Archive by category | Women’s world

Competition intensifies over market for DNA-based prenatal tests

Noninvasive Prenatal Genetic Test Compared

Prenatal DNA testing has been a fiercely contested market of late. Yet another competitor entered the fray last week when Natera, a startup based in San Carlos, California, announced the 1 March launch date of a commercial test that can detect chromosomal abnormalities in the developing fetus from just a drop of an expectant mother’s blood—and with a sensitivity on par of that of more invasive techniques such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, both of which carry an elevated risk of miscarriage.  Read more

Microarrays outperform karyotyping in prenatal diagnoses

Microarrays outperform karyotyping in prenatal diagnoses

Testing fetal DNA for fine-scale copy number variations can reveal more genetic defects than standard karyotyping methods that look for genetic abnormalities in developing fetuses on a whole-chromosome level, according to the largest clinical trial of its kind.  Read more

‘The Vagina Catalogues’ show a microbiome in flux, sometimes daily

‘The Vagina Catalogues’ show a microbiome in flux, sometimes daily

When the vaginal microbiome gets out of whack, it causes an uncomfortable, often chronic condition known as bacterial vaginosis, which is associated with pregnancy complications such as premature birth as well as a heightened risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. But finding ways to return the disrupted vaginal microbiome to its normal, healthy state has proven difficult because nobody knows what ‘normal’ really means. As Nature Medicine reported in a July 2011 news feature, a team of scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore had found that there are many naturally occurring versions of the microbiome, in part because the bacteria present in a woman’s vagina may vary according to her ethnicity.  Read more

Fluke’s testimony highlights broad uses of birth control, but pain applications go beyond ovarian cysts

Fluke’s testimony highlights broad uses of birth control, but pain applications go beyond ovarian cysts

The Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage currently being debated in the US Congress could allow institutions that provide health insurance to opt-out of covering birth control pills for religious or moral reasons. Such policies have, in the past, raised difficulties for women prescribed the drugs for noncontraceptive uses, such as the treatment of pain from ovarian cysts. On 23 February, a law student at Georgetown University named Sandra Fluke testified before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that when insurance coverage doesn’t cover contraceptives, it can deny women such a friend of Fluke’s with polycystic ovarian syndrome access to birth control prescribed to treat the condition.  Read more

VIDEO: Stem cell discovery puts women’s reproduction on fertile ground

Researchers have discovered a population of human ovarian stem cells with the potential of forming new eggs during a woman’s reproductive years. The findings, reported online today in Nature Medicine, could lead to new therapies that might help extend female fertility into late middle age and beyond.  Read more

HPV vaccination for boys called into question

Texas Governor Rick Perry has taken a lot of flak for mandating that adolescent girls in the Lone Star State should be vaccinated against the human pappilomavirus (HPV). But Perry’s policy might have a strong scientific grounding. According to a report published today in PLoS Medicine, blanket vaccinating young girls might be the most effective way of curbing the cancer-causing virus.  Read more

NEWS FEATURE: The vagina catalogues

NEWS FEATURE: The vagina catalogues

By Alison McCook When Heather went on vacation last year at the same time that she was participating in an unusual research project, she knew the relatives she was sharing a room with might be curious about what she was sticking inside the hotel freezer. Rather than explaining, “I would say ‘just don’t touch this cup’,” recalls the 34-year-old health counselor from Baltimore. Thankfully, no one did. Heather (not her real name) was one of 160 healthy, reproductive-age women who took part in a study that asked much more of its participants than the typical research project. The cup in  … Read more

Breast isn’t always best

Breast isn't always best

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that while items like acne creams and denture adhesive are eligible for tax breaks under the new US health care law, breast pumps are not. Breast-feeding boosters like La Leche League are, naturally, up in arms, but the US Internal Revenue Service says that the pumps do not fall under the umbrella of preventative medicine, since breast milk is primarily nutrition.  Read more

I like… my breast cancer activism with substance

I like… my breast cancer activism with substance

This time of year, the leaves are turning red and yellow and orange, but just about everything else is blushing pink. That’s right: it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month! The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has raised more than $1.5 billion for breast cancer research since it started in 1982, and $55 million a year comes from corporate marketing partnerships (including the special edition KFC bucket). We’ve covered these questionable ‘pinkwashing’ practices before. And this October, there’s a new wrinkle to breast cancer activism: half-hearted online awareness campaigns.  Read more