In this Product Explainer, Sexual Health Physician Dr Terri Foran explains estradiol and progesterone combined hormone therapy, the first and only body-identical combined treatment for post-menopausal women (6 mins).
Differences between combination vs progestogen-only pills, rules on missed and late pills, which pill to start with, what age to start, the risk with a family history of breast cancer, and applying the WHO’s “Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use” in practice
Prospective fathers might consider taking fish-oil supplements to improve their fertility, new research suggests.
Danish researchers conducted the study into the reproductive function among over 1500 young men (aged 18-19 years) from the general population. They compared parameters such as total sperm count and motility, as well as serum hormone levels including testosterone and FSH among those men who had reportedly taken fish oil supplements regularly over the past three months with those who didn’t.
Great strides have been made in terms of public health campaigns to reduce the spread of HIV, and the development of antiretrovirals to stop people living with the condition from developing AIDS. However, medical interventions to cure or vaccinate against the condition have so far proved elusive.
Researchers from the Montreal Clinical Research Institute may have made a crucial first step in this direction. Their recent research, outlined recently in the journal Cell Reports, focuses on boosting the levels of ‘plasmacytoid dendritic cells’ (PDCs) in the earliest stages of HIV infection.
In years gone by, women would rely on the calendar on the wall to work out when their next menstrual cycle might occur. They would look to physical signs to tell them when they might be ovulating, and therefore when they’d be most likely to fall pregnant.
More recently, we’ve seen the proliferation of mobile phone applications helping women track their current cycle, predict their next cycle, and work out when the best time is to try for a baby.
There are more than 400 fertility apps available, and over 100 million women worldwide are using them.
The personalisation and convenience of apps makes them empowering and attractive. But they require some caution in their use.