News
Timing of Physical Activity Key to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
June 25, 2012 — It is increasingly well-established that physical activity may reduce the risk for breast cancer; now a new study indicates that the timing and extent of exercise are key to gaining benefit. According to the study, published online June 25 in Cancer, any level of physical activity during the reproductive and postmenopausal years appeared to…
Read MoreAre Statins Less Effective in Women? Another Meta-Analysis
June 25, 2012 (New York, New York) — The debate as to whether statins have less benefit in women than in men rumbles on. The latest contribution to this saga is a new meta-analysis suggesting that statins are effective in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in both men and women, but there is no significant…
Read MoreBreastfeeding Moms’ Exercise OK for Infant Growth
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 19 – Breastfeeding moms may be able to regularly exercise without hindering their babies’ growth, a meta-analysis published Monday suggests. “Based on what we know at the moment, babies of mums who exercise do not gain less weight than babies of mothers who do not exercise,” lead researcher Dr. Amanda…
Read MoreRisk of Infection During Labor Not Influenced by Number of Cervical Exams
By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 15 – Obstetricians can be reassured that repeated cervical exams during active labor won’t increase the risk of maternal infection, say the authors of a report this month in Obstetrics & Gynecology. In a large retrospective study, they found no significant link between number of cervical examinations…
Read MoreLifestyle Changes Help Prediabetic Women Live Longer
June 11, 1012 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Long-term lifestyle intervention (diet, exercise, or both) helps women with impaired glucose tolerance live longer, according to the results of a study presented here at the American Diabetes Association 72nd Scientific Sessions. The same cannot be said for men, the researchers reported. “The reasons for the difference in the…
Read MoreLess Folic Acid in Pregnancy Tied to Autism: Study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 06 – In a new study from California, mothers of children with autism recalled getting less folic acid through food and supplements early in their pregnancies than mothers whose kids didn’t develop the disorder. Meeting recommendations for folic acid — at least 600 mcg per day — in the first…
Read MoreTop Medical News Stories of 2011
1. FDA Calls for Simvastatin Limits The FDA played a role in most of this year’s top news stories, starting with a June 8 recommendation that physicians restrict prescribing high doses of the cholesterol medication simvastatin (Zocor, Merck) because of a risk for muscle damage. The FDA drug safety communication states that physicians should limit using the…
Read MoreVaginal Progesterone Cuts Premature Births
Women with a sonographically detected short cervix cut their risk for preterm birth in half with vaginal progesterone, according to a meta-analysis published online December 14 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The report confirms results from several, prospective, randomized trials showing that progesterone was effective in preventing preterm births. “The present [individual patient data] meta-analysis provides…
Read MoreStudy Endorses HPV Testing for All Women Over 30
New DNA tests looking for the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer make sense for all women aged 30 or over, since they can prevent more cases of cancer than Pap smears alone, Dutch researchers say. Results of a five-year study involving 45,000 women provided the strongest evidence yet in favor of using…
Read MoreLarge Fibroids Tied to Adverse Obstetric Outcomes
Pregnant women with large uterine fibroids are at significantly increased risk for delivery at an earlier gestational age and for excessive blood loss, researchers said recently. Dr. Valerie I. Shavell and colleagues at Michigan’s Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center noted in a November 17th online paper in Fertility and…
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