Feature Channels: Women's Health

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Affecting 50 to 70 million Americans, sleep disorders are a major health and economic drain, but especially so for women. Sleep problems are more widely reported in women than men, and women are 1.4 times more likely to experience insomnia than men. To address the specifics of sex differences in sleep disorders, the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) hosted the congressional briefing, "Sleep Disorders and You: How challenges to sleep impact every aspect of your life" on April 11.

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A new comparative effectiveness report confirms that pelvic floor muscle training is effective for treating adult women with urinary incontinence without risk of side effects.

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Highlights: • In the largest observational study of its kind, 84% of all women and 55% of sexually active women on hemodialysis experienced sexual problems. • Sexual dysfunction was reported more often by women who were older, were less educated, had signs of depression, had reached menopause, had diabetes, and took diuretic therapy, or ‘water pills.’

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In the most comprehensive study to date to examine the effects of soy on menopause, researchers have found that two daily servings of soy can reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes by up to 26 percent.

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A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that obese white women may be less likely than normal-weight counterparts and African-Americans of any weight or gender to seek potentially lifesaving colon cancer screening tests.

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The addition of a screening ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to annual mammography in women with an increased risk of breast cancer and dense breast tissue resulted in a higher rate of detection of incident breast cancers, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.

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• Disease prevalence similar between Hispanics in Puerto Rico and California. • Researchers suggest that biology of disease drives tumor behavior. • Expression of estrogen receptor associated with better prognosis.

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• Patients with breast cancer responded well to vaccine for recurrence prevention. • T regulatory cells decreased in patients assigned to the vaccine. • Immunologic testing may help identify responders to peptide vaccine.

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• Risk increased as the duration of hormone therapy use increased. • Death rate from breast cancer did not increase with hormone therapy use.

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• African-American women had more difficulty clearing HPV infection. • They were nearly twice as likely to have an abnormal Pap test. • Disparities may be attributed to biological determinants of HPV immune response.

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• Metastases increased in mice with breast cancer and arthritis. • Mast cells one of the major underlying causes of metastases. • Therapies could be developed to decrease metastases.

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• Radiation therapy did not add benefit for patients with luminal A subtype. • Patients with all other breast cancer subtypes benefited from radiation therapy. • Routine testing for biomarker Ki-67 recommended for patients with breast cancer.

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A paper by neuroscientists at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College suggests that ingestion of components of afterbirth or placenta -- placentophagia -- may offer benefits to human mothers and perhaps to non-mothers and males.

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A $2 million National Institutes of Health grant has been awarded in support of a University of Arizona biomedical engineering study that would increase accuracy of tumor assessment, and could subsequently improve personalized medical treatment for breast cancer patients.

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A new report released at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Advisory Committee for Women’s Services meeting shows that women aged 18 to 49 on probation or parole are nearly twice as likely to experience mental illness as other women. The study, conducted by SAMHSA, showed that almost half of women in this age range who had been on probation (49.4 percent) and more than half on parole (54.2 percent) in the past year had experienced some form of mental illness -- compared to 27.5 percent of women who had not been on probation or parole.

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Low serum adiponectin levels predict an increased future risk for developing asthma in middle-aged women, particularly among smokers, according to a new study.

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Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have developed a mouse model in which a mother’s urinary tract infection negatively affects the offspring, an occurrence anecdotally observed in humans. Using this first-of-its-kind model, they have identified proteins in the blood that may indicate whether such an infection might stunt fetal growth. Study findings have been published in the March 21, 2012, edition of PLoS ONE.

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Women use more prescription drugs than men; yet they are not prescribed proper amounts. In a new study presented at Women's Health 2012: The 20th Annual Congress by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) women are prescribed more drugs than men, have poorer adherence rates to using the drugs than men, and, perhaps most surprisingly, lag behind men in receiving the appropriate drugs for their documented diseases.

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A migraine is the most common type of headache that propels patients to seek care from their doctors. Roughly 30 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, with women affected almost three times more often than men, according to statistics from the National Headache Foundation in Chicago.

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Provocative and practice-changing research in the field of gynecologic cancers will be presented at The Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer®

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Ob-gyns are uniquely positioned to play a major role in reducing the effects of toxic chemicals on women and babies, according to an analysis led by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers.

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More women are waiting to get married, but choosing not to wait to have children. That’s the conclusion in a new profile from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University. Researchers looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics to investigate the trends in a woman’s average age at first marriage and first birth since 1980.

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Researchers at the California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) Pregnancy Health Information Line, a statewide non-profit organization based at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found women exposed to certain antidepressants during pregnancy were significantly less likely to breastfeed their babies compared to unexposed women.

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Research Team Discovers Four-fold Improvement in Ability to Restore Lymphatic Function with Adenovirally-Delivered VEGF-C Gene Therapy after Lymph Node Transplant Surgery Compared to the Surgery Alone

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Simple recommendations help reduce harmful exposures for women.

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The majority of institutionalized elderly female patients are vitamin D deficient and there is an inverse association of vitamin D deficiency and mortality, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

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A new article by researchers from the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative in the Department of Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services examines the multiple opportunities provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to improve the health of low-income women through the use of community health centers. Appearing as a commentary piece in the March 7, 2012 issue of the journal Women’s Health Issues, “Opportunities and Challenges for Community Health Centers in Meeting Women’s Health Care Needs,” also outlines the challenges many community health centers face because of primary care workforce shortages and federal funding cuts.

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Oral health doesn’t always top the list of concerns that expectant mothers may have, but it certainly should. Proper dental health and control of oral disease can safeguard a mother’s health before and during pregnancy and reduces the transmission of bacteria from women to their children. According to numerous studies by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, many women do not seek, nor are instructed to seek, proper oral healthcare as part of their routine prenatal care.

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Hormone therapy (HT) remains the most effective treatment available for menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) encourage women to understand the benefits and risks of hormone therapy in order to decide if this therapy is right for them.

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High heels can cause a number of foot problems, yet most women aren’t willing to give their shoes the boot, according to podiatrists at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). Ingrown toenails are among the most common problems that result from high heels. This condition, also known as onychocryptosis, occurs when the toes compress together making the big toenails grow into the skin.

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New research suggests women who have migraine or have had them in the past are at an increased risk for developing depression compared to women who have never had migraine. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

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Published simultaneously today in four top-tier journals, a new report provides a framework within which physicians and researchers can systematically and consistently identify the different reproductive stages women go though from adolescence to menopause and beyond. The report, named STRAW+10, will help clinicians predict when a woman will enter menopause and guide the selection of treatment options for menopausal symptoms and other related conditions.

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Menopausal women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who don't consume enough of the essential nutrient choline appear to be at higher risk for liver scarring, according to research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

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Survey shows that infertiliy problems and pregnancy complications are much more common for women with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus .

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Highly elevated platelet levels fuel tumor growth and reduce the survival of ovarian cancer patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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A large, prospective study led by a researcher at Rush University Medical Center indicates that chronic exposure to particulate air pollution may accelerate cognitive decline in older adults.

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Women who eat at least three servings of fish per week have a reduced risk of developing some types of colon polyps according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators. The research, led by first author Harvey Murff, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Medicine, was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Exemestane, a drug used in the prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, has a negative effect on bone density and structure in these women, despite calcium and vitamin D supplements.

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Short-term use of the antibiotic cefpodoxime for the treatment of women with uncomplicated cystitis (bladder infection) did not meet criteria for noninferiority for achieving clinical cure compared with ciprofloxacin, a drug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics for which there have been concerns about overuse and a resulting increase in resistance rates, according to a study in the February 8 issue of JAMA.

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A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues found that traditional risk factors for stroke – such as high cholesterol – are not as accurate at predicting risk in postmenopausal women as previously thought. Instead, researchers say doctors should refocus their attention on triglyceride levels to determine which women are at highest risk of suffering a devastating and potentially fatal cardiovascular event.

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In a surprising finding with significant implications for older women, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and NYU School of Medicine have found that high levels of triglycerides (blood fats) are the strongest risk factor for the most common type of stroke in older women – more of a risk factor than elevated levels of total cholesterol or of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (known as “bad” cholesterol). The study appears online today in Stroke.

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Heart disease kills more women, young and old, than cancer. Yet for most, it’s avoidable with a healthier lifestyle.

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A spoonful of medicine goes down a lot easier if there is a dog or cat around. Having pets is helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and managing their chronic illness, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

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The Healthy Monday initiative urges Americans to go beyond Go Red Day and sport something red every Monday. Making red visible on Mondays can help sound the alarm and keep heart health ever present in the lives of American women.

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A study led by Margaret L. Gourlay, MD, MPH of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine finds that women aged 67 years and older with normal bone mineral density scores may not need screening again for 15 years.

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A person is in need of a blood donation every two seconds in the United States, according to statistics from America’s Blood Centers, a network of non-profit community blood centers across the country. Because there is no known substitute for human blood, and it cannot be artificially manufactured, the entire process relies on generous donations from people willing to give. Unfortunately, there is currently a shortage of donated blood across the country.

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The risk for heart-related death is increasing in young adults ages 35 to 54, and the numbers are even more alarming for younger women. It is the number-one cause of death for both men and women in the United States, yet every year since 1984 more women have died of cardiovascular health problems than men, according to the American Heart Association.

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Heart attacks in women go largely unrecognized 30 to 55 percent of the time and those who miss the warning signs and fail or delay getting help, run the risk of death or grave disability. But researchers at Binghamton University and SUNY Upstate Medical University have developed an educational program they believe will shorten the time to treatment and ultimately, save lives.

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Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce one of the risk factors for breast cancer, providing a natural weapon to combat a major cause of death among U.S. women, new research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center shows.

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Pelvic pain and abnormal bleeding aren’t the only signs of gynecologic cancer. As part of Cervical Health Awareness Month in January, experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center share other symptoms that often are overlooked.