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EVERYTHING
The Gates Foundation's $2.5B on Women’s Health Won’t Bridge the Gender Gap
What: Tech Funding News' Sofia Chesnokova writes that while the Gates Foundation's $2.5 billion investment in women's health is meaningful, the hefty sum won't be enough to overcome years of underfunding.
Key Line: "Venture and philanthropic cash are pouring into women’s health, yet it’s still barely 2% of healthcare startup venture spending, and government support keeps slipping. Innovation matters, but the money must go the last mile: real access, education, and stigma-busting."
Source: Tech Funding News
FDA's 'Expert' Panels: Financial Conflicts + Fringe Views
What: The Associated Press has a deep dive into the "ad hoc" FDA "expert panels" put together by the Trump administration, and how they often feature individuals with fringe views and fail to follow clear rules on scheduling, public comment, and financial disclosures. The panels have been convened on topics like talc safety, antidepressants during pregnancy, and hormone treatment during menopause.
Key Line: "Former FDA lawyers say the agency could expose itself to legal challenges if it tries to use Makary's informal panels as the basis for regulatory decisions. But that may not be the aim of the meetings. 'They seem more designed as a forum to put a stamp of approval on predetermined opinions,' said Genevieve Kanter, a health policy specialist at the University of Southern California. 'The information in these panels could be used in litigation and presented as coming from experts or representing some intellectual consensus that doesn’t exist.'”
Source: Associated Press via US News and World Report
ABORTION ACCESS
Arkansas Abortion Fund Opens Its Own 'Crisis' Pregnancy Center
What: Mother Jones reports on how a group in Arkansas decided to open a pro-choice "crisis" pregnancy center (CPC). Millions in state funds around the country have been funneled to CPCs, which typically are anti-abortion and sometimes trick women into thinking they have no option besides carrying a pregnancy to term. The YOU Center opened where a closed abortion clinic once operated before the fall of Roe vs. Wade, and they offer free ultrasounds and supplies.
Key Line: "The YOU Center has adopted the crisis pregnancy center model and created a space where pregnant people can explore a full range of their options: parenting, adoption, or abortion. Staff at the Center mail out emergency contraceptives and birth control to residents throughout the state. They keep a closet stocked with supplies like menstrual products, baby formula, and prenatal vitamins. The sonographer who worked at the Little Rock clinic for 20 years now offers free ultrasounds to date pregnancies. Musick and her four colleagues work a few times a week from the clinic’s old recovery room, where they recently installed cubicles. 'We’re trying to make sure that people in our state know that we’re the ones who give people choice,' Musick says."
Source: Mother Jones
MENOPAUSE
If Your Menopause Symptoms Stick Around, It Could Be This
What: Menopause typically brings relief from symptoms like hot flashes, but one problem, genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), causes vaginal dryness and urinary issues that can worsen with age. Symptoms like itching, painful sex, and recurrent UTIs can be mistaken for other conditions, with serious consequences if left untreated.
Key Line: "The syndrome also has profound consequences for other aspects of women’s health and quality of life, experts say. 'It's not all about sex,' says Faubion. 'This is about being uncomfortable in jeans, riding a bike, or using toilet paper to wipe after you urinate.' Streicher says that women who have GSM often have 'vulva awareness—an uncomfortable, itchy, irritated, full feeling' due to dry, inflamed tissue. In a 2019 study, women described itching so severe that they couldn’t fall asleep or a painful dry sensation that forced them to stop taking exercise classes. Some blamed GSM-related sexual problems for the break-up of their marriages."
Source: National Geographic
CARDIOVASCULAR
Covid Ages Blood Vessels, Especially in Women
What: A study of 2,390 people found that even mild Covid cases cause "stiffer" arteries, and the effect was more prominent in women than men. Researchers estimate the results could be equivalent to aging around five years, leading to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease like stroke and heart attack.
Key Line: "'One of the reasons for the difference between women and men could be differences in the function of the immune system. Women mount a more rapid and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection. However, this same response can also increase damage to blood vessels after the initial infection.' ...Professor Bruno and her colleagues will continue to follow the participants over the coming years to establish whether the accelerated vascular ageing they have found leads to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in the future."
Source: European Society of Cardiology
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