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Prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs is associated with an increased risk of developing a type of brain tumor known as an intracranial meningioma, finds a study. Progestogens are similar to the natural hormone progesterone. Meningiomas are mostly non-cancerous tumors in the layers of tissue (meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord. Researchers set out to evaluate the real life risk of intracranial meningioma requiring surgery in women associated with use of several progestogens with different routes of administration. They used data from the French national health data system (SNDS) for 18,061 women (average age 58) who underwent...

Back in the mid-1980s, there was a highly successful ad campaign that ran for about a dozen years. Promoted and sponsored by the American Dairy Board, the campaign featured the tagline, “Milk: It Does A Body Good,” and it stressed how milk was necessary for strong bones, healthy joints, and attractive body. Then, in 1993, another national campaign was started by MilkPep (Milk Processor Education Program) that initiated the “Got Milk” Phrase. That later expanded to include celebrities who appeared with milk mustaches. Aaahh, the good old days. Even if you weren’t much of a milk drinker, and by then...

This is Your Brain on Birth Control, a new book by Dr. Sara E. Hill takes a remarkably deep dive into the myriad ways that hormonal contraception alters women’s bodies, demonstrating that our sex hormones have an enormous impact on how our brains and bodies function. As we learn more about the consequences of altering women’s hormonal balance with contraception, we’ve come to find that those consequences can be very serious, indeed—in some cases, even fatal. Although the book is about the consequences of meddling with the hormones of women of reproductive age, it should also serve as a cautionary...

As a physician assistant specializing in OB/GYN, I have prescribed birth control to everyone for everything . . . irregular cycles, painful periods, unusual bleeding, PMS, acne, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, perimenopause and, of course, to avoid pregnancy. It wasn’t until my own struggles with infertility that I began to research more about the consequences of using artificial hormones. Although I was taught in school that the birth control pill was a treatment for these disorders, I learned that artificial hormones are only FDA-approved to treat two things: to avoid pregnancy, and for hormonal acne. Other than that, the...

Infertility is a part of life for 1 in every 8 couples in the United States. Most people know that risk factors like age and tobacco use can make having a baby difficult, yet, there are young, tobacco-free families who struggle to get pregnant in every community. Because knowledge is critical in safeguarding your reproductive health, here are five causes of infertility you may never have heard of. 1. LEEP Procedures If you’ve ever had an abnormal Pap smear, you may have heard of LEEP (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure). With this treatment, doctors use an electrically heated wire loop to...

Study Evaluating Intravenous Progesterone Formulation BHR-100 to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury Set to Complete in 2013 BHR Pharma's SyNAPSe® clinical trial is now enrolling patients suffering from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) at 14 sites in Thailand, China and Russia. The trial currently has 153 participating sites (Level 1 and 2 trauma centers) worldwide. The 500th of 1,180 patients needed to complete the global Phase III, multi-center trial was enrolled at the end of May in the United States. SyNAPSe is evaluating the effectiveness of BHR-100, a... --snip-- TBI is a serious public health problem that affects more than 1.7...

High doses of the hormone progesterone can kill neuroblastoma cells while leaving healthy cells unscathed, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found in laboratory research. The results, published in the journal Molecular Medicine, suggest that progesterone could be used to fight neuroblastoma, the most common form of cancer affecting small children. More research is necessary to determine the optimal dose, how long progesterone treatment should last and if it should be used alone or in combination with radiation or chemotherapy. Emory scientists are also exploring whether it can stop the growth of other brain cancer types such as...

When a new FDA drug-and-money scandal has doctors, US senators, and even the March of Dimes in an uproar, you know it’s bad. A drug which the FDA approved more than half a century ago—which doctors have been prescribing for their patients with high-risk pregnancies through compounding pharmacies with great success—was designated by the FDA an “orphan drug.” Now KV Pharmaceutical has been given the exclusive right of production and sale (not to mention drug trial tax breaks!). They immediately raised the price from $10 per dose to $1,500—simply because they could. The drug is a synthetic form of progesterone...

Enlarge Image Get the progesterone! Administering a female hormone shortly after an accident could help prevent brain injury. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Hendrike SAN DIEGO—The hormone progesterone is best known for its work in the female reproductive system, where it plays various roles in supporting pregnancy. But starting next month, it will be the focus of a phase III clinical trial for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Researchers hope an infusion of progesterone given within a few hours of a car accident or other trauma will help prevent brain damage, said the trial’s principal investigator, David Wright of Emory University...

Scientists have discovered the female sex hormone progesterone in a walnut tree, shaking up what's known about the different between plants and animals. Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. A synthetic version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications. "The significance of the unequivocal identification of progesterone cannot be overstated," write Guido F. Pauli and colleagues in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products. "While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals,...

PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE COMPOUNDED BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE MEDICATIONS THE FACTS: Recently, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, maker of Premarin & Prempro, (drugs derived from Pregnant Mares Urine – yes, horses pee) filed a Citizen’s Petition with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) asking the FDA to impose harmful restrictions on the compounding and dispensing of Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). (Bio-identical hormones are manufactured to have the same molecular structure as the hormones made by your own body.) This petition would eliminate the availability of compounded bio-identical hormones, which are prescribed by healthcare providers and prepared by pharmacists, to meet the unique...