Sexual Health News Headlines

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers. In a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, …

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A daily dose of powerful anti-HIV medicine helped cut the risk of infection with the AIDS virus by 49 percent in intravenous drug users in a Bangkok study that showed for the first time such a preventive step can work in this high-risk population. "This is a significant step forward …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't look for the morning-after pill to move next to the condoms on drugstore shelves right away — but after a decade-plus fight, it appears it really will happen. Backed into a corner by a series of court rulings, the Obama administration has agreed to let the Plan B One-Step brand of emergency contraception …

By Emily Le Coz JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - Mississippi will require doctors to collect umbilical cord blood from babies born to some young mothers, under a new law intended to identify statutory rapists and reduce the state's rate of teenage pregnancy, the highest in the country. The measure, which takes effect on …

By Francesca Trianni NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two New York-area prosecutors said on Thursday they would no longer consider unused condoms seized from suspected prostitutes and sex traffickers as evidence, saying the public health benefit of making condoms available trumped their value in the courtroom. "We need to put public …

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use birth control pills are less likely to develop ovarian cancer later in life, a new analysis of past studies suggests. Researchers pooled data from 24 studies and found Pill users had a 27 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. And longer use …

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's health ministry on Wednesday pulled an outreach campaign urging sex workers to use condoms after coming under fire from conservative lawmakers. "I'm happy being a prostitute" was the slogan on a web campaign for International Prostitute Day that also encouraged sex workers to not be ashamed …

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling about 32 million packages of its birth control pill Cilest in Europe, Asia and Latin America, a spokeswoman said late on Tuesday, the latest in a string of recalls over the past two years. Cilest is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, a unit of Johnson & Johnson. …

Almost two-thirds of all oral cancers at related to the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

By Kerry Grens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tranquilizers known as benzodiazepines and certain older antidepressants are linked with a greater chance of having erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a new survey. "Definitely it confirms the tricyclics (antidepressants)" are tied to ED, said Dr. Richard Balon, a psychiatry …

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a victory for Planned Parenthood, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider whether the state of Indiana can prevent the nonprofit, which is the country's largest provider of abortions, from receiving federal Medicaid funding for any medical services it offers to …

Here’s a tidbit you probably didn’t know: Gonorrhea is the second-most frequently reported “notifiable” disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (That means that if you have it, your doctor or local health official needs to report it to the federal government so they can track it; gonorrhea is beaten …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The decade-old law that transformed the battle against HIV and AIDS in developing countries is at a crossroads. The dream of future generations freed from epidemic is running up against an era of economic recovery and harsh budget cuts.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Friday refused to delay enforcement of his decision giving women of all ages broad access to morning-after birth control, calling the government's appeal frivolous, a "silly argument" and an insult to the intelligence of women.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of some cancers related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) increased throughout the U.S. before vaccines against the sexually transmitted infection were available, says to a new study. Researchers found an increase in many early-stage cancers and anal and head and …

By Kerry Grens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Herbal supplements aimed at improving men's sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal remedies contained more of the ingredient …

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Drugmakers Merck and GlaxoSmithKline have cut the price of cervical cancer shots in a deal that will deliver them to poor countries for less than $5 a dose. The new record low price for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines should mean millions of girls in developing countries can be protected …

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge, asked by the government on Tuesday to freeze his plan giving teenage girls broader access to morning-after birth control, instead seized the chance to accuse health officials of taking steps that would end up hurting poor people and improve their chances of prevailing in a protracted legal …

Over 50,000 new HIV infections occur annually and of those new HIV infections, one in four occur among young people ages 13-24. One in four! As a public health professional, and as a mother of two young people in this age group, this recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made me gasp.  We …

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Close to two-thirds of women favor making contraceptive pills available over the counter, according to a new nationally-representative survey. In addition, about 30 percent of women using either no birth control or a less effective method - such as condoms - said they would …

  A California-based program that sends teenagers free condoms in the mail has expanded to San Diego and Fresno counties, which have a combined population of over 4 million. The initiative, the Condom Access Project, is meant to help lower teenage STD and pregnancy rates...        

  A California-based program that sends teenagers free condoms in the mail has expanded to San Diego and Fresno counties, which have a combined population of over 4 million. The initiative, the Condom Access Project, is meant to help lower teenage STD and pregnancy rates...        

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is appealing a judge's decision lifting all age limits on the Plan B morning-after birth control pill and a cheaper generic.