Pelvic inflammatory disease linked to pelvic pain
Researchers have identified a range of factors that increase the risk of developing chronic pelvic pain from pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which results from vaginal infection, often sexually transmitted, that ascends into the pelvis.
“Recurrent PID repeatedly damages the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, increasing the likelihood of chronic pelvic pain and infertility,” warned the team leader Dr. Catherine L. Haggerty.
Friends may be key to living longer
Looking for the secret of a long life? Look closely at your friends. New research suggests that having a strong network of friends helps people live longer.
“Older people with better social networks with friends were less likely to die over a 10-year follow-up period than older people with poorer friends networks,” Lynne C. Giles of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, told Reuters Health.
But in what may come as a surprising finding to older people who rely on their children and other relatives, having a large network of relatives was not associated with longer life, Giles and her colleagues report in the July issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
US lawmakers urge emergency contraception for rape
Under bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday, hospitals that receive federal funds would have to advise rape victims of the availability of emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.
“The idea that someone cannot prevent an unwanted pregnancy that’s the result of an assault is just inconceivable to me,” said Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, referring to hospitals that do not routinely provide rape victims with access to emergency contraception, a two-pill regime that can reliably prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected intercourse.
Somalia to begin anti-polio drive this week
Volunteers in anarchic Somalia this week will launch a United Nations-backed polio immunization drive to prevent the disease from spreading to the country from nearby Ethiopia and Yemen. Both of those countries are the latest two of 16 previously polio-free west and central African nations where the paralysis causing disease has re-appeared.
“The outbreaks of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen, coupled with large population movements between Somalia and its neighbours have put Somali children at risk of polio,” Dr. David Heymann, the U.N. World Health Organization’s (WHO) polio eradication representative, said in a statement.
US speeding deaths up as speed limits rise
Speeding-related deaths have gone up gradually on many major U.S. roads since Congress abolished the mandatory 55 mph (88.5 kph) per hour speed limit in 1995, an analysis of federal safety data showed on Wednesday.
A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed about a third of all traffic deaths were related to speeding between 1983 and 2002, the last year figures were analyzed for speeding.
New whitener bleaches teeth with less sensitivity
A new type of tooth whitener contains extra ingredients that reduce the sensitivity that often follows bleaching, according to new study findings.
Dr. Frederick Eichmiller, based at the American Dental Association’s Paffenbarger Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, explained that people often complain of tooth sensitivity to cold and brushing over the few days following bleaching.
Sensitivity occurs because bleach cleans teeth extremely well, he said, and in the process, helps open pores found in the surface of teeth.
Brazilian doctors uncover ‘Michelangelo code’
Two Brazilian doctors and amateur art lovers believe they have uncovered a secret lesson on human anatomy hidden by Renaissance artist Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
Completed nearly 500 years ago, the brightly colored frescoes painted on the Vatican’s famous sanctuary are considered some of the world’s greatest works of art. They depict Biblical scenes such as the “Creation of Adam” in which God reaches out to touch Adam’s finger.
