dakota: The state House on Wednesday voted 65-2 to approve a bill (HB 1198) that would require abortion clinics to obtain special licenses and undergo state inspections, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports (Michael, AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1). The measure would require the state Department of Health to charge a fee before inspecting the facility for compliance with state requirements and issuing a license. The bill approved in the state House Health and Human Services Committee would have capped the licensing fee at $10,000 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/1). According to the AP/American News, the fee has been changed to a "much lower amount" and is now equal to those that outpatient surgery clinics are required to pay (AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1). The state Senate on Tuesday voted to approve a similar bill (SB 185) that would cap the fee at $2,000 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/2). The House bill now moves to the Senate for consideration (AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/1).
Regulations on Minors
South Dakota: The state House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday voted 8-5 to reject a bill that would have required health care providers who treat a minor for a sexually transmitted disease to notify the minor's parents, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Donna Schafer (R), would have required health care providers to notify parents within 72 hours of treating their child for syphilis, gonorrhea or chancroid. Schafer also proposed requiring parental notification for treatment of chlamydia, as well as adding the disease to the list of STDs recorded and monitored by the state. It is a Class 2 misdemeanor to expose another person to an STD included on the list. According to the Argus Leader, the committee agreed that the continued debate over the bill indicated that it required further modifications before going to the House for consideration (Myers, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2/1).
Stem Cell Research
Michigan: State Rep. Andrew Meisner (D) on Wednesday reiterated his call for the state Legislature to ease restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, the AP/woodtv reports (AP/woodtv, 2/1). Michigan law permits research in the state using adult stem cells. It also allows research on embryonic stem cell lines that have been developed outside the state, but it prohibits the destruction of embryos and embryonic cloning. Meisner has introduced legislation to modify the bans, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) during her State of the State speech last week endorsed Meisner's bill (HB 4900) (Bell, Detroit Free Press, 2/1).
Pennsylvania: Gov. Ed Rendell (D) on Wednesday announced a proposal to spend $1 billion to develop the state's bioscience research industry, prompting debate over public funding for embryonic stem cell research, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Although Rendell said he "enthusiastically" supports embryonic stem cell research, he rejected the idea that the program was designed for such research (Worden, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/2). He added that the legality of embryonic stem cell research is not clear under Pennsylvania abortion control law. Rendell plans to present his proposal to the General Assembly on Feb. 8 (Levy, AP/phillyBurbs, 2/1).
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