Menstruation

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first birth control pill designed to eliminate a woman's monthly period. The new pill, called Lybrel, uses a combination of low-dose synthetic hormones used in other oral contraceptives now on the market. But all of the 28 pills that come in a monthly pack will contain active ingredients, forgoing the placebo tablets that normally allow menstruation to begin.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first birth control pill designed to eliminate a woman's monthly period. The new pill, called Lybrel, uses a combination of low-dose synthetic hormones used in other oral contraceptives now on the market. But all of the 28 pills that come in a monthly pack will contain active ingredients, forgoing the placebo tablets that normally allow menstruation to begin.

For years, gynecologists have been quietly telling their patients who take birth control pills that they can avoid menstruating while on their honeymoon or on vacation simply by skipping the seven placebo pills and starting right in on the next packet. Now, however, some women are going far beyond this onetime, "special occasion" skipping of a period and opting to have just three or four periods a year. Still others are stopping menstruation altogether.

For young women with a world of choices, even the menstrual period is optional. Thanks to birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a growing number of women are taking the path chosen by 22-year-old Stephanie Sardinha. She hasn't had a period since she was 17. "It's really one of the best things I've ever done," she says. A college student and retail worker in Lisbon Falls, Maine, Sardinha uses Nuvaring, a vaginal contraceptive ring.

Women who have outwardly normal menstrual periods may lose bone rapidly if they do not ovulate during every monthly cycle, a study concludes. Lack of menstruation, such as occurs in women who exercise strenuously or do not eat enough, has long been associated with weakened bones. But until now, experts assumed that women who menstruated regularly also produced hormones that kept their bones healthy.

Menstrual irregularities are not usually taken seriously by women or doctors. But such disruptions could lead to bone loss--and eventual osteoporosis, researchers have found. While many people think that bone loss occurs after menopause, when the ovaries have stopped working due to age, researchers now believe that disruption of the ovaries' function at any age has a direct effect on bones.

He was a rich 19th century Don Juan. She was the last woman he wronged. She killed him with a single shot through the eye, delivered in broad daylight alongside a busy road in downtown Los Angeles. But what really convulsed respectable residents of the community was what followed: a trial in which her defense attorneys presented 12 male jurors with forensic evidence and expert scientific testimony that their client should be acquitted by reason of "menstrual madness."

Endometriosis affects about 15% of women of reproductive age. Women with this condition experience chronic pelvic pain, and many experience years of frustration in a search for a diagnosis. But advancements in surgical techniques and new studies have given doctors additional methods of diagnosis and treatment. Donna, 30, went through 15 years of chronic pain and a series of doctors before her condition was diagnosed.

Premenstrual syndrome has numerous treatments even though doctors still don't know its exact cause. But the good news for women who suffer from PMS is that experts say a regular program of exercise can relieve many of its physical and emotional symptoms. Normal premenstrual symptoms, called "molimina," can include moodiness, increased appetite, bloating and breast tenderness. While PMS has similar symptoms, what sets it apart is the severity of those symptoms.

The strongest scientific evidence to date that the level of sex hormones in the bloodstreams of women can affect their thought processes, reasoning ability and muscular coordination was reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience here Wednesday.

The belief that girls who start menstruating before age 12 will be overweight later in life is unfounded, a new study reports. Because excess body fat has been found to jump-start puberty, with some larger girls starting their periods before age 12, some doctors believed the reverse could also be true -- perhaps girls who matured at an earlier age faced a higher risk of becoming overweight later.

Heavy menstrual periods are more than an inconvenience. They exact a significant economic toll. American women who suffer severe bleeding and cramping miss nearly a month of work and lose work time valued at nearly $1,700, on average, each year, researchers report in the first attempt to quantify the financial impact. Dr. David Cumming, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alberta in Canada, analyzed data from nearly 2,800 U.S.

Menstrual irregularities are not usually taken seriously by women or doctors. But such disruptions could lead to bone loss--and eventual osteoporosis, researchers have found. While many people think that bone loss occurs after menopause, when the ovaries have stopped working due to age, researchers now believe that disruption of the ovaries' function at any age has a direct effect on bones.

Women can now use several methods of hormonal birth control--not only pills but also the new vaginal ring and skin patch--without taking a break every fourth week to have a period, doctors say. Experts speaking at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, held last week in Los Angeles, said there is no harm in using the contraceptives for several months before allowing the shedding of the uterine lining.

For years, gynecologists have been quietly telling their patients who take birth control pills that they can avoid menstruating while on their honeymoon or on vacation simply by skipping the seven placebo pills and starting right in on the next packet. Now, however, some women are going far beyond this onetime, "special occasion" skipping of a period and opting to have just three or four periods a year. Still others are stopping menstruation altogether.

The girls' empowerment movement is one of the most positive public health trends in the country these days, and the multitude of health books for girls is proof. It's possible to find a good book for a girl on almost any aspect of physical or psychological health. Some of the latest offerings include two new books from Pleasant Co., which has set the standard for girls' health with its American Girl magazine and library of books.

Gal pals know that hanging out together produces some uncanny shared behaviors: voice inflections, inexplicable urges to get the same haircut, waistline-threatening binges and--perhaps strangest of all--synchronized menstrual cycles. This menstrual "coupling" was first documented 24 years ago by biopsychologist Martha McClintock, now a professor at the University of Chicago. She logged the menstrual onset of 135 dormitory residents at the beginning of Wellesley College's school year.

A study financed by Merck & Co. on the effectiveness of its new pill in helping ease the discomfort of menstrual pain might have backfired on the world's largest drug company. The study showed Merck's pain pill Vioxx worked as well in relieving menstrual pain as the most widely ordered drug--naproxen sodium--which sells for about half the price of Vioxx. A spokeswoman for Whitehouse Station, N.J.

A study financed by Merck & Co. on the effectiveness of its new pill in helping ease the discomfort of menstrual pain might have backfired on the world's largest drug company. The study showed Merck's pain pill Vioxx worked as well in relieving menstrual pain as the most widely ordered drug--naproxen sodium--which sells for about half the price of Vioxx. A spokeswoman for Whitehouse Station, N.J.

He was a rich 19th century Don Juan. She was the last woman he wronged. She killed him with a single shot through the eye, delivered in broad daylight alongside a busy road in downtown Los Angeles. But what really convulsed respectable residents of the community was what followed: a trial in which her defense attorneys presented 12 male jurors with forensic evidence and expert scientific testimony that their client should be acquitted by reason of "menstrual madness."