Feature Channels: Women's Health

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A new study from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that parenting concerns have a significant impact on the mental and emotional health of women with advanced cancer. In particular, they found that a mother’s emotional well-being was significantly linked with whether she had communicated with her children about her illness, and her concerns about how her illness will financially impact her children.

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Scientists studying tumor growth and metastasis at the University of Notre Dame fabricated a human tissue model to examine how cancer cells interact with connective tissue in the breast.

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Researchers in China have discovered that an enzyme called UGT8 drives the progression of basal-like breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that is largely untreatable. But the study, which will be published May 4 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, reveals that the widely used osteoporosis drug zoledronic acid inhibits UGT8 and prevents the spread of basal-like breast cancer in mice, suggesting that this drug could also be used to treat the disease in humans.

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Women who eat less fruit and more fast food take longer to get pregnant and are less likely to conceive within a year, according to a study by researchers at the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Research Institute.

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A joint UNLV and Oregon State University study found mothers who consumed their placenta passed on no harm to their newborn babies when compared to infants of mothers who did not consume their placenta.

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SBP researchers recently discovered an alternative metabolic pathway that might be used by cancer cells to survive nutrient deprivation. Targeting these proteins to disrupt autophagy in cancer cells is an exciting therapeutic strategy that could minimize toxicity.

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A letter in the May 3, 2018, NEJM updates reports on the risks of exposure during pregnancy to a supplement, diethylstilbestrol (DES), that is linked to a rare cancer. DES-exposed patients with clear-cell adenocarcinoma had “increased mortality across their life span.”

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The #MeToo movement has shed light on our culture's history of sexual violence and harassment. But what is being done to help women heal? New research from Rutgers' Tracey Shors found that women who are sexually assaulted and suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can learn to decrease negative thoughts and enhance self-worth by a combination of meditation and aerobic exercise.

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Getting the results of a cancer biopsy can take up to two weeks. What if it could happen in 10 minutes? In two new papers, a team of chemists and engineers from Michigan Technological University lay the groundwork for cancer detection and diagnostics based on a fluorescent GLUT5 probe. Documented in the new research, a cancer's type and malignancy changes the GLUT5 activity in a cell, creating a detectable "fingerprint" of cancer.

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Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience severe and persistent tiredness. In a recent study, a team led by researchers from the National University of Singapore developed a novel approach to identify the onset of this common side effect and objectively follow its development. 

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A long-standing collaboration between Sandia National Laboratories and Imagion Biosystems produced precise magnetic nanoparticles for a breast cancer clinical trial later this year. The nanoparticles stick to breast cancer cells, allowing the detection and removal of even small metastases.

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In the first six weeks after delivering her baby, a new mom is facing the highest risk of heart failure. That’s the main finding of a study of more than 50 million pregnancy-related hospitalizations in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

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A new study in the journal Nature Cell Biology has uncovered information about a key stage that human embryonic cells must pass through just before an embryo implants. The research, led by UCLA biologist Amander Clark, could help explain certain causes of infertility and spontaneous miscarriage. Infertility affects around 10 percent of the U.

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FINDINGS Researchers from UCLA and several other institutions found surgeries performed by older surgeons — age 50 and up — have lower patient mortality rates than those performed by younger surgeons, and that patient mortality rates do not differ significantly based on whether the surgeon is male or female. Broken down by age group and adjusting for various patient characteristics, mortality rates were 6.

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The past quarter century has brought a striking decline in earlier-than-expected deaths among blacks in the U.S., according to a first-of-its-kind analysis performed using an extensive death records database maintained by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

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Girls diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have a high frequency of menstrual irregularities, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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According to new research, obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be able to improve their health outlook with a particularly enjoyable form of therapy: regular sessions in a hot tub.

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A $2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) will allow TTUHSC El Paso to create a new lab focusing on breast cancer.

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An estimated 10 percent of couples in the U.S. struggle with infertility. While a variety of factors can make it difficult for some people to get pregnant, ovulation disorders are a leading cause of female infertility. Now, researchers at Pennsylvania State University have found that zinc deficiency can negatively affect the early stages of egg development, reducing the ability of the egg cells to divide and be fertilized. This may affect fertility months in the future. The researchers will present their results at the American Physiological Society annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego.

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While some research suggests that midlife is a dissatisfying time for women, other studies show that women report feeling less stressed and enjoy a higher quality of life during this period.