92% of HPV-caused cancers could be prevented by vaccine: CDC
(Agence France-Presse) — An estimated 92% of cancers caused by HPV could be prevented through vaccination, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday, adding that boosting immunization coverage was a key priority. Human papillomavirus was responsible for an estimated yearly average of 34,800 cancer cases between 2012 and 2016, according to […]
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Antibiotics may boost colon cancer risk
(Tauren Dyson/ UPI) — New research suggests that just a single course of antibiotics may increase risk for colon cancer, and a full treatment with the drugs may increase it even more. Taking antibiotics for up to 30 days increases the risk of colon cancer by 8 percent, according to a study published this week […]
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Newly discovered organ may be lurking under your skin
(National Geographic) — Most people who’ve been jabbed by a needle know the drill: First the pierce, then the sharp, searing pain and an urge to pull away, or at least wince. While the exact circuitry behind this nearly universal reaction is not fully understood, scientists may have just found an important piece of the […]
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Women who started their periods early could have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes
(Agence France-Presse) — New Chinese research has found that girls who start their periods earlier may be at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Carried out by researchers from Zhengzhou University, the new large-scale study looked at 15,346 postmenopausal women in rural China to investigate whether early menarche, which is […]
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Alzheimer’s directly kills brain cells that keep you awake
(Yasemin Saplakoglu/ Live Science) — Alzheimer’s disease might be attacking the brain cells responsible for keeping people awake, resulting in daytime napping, according to a new study. Excessive daytime napping might thus be considered an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a statement from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Some previous studies […]
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New procedure that postpones menopause could also lead to longer fertility
(Dr. Manny Alvarez/ Fox News) — One quest to significantly postpone menopause could allow women to have children later in life. According to the National Institute on Aging, women going through menopause can have a host of symptoms, ranging from irritability to hot flashes to a lowered sex drive. In addition, post-menopausal women have a […]
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Childhood cancer wipes out 11 million years of human potential each year
(Laura Santhanam/ PBS News Hour) — What does the world lose when a child gets cancer? Out of 2.2 billion children worldwide, more than 416,500 children are diagnosed and 142,300 are estimated to die from the disease each year. Though in hard numbers it’s a relatively small portion, each life lost is its own world […]
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Women’s mid-life stress linked to memory decline
(Futurity) — A new study links stressful life experiences among middle-aged women — but not men — to greater memory decline in later life. The researchers say their findings add to evidence that stress hormones play an uneven gender role in brain health, and align with well-documented higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease in women than […]
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VM-Med celebrates 25 years
On the 18th of October 2019, VM-Med, originally known as the Ville Marie Medical & Women’s Health Centre, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary. As the date nears, I have been reflecting on the history and the development of VM-Med. It has been quite an adventure, and it all started as a small breast centre with […]
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Breakthrough that wipes out ovarian cancer cells unveiled
(Jim Leffman/ The London Economic) — A cancer research breakthrough that wipes out ovarian cancer cells has been unveiled. The cancer kills 11 British women every day with survival rates of only 35 per cent, according to Cancer Research UK. But researchers have developed what they call “one-two punch” that works by forcing cancer cells […]
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