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Here's what's making news this morning in the world of health and medicine.
Low-estrogen oral contraceptives linked to pain during sex
Low-dose estrogen oral contraceptives may increase a woman's risk for chronic pelvic-pain symptoms and even pain during sexual climax, a new study suggests. Researchers at New York University and Waitemata District Health Board in Auckland, New Zealand, conducted a study to compare chronic pelvic-pain symptoms between young women who are current oral contraceptives users and non-users using data from an anonymous, Internet-based survey of women ages 18 to 39 within large university populations, reports UPI. The study found low-dose oral contraceptives users were more likely to report pelvic-pain symptoms and more likely to have chronic pelvic-pain symptoms than non-users.
U.S. FDA proposes cancer warnings on tanning beds and more safety requirements for manufacturers
Indoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reports The associated Press.
Use of certain migraine drugs during pregnancy may lower IQ of baby, warns U.S. FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on the use of migraine drug valproate sodium in pregnant women as it could result in lower IQ scores in the baby. The FDA said the results of a recent study showed that children exposed to valproate products in the womb had lower IQs at the age of 6 than children who were exposed to other anti-epileptics. Drugs containing valproate are used to prevent migraine headaches, treat epileptic seizures and manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. Abbott Laboratories' Depacon, Depakote, Depakote CP, Depakote ER and Depakene, and Noven Therapeutics LLC's Stavzor and their generics contain valproate, reports Reuters.
MS more common in black people than previously thought
For years doctors have assumed black people are less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) than whites, but a new study suggests the opposite may be true. Researchers found black women were more likely than white women to be diagnosed with MS, in which the protective coating around nerve fibers breaks down, slowing signals travelling between the brain and body. Among men, there was no difference, reports Reuters.
Parkinson's didn't stop his space walk
U.S. astronaut Rich Clifford kept his Parkinson's disease secret for 15 years, reports CNN.
Baxter drug fails to slow Alzheimer's in big study
Baxter International Inc. says that a blood product it was testing failed to slow mental decline or to preserve physical function in a major study of 390 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The company says that people who received 18 months of infusions with its drug, Gammagard, fared no better than others given infusions of a dummy solution, reports The Associated Press.
Africa is riskiest place to be born, report says
A new report says more than one million babies die on the day they are born every year. The 14 countries with the highest rates of first-day deaths are all in Africa. The top five are Somalia, Congo, Mali, Sierra Leone and Central African Republic. Eighteen out of 1,000 babies in Somalia die the day they are born, reports the Associated Press.
Older, heavy smokers need CT screening for lung cancer, doctor group urges
Stepping into the debate over who should be screened for lung cancer, the American College of Chest Physicians issued new guidelines on Tuesday recommending that U.S. doctors offer annual low-dose CT (computed tomography) scanning to people whose age and smoking history puts them at significant risk of lung cancer. That means current smokers aged 55 to 74 with more than 30 pack-years of smoking, or former smokers with that profile who have quit within the last 15 years, reports Fox News.