New condom would allow women to take charge in protection against HIV/AIDS
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will consider approving a second-generation female condom sometime in the next six months.
Dr. David Holtgrave, the chairman of the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, found that distributing 16.6 million female condoms in South Africa could prevent 10,000 HIV infections. Female condoms allow women to take the lead in protecting themselves against the infection.
On Dec. 11 the FDA advisory panel unanimously recommended the product in a vote, so it appears likely they will approve the new condom, the FC2.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2005 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, black women in the U.S. suffered from the disease 23 times more often than white women. Seventy-four percent of those infections were caused by high-risk sexual contact, the study found.
The FC2 will be roughly 30 percent cheaper than its predecessors, although it will still be more expensive than male condoms.

New study suggests autistic traits may be linked to high levels of testosterone in the womb
A groundbreaking study published in the British Journal of Psychology found a link between high levels of testosterone in the womb of pregnant women and autistic traits, such as a lack of sociability and verbal skills, in their children.
The study was prompted by statistics that autism is four times more common in boys than in girls. It is also linked with other traits found more often in boys, such as left-handedness.
Over eight years, the study observed and tested 235 children whose mothers had an amniocentesis during pregnancy. The procedure involves drawing fluid that surrounds the baby in the womb using a fine needle. The procedure is offered to women over ages 35 or 37 to test for Down syndrome. The age and circumstances of the women tested was taken into account.
Not all of the children are autistic, but many have traits that are more pronounced, often described as consequences of an extreme male brain. Autistic children do not empathize easily with other people, cannot guess what others are thinking or feeling, have a stronger drive toward analysis and constructing systems, and have a great ability to focus on something that absorbs them.
The researchers plan to continue studying the children they have been following and will now look for a link between high levels of testosterone in the womb and children who have been diagnosed with autism by studying banks of amniotic fluid that have been collected since 1990 in Denmark.
This research opens the way for screening pregnant women, which could potentially use amniocentesis to draw fluid from the womb and measure testosterone levels.
More than half a million people are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, including Asperger’s syndrome, in Britain. A study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention found that about 1 in 150 children in the United States has autism. Autism is not usually diagnosed until the child is 3 to 4 years old.
Autism runs in families, but environmental factors can play a part. It is a complex developmental disability involving a biological abnormality in the functioning of the brain. It is not a learning disability or mental health problem, although people with autism may be affected by those conditions.

Study finds that women who use hormone therapy for at least five years double their risk of developing breast cancer
A follow-up to the landmark Women’s Health Initiative report of 2002 has found that postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen plus progestin menopausal hormone therapy for at least five years double their annual risk of developing breast cancer.
The same study found a clear link between hormone use and breast cancer and also found that women can quickly reduce their risks of cancer by simply stopping hormone therapy.
The initiative found that postmenopausal women taking estrogen plus progestin were at a far greater risk of developing breast cancer and other serious conditions than women who took a placebo. Hormone use plummeted in the United States after the study was published, from 60 million prescriptions in 2001 to 20 million prescriptions in 2005. In the same time, breast cancer rates also declined significantly, suggesting a strong link between hormone use and cancer risk. Some scientists claim the connection is from a higher pattern of mammogram use.
The results do not apply to women who are only taking estrogen. The WHI trial did not find an increase in breast cancer in women who used estrogen alone. Women who took estrogen without progestin, even for more than five years, were not at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. Only women who have had a hysterectomy can safely take estrogen by itself because it can over stimulate the uterine lining, leading to endometrial cancer.
This trial did not assign women to take placebos or hormone therapy, but rather followed women who made their own decisions about whether or not to undergo therapy. This study found similar results to the WHI study, which assigned participants to categories, but advised all the women involved in the study to stop taking hormones when the results were found in 2002. Women who were not taking hormones were just as likely to get a mammogram as women who were taking hormones, the study found.
Another separate study conducted by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals found that a women’s risk for breast cancer did not increase during the first two years of use.
The study found that women’s breast cancer risk rose around three years into hormone therapy but returned to normal within two years of quitting estrogen-progestin therapy.
Estrogen-progestin supplements are believed to fuel rather than initiate the growth of cancerous cells within the breasts.
Without taking any hormones, women have a 12 percent chance of getting the disease, and the odds increase with age.
The WHI study also found that estrogen-progestin increased women’s risks of having a stroke, heart attack and dangerous blood clots as well as cancer and decreased the number of fractures the women received as well as cases of colon-cancer.

One-third of women will suffer from complications due to a weak pelvic floor in their lifetime
A study by Kaiser Permanente has found that one in three women will suffer from complications of a weak pelvic floor during her lifetime.
Women can develop a weak pelvic floor despite their activity level, hormonal health and even if she has never given birth.
The pelvic floor keeps all of women’s reproductive organs, levels, layers, folds of skin and openings intact. As the muscles weaken over time, the more the organs and folds shift downward, creating pressure on the bowels and back. This can cause anal and urinary incontinence, overactive bladder activity or a complete drop of the pelvic organs, causing pain or difficulty during sexual activity, including dryness.
Factors such as obesity, smoking, high caffeine intake, chronic constipation or even sitting at desk all day can contribute to a weakened pelvic floor. Women with pelvic problems may also have hip and lower back problems which can aggravate the issue.
Women can fix the problem by undergoing surgery, which has its own complications, or by being fitted for a pessary, which is a conical, ring or square shaped device that helps support the pelvic organs and reduce the stress of incontinence.
The pelvic muscles can be strengthened through kegel exercises to prevent or delay the potential for these problems if done regularly. Tai chi, yoga and Pilates can also help strengthen the body’s core and pelvic floor.