HIV Cases Increasing Among Women, MSM In Rural China, Study Says

The number of HIV/AIDS cases among men who have sex with men has increased eightfold during the past few years in areas of China, according to a study published recently in the journal Nature, Reuters reports. The study also found that the proportion of women in their reproductive years who are HIV-positive has doubled during the past 10 years. According to researchers, this indicates that HIV/AIDS is moving from high-risk groups to the general population.

The study said that there were about 700,000 HIV/AIDS cases in China as of October 2007 -- an 8% increase compared with 2006. Researchers focused the study on China's Yunnan province, which borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam and has a history of opium and heroin trade. HIV/AIDS cases also have been concentrated among injection drug users in Yunnan, according to Reuters. The researchers examined 3.2 million blood samples taken between 1989 and 2006 in Yunnan.

According to the study, about 37.5% of cases in 2006 were transmitted through heterosexual contact. HIV/AIDS cases among MSM increased from 0.4% in 2005 to 3.3% in 2007, according to the study. The study showed that women now comprise 35% of HIV/AIDS cases in Yunnan, compared with 7.1% in 1996. According to the researchers, the fact that 90% of women living with HIV are of child-bearing age makes it "likely to translate into more vertical transmission from mother to child."

Cases involving IDUs decreased to 40% in 2006 from 100% in 1989. "HIV/AIDS is spreading beyond the high-risk populations, largely due to increased transmission through sexual contact," researcher Zhang Linqi, director of the AIDS Research Center in Beijing, said, adding, "It implies that HIV/AIDS is not only a disease that affects high-risk populations but the general population alike."

Zhang said that the changing demography of people living with HIV "makes treatment and vaccine development even more challenging" because there are different strains of the virus circulating in the region. He added that prevention strategies that have been proven successful should be increased (Tan, Reuters, 10/1).


Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.?  All rights reserved.

Gene Discovery That Affects Breast Cancer Treatment, UK

Medical scientists at the University of Leicester will be reporting on a potentially unique advance in breast cancer research at the National Cancer Research Institute Conference in Birmingham on Monday 1st October.


Dr Paul Symonds and his research team based at the University and at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK, have identified two genes associated with adverse reaction to cancer treatment.


The research could mean people who might react badly to radiotherapy could be warned in advance or alternative treatments be sought. There is no test at present for an abnormal reaction to radiotherapy. No-one in the past has proposed such a test.


The team who carried out the study included Drs Paul Symonds, Mark Plumb, Irene Peat and George Giotopoulos of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester. Their results have been published in the British Journal of Cancer.


Dr Symonds said: "Radiotherapy is a very important treatment for breast cancer. A small number of people can develop severe side effects."


"During treatment patients can get redness of the skin which may peel off. Later the breast may shrink (atrophy) and the tissues under the skin may become hard and thickened (fibrosis). Red widened blood vessels can appear in the skin (telangiectasia)."


After examining patients at the Glenfield Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary and the City Hospital Nottingham, the team at the University of Leicester, funded in part by Hope Against Cancer (formerly the Hope Foundation for Cancer Research), has found 2 separate genes strongly associated with either thickening of tissue or red widened blood vessels.


Dr Symonds explained: "About 8% of women carry the fibrosis gene and have 15 times the risk of developing thickening of the tissues which is often associated with lifelong chronic pain.


"The genes we have identified at present have a predictive value of 50-60% for the development of marked fibrosis with breast pain. If we could identify the acute genes that lead to marked redness and peeling of the skin, this could increase the predictive value of the test to almost 100%."


Dr Symonds said further work needs to be done as the researchers have not found the genes responsible for redness and peeling of the skin during treatment.


"In the future it may be possible to identify people who are going to react badly to radiotherapy. Such patients should only receive radiation treatment if there is no alternative and be warned of an increased risk of fibrosis," he said.


The NCRI Cancer Conference takes place between 30th September and 3rd October at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Further information can be found on: - ncri/ncriconference/















About the NCRI Cancer Conference


The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference is the UK's premier forum for disseminating advances across all aspects of cancer research.


AstraZeneca is the gold sponsor for the NCRI Cancer Conference 2007.

About the NCRI


The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) was established in April 2001. It is a partnership between government, the voluntary sector and the private sector, with the primary mission of maximising patient benefit that accrues from cancer research in the UK through coordination of effort and joint planning towards an integrated national strategy for cancer research. ncri


The NCRI consists of: The Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI); The Association for International Cancer Research; The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Breakthrough Breast Cancer; Breast Cancer Campaign; Cancer Research UK; Department of Health; Economic and Social Research Council; Leukaemia Research Fund; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Macmillan Cancer Support; Marie Curie Cancer Care; The Medical Research Council; Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services Research & Development Office; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Scottish Executive Health Department; Tenovus; Wales Office of Research and Development for Health & Social Care; Wellcome Trust; and Yorkshire Cancer Research.



University of Leicester


- A member of the 1994 Group of universities that share a commitment to research excellence, high quality teaching and an outstanding student experience.


- Ranked top for student satisfaction in England (jointly with Oxford) among mainstream universities (average score of 4.4 out of 5 for overall satisfaction)


- Ranked as a Top 20 university by The Sunday Times University Guide, The Guardian University Guide and the UK Good University Guide


- One of just 23 UK universities to feature in world's top 200- Shanghai Jiao Tong International Index, 2005-07.


- Short listed University of the Year in 2007 by The Sunday Times and Short listed Higher Education Institution of the Year - THES awards 2005 and 2006


- Students' Union of the Year award 2005, short listed 2006


Founded in 1921, the University of Leicester has 19,000 students from 136 countries. Teaching in 18 subject areas has been graded Excellent by the Quality Assurance Agency- including 14 successive scores - a consistent run of success matched by just one other UK University. Leicester is world renowned for the invention of DNA Fingerprinting by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys and houses Europe's biggest academic Space Research Centre. 90% of staff are actively engaged in high quality research and 13 subject areas have been awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. The University's research grant income places it among the top 20 UK research universities. The University employs over 3,000 people, has an annual turnover of ??184m, covers an estate of 94 hectares and is engaged in a ??300m investment programme- among the biggest of any UK university.

le.ac/

Researchers Report New Hope For Menopause Symptoms

An innovative, hormone-free therapy has been found to be effective for the treatment of hot flashes, according to an article published in the May 2007 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses. This is good news for millions of women whose quality of life can be wrecked by these sudden feelings of intense heat, often accompanied by heavy perspiration, dizziness and sleep deprivation.


"Stellate ganglion blocks (SGB), injections of local anesthetic into nerve tissue located in the neck, have been extensively and safely used since 1940 to treat severe pain. We've now shown this treatment also offers remarkable relief from hot flashes that can result from menopause or cancer treatment," says board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management expert Eugene G. Lipov, M.D., Medical Director of the Chicago area-based Advanced Pain Centers (painmngt), who headed the research team.


"We hypothesize that the stellate ganglion block provides relief from hot flashes by allowing the body temperature control and perception to reset and function normally. By injecting an anesthetic (the same as used in an epidural during childbirth) into the right-side C6 ganglion in the neck, we are resetting the thermoregulating signals of the hypothalamus and the insular cortex in the brain, thus reducing, and possibly eliminating, hot flashes," said Dr. Lipov (see fig 1). "Nineteen out of twenty patients had at least an 80 percent decrease in hot flashes for a period of two weeks to a year, following SGB. Additionally, some of my patients have reported that not only have their hot flashes and insomnia been totally relieved or substantially reduced, they have also reported a restoration of sexual arousal and function ." The youngest patient successfully treated was 36, and the oldest was 69.


"SGB is a welcome treatment for women facing debilitating hot flashes," notes Dr. Linda Holt, Associate Professor, clinical obstetrics and gynecology, Northwestern University


According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), hot flashes are experienced by about 75% percent of women during menopause, and can also occur in pre-menopausal women who have had surgeries or medical conditions that result in the cessation of menstruation. Hot flashes can last years, cause sleep disturbances as well as extreme physical discomfort, and severely impact quality of life. The only proven relief in the past has been hormone replacement therapy ???" not an option for breast cancer survivors and women concerned about possible long term health risks. Many of the drug alternatives to HRT for treating hot flashes have not proven to be very effective, and moreover, carry risks of unwanted side effects such as weight gain, drowsiness, sexual dysfunction and even suicide.


Dr. Lipov is currently undertaking an Institutional Review Board (IRB) clinical study collecting and quantifying the effectiveness and duration of the block on breast cancer survivors.


Bianca Kennedy is one of the women who found dramatic relief from hot flashes, thanks to SGB. A breast cancer survivor, she suffered over 25 episodes of hot flashes a day, turning red and sweating uncontrollably. In fact, her hot flashes were so debilitating that she decided to have six months of chemotherapy rather than take tamoxifen to treat her breast cancer, because tamoxifen is known to trigger hot flashes or make them worse. "My quality of life with the hot flashes was practically nonexistent," Bianca, now 41, recalls.


Her first stellate ganglion block injection relieved her of hot flashes for a month. The second treatment lasted three months, and the third, her last, has kept her hot flash-free for the past 18 months. "I can honestly say these treatments have been life changing," she says. "I'm anxious to spread the word to other women so they don't have to suffer with hot flashes any more."


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Removal Of Ovaries, Fallopian Tubes Reduces Chance Of Cancer In High-Risk Groups, Study Finds

Women with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations who undergo surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes reduce their risk of ovarian or fallopian cancer by 80% and their risk of breast cancer by 50%, according to a study from University of Pennsylvania researchers, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Reuters reports. Researchers analyzed data from 10 previously published studies on women with BRCA mutations who underwent surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, known as a salpingo-oophorectomy. The study found that while the surgery greatly reduced the risk of developing cancers of the removed organs, it did not eliminate the risk entirely, possibly because small remnants of tissue had been left behind.

Timothy Rebbeck, one of the study's authors, said, "It only takes a few cells to result in an ovarian cancer." He added that although an 80% decrease "is a huge amount of risk reduction, it's still not 100%." According to Rebbeck, earlier studies had suggested that the surgery reduced the risk of ovarian and fallopian cancers by 95% to 100% (Steenhuysen, Reuters, 1/13).

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the analysis highlights the fact that ovarian cancer detection and prevention strategies have not improved in the 14 years since testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 became available. There is no early detection method for ovarian cancer, and no preventive drug has been approved. "You need to have your ovaries out," Rebbeck said. According to the Inquirer, expert guidelines recommend that women with strong hereditary predispositions have the surgery by age 35, or as soon as they finish having children. Other studies have suggested that as many as 10% of women who have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed already have microscopic amounts of cancer, which can become malignant after the surgery. "That's very discouraging because it suggests the window for prevention is short," Rebbeck said, adding, "The timing of surgery is still a huge question" (McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/14).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Number Of Abortions In England, Wales Increases 4% In 2006, Figures Show

The number of abortions reported in England and Wales in 2006 increased 4% from 186,400 in 2005 to 193,700 last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the United Kingdom's Department of Health, London's Guardian reports (Ward, Guardian, 6/20). The figures show the overall rate of abortion is 18.3 abortions per 1,000 women and girls ages 15 to 44 living in England and Wales, compared with 17.8 abortions per 1,000 women and girls in 2005 for the same age group. About 89% of the procedures were performed before 13 weeks' gestation and 68% were performed under 10 weeks' gestation, according to the figures (Moynihan, Press Association, 6/19)

The abortion rate was highest among women age 19 at 35 per 1,000. According to the figures, there were 3.9 abortions per 1,000 girls under age 16 and 18.3 per 1,000 girls under age 18, London's Times reports (Hinds, Times, 6/19). The figures also showed that 32% of women who had an abortion had already had at least one previous abortion -- a percentage that remains unchanged from 2005 despite the government allocating 40 million pounds, or about $79.4 million, for contraception education, London's Telegraph reports (Davies, Telegraph, 6/20).

Reaction
Health Minister Caroline Flint said, "We welcome the fact that a higher percentage of abortions are taking place at an early stage." She added, "It is important that women have early access to abortion services as the earlier the abortion, the lower the risk of complications. However, the [National Health Service] needs to work harder to reduce the demand for abortions by improving access to contraception" (BBC News, 6/19). Abortion-rights groups are calling for increased spending on contraceptive services to prevent unintended pregnancy, noting that the average amount spent on contraception per woman in England is 11 pounds, or about $22, the Guardian reports (Guardian, 6/20). Contraceptive services are "in crisis," Anne Weyman, CEO of the Family Planning Service, said, adding, "Services are being cut and clinics are closing up and down the country."

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said, "Without positive support, an abortion can seem unavoidable - but may be bitterly regretted later on," adding, "The government's approach of promoting early abortion is increasing the overall number of abortions" (BBC News, 6/19). Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which provides contraception and abortion services, said, "A rise in the number of abortions is not the problem in itself; the real problem is the number of women experiencing unintended pregnancy." Furedi added, "For some of these, abortion will be the solution to the very serious problem of being faced with an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy" (Press Association, 6/19).














According to the Telegraph, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has called for a review of sex education to help address the issue. The British Medical Association next week is scheduled to vote on a proposal to relax abortion laws by eliminating language that requires women who are less than 13 weeks' pregnant to have the signature of two doctors before undergoing a procedure (Telegraph, 6/20). The proposal also would allow a wider range of medical professionals to perform an abortion (Guardian, 6/20).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Blogs Comment On Kagan Confirmation Hearings, International Women's Health, Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Kagan Hearing Day One: The Battle To Define 'Judicial Activism,'" Ian Millhiser, Think Progress' "The Wonk Room": The word "activism" seemed to "dominate" the opening statements of Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans at Elena Kagan's confirmation hearing on Monday, Millhiser writes. According to Millhiser, "Conservative senators figured out a long time ago that if they label anyone to the left of [Supreme Court Justice] Samuel Alito a 'judicial activist' then their more progressive colleagues will put their tail between their legs and cower," but "this tactic backfired" on Monday. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) "warned that Kagan may try to 'change' the law's meaning after she becomes a judge," while Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) "suggested that Kagan would 'abandon impartiality and instead engage in results-oriented judging,'" Millhiser notes. He continues, "These warnings ... were largely empty" because the "attacks boiled down to nothing more than insinuations that there must be something wrong with ... Kagan because she once heaped praise on her former boss, Justice Thurgood Marshall" (Millhiser, "The Wonk Room," Think Progress, 6/28).

~ "Promising Steps Toward International Women's Health," Cecile Richards, Huffington Post blogs: During the G8's annual summit in Muskoka, Ontario, world leaders "[f]or the first time ... elevated the importance of women and girls on the world stage by making maternal and child health the flagship commitment of its development agenda," Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, writes. The "new commitment to women and children rightly aims to broadly address these health needs and includes family planning among the essential health interventions for women," Richards continues. However, the commitment has "many more steps to go," as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has "repeatedly asserted that these maternal health efforts would not include abortion," Richards writes, adding that "no effective maternal health improvements can occur without comprehensive reproductive health care, including access to safe and legal abortions." She continues, "If we are to do all we can to save women's lives, access to safe abortion must be an essential component of any comprehensive maternal health initiative" (Richards, Huffington Post, 6/28).














~ "Pro-Choice Group Files Suit Challenging Nebraska Law," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: On Monday, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed a lawsuit against a Nebraska law (LB 594) that "would force women to undergo [an] extensive mental health assessment prior to obtaining an abortion before 20 weeks based on spurious 'evidence,'" Jacobson writes. According to Planned Parenthood, the law -- which is scheduled to take effect July 15 -- "purports to ensure that women are 'informed' before consenting to an abortion, but actually imposes requirements that are both impossible to meet and require physicians to flood their patients with false and misleading information." Jacobson writes that the suit argues that "doctors would have no way of knowing if they are in 'compliance' with the [law], because the broad scope of LB 594 not only requires the disclosure of false, inaccurate and potentially harmful information to patients seeking medical care, but also makes compliance impossible" (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 6/28).

~ "'No to Violence Against Women' Summit Points to Economics," Marcia Yerman, Huffington Post blogs: The agenda of the recent "No to Violence Against Women" conference in New York City included "an exploration of strategies that could lead to 'transformative change,'" including "the link between women's need to be safe from violence and economic self-sufficiency," Yerman, co-founder of cultureID, writes. According to Yerman, "Building security for women creates a foundation of building blocks that yields strong civil societies -- both in developing nations and those countries that are struggling to recover from the ravages of conflict and war." She adds, "In order for women to be active in the workforce, they must be protected by laws and have access to health care and education." Yerman argues that "[c]hange must take place at two levels. First, it must be put into play by governments, their legal systems and the global adaptation of the International Violence Against Women Act." In addition, non-governmental organizations "need to implement transformation through a grassroots, on the ground approach," she writes (Yerman, Huffington Post blogs, 6/26).

~ "On First Day of Hearing, Special Report Pushes Kagan Myths," Media Matters for America: The Media Matters post refutes statements from Fox News' "Special Report" about the first day of Kagan's confirmation hearings. The post clarifies misinformation in the segment about Kagan's past positions on campus military recruiting, former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak and her courtroom experience. For example, although "Special Report" host Bret Baier suggested that Kagan lacks courtroom experience, she has made six oral arguments before the Supreme Court and signed more than 170 legal briefs in her time as solicitor general. Furthermore, "Kagan's legal experience is comparable to that of [Justices William] Rehnquist, [Clarence] Thomas and [John] Roberts at the time of their nominations," the post notes (Media Matters for America, 6/28).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.


© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.

Planned Parenthood Advocates For Birth Control Coverage As Part Of Preventive Services

Planned Parenthood has launched a "quiet" campaign urging policymakers to include birth control in the preventive services that health plans must cover under the federal health care reform law (PL 111-148), Politico reports.

Starting Sept. 23 -- six months after the law's passage -- many health plans will be required to cover certain preventive services without charging policyholders copayments or out-of-pocket costs. An amendment by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) states that "additional preventive care and screenings" specific to women's health must be included in the coverage. Rachel MacKnight, a spokesperson for Mikulski, said the senator's "intention was to have preventive services provided for women at no additional cost, no deductibles." She added, "From [Mikulski's] perspective, that includes everything from heart disease screening and diabetes screening to mammograms to birth control."

The Health Resources and Services Administration is tasked with creating "comprehensive guidelines" on which women's health services will be included. HRSA Communications Director Martin Kramer said the agency has "six months from passage to come up with that, and it's still being worked on." HHS spokesperson Jessica Santillo said the department "is working through a deliberative process to develop the guidelines as called for in the statute."

Laurie Rubiner, vice president of public policy for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the group "see[s] this as a tremendous opportunity to get no-cost birth control in the bill and ensure that this part of women's health is covered under preventive health."

According to the Guttmacher Institute, about 90% of employer-based health insurance plans cover prescription birth control. Copays for contraceptives can range from $10 to $50 monthly, depending on the brand and type, according to PPFA. "We still have one of the highest abortion rates of developed countries," Rubiner said, adding, "One of the single biggest reasons is that contraception is still financially out of reach for many women."

Planned Parenthood's campaign includes a new website featuring the slogan, "The Pill is Personal." On the site, birth control users are encouraged to share personal stories about how the pill has affected their lives and the lives of people they know. According to Politico, PPFA will use the stories to illustrate the importance of birth control coverage. Rubiner said, "This needs to be based on science and medical evidence, but ... it is also really important to hear the stories of how women view birth control, the health impact and the affordability issue."














Other reproductive health groups are also focused on this issue. Laura MacCleery, director of governmental relations for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, "We're actively pursuing what we think falls within the appropriate boundaries of the coverage of this amendment."

Several religious groups opposed to contraception are campaigning against birth control coverage, Politico reports. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities Richard Doerflinger said, "Congressional debate on the need to cover 'preventive services' in health care reform centered on services needed to prevent life-threatening diseases like breast cancer, not on a need to prevent the birth of new recipients of health care." He added, "Requiring contraception and sterilization in all private health plans would be an enormous imposition on the consciences of religious organizations and others who now have the right to purchase a health plan in accord with their moral and religious values" (Kliff, Politico, 6/1).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.


© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.