GSK's HPV Vaccine Produces Immune Response In Women Ages 15 To 55, Study Says

GlaxoSmithKline's experimental human papillomavirus vaccine Cervarix -- which has been shown in studies to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18 -- produces an immune response in all women ages 15 to 55 one year after they received the vaccine, according to a study presented at an American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Dow Jones reports. Tino Schwarz, a professor at Stiftung Juliusspital-Wuerzburg in Germany and colleagues in a Phase III trial examined 666 women ages 15 to 55 who received three doses of Cervarix. The study included data from 437 women ages 26 to 55 (Corbett Dooren, Dow Jones, 6/5). According to the study, an antibody response was detected in 100% of the women seven months after receiving the first of three does of the vaccine and remained one year following the initial dose (Reuters, 6/5). In a previous study published in the April 6 online edition of the Lancet, women ages 15 to 25 who received Cervarix showed high levels of antibodies against HPV strains 16 and 18 for up to four-and-a-half years after receiving the vaccine. Researchers also found that Cervarix prevented infection with HPV strains 31 and 45, which together with strains 16 and 18 cause more than 80% of cervical cancer cases (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/6). "For the first time, we see that a vaccine against cervical cancer is highly immunogenic in women over 25 years of age," Schwarz said, adding, "These are important data as older women remain at significant risk of acquiring infections with cancer-causing HPV types" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 6/6). GSK plans to file for approval with FDA by the end of this year. Philippe Monteyne, head of global vaccine development for GSK, said the company plans to submit the most recent study findings to FDA in hopes of gaining the agency's approval of the vaccine for women up to age 55 (Dow Jones, 6/5).pregnancy" (Los Angeles Times, 6/5).


"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ??? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


View drug information on Cervarix [Human Papillomavirus Bivalent.

Elsevier Journals Support World Breastfeeding Week 2010

In support of World Breastfeeding Week 2010, Elsevier the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services is pleased to open access to selected articles related to breastfeeding from the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, Midwifery and the Journal of Pediatric Health Care. Midwives and pediatric nurse practitioners play a central role in supporting and advocating for breastfeeding.


The full contents of a special issue of the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, titled, "Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding. The entire issue highlights the role of midwives and other women's health professionals in encouraging breastfeeding. Topics include new scientific research on breastfeeding and its benefits, problems that can interfere with lactation and breastfeeding, and essential education for breastfeeding mothers.


Elsevier has also made available key articles from Midwifery and the Journal of Pediatric Health Care in support of World Breastfeeding Week:


Journal of Pediatric Health Care


NAPNAP Position Statement on Breastfeeding Journal of Pediatric health Care (Volume 21, Issue 2, Pages A39-A40, March 2007.)


Role of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Promoting Breastfeeding for Late Preterm Infants in Primary Care Settings (by Azza H. Ahmed - Volume 24, Issue 2, Pages 116-122, March 2010.)


Parent-Infant Co-sleeping and Its Relationship to Breastfeeding (by Stephanie D. Buswell and Diane L. Spatz - Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 22-28, January 2007.)


The lactation consult: Problem solving, teaching, and support for the breastfeeding family (by Maureen Hoag Dann - Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 12-16, January 2005.)


Midwifery


Building a place for the father as an ally for breast feeding (by Cleide M. Pontes, M??nica M. Os??rio, and Aline C. Alexandrino - Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 195-202, April 2009.)


Effect of an extended midwifery postnatal support programme on the duration of breast feeding: A randomised controlled trial (by Susan J. McDonald, Jennifer J. Henderson, Shani Faulkner, Sharon F. Evans, and Ronald Hagan - Volume 26, Issue 1, Pages 88-100, February 2010.)


Women's views and experiences of breast feeding: positive, negative or just good for the baby? (by Della A. Forster and Helen L. McLachlan - Volume 26, Issue 1, Pages 116-125 (February 2010)


Sponsored by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, World Breastfeeding Week is held each year from August 1 to 7. This year's theme, "Just 10 Steps," draws attention to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding a supportive pathway enabling women to achieve their breastfeeding intentions.


The Ten Steps also provide healthcare professionals with guidance in the support of breastfeeding. World Breastfeeding Week 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration, which called for implementation of the Ten Steps in all maternity facilities.


Source: Elsevier

Thailand To Launch Condom Campaign, Implement Legal Protection For Women Whose Partners Refuse To Use Condoms

Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla recently at Thailand's 11th annual national seminar on HIV/AIDS said he is concerned about the increasing number of HIV cases in the country, especially among married couples, the Bangkok Post reports. According to the Post, about 40% of the 18,000 new HIV cases diagnosed annually in Thailand occur among women who contract the virus from their husbands. About 28% of new cases are among men who have sex with men and 10% are among commercial sex workers, according to the Post.

Mongkol said he is considering launching a "family condom" campaign and encouraging married couples to be monogamous. "Using condoms should be regarded as showing respect to each other so that both husband and wife will be safe from sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS," Mongkol said, adding that women also should "stand up for a better deal from their husbands."

The Thai National Committee on AIDS will carry out the condom-promotion program with Mechai Viravaidya, chair of the Population and Community Development Association. Mechai said that as part of the program, the committee will ask hotels to put complimentary condoms in guest rooms (Apiradee, Bangkok Post, 7/5).

In addition, Mongkol at the seminar said that Thailand soon will provide legal protection to women whose partners refuse to wear condoms during sex, the Thai News Service reports. According to an agreement reached at a recent UNAIDS meeting in Geneva, laws on social issues and gender equality should be implemented as primary solutions to curb the spread of HIV, Mongkol said (Thai News Service, 7/5).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Fat Talk Exacerbates Body Image Disturbance

College women who engage in "fat talk" (women speaking negatively about the size and shape of their bodies) face greater dissatisfaction with their bodies and are more likely to have internalized an ultra-thin body ideal than those who engage in fat talk less frequently, according to a review article from Psychology of Women Quarterly (published by SAGE).



Study results found that while frequency of fat talk was associated with increased dissatisfaction with women's own bodies, over half of the participants reported that they believe fat talk actually makes them feel better about their bodies. It's concerning that women might think fat talk is a helpful coping mechanism, when it's actually exacerbating body image disturbance. Researchers Rachel H. Salk of the University of Wisconsin and Renee Engeln-Maddox of Northwestern University found that "fat talk" is overwhelmingly common in the college-age women they studied, with more than 90 percent reporting they engaged in "fat talk."



"The most common response to fat talk was denial that the friend was fat," wrote Salk and Engeln-Maddox, "most typically leading to a back-and-forth conversation where each of two healthy weight peers denies the other is fat while claiming to be fat themselves."



An additional interesting finding was that the frequency of "fat talk" was not related to a respondent's BMI. "In other words, there was no association between a woman's actual body size and how often she complained about her body size with peers," Salk and Engeln-Maddox wrote.



"These results serve as a reminder," wrote Salk and Engeln-Maddox, "that for most women, fat talk is not about being fat, but rather about feeling fat."


Notes:


The article: "If You're Fat, Then I'm Humongous!": Frequency, Content, and Impact of Fat Talk Among College Women" in Psychology of Women Quarterly.



Source:

Ashley Wrye


SAGE Publications