Feature Channels: Women's Health

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Breastfeeding, tubal ligation – also known as having one’s “tubes tied” – and oral contraceptives may lower the risk of ovarian cancer for some women with BRCA gene mutations, according to a comprehensive analysis from a team at the University of Pennsylvania's Basser Research Center for BRCA and the Abramson Cancer Center. The findings, a meta-analysis of 44 existing peer-reviewed studies, are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Kimberly Allison, MD, FCAP, a pathologist and survivor of HER2 breast cancer, shares her story. She also offers patients questions to ask their physicians related to the into the evidence-based guideline for HER2 testing developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the College of American Pathologists.

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The home is an important microenvironment in models of obesity and can trigger behaviors both positively and negatively associated with weight status. With this in mind, a group of researchers from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, and the Cancer Coalition of South Georgia sought to examine the home food environment and determine which aspects are associated with healthy eating in low-income overweight and obese women who receive healthcare through local federally-qualified community health centers.

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Economic findings on the Women’s Health Initiative estrogen plus progestin trial indicates that changes in practice stemming from the trial provided a net economic return of $37.1 billion over the 10-year period since the main findings were published.

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Tired legs? Women face greater limits on their lifestyle due to peripheral artery disease, but benefit just as well as men from minimally invasive procedures to unclog their arteries. Study shows docs need to ask women more often about leg discomfort and screen for PAD.

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Many women coping with infertility count on relatives or close friends for encouragement and assistance. But when it comes to support, women may not be receiving enough—or even the right kind, according to a new study by UI researchers published in the journal Communication Monographs.

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Nearly one-third of breast cancer survivors who were working when they began treatment were unemployed four years later. Women who received chemotherapy were most affected, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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An ancient form of meditation and exercise could help women who suffer from urinary incontinence, according to a new study from UC San Francisco.

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An inexpensive glaucoma drug, when added to a weight loss plan, can improve vision for women with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), according to a study funded by NEI. This disorder mostly affects young, overweight women. Vision loss and headaches are common symptoms.

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The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®), the leading voice on the study of the biological differences between women and men, will present a poster on “Exploring Sex and Gender Differences in Sleep” at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) on April 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.

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Women going through menopause most likely think of it as the time for an end to predictable monthly periods. Researchers at the University of Michigan say it's normal, however, for the majority of them to experience an increase in the amount and duration of bleeding episodes, which may occur at various times throughout the menopausal transition.

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A diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea may raise the risk of osteoporosis, particularly among women or older individuals, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Newswise hosts the first live, interactive virtual event for major research finding for journalists. Newswise and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are collaborating to offer direct access to the investigator via Newswise Live, an interactive virtual event.

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Long-term results are reported for the first patients to receive laboratory-engineered vaginal organs.

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Social class may play a significant role in how likely middle-aged African-American or Asian woman are to suffer bone fractures. New research suggests that a higher education level was associated with decreased fracture incidence among non-white women.

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Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®) President and CEO Phyllis Greenberger will urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials along with greater reporting and analysis of sex differences during a hearing today at the FDA headquarters near Washington, D.C.

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Nearly 84,000 women each year are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer, and 29,000 die from one of these diseases. Physician scientists at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey continue to advance scientific and clinical knowledge in this area and recently presented findings relating to cervical and endometrial cancers during the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s 45th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer this past week.

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New research shows that for some women, a high-protein meal followed by 30 minutes of moderate exercise is an effective way of burning calories, especially when compared to exercising on an empty stomach.

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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormone imbalance that causes infertility, obesity, and excessive facial hair in women, can also lead to severe mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. A study supervised by Columbia University School of Nursing professor Nancy Reame, MSN, PhD, FAAN, and published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, identifies the PCOS complications that may be most responsible for psychiatric problems. While weight gain and unwanted body hair can be distressing, irregular menstrual cycles is the symptom of PCOS most strongly associated with psychiatric problems.

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Women who had bariatric surgery to lose weight had a 70 percent lower risk of uterine cancer and an even lower risk if they kept the weight off, according to findings of a study based on more than 7 million hospital admissions.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center report that bariatric surgery resulting in dramatic weight loss in formerly severely obese women reduces the risk of endometrial (uterine) cancer by 71 percent and as much as 81 percent if normal weight is maintained after surgery.

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People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

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Obese women may need a different dose of medication than normal weight women in order to successfully have their eggs harvested for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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An ultrasound of the lungs could help doctors quickly determine if a pregnant woman with preeclampsia is at risk for respiratory failure, suggests preliminary research published in the April issue of Anesthesiology.

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Although cardiac arrest during childbirth is rare, it may be two times more common than previously reported in the literature, suggests the first large U.S. study on the potentially deadly condition published in the April issue of Anesthesiology. The study, based on data for more than 56 million births, also found that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was often successful, and that the survival rate improved between 1998 and 2011.

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More than 40 percent of pregnant low-income women discharged from the hospital after a diagnosis of false or early labor did not want to be sent home, with the most common reasons being that they were in too much pain or lived too far away, according to a study by Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) and Parkland Health & Hospital System.

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Preventing the trafficking of women and girls is a complex problem that requires cross-disciplinary research, training and education, public awareness and new policies at every level of government, according to the report of a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association.

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Two common procedures to treat pelvic organ prolapse without vaginal mesh are comparable in safety and efficacy, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers also found that behavioral and pelvic floor muscle therapy (BPMT) did not improve urinary incontinence or prolapse symptoms in affected women.

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Three weeks after delivering her first child, Amanda began to suffer from extreme fatigue, headaches, a tight chest and stomach pain. An initial diagnosis of pneumonia changed for the worse: Amanda was experiencing heart failure. She was quickly transferred to UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center where a multidisciplinary team implanted a novel cardiac device under her skin, leaving the heart untouched, to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.

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It would take a year for Pam Mace, a registered nurse living in Gross Ille, to understand why she had a stroke at age 37. Signaled by something as seemingly benign as headaches and high blood pressure or dramatic like a stroke, the vascular disease FMD puts thousands of young women, like Mace, at-risk for life-threatening cardiovascular problems. Through her advocacy, the nation recognizes March 11 at FMD Awareness Day.

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A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center looked at pregnancy outcomes in regards to the two surgical treatments for ectopic pregnancy -- salpingectomy, in which the affected fallopian tube is removed, or salpingotomy, in which the tube is preserved.

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When cancer spreads, it becomes even more deadly. It moves with stealth and can go undetected for months or years. But a new technology that uses “nano-flares” has the potential to catch these tumor cells early. Today, at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, scientists presented the latest advances in nano-flare technology as it applies to the detection of metastatic breast cancer cells.

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Maternal death rates represent the single largest health discrepancy between developed and developing populations, with nearly all - over 99% -- maternal deaths worldwide occurring in developing countries and over half of them in sub-Saharan Africa countries. Eliminating maternal mortality, which is defined as the deaths related to pregnancy, would result in a gain of over a half year (0.6 years) in life expectancy worldwide.

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With up to 20% of breast cancers classified as triple negative, Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day, 3.3.14 will raise the level of conversation and actively push for advances in medical treatment and research, as promoted by the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation for the second year.

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• For pregnant women with kidney failure who underwent dialysis for more than 36 hours per week, the live birth rate was 85%, while it was only 48% in women dialyzed for 20 hours or less per week. • Infants were a healthier weight at birth when women were dialyzed for more than 20 hours per week than when women were dialyzed for 20 hours or less per week. • Pregnancy complications were few and manageable in patients receiving intensive dialysis.

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In a Perspective column today in the New England Journal of Medicine, Penn Medicine cardiologist and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Lisa Rosenbaum, MD, discusses barriers to helping women understand their heart health risks.

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The first guidelines to be issued on stroke prevention in women are now available. These guidelines were developed by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association to address the unique risk factors for stroke in women.

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More than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioids (narcotics) for pain at some time during their pregnancy, according to a study posted to the online version of Anesthesiology. Given the surprising rate these medications were prescribed to pregnant women, more research is needed to assess the risk of opioids to unborn babies, the study suggests.

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The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is the leading voice on research into the biological differences between women and men. SWHR President and CEO Phyllis Greenberger comments on the CBS 60 Minutes segment that aired February 9 on how drugs uniquely affect men and women.

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The good news: More people survive stroke now than 10 years ago due to improved treatment and prevention. The bad news: Women who survive stroke have a worse quality of life than men, according to a study published in the Feb. 7 online issue of the journal Neurology.

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Despite the fact that heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., about three-quarters (74 percent) of Americans do not fear dying from it, according to a recent survey from Cleveland Clinic.

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Despite strokes’ being on the decline in the U.S., more women are dying from them than are men. Now the AHA and ASA have released guidance on prevention specifically for women.

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FGM is recognised as a form of Non-State Torture (NST), and the consequences of FGM can create an obstacle to girls and women enjoying their human right to education. The International Federation of University Women (IFUW), condemns female genital mutilation (FGM) on the occasion of International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation on 6th February.

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A survey of young women who use tanning beds found that despite being aware of the health risks associated with indoor tanning, they continue to take part in the activity, according to research conducted by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Medical associations widely recommend that women visit their obstetricians and primary care doctors shortly after giving birth, but slightly fewer than half make or keep those postpartum appointments, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

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New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause – in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average – in white women with certain genetic variations.

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Since the 1970s, the frequency and use of pain relief during childbirth – and most especially the use of epidural analgesia during labor – has increased dramatically. Reports on epidural rates range from 47 percent to as high as 76 percent of vaginal births, while between 39 percent and 56 percent of women use narcotic analgesics – including drugs like Fentanyl – via IV for managing labor and delivery pain. Only about 14 percent of women, the literature reveals, use no pharmacologic method to relieve childbirth pain.