Features

Women with the same medical conditions as men were less likely to receive the same treatment across several specialties, a global research review found. The review found differences in care for conditions including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and Parkinson’s, with women less likely to receive some active treatments. Of 38 studies analysed, 33 found women [...]

Article produced in association with Spital Clinic Each year in England, approximately three million women take part in cervical screening. While the majority receive a reassuring result, a proportion are referred for further investigation following an abnormal finding or a positive human papillomavirus (HPV) test. For these women, the next step is a colposcopy. Despite [...]

Oestrogen helps protect premenopausal women from hypertension by relaxing and widening blood vessels, according to new research examining why women develop high blood pressure less often before menopause. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects more than a billion people worldwide and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Premenopausal women are [...]

A South Korean femtech firm has launched plant-based period pads in the US, replacing synthetic superabsorbent polymers used in most pads with a plant-derived alternative. Most period pads, including those marketed as organic, use synthetic superabsorbent polymers, or SAPs. These plastic-based materials sit in the pad’s core and absorb menstrual fluid. Inertia says [...]

Digital symptom checkers could reduce endometriosis diagnosis delays by more than four years and save over US$5,000 per patient, according to a modelling study. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows outside the uterus, often causing pelvic pain and other symptoms. In the US it takes about seven years on [...]

An electronic nose using machine learning can detect early signs of ovarian cancer in blood samples with 97 per cent accuracy, according to researchers. The device uses 32 sensors that react to volatile substances released from blood plasma. Different cancers emit different substances, meaning each effectively has a distinct chemical pattern. Rather than [...]

More than a dozen fertility patients have won a High Court battle to save their embryos, eggs and sperm from destruction after paperwork mistakes. The ruling followed errors that meant patients did not renew consent to store their biological material within the 10-year window required by law. In some cases, fertility clinics failed to notify [...]

A Common Surgery with Outsized Consequences Hysterectomy and myomectomy are among the most frequently performed surgeries worldwide. Minimally invasive and robotic approaches have delivered clear benefits at the point of care, including shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, and fewer complications. To remove the uterus or fibroids through small incisions, surgeons use a technique known as [...]

A surgical procedure developed in Canada reduces the risk of the most common and deadly form of ovarian cancer by nearly 80 per cent. The strategy, known as opportunistic salpingectomy (OS), removes the fallopian tubes during routine gynaecological surgery such as hysterectomy (womb removal) or tubal ligation (having one’s tubes tied). The study analysed population [...]

AI mammography finds more cancers at screening and cuts diagnoses between screens by 12 per cent, a major trial has found. The study involving over 100,000 Swedish women is described as the first randomised controlled trial investigating the use of AI in a national breast cancer screening programme. Women who underwent AI-supported screening were less [...]