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Shedding New Light On The Causes Of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome And Its Effect On Brothers
Researchers have found evidence that chronic disease in either a mother or father can create unfavourable conditions in the womb that are associated with the development of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in daughters. In another study, researchers found that brothers of women with PCOS and insulin resistance are themselves at greater risk of developing insulin resistance or diabetes, suggesting that factors associated with the condition can be passed down to sons as well as daughters.
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CDC Prioritizes H1N1 Vaccinations For Pregnant Women
When the H1N1 flu vaccine becomes available in the fall, pregnant women should be among the first groups vaccinated because of their high risk for serious complications, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel said on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. The 15-member committee advises CDC on vaccine policy. The priority list also includes caretakers of infants, health care workers, children and young adults, and older people with chronic conditions. Anthony Fiore, a physician and epidemiologist at CDC, told the committee that about 6% of H1N1 deaths and hospitalizations are among pregnant women (Brown, Washington Post, 7/30). According to a CDC study published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet, pregnant women who contract the H1N1 virus -- also known as "swine flu" -- are at least four times more likely to be hospitalized than other people with the virus, the AP/Google reports. The study analyzed the first 34 U.S. cases, including six deaths, in pregnant women from April to mid-June of 2009. Although it is not clear if pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus, they have a higher risk of complications after becoming infected. The study"s authors said pregnant women suspected of having H1N1 should be administered Tamiflu as soon as possible, prior to the completion of diagnostic testing. CDC"s Denise Jamieson, the lead author of the study, said that Tamiflu appears relatively safe for pregnant women, despite limited safety data on its use in that population.Most pregnant women who contract H1N1 have mild flu symptoms like a cough or fever, according to the World Health Organization. Jamieson said that CDC does not recommend specific precautions for pregnant women but that doctors should act quickly -- preferably within 48 hours -- if a pregnant woman shows symptoms. She added that the pregnant women who died were basically healthy, and nearly all had viral pneumonia before experiencing acute respiratory problems prior to their death (Cheng, AP/Google, 7/29).CDC"s priority groups include about 159 million people out of a total U.S. population of more than 300 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. The agency expects to have about 120 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October. Officials are confident there will be enough for their target groups because only 20% to 50% of those recommended to receive seasonal flu vaccines seek them out. However, if supplies of the vaccine are unexpectedly restricted, the panel recommended that a smaller group -- about 41 million of the most susceptible to adverse side effects from infection or most likely to spread the virus -- be given priority for the vaccine. This smaller group also includes pregnant women (Maugh, Chicago Tribune, 7/30).
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Let's Talk About Sex, Doctor Macmillan Launch Sex And Cancer Campaign
Three quarters of cancer patients say that the disease has affected their sex lives, according to a new survey by Macmillan Cancer Support, yet only a third of them said they had been spoken to about the issue by a health professional.
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Government Of Canada Approves A New Of Medical Isotopes

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced the approval of a new of the medical isotope Iodine-131 (I-131) to treat thyroid cancer in Canada. Health Canada has authorized Draximage of Montreal to supply I-131 from South Africa"s Safari reactor to Canadian health care facilities. This decision comes after the Department determined that I-131 produced by the SAFARI reactor is safe and effective for use by Canadian health care providers. Production of I-131 in Canada was interrupted by the unplanned shutdown of the Chalk River National Research Universal reactor (NRU) in May 2009. "This is good news for thyroid cancer patients in Canada and their health care providers," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Our Government continues to find solutions to help address the current isotope shortage." The Minister added that today"s approval means that Draximage will continue to supply all of Canada"s requirements for the I-131 isotopes. The company has advised that the transition to this new supply will be seamless and immediate. Since the shutdown of the Chalk River reactor, health care providers had been using Health Canada"s Special Access Programme to access I-131 for patients. Today"s approval of I-131 by Health Canada means that the isotope can be directly supplied to health care providers. Rapid approvals for alternate supplies of isotopes were a part of the regulatory tool kit put in place after the 2007 Chalk River shutdown. Today"s announcement is just one more element of the ongoing work the Government of Canada is doing to minimize the impact of the medical isotope shortage on Canadians. Other measures undertaken by Health Canada include: Approving Australia as a new for Technetium-99m for use by Canadian health care providers; Appointing Dr. Alexander (Sandy) McEwan as Special Advisor on Medical Isotopes for the duration of the isotope shortage. He is providing on-the-ground updates on the situation and how it is affecting patients, advise how Health Canada can best support provinces, territories and the medical community on the use of alternatives and mitigation strategies, and support the Minister in communicating the impact of the current shortage; Collaborating with the provinces and territories and medical experts to produce guidelines to assist health care professionals in a shortage situation. These include measures to make better use of available isotopes, prioritizing patients who most need testing, and shifting to viable alternatives where safe and effective to do so. These guidelines are based on work undertaken by the province of Ontario and draw on the medical expertise of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Medical Isotopes, as well as other health care providers; Working closely with the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Working Group on Medical Isotopes, which is playing a key role in contingency planning and managing the shortage; Facilitating communications between isotope suppliers, the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Medical Isotopes and the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Working Group on Medical Isotopes both to track supply trends and to enable advance planning; Reviewing regulatory requests for approvals of alternate isotopes on an urgent basis to provide health care providers with options as quickly as possible. This is part of Health Canada"s ongoing work on the medical isotope shortage to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to the highest standards of care; and Investing $6 million for research into alternatives to Technetium-99m. Other areas of focus include discussions led by the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Res, with reactor operators abroad to ramp up production and her appointment of an Expert Review Panel and launching a process to solicit ideas for the alternative production of the key medical isotopes, Molybdenum-99/Technetium-99m, over the medium and long term. Health Canada


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