Top Five Women's Health And Research Stories Of 2005
"Great progress is being made in understanding how biological sex differences affect health," said Sherry Marts, Ph.D., vice president of scientific affairs for the Society, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy. "Our top five stories show both the promise of research and the perils of inaction and delay."
The top five women's health stories of 2005 as determined by the Society for Women's Health Research are:
1. FDA Further Delays Plan B Approval; Leading Federal Health Official Resigns in Protest
Government decisions about some women's health issues may be driven by politics, not science. That concern gained momentum with the FDA's decision to delay beyond August approval of over-the-counter sale of Plan B emergency contraception to women 16 and older raised major concerns about the agency's decision making process and its impact on women's health. Susan Wood, director of the FDA's Office of Women's Health, resigned in protest, noting that scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended by the agency's professional staff, were overruled.
2. X Chromosome Research Shows Women More Genetically Variable Than Men
Research shows women are genetically more variable than men, confirming the importance of looking for and understanding sex differences in health. A team of scientists showed in Nature magazine on March 17 that female mammals, who have two copies of the X chromosome, express more genes than males. Previous theories suggested that one of the females' X chromosomes was mostly inactive. The varying activity of genes on the X chromosome can account for not only some differences between the sexes, but also among women. As those genes are better understood, scientists may be able to prevent the onset of certain diseases tied to the X chromosome.
3. HPV Vaccine Represents Breakthrough in Fight against Cancer
A vaccine to immunize against two different types of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV-16 and HPV-18) that cause an estimated 70 percent of cervical cancer cases was 100 percent effective against persistent HPV16/18 infections in women who completed the study protocol, according to research results published in the Nov. 13 issue of Lancet. An estimated 280,000 women die from cervical cancer each year, most of them in the developing world. This and similar recent studies show the potential to eradicate the great majority of cervical cancers worldwide.
4. Aspirin Affects Women and Men Differently
Aspirin affects women and men differently when it comes to preventing heart attacks and strokes, according to results released in March from the Women's Health Study (WHS), a 10-year randomized clinical trial involving nearly 40,000 women aged 45 and older. The study shows aspirin does not significantly reduce the risk of a first heart attack for middle-aged women, as it does for men.
However, aspirin reduces the risk of stroke in women, something it does not do for men. Aspirin does lower the chances of having a heart attack in women 65 and older, which is also when the stroke-reduction benefit appears greatest. Before this study, many women took aspirin to prevent heart attacks on the advice of their doctor, based on research conducted only on men. This study underscores the importance of testing therapies on both women and men. We cannot assume that studies on men are valid for women.
5. HIV Cases in Women Increase Dramatically Compared to Men
From 1999 through 2003, the annual number of estimated AIDS diagnoses increased 15 percent among women and increased 1 percent among men, according to a June Centers for Disease Control report. This trend is cause for great alarm among women. Women develop AIDS at a lower viral level than men, and consequently, progress more quickly from HIV to AIDS. The efficiency of male-to-female infection of HIV is more than two times higher than that of female-to-male infection. Prevention and early diagnosis is the key to survival.
Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)
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United States
womenshealthresearch.org
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