http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Pioneering biophotonics technology developed at Northwestern University is the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer in humans by examining cells easily brushed from the neighboring cervix or uterus, not the ovaries themselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-screening-ovarian-cancer-neighboring-cells.html Cancer Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:10:19 EST news285869412 Women who abruptly and prematurely lose estrogen from surgical menopause have a two-fold increase in cognitive decline and dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-surgical-menopause-prime-brain-alzheimer.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:12:35 EST news283691548 Researchers at the University of Montreal's Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) have discovered a new mechanism that allows some cells in our body to move together, in some ways like the tortoise formation used by Roman soldiers depicted in the Asterix series. Collective cell migration is an essential part of our body's growth and defense system, but it is also used by cancerous cells to disseminate efficiently in the body. "We have found a key mechanism that allows cells to coordinate their movement as a group and we believe that this mechanism is used by malignant cells in a number of cancers, including some types of breast, prostate and skin cancers" explained lead researcher Gregory Emery. Roman soldiers formed the tortoise, or testudo formation, by coming closely together and aligning their shields side-by-side in order to defend themselves as they broke their enemy lines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-asterix-roman-foes-idea-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 12 Mar 2013 05:06:36 EST news282283586 (Medical Xpress)—Estrogen levels drop dramatically in menopause, a time when the risk of urinary tract infections increases significantly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-estrogen-urinary-infection-mouse.html Immunology Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:37:45 EST news278145458 Women who undergo surgical menopause at an earlier age may have an increased risk of decline in memory and thinking skills, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013. Early surgical menopause is the removal of both ovaries before natural menopause and often accompanies a hysterectomy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-early-surgical-menopause-linked-declines.html Neuroscience Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:06 EST news277380972 So, is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth. In the absence of these factors at the time of sex determination, embryos do not differentiate into either male or female and have no adrenal glands. The results of this study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, allow us to better understand sexual development and will eventually improve diagnosis and genetic counseling practices for individuals with disorders of sex development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-embryo-male-female.html Genetics Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:10 EST news276442976 This study provided important data about the fertility window of women who had suffered from childhood cancer and information concerning the associated risk factors, but did not confirm the greater risk of premature menopause (before the age of 40) that was reported by the American studies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-age-menopause-women-childhood-cancers.html Cancer Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:07:26 EST news273845222 Women who have surgery for ovarian cancer have better outcomes if they are treated at high-volume hospitals, according to researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ovarian-cancer-patients-mortality-high-volume_1.html Cancer Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:25:09 EST news272622292 A study by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, recently e-published ahead of print by the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggests that women who have surgery for ovarian cancer at high-volume hospitals have superior outcomes than similar patients at low-volume hospitals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ovarian-cancer-patients-mortality-high-volume.html Cancer Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:02:41 EST news271609347 A mother's age at menopause may predict her daughter's fertility in terms of the numbers of eggs remaining in her ovaries, according to the new research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mothers-age-menopause-daughters-ovarian.html Medical research Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:00:01 EST news271417770 Doctors in Germany said Friday they had removed a tumour weighing 28 kilogrammes (62 pounds) from a 60-year-old woman who had previously been diagnosed as obese. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-german-doctors-kilo-tumour-woman.html Cancer Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:00:01 EST news270475426 Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that a chemical can trigger the maturation of small eggs to healthy, mature eggs, a process that could give more women the chance of successful IVF treatment in the future. The results have been published in the revered journal PloS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-ivf-breakthrough.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:24:46 EST news267701080 (Medical Xpress)—In a truly odd study undertaken by a group of OB/GYN researchers in Italy, volunteer women were judged to determine if a medical condition known as endometriosis causes those afflicted to be viewed as more attractive by other people. The team found, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, that women with a severe form of the disorder were far more likely to be seen as attractive than women in the general population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-women-severe-endometriosis.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:30:17 EST news267686968 Biologists in Canada have made a medical enzyme using genetically-engineered corn, a feat that could one day slash the cost of treating a life-threatening inherited disease, a journal reported on Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-lab-drug-on-the-cob-rare-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:26:25 EST news267189967 (Medical Xpress)—New evidence from a study done by Aberdeen University showing that using frozen embryos implanted in the womb instead of those implanted fresh tends to reduce the risks for both mother and child, have led to calls for a debate on whether all embryos should be frozen before use in all IVF procedures. The study, conducted by examining the records of 13,000 pregnancies that came about as the result of IVF procedures, has been printed in the journal Fertility and Sterility, and is to be presented at an upcoming science festival by lead researcher Dr Abha Maheshwari http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-doctor-debate-frozen-fresh-embryos.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:36:41 EST news265966260 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists have established a genetic mouse model for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a human condition in which women experience irregular menstrual cycles and reduced fertility, and early exposure to estrogen deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-early-menopause-mice-human-poi.html Genetics Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:47:26 EST news265538835 Due to the lack of studies, there is currently no proof that patients with ovarian cancer can benefit from positron emission tomography (PET) alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). As regards diagnostic accuracy, in certain cases, recurrences can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET or PET/CT than with conventional imaging techniques. This is the conclusion of the final report by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in Cologne that was published on 23 May 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-benefit-pet-petct-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 08 Aug 2012 10:26:36 EST news263640390 A compelling new genetic study tracing the origins of immature egg cells, or 'oocytes', from the embryonic period throughout adulthood adds new information to a growing controversy. The notion of a "biological clock" in women arises from the fact that oocytes progressively decline in number as females get older, along with a decades-old dogmatic view that oocytes cannot be renewed in mammals after birth. After careful assessment of data from a recent study published in PLoS Genetics, scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Edinburgh argue that the findings support formation of new eggs during adult life; a topic that has been historically controversial and has sparked considerable debate in recent years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-ovaries-eggs-adulthood.html Genetics Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:00:04 EST news262539862 More children are surviving cancer in Britain than ever before according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday). The improvement in survival has been driven by the increasing numbers taking part in clinical trials since 1977 when the UK Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) [2] was established. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-access-clinical-trials-survival-childhood.html Cancer Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:30:01 EST news261758728 (Medical Xpress) -- Back in February, a team of researchers led by Jonathan Tilly published a paper in Nature Medicine describing new work that they said backed up research done in 2004 (resulting in a paper published in the journal Nature) that claimed to have debunked the “myth” that female mammals, including humans, produced all the eggs they ever would while still developing in the womb. Now, new research by another team, this one led by Kui Liu, claims that the results obtained by Tilly and associates was flawed and that there is still no evidence to suggest that women produce more eggs later on in life. In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team says that the results of the research conducted by Tilly et al were wrong because the proteins they searched for on the surface of stem cells exist only inside the cells and thus couldn’t be found by the method they used. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-team-disputes-evidence-egg-mammal.html Medical research Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:23:57 EST news261127403 Estrogen-deficient, postmenopausal women who have had their uterus removed appear to have stiffer arteries compared to similar women who have not had a hysterectomy, according to new research from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-hysterectomy-arterial-stiffening-postmenopausal-women.html Medical research Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:42:07 EST news258802900 Studies by researchers at Dominican University of California show that breast cancer cells become increasingly aggressive the longer they are exposed to small concentrations of cadmium, a heavy metal commonly found in cosmetics, food, water and air particles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-link-common-environmental-contaminant-rapid.html Cancer Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:00:09 EST news254397657 Scientists at University College Dublin have discovered a new way of measuring the potential success rate of an embryo before it is transferred back into the womb during in vitro fertilisation (IVF). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-successful-ivf-embryos-scientists.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:10:14 EST news249732608 BOSTON--Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a subtype of ovarian cancer able to build its own blood vessels, suggesting that such tumors might be especially susceptible to "anti-angiogenic" drugs that block blood vessel formation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-subtype-ovarian-cancer-vulnerable-anti-angiogenic.html Cancer Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:24:43 EST news248451869 A large, retrospective study shows that children of childhood cancer survivors who received prior treatment involving radiation to testes or ovaries and/or chemotherapy with alkylating agents do not have an increased risk for birth defects compared to children of survivors who did not have such cancer treatment. The findings provide reassurance that increased risks of birth defects are unlikely for cancer survivors who are concerned about the potential effects of their treatment on their children, and can help guide family planning choices. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-childhood-cancer-survivors-exposure-chemotherapy.html Cancer Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:36:25 EST news242930171 Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer that affect women. As tumors can initially grow unchecked in the abdomen without causing any major symptoms, patients are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and have to undergo surgery plus chemotherapy. During the operation, surgeons attempt to remove all tumor deposits as this leads to improved patient prognosis. To do this, however, they primarily have to rely on visual inspection and palpation - an enormous challenge especially in the case of small tumor nests or remaining tumor borders after the primary tumor excision. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-imaging-technique-visualizes-cancer-surgery.html Cancer Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:23:08 EST news235646542 In a new study published in Nature Genetics researchers say that women who possess a fault in a gene named RAD51D have a greater risk of developing ovarian cancer than women who do not have this fault and tests are expected to be available within the next few years for those at highest risk, according to Cancer Research UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-faulty-gene-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:00:01 EST news232073760 Menopause has little to no impact on whether women become more susceptible to diabetes, according to a one-of-a-kind study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-menopause-diabetes.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:50:01 EST news230894763 Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a type of normal stem cell fuels ovarian cancer by encouraging cancer stem cells to grow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-cancer-stem-cells-fuel-ovarian.html Cancer Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:38:36 EST news230211491 Women undergoing fertility treatment are more likely to give birth to a live baby after ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) if they are younger than 38 and 11 or more eggs have been retrieved from their ovaries in one ovarian stimulation cycle, according to analysis of one of the largest and longest-running ICSI programs at a single fertility clinic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-birth-icsi-trimester-pregnancy-loss.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:20:00 EST news229079990