January 6th, 2012 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Women who use birth control pills and have never breastfed are at as great of a risk of developing breast cancer as women with a family history, according to a new study published in the Indian Journal of Cancer.
January 5th, 2012 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Missing data from clinical trials that test the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical drugs “distorts scientific record” and puts patients lives in danger, the British Medical Journal warns. The medical publication, which serves as a resource for policy makers and doctors, released several papers looking into the problem of unpublished trial data. One study from Yale University found that fewer than half of the 635 National Institutes of Health-funded trials were published in peer-reviewed medical journals within 30 months of trial completion. This includes experimental drugs as well as those already licensed on the market.
January 4th, 2012 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
For centuries, nuns have been at greater risk for developing breast, ovarian and uterine cancers – diseases that are more common in women who do not have children. But a new study published in The Lancet suggests nuns could greatly reduce their risk of these deadly cancers if they started taking birth control pills.
January 3rd, 2012 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
The recent recommendations from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee about safety concerns with contraceptives may make women more leery when deciding which birth control is best for them. But even for women who are currently on birth control, understanding the risks is vital.
December 29th, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
It was mere hours after Rebecca Bapp called her parents to say that she wasn’t feeling well that the 21-year-old was dead. Mysteriously, her health declined so rapidly even doctors were baffled by what was making her so ill. Not long after her parents rushed her to the hospital, she was placed on a breathing machine and sedated. She coded three times before she gave up her fight for life.
December 28th, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel said Friday that the Ortho Evra birth control patch, made by Johnson & Johnson, should remain on the market despite an elevated risk for blood clots. The panel voted 19-5 in favor of patch as an alternative contraceptive for women who are unable to take a daily birth control pill.
December 27th, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Stronger warnings on packages of a newer class of birth control pills and government ruling to restrict the availability of the morning-after pill may make women leery of birth control in general, which could increase the rate of unwanted pregnancies or abortions, some advocacy groups warn.
December 23rd, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Why did an advisory panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not vote to ban the popular birth control pill Yaz and other pills of its generation containing the hormone drospirenone, instead opting to recommend that the pills carry a stronger warning for life-threatening blood clots?
December 22nd, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
A new study backs up concerns of previous studies that show birth control pills containing the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, are more likely to cause deadly blood clots than oral contraceptives made with older generation hormones.
December 21st, 2011 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Yaz, and other birth control pills made with the hormone drospirenone, have been shown in studies to put women at greater risk for developing deadly blood clots, yet generic versions of the drug are still being approved for sale in the United States. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. has just been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Vestura, its generic version of Bayer’s Yaz.
