Breast Cancer Network NZ is extremely pleased with the recommendations of Parliament's Health Committee in its report on a petition from the organisation. The petition calls on the Government to develop a breast cancer strategy focused on risk reduction, and to recognise the role of synthetic environmental chemicals in breast cancer.
Committee Chair Sue Kedgley reported that the committee agreed on the need for research into breast cancer prevention, particularly in the area of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and that this research should be given high priority in the allocation of Government research funds. A majority of the committee called for the establishment of an expert advisory panel to initiate research into breast cancer prevention, particularly in the area of endocrine disruption.
Breast Cancer Network considers that an expert advisory panel of scientists, as recommended by a majority of the committee in the report, would be hugely beneficial in assessing the evidence linking endocrine-disrupting chemicals to breast cancer. The expert panel would recommend what people can do in their daily lives to minimise exposure to harmful chemicals. Such information would be welcomed by large numbers of New Zealand women. At the recent First National Conference for those who have experienced breast cancer, there was a high level of interest from delegates in gaining information about lifestyle and chemical impacts on breast cancer incidence.
The Health Committee also agreed that the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996 and other regulations needed to be amended to require the inclusion of endocrine disrupting effects in the registration and reassessment of hazardous substances. Breast Cancer Network strongly supports this recommendation.
Breast Cancer Network comments that until now, government's attention and funding have been targeted largely at breast cancer diagnosis and treatments. This must continue as they are absolutely necessary to save women's lives. But it makes good sense to also work on the vital area of reducing the incidence of the disease. If adopted by Government, the Health Committee recommendations can make a major contribution to the prevention and understanding of breast cancer.
The effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals are intergenerational. For the sake of this generation's daughters and granddaughters Breast Cancer Network NZ strongly urges Government to take these recommendations forward.
Breast Cancer Network NZ Inc is an independent group of New Zealand women, most of whom have experienced breast cancer. We promote the issues and needs of those affected by breast cancer, advocate for improved treatment and care, and work towards the prevention of the disease for the benefit of the whole community.
Breast Cancer Network NZ
четверг, 28 июля 2011 г.
четверг, 21 июля 2011 г.
World Organizations Team With UN Secretary General In New Effort To Save Lives Of Millions Of Women And Children
Today several of the world's largest institutions that are critical to serving the needs of women and children are pledging their commitment to work jointly with the United Nations Secretary General and others in a new global effort to save the lives of more than 10 million women and children. Organizations serving women, children and people living with HIV such as UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health are coming together with leaders in the NGO community including Family Care International, World Vision International, International Council of AIDS Service Organizations, Care, Save the Children, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and countless others to unite in the effort to improve maternal and child health and save the lives of millions of women and children.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a new effort this year, the Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health, that builds on existing initiatives to drive integration and synergies, and identifies new commitments to women's and children's health from all sectors of society. 2010 has been called a tipping point, a historic year where the world came together to improve the health of women and children. However, HIV and AIDS remains a top killer of women and children around the world.
Integrating HIV/AIDS with Women's and Children's Health Programmes Critical to Success
"Addressing HIV/AIDS and improving women's and children's health are inextricably linked," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "One cannot succeed without the other."
Half of adults living with HIV are women, and young women between 15 and 24 years of age are at particular risk of sexual and reproductive ill-health due to HIV infection. Globally, the two leading causes of death in women of reproductive age are HIV and complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and a recent analysis indicates that HIV may have increased maternal deaths, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, by almost 20%. More than 2 million children were living with HIV; almost half a million children were infected and more than 250,000 died of AIDS in 2008.
"The AIDS response is already contributing to maternal, new born and child health through strengthening health systems and community responses," said Paul De Lay, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programmes. "When AIDS is out of isolation, we can achieve wider health outcomes."
"Listening to women we know that they want to go to one place to have their health needs met - for family planning, maternal healthcare and services for HIV/AIDS. Linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV makes sense. It saves lives, delivers more health for the money - and it works for women," said Purnima Mane, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
AIDS prevention and treatment efforts have paved the way to reach women and children for other critical health needs, and maternal and child health services provide a crucial entry point for HIV prevention, treatment and care.
"The Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health represents a fresh opportunity to look at how we can deliver integrated health care services for women and children across the full continuum of care," said Ann Starrs, President of Family Care International. "Advocates who work on maternal and child health and on HIV/AIDS must work together to increase resources for health, rather than competing for the bigger slice of the pie."
The Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health
The Joint Action Plan is a historic opportunity led by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to improve the health of women and children, calling on international, national, business and civil society leaders to intensify efforts. The Joint Action Plan focuses on women and children because they are the engines that drive our families and our communities, our economies and our nations. The Plan builds on existing efforts and aims to spur progress through an integrated package of health interventions to ensure women's and children's health.
The Joint Action Plan is a historic opportunity to join a growing global movement that will make history. New financial, service delivery and policy commitments will be announced during the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit in September.
Source:
UNAIDS
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a new effort this year, the Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health, that builds on existing initiatives to drive integration and synergies, and identifies new commitments to women's and children's health from all sectors of society. 2010 has been called a tipping point, a historic year where the world came together to improve the health of women and children. However, HIV and AIDS remains a top killer of women and children around the world.
Integrating HIV/AIDS with Women's and Children's Health Programmes Critical to Success
"Addressing HIV/AIDS and improving women's and children's health are inextricably linked," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "One cannot succeed without the other."
Half of adults living with HIV are women, and young women between 15 and 24 years of age are at particular risk of sexual and reproductive ill-health due to HIV infection. Globally, the two leading causes of death in women of reproductive age are HIV and complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and a recent analysis indicates that HIV may have increased maternal deaths, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, by almost 20%. More than 2 million children were living with HIV; almost half a million children were infected and more than 250,000 died of AIDS in 2008.
"The AIDS response is already contributing to maternal, new born and child health through strengthening health systems and community responses," said Paul De Lay, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programmes. "When AIDS is out of isolation, we can achieve wider health outcomes."
"Listening to women we know that they want to go to one place to have their health needs met - for family planning, maternal healthcare and services for HIV/AIDS. Linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV makes sense. It saves lives, delivers more health for the money - and it works for women," said Purnima Mane, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
AIDS prevention and treatment efforts have paved the way to reach women and children for other critical health needs, and maternal and child health services provide a crucial entry point for HIV prevention, treatment and care.
"The Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health represents a fresh opportunity to look at how we can deliver integrated health care services for women and children across the full continuum of care," said Ann Starrs, President of Family Care International. "Advocates who work on maternal and child health and on HIV/AIDS must work together to increase resources for health, rather than competing for the bigger slice of the pie."
The Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health
The Joint Action Plan is a historic opportunity led by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to improve the health of women and children, calling on international, national, business and civil society leaders to intensify efforts. The Joint Action Plan focuses on women and children because they are the engines that drive our families and our communities, our economies and our nations. The Plan builds on existing efforts and aims to spur progress through an integrated package of health interventions to ensure women's and children's health.
The Joint Action Plan is a historic opportunity to join a growing global movement that will make history. New financial, service delivery and policy commitments will be announced during the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit in September.
Source:
UNAIDS
четверг, 14 июля 2011 г.
Screening Embryos Before IVF Implantation Leads To Fewer Babies For Older Women, New Study
Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) fails to improve IVF outcomes in older women; it leads to fewer pregnancies and live births, an embryologist from
The Netherlands announced at the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Lyon, France,
yesterday.
The findings of the study are also published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Pregnancy rates of older women having IVF tend to be disappointingly low, wrote the researchers, and there is a view that screening embryos
before implantation for problems such as aneuploidies (too few or too many chromosomes) is a way to improve the effectiveness of IVF for these women.
Sebastiaan Mastenbroek,from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine of the Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, and his team tested this
hypothesis and concluded that PGS should not be carried out routinely on embryos that are to be implanted in women over 35.
Mastenbroek and colleagues conducted a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial where they compared three cycles of IVF with and without PGS
in 408 women aged between 35 and 41.
206 of the women were assigned to PGS, while the rest were not (non-PGS, or control group).
The ongoing pregnancy rate was considerably lower in the PGS group compared to the non-PGS group.
Mastenbroek said:
"We found that, at 12 weeks, 52 of the women in the PGS group were pregnant (25 per cent), whereas 74 of the control group (37 per cent) had an ongoing
pregnancy."
"And the women in the PGS group also had a significantly lower live birth rate: 49 or 24 per cent, as opposed to 71 or 35 per cent, of the controls," he
added.
The researchers concluded that:
"Preimplantation genetic screening did not increase but instead significantly reduced the rates of ongoing pregnancies and live births after IVF in women of
advanced maternal age."
Speculating on their findings, the researchers said there could be several explanations for the failure of PGS to improve IVF in older women.
Perhaps it's the biposy of a cell from an early embryo (this is taken on day 3 after conception) that hampers successful implantation, said Mastenbroek,
although the effect of biopsy alone has not yet been studied.
Also, there is a limit to the number of chromosomes that can be tested by PGS and that could lead to implantation of embryos that appear normal but are not.
For instance IVF often produces mosaic embryos (more than one genetic individual), so testing a single cell does not analyse chromosomes representative of
all the cells of the embryo.
Many IVF centres worldwide are using PGS more and more. In 2003 the ESHRE preimplantation genetic diagnosis (ESHRE-PGD) consortium received reports of more
than 1,700 IVF cycles for which PGS were used. Since only 50 per cent of the IVF centres in the world report their data to the consortium, this figure is
likely to be an under-estimate, said the researchers.
Talking about figures for the US, Mastenbroek said that:
"In a recent survey of 415 assisted reproductive technology clinics in the US, 186 respondents (45 per cent) reported that they had performed a total of
2,197 cycles of PGS in 2005."
Mastenbroek and colleagues are going on to study why PGS does not work. Even though there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness or otherwise of PGS
apart from this study, patients and doctors are inclined to use it.
"The idea of screening embryos for chromosomal abnormalities to increase live birth rates in IVF is very plausible, and women of advanced maternal age are
willing to undergo any technique that may provide them with a baby," Mastenbroek explained.
He also said that more studies are needed since their research only covered older women who have PGS:
"We believe our findings imply that the efficacy of the technique also needs to be investigated in other groups of women who are offered PGS, such as those
who suffer recurrent miscarriage or repeated failure of IVF, since evidence for a benefit of PGS in these groups of women is currently still
lacking."
"In Vitro Fertilization with Preimplantation Genetic Screening."
Mastenbroek, Sebastiaan, Twisk, Moniek, van Echten-Arends, Jannie, Sikkema-Raddatz, Birgit, Korevaar, Johanna C., Verhoeve, Harold R., Vogel, Niels E.A.,
Arts, Eus G.J.M., de Vries, Jan W.A., Bossuyt, Patrick M., Buys, Charles H.C.M., Heineman, Maas Jan, Repping, Sjoerd, van der Veen, Fulco.
N Engl J Med 2007 357: 9-17
Volume 357:9-17, July 5, 2007, Number 1
Click here for Abstract.
Click here for more information on Assisted Reproductive Technology (from the
CDC).
: Catharine Paddock
Writer: blog
The Netherlands announced at the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Lyon, France,
yesterday.
The findings of the study are also published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Pregnancy rates of older women having IVF tend to be disappointingly low, wrote the researchers, and there is a view that screening embryos
before implantation for problems such as aneuploidies (too few or too many chromosomes) is a way to improve the effectiveness of IVF for these women.
Sebastiaan Mastenbroek,from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine of the Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, and his team tested this
hypothesis and concluded that PGS should not be carried out routinely on embryos that are to be implanted in women over 35.
Mastenbroek and colleagues conducted a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial where they compared three cycles of IVF with and without PGS
in 408 women aged between 35 and 41.
206 of the women were assigned to PGS, while the rest were not (non-PGS, or control group).
The ongoing pregnancy rate was considerably lower in the PGS group compared to the non-PGS group.
Mastenbroek said:
"We found that, at 12 weeks, 52 of the women in the PGS group were pregnant (25 per cent), whereas 74 of the control group (37 per cent) had an ongoing
pregnancy."
"And the women in the PGS group also had a significantly lower live birth rate: 49 or 24 per cent, as opposed to 71 or 35 per cent, of the controls," he
added.
The researchers concluded that:
"Preimplantation genetic screening did not increase but instead significantly reduced the rates of ongoing pregnancies and live births after IVF in women of
advanced maternal age."
Speculating on their findings, the researchers said there could be several explanations for the failure of PGS to improve IVF in older women.
Perhaps it's the biposy of a cell from an early embryo (this is taken on day 3 after conception) that hampers successful implantation, said Mastenbroek,
although the effect of biopsy alone has not yet been studied.
Also, there is a limit to the number of chromosomes that can be tested by PGS and that could lead to implantation of embryos that appear normal but are not.
For instance IVF often produces mosaic embryos (more than one genetic individual), so testing a single cell does not analyse chromosomes representative of
all the cells of the embryo.
Many IVF centres worldwide are using PGS more and more. In 2003 the ESHRE preimplantation genetic diagnosis (ESHRE-PGD) consortium received reports of more
than 1,700 IVF cycles for which PGS were used. Since only 50 per cent of the IVF centres in the world report their data to the consortium, this figure is
likely to be an under-estimate, said the researchers.
Talking about figures for the US, Mastenbroek said that:
"In a recent survey of 415 assisted reproductive technology clinics in the US, 186 respondents (45 per cent) reported that they had performed a total of
2,197 cycles of PGS in 2005."
Mastenbroek and colleagues are going on to study why PGS does not work. Even though there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness or otherwise of PGS
apart from this study, patients and doctors are inclined to use it.
"The idea of screening embryos for chromosomal abnormalities to increase live birth rates in IVF is very plausible, and women of advanced maternal age are
willing to undergo any technique that may provide them with a baby," Mastenbroek explained.
He also said that more studies are needed since their research only covered older women who have PGS:
"We believe our findings imply that the efficacy of the technique also needs to be investigated in other groups of women who are offered PGS, such as those
who suffer recurrent miscarriage or repeated failure of IVF, since evidence for a benefit of PGS in these groups of women is currently still
lacking."
"In Vitro Fertilization with Preimplantation Genetic Screening."
Mastenbroek, Sebastiaan, Twisk, Moniek, van Echten-Arends, Jannie, Sikkema-Raddatz, Birgit, Korevaar, Johanna C., Verhoeve, Harold R., Vogel, Niels E.A.,
Arts, Eus G.J.M., de Vries, Jan W.A., Bossuyt, Patrick M., Buys, Charles H.C.M., Heineman, Maas Jan, Repping, Sjoerd, van der Veen, Fulco.
N Engl J Med 2007 357: 9-17
Volume 357:9-17, July 5, 2007, Number 1
Click here for Abstract.
Click here for more information on Assisted Reproductive Technology (from the
CDC).
: Catharine Paddock
Writer: blog
четверг, 7 июля 2011 г.
Older Women More Susceptible To Depression Than Older Men
Older women are more prone to depression and are more likely to remain depressed than older men, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the February Archives of General Psychiatry.
The Yale team also found that women were less likely to die while depressed than older men, indicating that women live longer with depression than men. This factor, along with the higher likelihood of women becoming depressed and remaining depressed, collectively contribute to the higher burden of depression among older women.
Major depression affects about one to two percent of older adults living in the community, according to the authors, but as many as 20 percent experience symptoms of depression. It is unclear why symptoms of depression affect older women more than older men.
Lead author of the study, Lisa C. Barry, associate research scientist in the Yale School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated a group of 754 individuals age 70 and older from 1998 to 2005. Participants were asked to provide demographic information, take cognitive tests and report any medical conditions at the start of the study and at follow-up assessments conducted every 18 months. Barry and her team screened participants for depression symptoms-such as lack of appetite, feeling sad or sleep problems-exhibited during the previous week.
During the study, 35.7 percent of the participants were depressed at some point. Of those, 17.8 percent remained depressed during two consecutive time points, 11.2 percent at three time points, 6.3 percent at four points and 4.5 percent at all five time points. More men than women were depressed at each 18-month follow-up and women were more likely than men to experience depression at subsequent time points. Women had a higher likelihood of transitioning from non-depressed to depressed, and a lower likelihood of transitioning from depressed to non-depressed or death.
The team found that nearly 40 percent of the depressed participants were depressed during at least two consecutive time points. "This highlights the need to initiate and potentially maintain antidepressant treatment after resolution of the initial depressive episode," said Barry, who is a Brookdale Leadership in Aging Fellow.
"Our findings provide strong evidence that depression is more persistent in older women than older men," said Barry. "We were surprised by this finding because women are more likely to receive medications or other treatment for depression. Further studies are needed to determine whether women are treated less aggressively than men for late-life depression, or if women are less likely to respond to conventional treatment."
Other authors on the study included Heather G. Allore, Zhenchao Guo, Martha L. Bruce, and Thomas M. Gill, M.D.
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging. It was conducted at the Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.
Citation: Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, Vol. 65, No. 2 (February 2008)
yale.edu
The Yale team also found that women were less likely to die while depressed than older men, indicating that women live longer with depression than men. This factor, along with the higher likelihood of women becoming depressed and remaining depressed, collectively contribute to the higher burden of depression among older women.
Major depression affects about one to two percent of older adults living in the community, according to the authors, but as many as 20 percent experience symptoms of depression. It is unclear why symptoms of depression affect older women more than older men.
Lead author of the study, Lisa C. Barry, associate research scientist in the Yale School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated a group of 754 individuals age 70 and older from 1998 to 2005. Participants were asked to provide demographic information, take cognitive tests and report any medical conditions at the start of the study and at follow-up assessments conducted every 18 months. Barry and her team screened participants for depression symptoms-such as lack of appetite, feeling sad or sleep problems-exhibited during the previous week.
During the study, 35.7 percent of the participants were depressed at some point. Of those, 17.8 percent remained depressed during two consecutive time points, 11.2 percent at three time points, 6.3 percent at four points and 4.5 percent at all five time points. More men than women were depressed at each 18-month follow-up and women were more likely than men to experience depression at subsequent time points. Women had a higher likelihood of transitioning from non-depressed to depressed, and a lower likelihood of transitioning from depressed to non-depressed or death.
The team found that nearly 40 percent of the depressed participants were depressed during at least two consecutive time points. "This highlights the need to initiate and potentially maintain antidepressant treatment after resolution of the initial depressive episode," said Barry, who is a Brookdale Leadership in Aging Fellow.
"Our findings provide strong evidence that depression is more persistent in older women than older men," said Barry. "We were surprised by this finding because women are more likely to receive medications or other treatment for depression. Further studies are needed to determine whether women are treated less aggressively than men for late-life depression, or if women are less likely to respond to conventional treatment."
Other authors on the study included Heather G. Allore, Zhenchao Guo, Martha L. Bruce, and Thomas M. Gill, M.D.
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging. It was conducted at the Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.
Citation: Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, Vol. 65, No. 2 (February 2008)
yale.edu
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