Birth control pill stokes stroke risk among women

October 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Birth control pills can nearly double the risk of stroke in women, says a new study. According to a review article in MedLink Neurology by three Loyola University Health System neurologists, women who take birth control pills and also smoke, have high blood pressure or have a history of migraine headaches, significantly increase their risk of stroke.

October 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has shown that obese women who gain more than recommended during pregnancy are likely to retain a portion of that weight up to an year after giving birth. The researchers found that most of the obese women gained too much weight during pregnancy, then, on average, kept on 40 percent of the weight one year after they gave birth.

October 21st, 2009 LONDON - A new survey has revealed that condom is fast becoming more popular than the pill among women, and is now their most preferred method of contraception. In a survey conducted on 1,093 women, a quarter, who are under 50, opted for condoms, which is identical to the proportion who plumped for the oral contraceptive pill.

October 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Higher levels of a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation in the blood, may increase a person's of heart attack and death but not stroke, says a new study. The study, published in the October 20, 2009, print issue of Neurology, involved 2,240 people from the Northern Manhattan Study who were 40 years old or older and stroke-free.

October 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Women who develop tenderness in their breasts after using hormone replacement therapy are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, say researchers. However, it is still unknown why breast tenderness indicates increased cancer risk among women on estrogen plus progestin hormone replacement therapy.

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Having shingles raises the risk of suffering a stroke by almost a third, according to a new study. In a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, adults with shingles were about 30 percent more likely to have a stroke during a one-year follow-up than adults without shingles.

October 8th, 2009 LONDON - Women could soon be spared period pains thanks to a new pill developed by scientists from Southampton. The pill, from a drug called VA111913, can help cure the monthly cramps that leave some women bedridden.

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Use of antidepressants during pregnancy might put the newborn child at increased health risk, according to researchers. The study led by Dr Najaaraq Lund showed that exposure to certain class of antidepressants can increase the risk of preterm birth, and can affect the overall health of the newborn.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - People who have survived cancer as a child can now have a sigh of relief, for two new studies have found fewer risks of their childhood disease on their babies. While it is believed that fertility can be compromised by cancer treatment, the studies led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center observed few risks to babies born to parents who underwent cancer treatment in childhood or adolescence.

September 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study suggests that strokes are preceded by a mild "warning stroke", scientifically called a transient ischemic attack (TIA), in one out of every eight cases. "These results illustrate the need for better risk assessment tools for preventing strokes before they occur.

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Expectant mothers exposed to drinking water contaminated with tetrachloroethylene or perchlorethylene (PCE) are likely to give birth to kids with congenital defects, according to a new study. The study found an increased risk of oral clefts and neural tube defects in their children.

September 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Reviewing studies conducted in the past, cardiac experts at Rush University Medical Center have found that women are more likely than men to experience symptomatic attacks, a higher frequency of recurrences, and significantly higher heart rates during atrial fibrillation, which increases the risk of stroke. During atrial fibrillation, the heart's atria, which are two small upper chambers, quiver instead of beating effectively.

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - Women who have their first baby at an advanced maternal age may be more at risk of complications, says a recent UK study. The team at the University of Cambridge found women who started menstruation early, from the age of 12 onwards, were more likely to require medical assistance during childbirth such as forceps, or a Caesarean section.

September 14th, 2009 LONDON - Having a second child within a year of the first birth can increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, finds a new study. The research, involving 30,000 women each of whom had produced five or more children, has shown that those with a gap of less than 12 month were 5.2 times more likely to develop the advanced ductal breast cancer than women who had a gap of three or more years.

September 7th, 2009 WELLINGTON - Taking oral contraceptive does not affect a woman's ability to conceive after she stops it, reveals a study. The study led by German researchers showed that neither the length of time the pill was taken nor the type of hormones used had an affect on pregnancy rates.