Birth Control May Help Ward Off Bacterial Vaginosis
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) — Women who are prone to the common vaginal infection, bacterial vaginosis, are less likely to have a recurrence if they take hormonal contraception, whether it be birth control pills or Depo-Provera injections, new research suggests.
In the study, researchers examined medical records for 330 women with a mean age of nearly 25 who visited two sexually transmitted disease clinics in Baltimore between April 2005 and October 2006. About 133, or 40.3 percent, were diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. Read More
Urine Test for Chlamydia Shown Effective in Men
TUESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) — A simple urine test could help reduce men’s risk of persistent chlamydia infection and the likelihood of transmitting it to their sex partners, U.K. researchers report.
Currently, chlamydia infection is diagnosed by nucleic acid amplification tests, such as the polymerase chain reaction. But these tests are expensive, technically complex and can take several days to get results, according to background information in a news release from BMJ, which published the study online July 28. Read More
Teens May Not Benefit from Pap Tests
TUESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) — A British study adds evidence to support a growing movement to raise the age at which American women should start Pap screening to detect cervical cancer.
In England, the recommended age at which a woman should first have a Pap test was recently raised to 25. In the United States, however, women are told to get regular Pap smears within three years of their first sexual intercourse or at age 21, whichever comes first. Read More
Circumcision Doesn’t Lessen HIV Transmission
THURSDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) — Circumcision doesn’t reduce transmission of HIV from infected men to women, says a study that included 922 HIV-infected men in Uganda.
The men, who were uncircumcised before the start of the study, were randomly selected to undergo immediate circumcision or circumcision after two years. The study also included HIV-uninfected female partners of the men. The women were checked for HIV infection at six, 12 and 24 months. Read More
FDA OKs Single-Dose Plan B Emergency Contraceptive
MONDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) — A single-pill version of the Plan B emergency contraceptive has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug previously was available in a two-pill dose.
The new Plan B One-Step will be available at pharmacies in August, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said Monday.
The FDA also said it expanded over-the-counter access to Plan B One-Step to consumers over 17 years old, while those younger than 17 will require a prescription. Previously, OTC sales were limited to women aged 18 and older. Read More
Changes Reduced Infections From Medical Abortion
WEDNESDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) — Two changes to the way Planned Parenthood clinics perform medical abortion resulted in a 93 percent drop in the rate of serious infections, a new report says.
The changes involved administering the drug misoprostol to the area between the gum and the cheek (buccal administration), not the vagina, and introducing routine treatment with antibiotics.
“Planned Parenthood is very happy with the regimen,” said Mary Fjerstad, lead author of a paper appearing in the July 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More
New Evidence Supports HPV Vaccine
MONDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) — The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is highly effective at preventing precancerous cervical lesions that can lead to cervical cancer, a new study shows.
The researchers also found that the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine also appears to protect against other cancer-causing HPV types closely related to HPV-16/18, most notably HPV-31 and HPV-45.
The study of women aged 15 to 25, who received three vaccine doses over six months, found that it was as much as 98 percent effective against HPV-16/18, and between 37 percent and 54 percent effective against 12 other cancer-causing HPV types. Read More
HIV Testing Day Set for Saturday in U.S.
FRIDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) — Raising awareness of the importance of HIV testing is among the goals of the U.S. National HIV Testing Day on June 27.
To mark the day, thousands of HIV testing sites, health departments and community-based HIV/AIDS service providers will hold fairs, provide community and media outreach, host special testing-related events or offer extended operating hours. Some of the events may also occur in the days and weeks around National HIV Testing Day. Read More
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