A new class of drug to treat herpes simplex virus-1 infection
For patients with the herpes simplex-1 virus (HSV-1), there are just a handful of drugs available to treat the painful condition that can affect the eyes, mouth and genitals.If patients develop resistance to these drugs, there are even fewer choices left to treat the infection, which lasts for life. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have now identified a small drug molecule that can clear the HSV-1 infection in the cells…
Organ-on-chip technology enters next stage as experts test hepatitis B virus
Scientists at Imperial College London have become the first in the world to test how pathogens interact with artificial human organs. Artificial human organs, or organ-on-chip technologies, simulate a whole organ’s cell make up and physiology. They act as alternatives to animal models in drug safety testing…
Case Report – Induced Lactation in Transgender Woman
A 30-year-old transgender woman who had been receiving feminizing hormone therapy for the past 6 years presented to our clinic with the goal of being able to breastfeed her adopted infant. After implementing a regimen of domperidone, estradiol, progesterone, and breast pumping, she was able to achieve sufficient breast milk volume to be the sole source of nourishment for her child for 6 weeks. This case illustrates that, in some circumstances, modest but functional lactation can be induced in transgender women…
Increased 1-year continuation of DMPA among women randomized to self-administration
Self-administration of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-sc) is feasible, acceptable, and effective. Our objective was to compare one-year continuation of DMPA-sc between women randomized to self-administration versus clinic administration…
Eighty-six percent of participants took misoprostol; among those taking misoprostol, 89% reported a complete abortion at the time of the survey. Twenty-two percent obtained an aspiration after taking misoprostol and 8% self-reported adverse events including hemorrhage without transfusion, infection, or severe pain. Among women who took misoprostol, 46% reported receiving in-person follow-up (in some cases both telephone and in-person), 34% received telephone only, and 20% did not report receiving any form of follow-up. Those who had in-person follow-up with the counselor were most likely to report a complete abortion (<0.001). Satisfaction with both types of follow-up was very high, with 81%-89% reporting being very satisfied…
The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of sexual behavior and condom use in African American adolescents, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive sexuality and abstinence-only education to reduce adolescent sexual behavior and increase condom use. Participants included 450 adolescents aged 12–14 years in the southern United States. Regression analyses showed favorable attitudes toward sexual behavior and social norms significantly predicted recent sexual behavior, and favorable attitudes toward condoms significantly predicted condom usage. Self-efficacy was not found to be predictive of adolescents’ sexual behavior or condom use. There were no significant differences in recent sexual behavior based on type of sexuality education. Adolescents who received abstinence-only education had reduced favorable attitudes toward condom use, and were more likely to have unprotected sex than the comparison group. Findings suggest that adolescents who receive abstinence-only education are at greater risk of engaging in unprotected sex…