OB GYN News articles from July 2006

OB GYN News archives from July 2006

Heed precursors of postpartum suicide.(News)
July 1, 2006... SEATTLE -- The risk of a maternal postpartum suicide attempt increases more than threefold after a fetal or infant death, findings of a large case-control study show. An analysis linking Washington state hospital records to detailed...

Osteoporotic fracture-associated costs expected to rise by 49%.(VITAL SIGNS)
July 1, 2006... Osteoporotic Fracture-Associated Costs Expected to Rise by 49% (in billions) 2005 $16.9 2010 $18.7 2015 $20.4 2020 $22.4 2025 $25.3 Note: Costs were not discounted or adjusted for inflation. Source: Russel T. Burge,...

HER2+ breast ca mortality lowered with trastuzumab: 'the risk of cardiac toxicity remains low.'.(News)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- New results from the international Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial show that taking trastuzumab for 12 months after standard chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of death for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer patients....

Normal glucose levels in pregnancy may run low.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... PRAGUE -- Normative values for mean blood glucose levels during the first trimester may be much lower than what has been reported previously, Dr. Yariv Yogev reported at the 20th European Congress of Perinatal Medicine. This...

Study casts doubt on notion of 'chemobrain'.(News)
July 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- There was no association between the use of chemotherapy in women with breast cancer and a subsequent dementia diagnosis in the first study to rely on a large, retrospective population-based claims database. Several studies have...

HSV-2 is deemed not a cofactor in cervical cancer.(News)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- Herpes simplex virus-2 does not appear to be a cofactor of human papillomavirus in the development of cervical cancer, Dr. Manuela Zereu reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Human...

Early-stage breast ca patients often lack vitamin D.(News)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- Vitamin D deficiency appears to be common in the northeastern United States among premenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer, Dr. Dawn Hershman reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Society of...

HIV-blocking contraceptive gel in phase II trials.(News)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Cellulose sulfate, a new vaginal gel that is being developed as both a contraceptive and as a means of preventing human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections, is as effective as nonoxynol-9 in preventing...

Obesity disparity: a Latino MD's view.(GUEST EDITORIAL)
July 1, 2006... Ever wonder why it is that so many people are obese in America? As the epidemic grows, it is clear there are many factors that affect it, not the least of which are our exercise and eating habits. While the epidemic involves all ethnic groups...

Should physicians communicate with patients via e-mail?(POINT-COUNTERPOINT)
July 1, 2006... E-mail Offers Advantages E-mail opens up the bandwidth of communication with our patients. With this medium, patients can initiate contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at their convenience, and physicians can reply at a time most...

Epidurals can aid parturients with aortic stenosis.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... HOLLYWOOD, FLA. -- Maintaining hemodynamic stability is particularly important in the anesthetic management of parturients with aortic stenosis, and the use of a slowly titrated epidural or combined spinal-epidural with a reduced spinal...

Preeclampsia may compound growth restriction.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... PRAGUE -- Preeclampsia may significantly worsen some perinatal outcomes in growth-restricted infants, according to a review of infants born to mothers with and without preeclampsia. In a study of growth-restricted neonates born at a...

Operative delivery not tied to risk of cervical laceration.(Obstetrics)(research)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The use of forceps and vacuum did not increase the risk for cervical laceration among patients who had vaginal deliveries performed at a large community hospital, according to a poster presented at the annual meeting of the...

Few women want a second elective cesarean.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... PRAGUE -- Very few women in their first pregnancy appear to request an elective cesarean section but when they do, few would do it again, according to a study of nearly 400 German and U.S. women presented at the 20th European Congress of...

Hopes rise for screening tests for preeclampsia.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... PRAGUE -- New insights into the patho-physiologic changes of preeclampsia that occur in the placenta are helping researchers to develop potential early screening tests for the disease using biomarkers in maternal blood, Dr. Wolfgang Holzgreve...

Remifentanil may be safe labor analgesia option.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... HOLLYWOOD, FLA. -- Remifentanil was found to be effective and safe for labor analgesia in a small randomized controlled study, Dr. Mrinalini Balki reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. A...

Private ob.gyns. less adherent to C-section criteria.(Obstetrics)(private physician practices)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... ORLANDO -- Hospital teaching staff was more likely to adhere to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' guidelines for scheduling cesarean deliveries than were physicians in private practice, according to a retrospective chart...

Weigh fetal exposure risks against undertreating: the impact of prenatal exposure to untreated mental illness should not be underestimated.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... TORONTO -- Physicians weighing the risks versus benefits of medicating nonobstetric conditions during pregnancy should consider that their dilemma is not one of fetal exposure versus nonexposure, according to Dr. Zachary N. Stowe, a...

Pregnancy as 'stress test' could predict future CV health risks.(Obstetrics)
July 1, 2006... TORONTO -- Pregnancy could be viewed as a type of cardiovascular "stress test" that could uncover previously silent risk factors for future cardiovascular problems, according to Carl H. Hubel, Ph.D. "Studying women during pregnancy may...

Yoga gets results during radiation for breast ca.(Gynecology)(benefits)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- Participation in a yoga program during breast cancer treatment is feasible and may improve quality of life, Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The study, designed...

Cosmetic light therapy minimizes radiation dermatitis in ca patients.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... BOSTON -- A light-based therapy commonly used in cosmetic dermatology minimizes the occurrence and symptom intensity of radiation-induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment, according to the results of a recent...

Dietary flavonoids may cut breast, ovarian cancer risk.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Postmenopausal women who consumed higher amounts of the types of flavonoids found in tea and strawberries showed a decreased risk of breast cancer, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for...

Study backs OCs as aid in acute uterine bleeding.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Oral medroxyprogesterone acetate and oral contraceptives are equally effective in stopping nonges-tational acute uterine bleeding, according to a small randomized controlled trial presented at the annual meeting of the American...

Low-dose estrogens effective for hot flashes.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A 0.45-mg daily dose of synthetic conjugated estrogens-A improves moderate to severe menopausal vasomotor symptoms, compared with placebo, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians...

Nonhormonal Tx for hot flashes rated not so hot.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... Despite avid interest in finding nonhormonal therapies for menopausal hot flashes, most alternative treatments have demonstrated only limited efficacy, and their safety remains in question, according to a systematic review of the literature....

Combo OC use in factor V Leiden not advised.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... BOSTON -- Estrogen-containing oral contraceptives appear to greatly increase the relative risk of venous thromboembolism among women with the factor V Leiden genetic mutation, according to a recent review by the World Health Organization. ...

Long-term freezing doesn't harm embryos: in one case, twins resulted from an embryo stored 11.8 years by a donor aged 38 years at storage time.(Gynecology)(research)
July 1, 2006... INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. -- Successful pregnancies and deliveries have resulted from donated embryos that had been frozen for more than 10 years, raising questions about arbitrary deadlines for unused embryos to be destroyed. Researchers at...

Survey elicits couples' views on donating unused embryos.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. -- Just over half of the couples donating unused embryos from in vitro fertilization procedures consider the embryos to be "completely different from children." Indeed, many say they view the process as similar to...

Methotrexate may cut oocyte yield after ectopic pregnancy.(Gynecology)
July 1, 2006... INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. -- Methotrexate is a safe and effective alternative to surgery for ectopic pregnancy; however, it may temporarily interfere with the success of fertility treatment, Dr. Janet McLaren reported at the annual meeting of the...

Test can rule out bladder cancer in hematuria.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... PARIS -- The noninvasive NMP22 BladderChek assay gives primary care physicians a way to screen asymptomatic patients with hematuria for bladder cancer during office visits, Dr. H. Barton Grossman said at the annual congress of the European...

Antidepressant use may help bring on diabetes.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Frequent antidepressant use may be associated with the development of type 2 diabetes, according to a post hoc subanalysis of patients in the randomized Diabetes Prevention Program trial. This is the first reported instance of...

Depression linked to high-risk sexual behavior in adolescents.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... BOSTON -- Adolescent boys and girls with symptoms of depression are more likely than their nondepressed peers to engage in high-risk sexual behavior, results of a recent study have shown. These findings fuel arguments in favor of expanding...

Fibromyalgia patients, siblings are extra sensitive to pain.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... SAN ANTONIO -- Women with fibromyalgia and their siblings experience a generalized sensitivity to pain and lower levels of serum serotonin, according to new research. These are the preliminary results of an ongoing study, said Dr. Laurence...

Antibiotic prescribing patterns vary by specialty.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... NICE, FRANCE -- Family practitioners prescribe penicillins most often, whereas ob.gyns. prescribe nitrofurans more frequently than any other specialty. These are some of the findings from a 3-year study examining prescribing patterns of...

Antidepressant benefit may show within 2 weeks.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... TORONTO -- Most clinical recommendations advise that patients who start an antidepressant be given 4-6 weeks to see whether they respond and have improvement. But an analysis of more than 5,000 patients treated in clinical trials with a...

Monthly ibandronate superior to daily dosing.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- A 2-year analysis has shown that once-monthly ibandronate provides bone mineral density increases in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis superior to those seen with the proven daily dose. Previously reported 1-year results...

S. Dakota faces abortion referendum.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 1, 2006... The question of whether South Dakota's recently passed abortion ban will stand is likely to be decided by the voters. A coalition called the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families submitted more than 38,000 signatures to refer the state...

Harvard launches stem cell project.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 1, 2006... Scientists at Harvard University and Children's Hospital Boston have been given the green light to begin research using somatic cell nuclear transfer in an effort to develop treatments for diabetes, blood disorders, and neurodegenerative...

Women and medical research.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 1, 2006... More than 60% of women age 50 years and older who have participated in a medical research study would "definitely" or "probably" do it again, according to a survey released by the Society for Women's Health Research. The group commissioned the...

Postpartum depression targeted.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 1, 2006... A new bill, introduced in the U.S. Senate last month, aims to help find the cause and the cure for postpartum depression. The legislation would award grants to states to educate and screen new mothers for postpartum depression and support...

FDA infected by politics, most think.(Food and Drug Administration)(surveys )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... A majority of Americans--82%--believe the Food and Drug Administration is greatly influenced by politics when making decisions about the safety and efficacy of new prescription drugs, according to a Wall Street Journal online Harris Interactive...

AMA delegates back health insurance mandate.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- Individual health insurance mandates, direct-to-consumer advertising, and store-based health clinics topped the list of issues addressed at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. On the...

Systems issues contribute to malpractice claims, Risk Management executive says.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- There are just as many systems failures at the root of malpractice cases as individual errors or negligence, Dr. Luke Sato said at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians. For example, the Risk Management...

Coping with the loss of a spouse.(death of spouse)(Obituary)
July 1, 2006... Dr. Marco Coppola was just 33 years old when he lost his wife, Dr. Margaret J. Karnes, to breast cancer on May 4, 1997. The couple had been married almost 7 years. "I used to think that it would be easier for me to have gone through a...

Community health centers starving for staffing.(Practice Trends)(understaffing)
July 1, 2006... Community health centers are currently clinically understaffed and will likely face increasing shortages that may limit their expansion, according to a study by the rural health research centers of both the University of Washington, Seattle,...

The changing approach to preterm labor.(infant mortality)
July 1, 2006... Preterm delivery accounts for a significant component of infant mortality in the world. In this, the United States has not been spared; in fact, our country ranks a dismal 21st internationally in infant mortality, with prematurity as a major...

The role of infection.(MASTER CLASS)
July 1, 2006... Dr. E. Albert Reece: How important is infection as a mechanism of disease in premature labor? Dr. Roberto Romero: Intrauterine and systemic infections are a leading cause of spontaneous preterm labor and delivery. Indeed, infections and...

Gardasil vote wins ACOG's approval.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- The quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine should be given to all girls aged 11-12, and to all females aged 13-26 who have not been previously vaccinated, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease...

More than 1,500 products have received orphan status since 1983.(VITAL SIGNS)
July 15, 2006... More Than 1,500 Products Have Received Orphan Status Since 1983 Note: Of these products, more than 200 have been approved for marketing. Source: Office of Orphan Products Development, Food and Drug Administration ELSEVIER GLOBAL...

Preeclampsia trial pegs risk factors for SGA neonates: VIP trial data also show additive aspects.(News)
July 15, 2006... LISBON -- Smoking, high blood pressure, advanced maternal age, history of preeclampsia, and lack of folate supplementation all boosted the risk of small-for-gestational-age neonates, based on data collected in the Vitamins in Preeclampsia...

Paroxetine exposure may not raise birth defect risk.(News)
July 15, 2006... PRAGUE -- Despite last year's warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding increased risks of congenital anomalies in fetuses exposed to paroxetine, a new prospective study suggests the risks may not be increased, according to...

Higher survival rate after pregnancy in breast ca patients under age 35.(News)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- Young women who became pregnant after breast cancer treatment were significantly less likely to have a recurrence or to die of the disease, according to a French retrospective study presented at the annual meeting of the American...

Experimental drug slows HER2-positive cancer.(News)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- The investigational drug lapatinib slows disease progression in women with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer that has become resistant to targeted therapy with trastuzumab. Lapatinib (Tykerb) nearly doubled the...

First-trimester bleeding in ART tied to poor prognosis.(News)
July 15, 2006... PRAGUE -- First-trimester bleeding in a singleton pregnancy conceived through assisted reproductive technologies carries a poor obstetric prognosis even when it does not spontaneously abort, reported Dr. Eva Verschueren of University Hospital...

Age, race, socioeconomic factors increase risk of T. vaginalis.(News)
July 15, 2006... JACKSONVILLE, FLA. -- First sex between ages 9 years and 15 years, lower socioeconomic status, and lower education levels are significantly associated with presence of Trichomonas vaginalis, according to the first report of T. vaginalis from a...

Thyroid disease a possible risk factor for craniosynostosis.(News)
July 15, 2006... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Maternal thyroid disease or its treatment may increase the risk of craniosynostosis in offspring by nearly threefold, preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest. The finding is important because thyroid disease is...

Thrombophilia doesn't affect preeclampsia rate in later pregnancies.(News)
July 15, 2006... PRAGUE -- Women who have preeclampsia in their first pregnancy are less likely to experience it in subsequent pregnancies even if thrombophilia develops, Dr. Birgit Arabin reported at the 20th European Congress of Perinatal Medicine. The...

When can I retire?(opinions)(Statistical data)
July 15, 2006... Retirement seems to be on a lot of readers' minds these days, and one of the more common questions I'm receiving is, "How will I know when I've accumulated enough money to safely retire?" It's good that more physicians are turning their...

Studies of vaginal, cesarean deliveries are a wash: trials often reach opposing results and have failed to compare elective C-section vs. planned vaginal birth.(Obstetrics)
July 15, 2006... PRAGUE -- Neither elective cesarean section nor planned vaginal birth has yet been convincingly shown to provide the lower rate of perinatal and maternal complications in studies. Most trials have not been randomized, have often reached...

Preterm birth diminishes child's survival, reproductive capacity.(Obstetrics)(research study)
July 15, 2006... MIAMI BEACH -- Individuals born preterm have diminished short- and long-term survival, as well as diminished reproductive capacity, and women born preterm are at increased risk of giving birth to their own offspring preterm, an analysis of data...

Combined spinal-epidural faster than continuous epidural in PCA.(Obstetrics)(patient-controlled analgesia )(Statistical data)
July 15, 2006... HOLLYWOOD, FLA. -- The addition of spinal analgesia to a routine walking epidural patient-controlled analgesia regimen shortened the time to pain relief in a randomized study. In the study of 136 patients who were randomized to receive a...

Lamotrigine exposure linked to oral clefts.(Obstetrics)
July 15, 2006... After several years of little indication that lamotrigine was linked to specific birth defects, a major pregnancy registry has found a significant increase in the risk of oral clefts associated with first-trimester use of lamotrigine...

A clinician's approach to anticonvulsants.(DRUGS, PREGNANCY, AND LACTATION)
July 15, 2006... Historically, lithium has been a mainstay of treatment for bipolar disorder. However, over the last decade, anticonvulsant drugs such as sodium valproate and lamotrigine (Lamictal) have become more widely used to treat this disorder. The...

Gabapentin no boost to venlafaxine for hot flashes.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- Adding gabapentin to venlafaxine does not augment the effectiveness of the antidepressant to control hot flashes, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Separate,...

Vitamin D from diet or sun curbs breast ca risk.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Women who get plenty of vitamin D, especially early in life, are less likely to develop breast cancer than women who get smaller amounts of the vitamin, according to data from two studies presented at the annual meeting of the...

Salpingo-oophorectomy cuts cancer risk in BRCA2 carriers.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- Salpingo-oophorectomy appears to significantly reduce the incidence of gynecologic cancers in all women with BRCA mutations and the incidence of breast cancer in women with BRCA2 mutations. This conclusion is based on the results...

Transdermal testosterone fails to boost libido in cancer survivors.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- Transdermal testosterone was no better than placebo for improving libido in female cancer survivors after 4 weeks, according to results of a randomized, blinded, crossover study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society...

Low vitamin D plus exemestane tied to bone loss: the connection between vitamin D insufficiency and breast cancer has not been fully examined.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- Vitamin D supplementation should be considered for postmenopausal breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors, Dr. Per E. Lonning reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinic+al Oncology. "Low...

Physical activity reduces breast cancer risk by 10% in postmenopausal women.(Gynecology)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- In postmenopausal women, an active lifestyle provided about a 10% reduction in the risk of developing breast cancer over a 17-year period in over 36,000 women, according to findings from a prospective cohort study presented at the...

Anogenital IN found to require lengthy surveillance term.(Gynecology)(intraepithelial neoplasia)(Brief article)
July 15, 2006... ATLANTA -- High-grade anogenital intraepithelial neoplasia has remarkably high recurrence and malignancy potential despite repeated treatments; thus long-term surveillance is mandatory, according to Dr. Mathias K. Fehr of University Hospital,...

Celecoxib nearly doubled CV risk in halted trials.(Clinical Rounds)
July 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- Celecoxib cannot be recommended to reduce colorectal cancer risk--despite its proven efficacy for that indication--until more is known about its potential cardiovascular risks, coordinators of two chemoprevention trials have...

SAD indication approved for antidepressant.(Clinical Rounds)
July 15, 2006... Extended-release bupropion is the first drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with seasonal affective disorder. The FDA approved the antidepressant last month for preventing major depressive episodes in...

Patient-physician interaction kit beats drugs for IBS.(Clinical Rounds)
July 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- An educational tool kit designed to improve patient-physician interactions during visits for irritable bowel syndrome had a greater impact on global symptom relief than did any medication ever studied for the enigmatic disorder....

Preeclampsia doubles risk of type 2 diabetes: stepped-up interventions are advocated to improve these women's metabolic and cardiovascular health.(Clinical Rounds)
July 15, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Women with a history of preeclampsia have a twofold greater risk of developing subsequent type 2 diabetes--even in the absence of gestational diabetes--than do women without a history of the complication, reported Dr. Darcy B....

Individualize exercise regimens for patients with diabetes.(Clinical Rounds)
July 15, 2006... MIAMI -- Not enough patients with diabetes exercise, but even when they do, greater attention needs to be paid to how to best manage the effects of exertion on type 1 vs. type 2 disease, Dr. Dennis A. Cardone said at the annual meeting of the...

Alcohol test may be condemning the abstinent.(Practice Trends)(testing methods)
July 15, 2006... SAN DIEGO -- Nancy Clark, a registered nurse, had been drug free and sober for 3 years when she tested positive for alcohol on the new ethyl glucuronide test, the same one used for many chemically dependent physicians who are entered into...

Study finds Americans much less healthy than the English.(Practice Trends)
July 15, 2006... Americans are much less healthy than their British counterparts, at all levels of socioeconomic status, reported James Banks, Ph.D., of University College, London, and his associates. In both countries, people with the highest levels of...

Personal data records raise legal, security issues.(Practice Trends)
July 15, 2006... BALTIMORE -- Personal health records may be the next step in the evolution of health information technology, but these electronic documents raise several legal and security issues for long-term care facilities. "PHRs might in fact have the...

FDA is cracking down on unapproved Rx drugs.(Practice Trends)
July 15, 2006... The Food and Drug Administration announced that it is renewing efforts to ensure that all drugs currently sold by prescription either go through its formal approval process or be taken off the market. The agency has periodically targeted...

WHO launches effort to standardize access to clinical trial registry data.(Practice Trends)
July 15, 2006... The World Health Organization has launched a major initiative to standardize the way that information on clinical trials is made available to the public. In an attempt to address growing public concerns about the transparency of medical...

Louisiana passes abortion ban.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 15, 2006... Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) last month signed into law a bill that would ban most abortions in the state in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or the U.S. Constitution is amended giving states the right to outlaw...

Crisis pregnancy centers.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
July 15, 2006... Abortion advocates are accusing operators of crisis pregnancy centers of using bait-and-switch tactics in an effort to keep women from obtaining abortions. A recent report from the National Abortion Federation said that these centers, which...

Physician income drops.(physician fees)(Brief article)
July 15, 2006... The average physician net income dropped by about 7% from 1995 to 2003 after adjusting for inflation, even as incomes for other professionals increased, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC)....

Stalking prevalence.(Brief article)
July 15, 2006... Stalking is a significant public health issue, especially for women, according to an analysis published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The results of a random-digit-dial telephone survey of more than 9,600...