Tag: health risks

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Jury to Decide if Hormone Therapy Caused Utah Woman’s Breast Cancer

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More than eight years after alleging hormone therapy drugs caused and promoted her breast cancer, Toshiko Okuda is finally getting her day in court.

Okuda was among dozens of Utah women — and thousands nationwide — who filed federal civil lawsuits against Wyeth and other drug manufacturers after researchers halted a National Institutes of Health sponsored study in 2002 upon finding an increased risk of invasive breast cancer among those using hormone replacement drugs. Her lawsuit, along with 68 others filed in Utah, was initially transferred to the Eastern District of Arkansas; three were remanded back to Utah’s district court in April 2010. Read full article.

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Father’s Age Linked to Autism and Schizophrenia

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Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

Experts said that the finding was hardly reason to forgo fatherhood later in life, though it might have some influence on reproductive decisions. The overall risk to a man in his 40s or older is in the range of 2 percent, at most, and there are other contributing biological factors that are entirely unknown.

But the study, published online in the journal Nature, provides support for the argument that the surging rate of autism diagnoses over recent decades is attributable in part to the increasing average age of fathers, which could account for as many as 20 to 30 percent of cases.

The findings also counter the longstanding assumption that the age of the mother is the most important factor in determining the odds of a child having developmental problems. The risk of chromosomal abnormalities, likeDown syndrome, increases for older mothers, but when it comes to some complex developmental and psychiatric problems, the lion’s share of the genetic risk originates in the sperm, not the egg, the study found. Read full article.

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Testing What We Think We Know

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BY 1990, many doctors were recommending hormone replacement therapy to healthy middle-aged women and P.S.A. screening for prostate cancer to older men. Both interventions had become standard medical practice.

But in 2002, a randomized trial showed that preventive hormone replacement caused more problems (more heart disease and breast cancer) than it solved (fewer hip fractures and colon cancer). Then, in 2009, trials showed that P.S.A. screening led to many unnecessary surgeries and had a dubious effect on prostate cancer deaths.

How would you have felt — after over a decade of following your doctor’s advice — to learn that high-quality randomized trials of these standard practices had only just been completed? And that they showed that both did more harm than good? Justifiably furious, I’d say. Because these practices affected millions of Americans, they are locked in a tight competition for the greatest medical error on record.

The problem goes far beyond these two. The truth is that for a large part of medical practice, we don’t know what works. But we pay for it anyway. Our annual per capita health care expenditure is now over $8,000. Many countries pay half that — and enjoy similar, often better, outcomes. Isn’t it time to learn which practices, in fact, improve our health, and which ones don’t?

To find out, we need more medical research. But not just any kind of medical research. Medical research is dominated by research on the new: new tests, new treatments, new disorders and new fads. But above all, it’s about new markets. Read full article.

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Furore over fertility treatment link to breast cancer, stress disorder

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MEDICAL experts are divided over two new studies that suggest that women who got pregnant after taking fertility drugs or treatments such as in In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) may have higher odds for breast cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) later on in life.

A study published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that women using ovulation-stimulating fertility drugs who were unable to get pregnant for at least 10 weeks had a lower risk of breast cancer disease than women who have not taken the drugs.

Another new study published recently in the Bulletin of the American Psychological Association suggests that women who undergo fertility treatments may find the situation so distressing that they develop PTSD. The findings suggest the definition of PTSD may need to be changed so that its causes include potentially traumatic experiences such as infertility.

But a fertility expert and joint pioneer of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in Nigeria, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru disagrees.

Ashiru, who is also the medical director of Medical Art Centre (MART), Ikeja, told The Guardian: “Most of these reports are still very controversial and lack merit in the research studies. Many of the studies from Australia to Europe and the United States of America (USA) are at the end regarded as speculative.”

Ashiru, however, said one aspect of breast cancer that is widely accepted is that a high proportion of breast cancer are due to the unopposed action of estrogen due to the absence of progesterone or an excessive production of estrogen as in obesity.

He explained: “A number of the fertility drugs that are used to cause multiple ovulations will also cause a rise in the circulating estrogen in the body. The risk is more if the individual used the fertility drugs to cause ovulation alone. In most fertility centers today, during the fertility treatment, progesterone is also introduced to help support the intended pregnancy especially in patients undergoing IVF treatment.”

“It, therefore, sounds to reason that the operative factor is estrogen. Most of the fertility treatment occurs in a balanced medium between estrogen and progesterone hence estrogen alone is not able to have its way since progesterone is administered externally.” Read full article.

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Danger, ‘In Vitro’ Fertilized Children May Be Born With Malformations

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(MADRID, Spain) – According to a recent study, infants conceived with the techniques used in fertility clinics are four times more likely to have certain birth defects and malformations than children that are naturally conceived.

Among the malformations that were detected are heart problems, cleft lips, cleft palates and abnormalities in the esophagus or rectum. These diseases appear once in every 700 births.

These dangers were increased by the use of assisted reproductive techniques such as fertilization ” in vitro”, which requires doctors to work with embryos and sperm outside the human body.

“I think it is important to consider the fact that there is a risk of birth defects,” says Jennita Reefhuis, epidemiologist from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Disease and author of a study published in the online journal “Human Reproduction”.

The doctor also said that although her study linked fertility procedures to birth defects, it was not able to neither prove the connection nor explain it. If the connection is real, it is unclear whether the procedures increase the risk of these malformations, or whether infertility itself increases these risks.

Moreover, Dr. James A. Grifo, director of the fertility clinic at the Medical Center of the University of New York, more research is needed to test these findings, since the study was only conducted on 281 women who had undergone the fertility treatment. Nevertheless, Dr. Grifo explains that the results are troubling, but a larger study must be conducted with a small group of patients. Read full article.

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Fertility Treatments May Put Women at Risk for PTSD Symptoms, Study Suggests

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Women who undergo fertility treatments may find the situation so distressing that they develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says.

In the study, close to 50 percent of participants met the official criteria for PTSD, meaning they could be diagnosed with the condition.

That’s about six times higher than the percentage of people in the general population who suffer from PTSD (8 percent.)

The findings suggest the definition of PTSD may need to be changed so that its causes include potentially traumatic experiences such as infertility, said study researcher Allyson Bradow, director of psychological services at Home of the Innocents, a nonprofit organization that helps families in need in Louisville, Ky.

Currently, the definition of PTSD says people must have experienced or witnessed a life-threatening event, or event that could cause serious injury.

“The definition of trauma should be expanded to include expectations of life,” said Bradow, who went through fertility treatments herself, and conducted the study as a doctoral student at Spalding University in Louisville. “Having children, expanding your family, carrying on your genetic code — that’s an instinctual drive that we have as human beings. And when that is being threatened, it’s not necessarily your life being threatened, but your expectation of what your life can be or should be like,” she said.

The finding also shows that a greater effort should be made to counsel those who go through fertility treatments, to help them cope with the emotional and psychological effects of the experience, Bradow said.

Read full article.

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Pfizer Loses Prempro Ruling Must Pay 10 Million

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Pfizer (PFE) (PFE) Inc. must pay $10.4 million in damages to a woman who blamed the company’s Prempro menopause drug for her breast cancer, an appeals court said.

Jurors properly awarded Audrey Singleton, who sued Pfizer’s Wyeth unit over Prempro, compensatory and punitive damages for the company’s marketing of the drug, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled yesterday. Singleton’s lawyers alleged that Wyeth hid the drug’s health risks and a jury awarded her damages on those claims in 2010.

“Wyeth’s concerted effort to misdirect physicians from the dangers of Prempro illustrates the consciousness that its conduct was not at all reasonable,” the three-judge panel said in upholding the jury’s findings.

The ruling comes as Pfizer officials are working to settle lawsuits over the menopause drugs. The drugmaker has settled about 60 percent of cases over the medicines and paid out $896 million, executives said in a May filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has set aside an additional $330 million to resolve the remaining cases.

More than 6 million women took Prempro and related menopause drugs to treat symptoms including hot flashes and mood swings before a 2002 study highlighted their links to cancer. At one point, Pfizer and its units faced more than 10,000 lawsuits over the medications.

Many Patients
Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn unit. Wyeth combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market.

Chris Loder, a spokesman for the company, said “the evidence in this case does not support the plaintiff’s claims,” and that the company is “evaluating its next steps.”

Read full article.

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Fake Tans Can Cause Infertility Problems

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Does a woman risk fertility problems by using fake tan? ‘Cocktail’ of chemicals in products can affect development of babies

Women who use fake tan could put themselves at an increased risk of fertility problems and having babies with birth defects, according to experts.

Although seen as a safe alternative to sunbeds, the products can contain a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals which may pose a risk to health – and can even cause cancer.

Among the dangerous ingredients found in fake tan are hormone-disrupting compounds, which can affect the healthy development of babies.

The products often also contain carcinogens, including formaldehyde and nitrosamines, as well as skin irritants and chemicals linked to allergies, diabetes, obesity and fertility problems.

The potentially dangerous effects of fake tan are thought to be more worrying than for other cosmetics as it is applied over the whole body regularly.

Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the European Environment Agency, said the chemicals it contains ‘may be a contributing factor behind the significant increases in cancers, diabetes, obesity and falling fertility’.

Read full article.

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Ubiquitous exposure to two common toxins may diminish IVF success

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New research conducted at the University of Albany indicate that daily, commonly-occurring exposure to two toxic metals – mercury and cadmium – diminish pregnancy rates for women who have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF). Mercury and cadmium are a constant presence in our air, water and food, at levels considered safe by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

The UAlbany study, led by Michael S. Bloom and Dr. Victor Fujimoto, asserts that even at currently acceptable levels, these two toxins appear to have devastating effects on a significant percentage of clinical and biochemical pregnancies resulting from IVF, a widely utilized form of reproductive technology. Clinical pregnancies are those in which a gestational sac is present; biochemical pregnancies are defined as very early pregnancies diagnosed through a blood test.
While mercury and cadmium are natural elements found within the earth’s environment, levels of both toxic metals have become increasingly elevated over several decades. Attributing to the increased rate of mercury in fish for example, is coal-generated electricity, smelting, and incineration of factory waste products that find their way into our atmosphere, oceans and food chain.

Cadmium is secreted by cigarette smoke, certain types of fertilizers and organ meats such as liver. Waste products discarded from steel and iron factories are also a contributing factor; factory workers may be particularly vulnerable to cadmium exposure.

Read full article.

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Cell phones may damage sperm, health advocacy group says

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Men who carry their cell phone or Blackberry on their belt loop or in their pocket may be posing a risk to the health of their sperm and their fertility.

A major health advocacy group released a new report on the potentially harmful effects of cell phones on sperm. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reviewed the scientific literature and reported that 10 studies have found significant changes in sperm exposed to cell phone radiation.

The study reported: “In the most striking findings, men who carried their phones in a pocket or on the belt were more likely to have lower sperm counts and/or more inactive or less mobile sperm.”

“People are so preoccupied with brain tumors that the fertility issue gets very little play,” said Louis Slesin, editor of Microwave News, a newsletter on electromagnetic radiation.

Exposure to cell phone radiation has also been associated with markers for sperm damage, such as higher levels of reactive oxygen species (chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen), oxidative stress, DNA damage and changes in sperm morphology.

“We have enough evidence to issue precautionary health warnings,” said Dr. Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley. “The evidence for sperm damage is quite consistent across many studies,” he added.
“The issue is far from settled, yet the proposals put forward by EWG are low-cost precautionary actions,” Slesin said.

Read full article.