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Unjust Stigma, Lack Of Physician Training Hinder Market For IUDs, Opinion Piece Says
Intrauterine devices "seem like the perfect form of contraception: simple to use, long-lasting, reversible, hormone-free, economical," Slate columnist Kate Klonick writes. She asks, "So why are American women so late to this party? Perhaps the better question is: Why did they leave the party to begin with?"Klonick explains the benefits of IUDs, calling them a "foolproof method of birth control" and noting that they are 99% effective and "can last up to 10 years." Although IUDs can cost between $300 and $500, it is a one-time expense that is often covered by insurance, according to Klonick. She notes that although efficacy studies show that birth control pills, patches and vaginal rings can be "99% effective in a clinical setting, real-life compliancy -- like forgetting to take the pill at the same time every day -- reduces its success rate." Klonick adds that the availability of hormone-free IUDs makes them an "ideal" option for "women prone to some of the negative effects of hormonal birth control, like weight gain, mood swings, acne or high blood pressure."According to Klonick, IUDs were used by almost 10% of U.S. women taking birth control in the late 1970s but are now used by less than 2% of such women. She writes that Katharine O"Connell, a gynecologist at Columbia University who specializes in contraception, believes IUDs still carry a stigma "due to the erroneous belief that they"re highly dangerous" partly due to a number of deaths that occurred in the early 1970s tied to a specific brand of IUD known as the Dalkon Shield. Because of bad publicity surrounding the devices, "the U.S. pharmaceutical industry abandoned the research and manufacturing of IUDs in the mid-1980s, claiming the devices were no longer profitable," Klonick states. According to O"Connell, most experts now agree that the Dalkon Shield"s problems were related to its design, which made users more susceptible to infection, and a lack of testing for sexually transmitted infections before insertion.There are now two major brands of IUDs -- Mirena and ParaGard -- on the U.S. market, but physican training remains a problem, according to Klonick. She writes that studies show that premedical students are not educated regarding IUDs to the extent they are about oral contraceptive pills. O"Connell also noted that many medical schools limit classes on contraception to one lecture, which often omits IUDs. Klonick writes, "This lack of training can leave many doctors feeling uncomfortable recommending the once-controversial devices to their patients." She adds that many physicians who know how to insert and remove IUDs "still refuse to recommend it to childless patients because of the device"s checkered history." She concludes, "With Mirena advertising on television, the downturn in the economy forcing people to economize, and more women concerned about the long-term effects hormones have on their bodies, perhaps the IUD"s stigma will finally become a thing of the past" (Klonick, Slate, 7/29).

Leading Health Organizations Launch New Accreditation Process For Laboratories Across Africa
Government health officials from 13 African countries today launched the first-ever push for accreditation of the continent"s medical laboratories, starting a process that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Government believe will be an historic step to strengthen health systems and lead to better care for patients.
News of the day
Appetite Increased By Action Of Ghrelin Hormone Leading To Accumulation Of Abdominal Fat
The ghrelin hormone not only stimulates the brain giving rise to an increase in appetite, but also favours the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue, located in the abdominal zone and considered to be the most harmful. This is the conclusion of research undertaken at Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of Navarra, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.
Cardiovascular

Scientists Slowed Growth Of Ovarian Tumors In Mice Using Nanoparticles To Deliver Suicide Genes

Scientists in the US have found a way of slowing the growth of ovarian cancer tumors in mice by using nanoparticles to deliver suicide genes to the exact tumor location without damaging healthy cells. They hope a therapy using this method could be tested in humans within the next two years. The study was the work of lead researcher Dr Janet Sawicki, a professor at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and colleagues and is published online in the 1 August issue of the journal Cancer Research. Although early stage ovarian cancer can be treated with a combination of surgery and then chemotherapy, there are currently no effective treatments for patients with advanced ovarian cancer that recurs after surgery and primary chemotherapy, meaning that most relapse. For the study Sawicki and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted preclinical tests in mice with primary and advanced ovarian cancer tumors. First they measured the volume of the tumors and then they injected them with nanoparticles (these are less than one thousandth of the thickness of human hair) carrying a special type of suicide gene. Some mice were not injected (the controls). More specifically, they used a "cationic biodegradable poly(beta-amino ester) polymer as a vector for nanoparticulate delivery of DNA encoding a diphtheria toxin suicide protein (DT-A)". When they compared the volume of the tumors before and after treatment, they found that while the treated tumors had doubled in size, this was significantly less than what they found in the untreated mice: their tumors had increased to between four and six times their original size. Also, four of the treated tumors didn"t grow at all, while all the tumors in the control mice grew, they said. They also found that giving the nanoparticle therapy to mice with three different types of ovarian cancer prolonged lifespan by nearly four weeks, suppressed tumor growth more effectively, and with minimal general toxic side effects, compared with mice treated with cisplatin and paclitaxel (a standard combination chemotherapy for women with advanced ovarian cancer). Sawicki told the press that there was "reason to hope": "We now have a potential new therapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer that has promise for targeting tumor cells and leaving healthy cells healthy." The study is striking because it appears to overcome a common problem in ovarian cancer research: how to hit the target accurately without damaging healthy tissue. Dr Edward Sausville, an associate editor of Cancer Research and associate director for clinical research at the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland, said the study was remarkable because of the multiple ways the researchers show it"s possible to target ovarian cancer cells. They were able not only to deliver the toxin gene to the tumor site (in the peritoneum), but they were also able to selectively activate it inside the cancer cells. "A real plus of a cancer therapy like this is not just the functionality of the nanoparticle construct molecule, but the ability to deliver the toxin to the tumor cells," said Sausville, who agreed with the authors" estimate that clinical trials in humans could be just 18 months away. "Nanoparticle-Delivered Suicide Gene Therapy Effectively Reduces Ovarian Tumor Burden in Mice." Yu-Hung Huang, Gregory T. Zugates, Weidan Peng, David Holtz, Charles Dunton, Jordan J. Green, Naushad Hossain, Michael R. Chernick, Robert F. Padera, Jr., Robert Langer, Daniel G. Anderson, and Janet A. Sawicki. Cancer Res. 2009 69: 6184-6191. Published August 1, 2009. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-0061 Additional American Association for Cancer Research . Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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