Reproductive News Rundown: 21st - 28th October

We aim to keep you up-to-date on all things gyn-health related. This is the week that was in the world of us.

Phil Coomes for Science Museum Group Collection / The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, RCN Library and Archive, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for permission to photograph the objects in the exhibition The Wandering Womb on show at the RCN.

BBC

When women got pills for hysteria and advice to keep vaginas clean

A new exhibition by the Royal College of Nursing showcases a series of strange, sometimes disturbing objects used in women's healthcare.

From pink pills to help women with so-called hysteria, to vaginal douches to keep them "clean", the historical displays show how gynecology has often been dominated by superstition and ignorance.

Debra Holloway, chairwoman of the Royal College of Nursing's Women's Health Forum, said the exhibition showcased the importance of the role nurses have had throughout history in challenging assumptions about women's health.

"Myths and misconceptions about women's bodies remain widespread and in a field previously dominated by the perspectives of male doctors and physicians, all nurses now have a responsibility to advocate for women today."

EurekAlert

Biomarkers can predict whether women with endometriosis will respond to the first-line treatment

Study finds these biomarkers may lead to faster, more personalized treatment options

WASHINGTON--Biomarkers can predict whether women will respond to the first-line treatment for endometriosis, an extremely painful condition in which the tissue usually found inside the uterus grows in places it shouldn't, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Progestin-based therapies such as oral contraceptives are the first-line treatment for managing endometriosis-associated pain. However, response to progestins is unpredictable and varies among women.

In the retrospective cohort study, researchers studied 52 subjects with endometriosis and found that progesterone receptor levels were an important predictor of progesterone responsiveness in endometriosis. 

Having a method to determine a patient's response to progestin-based therapy could help determine the best treatment options and ideally reduce the risk of the disease recurring.

Endometriosis News

Mirena May Be Effective to Prevent Endometriosis Symptoms After Surgery, Study Shows

Bayer’s hormone-releasing intrauterine system Mirena can be an effective post-operative maintenance therapy to prevent endometriosis-related pain and and reduce disease recurrence, research suggests.

The study with that finding, “Efficacy of levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine system as a postoperative maintenance therapy of endometriosis: A meta-analysis,” was published by the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.

Some hormone-based treatment strategies have shown potential to help manage endometriosis symptoms, but no fully effective pharmacological treatment is yet available. The only solution for most of these women is to remove the endometrium lesions by surgery. However, 21.5% experience disease recurrence within two years after surgery, and this rate increases up to about 50% at five years after surgery.

Hello Giggles

What happens when doctors don't listen to young women

Growing up, I went through bouts of being at peak health and bouts of being terribly ill, so I saw a lot of doctors between the ages of 12 and 17—most of them men. After spending years in several doctors’ offices, I realized something: Doctors rarely listened to me. While, at first, I simply found this annoying, I soon understood that I’d uncovered something extremely dangerous about our society.

He, like many other doctors, viewed me as an attitude-ridden teenage girl who knew nothing of “real world problems.” He viewed me as superficial and left me in pain. And my experience is not a unique one-off: It happens to countless women, and it happened to many of my friends during high school. It needs to stop.

Bustle

7 Subtle Signs Of Endometriosis Doctors Want You To Know About

Dr. Ross says that the most common symptoms of endometriosis are related to pain, which can be chronic and disruptive. However, she says that it’s important to pay attention to lesser-known symptoms of endometriosis, too. Click here for more.

Endo Foundation

The Endometriosis Foundation of America Joins Discussion About Women's Health Issues at UN Event

On Friday, October 26, and on behalf of The Endometriosis Foundation of America, Founder Dr. Tamer Seckin will join a panel of women's reproductive health-thought leaders and activists as part of the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA)'s "Let's Talk 2018: Tackling Taboos Around Women's Health" event in Antalya, Turkey.

According to a press release, the two-day event, will focus on "the impact of societal taboos on sexual and reproductive health and women’s equality," and will bring together Turkey's first lady, Emine Erdogan, Russian supermodel, Elbi app creator and event co-host Natalia Vodianova, panel host and model Dayle Haddon as well as a slew of influencers and policymakers.