Researchers in Argentina report that women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who undergo assisted reproduction technology (ART) infertility treatment are at risk for increased disease activity. Study findings published in Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, suggest reproductive hormones contribute to regulation of immune responses in autoimmune diseases such as MS. Read full article.
Month: October 2012
How Some Parents Could Learn Adult Daughters’ Birth Control Habits
The 2010 health law removes one of the big barriers to contraception for many young women: cost. But if they don’t feel confident that the care they will receive is confidential, these women may not take advantage of it.
Under the health care overhaul, most new health plans and those that lose their grandfathered status have to cover many women’s preventive benefits, including contraception without out-of-pocket costs. Copayments for monthly packs of brand-name birth control pills can run as much as $40 or $50. Read full article.
HPV Vaccine Gets a (Mostly) Clean Bill of Health
A large study of the safety of the HPV vaccine has turned up no unexpected side effects.
The study, published Monday in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, did find that the vaccine caused some women to faint the day they received it, and some recipients also developed skin infections. Both problems are believed to be general side effects of vaccines, and unrelated to anything specific about the HPV shot. Read full article.
New Strategy May Boost Fertility Clinic Success Rate
Fewer than half of women seeking help from a fertility clinic succeed at having a baby after just one treatment. Now, some researchers believe they have come upon a way to improve those odds.
There is growing evidence suggesting that freezing an embryo after fertilization and thawing it for use in the woman’s next monthly cycle leads to higher pregnancy rates, compared with using the embryo immediately. A recent scientific review of three small randomized and controlled studies found that 50% of women got pregnant after receiving in vitro fertilization, or IVF, treatment using a recently frozen embryo. By contrast, women receiving fresh embryos had a 38% pregnancy rate. The review is slated for publication in Fertility and Sterility, the journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Read full article.
Fed. Contraception Mandate Suit Dismissed in MO
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge in St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contraception mandate of the federal health care law, one of nearly three dozen similar lawsuits filed across the country.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Frank O’Brien and his company, O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis, challenges the constitutionality of regulations in the health care law. Among other things, O’Brien, a devout Catholic, claimed the requirement that workplace health plans cover birth control infringes on his religious beliefs. Read full article.
Endometriosis Partnership Aims for Three Drug Candidates
Bayer Pharma is paying Evotec €12 million (about $15.4 million) up front as part of a five-year, multitarget partnership that aims to generate three clinical-stage drugs for treating endometriosis. Both firms will input potential targets and share early research work and the preclinical characterization of potential candidates. Bayer will then take over clinical development and commercialization activities.
Under terms of the deal Evotec could receive up to another €580 million (roughly $746 million) in preclinical, clinical, and sales milestones, plus royalties on net sales, dependent on which firm contributed the candidate to the collaboration. Read full article.
Herbal Medicine Causes Menopause-Like Symptoms In 11-Year-Old
An 11-year-old girl began experiencing hot flashes, a common symptom of menopause, due to a common herbal medication, according to a new study, published in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers say the finding is troubling, and underscores the need to study the effects of these unregulated medications further.
The herb, saw palmetto, is typically used to treat an enlarged prostate in men. However, it is also used to treat baldness, and the 11-year-old girl was taking the supplement to treat telogen effluvium, a common cause of hair loss in children. Read full article.
Sex Problems Common With Breast Cancer Drugs
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women treated with hormone-blocking drugs to stave off breast cancer recurrences are often dissatisfied with their sex lives, a new study from Sweden has found.
More than half of older women treated with so-called aromatase inhibitors said sex was almost always painful and they frequently had “insufficient lubrication,” researchers reported in the journal Menopause. Read full article.
The Line Between Embryonic and Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Is Blurring
Over at Stem Cell Network, Paul Krzyzanowski wonders whether Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will be asked about their support for stem cell research during the presidential debates.
He notes one reason the topic may not be broached is that many think the ethical debate about stem cell research is over. Read full article.
New Discovery to Improve Success Rates of IVF
Researchers from the University of Otago, Christchurch, are collaborating with clinicians at Fertility Associates in Christchurch to develop a test to significantly improve the success rate for in vitro fertilisations implantations.
Christchurch obstetrics and gynaecology researcher, Dr Gloria Evans, has just published a paper in the international journal Fertility and Sterility which shows positive results for a test to determine the optimal time to implant a fertilised embryo through IVF. Read full article.