March 2010

When cheaper and easier isn’t better

“By not studying sex differences, researchers could be missing out on potential new treatments for both men and women”,  says Rhonda Voskuhl.  Finally, Science Magazine is speaking our language!  I felt like I was reviewing talking points from one of my own presentations when reading the NewsFocus article titled, “Of Mice and Women: The Bias in Animal Models”  http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5973/1571.  Unfortunately, it is no surprise to us at the Institute for Women’s Health Research that basic scientists are not designing studies that include both male and female animal models.  One reason our Institute was established was to break down this barrier by providing funding to the NU research community to design studies with sex and gender in mind, in addition to stressing the importance of analyzing results based on sex.

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby…..NOT!

Yesterday, I started writing a blog explaining why sex and gender research was important.  I got bogged down in historical background, mandates, and the usual boring facts and justifications.   While doing this, my desktop binged and one of several daily notices from federal agencies popped up on my computer.   Since I was having writer’s block, I decided to check these new emails….and BINGO….there is was!     A news release from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), one the Institutes at the  National Institutes of Health (NIH).   The title of the press release was “Common Mechanisms of Drug Abuse and Obesity”.   It summarized a study funded by NIDA  that will appear in a prestigious journal in May.   The study found that some of the same brain mechanisms that fuel drug addictions in humans accompany the emergence of compulsive eating behaviors and the development of obesity in animals.  The investigators found

Vaginal Births after Cesarian Deemed Reasonable

This blog is a follow-up to our March 3 blog where we announced the NIH Consensus Development conference scheduled on March 8-10 to discuss the safety issues surrounding vaginal birth after previous Cesarian section.    AHRQ has released a report from that meeting that found that vaginal birth after cesarean section is a safe and reasonable choice for a majority of women.  Each year, more than 1 million cesarean surgeries are performed, and in 2007 nearly one in three births was cesarean in the U.S.  A steady increase in repeat cesarean births over the past decade has been attributed, in part, to studies that suggested there may be significant harms associated with vaginal birth after cesarean section.  Investigators found evidence which showed that while rare, maternal mortality was significantly higher for elective repeat cesarean versus trial of labor.  Additionally, risks for uterine rupture and perinatal death remain rare, but elevated for trial of labor.  Other important outco

Unintentional Drug Poisoning on the Rise

In recognition of Poison Prevention Week (March 14-20), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is highlighting the growing issue of unintentional drug poisoning in the United States.   More than 26,000 deaths from unintentional drug poisoning occurred in the U.S.

Bisphosphonates in the News

The FDA recently issued the following communication report:     Patients and healthcare professionals may have questions about oral bisphosphonate medications and atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures – fractures in the bone just below the hip joint. Oral bisphosphonates are commonly prescribed to prevent or treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Common brand names of medications in this class include Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, and Reclast.  Recent news reports have raised the question about whether there is an increased risk of this type of fracture in patients with osteoporosis using these medications. At this point, the data that FDA has reviewed have not shown a clear connection between bisphosphonate use and a risk of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures.

Participating in a Research Study can be Fun

Throughout my career, I have been a strong proponent of medical research through consumer advocacy and educational activities. But recently, I had the opportunity to actually participate as a research subject!  As an enrollee in the Illinois Women’s Health Registry, my health profile matched the criteria that a researcher was seeking for an osteoarthritis (OA) study.  The project is called the MAK-3 Study and its purpose is to explore whether people with stronger hip muscles have a slower rate of OA progression and whether different factors of knee instability are related to knee OA progression.

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Report Available on March 10

Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is the delivery of a baby through the vagina after a previous cesarean delivery. For most of the 20th century, clinicians believed that once a woman had undergone a cesarean, all of her future pregnancies required delivery by that procedure as well. In the 1980s, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) also began to be considered a viable option for these women. Since 1996, however, VBAC rates in the United States have consistently declined, while cesarean delivery rates have been steadily rising. What accounts for these changing practice patterns?