Clinicians Stress the Importance of Tests for Reproductive Health and Thyroid Disorders During 'Trends in Women's Health Workshop'
Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 09:00 CDT
ORLANDO, Fla., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Detecting, treating and monitoring the health of women during their peak reproductive years will take center stage at the "Trends in Women's Health Workshop" sponsored by Abbott at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) annual meeting in Orlando.
For some women who experience difficulty becoming pregnant, an endocrine disorder may be to blame. Common endocrine disorders necessitate testing for diagnosis and treatment monitoring related to a wide variety of hormonal conditions in women. Thyroid disorders, for example, can affect a woman's ability to become pregnant as well as the health of the mother and developing child both during and after pregnancy.
"Women with a family history of thyroid disease or other certain autoimmune disorders should have their thyroid health evaluated before planning pregnancy and again shortly after becoming pregnant," said Paul W. Ladenson, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Johns Hopkins. "Undetected thyroid disorders can present a number of problems for a mother and child, including an increased risk for premature delivery as well as the risk of impairment in the child's intellectual function."
Exhaustion, fatigue and weight gain are a rite of passage to motherhood for many pregnant women. These symptoms, while common, can be signals of thyroid disorders and are often overlooked or misdiagnosed among pregnant women. Additionally, in the weeks and months after pregnancy, symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, depression or difficulty losing weight can also indicate a thyroid disorder.
Beyond thyroid disorders, the evaluation of reproductive health in women of all ages can be equally challenging. This is especially true when assessing reproductive dysfunction in women because circulating levels of a variety of hormones reflect the dynamic regulation of ovarian function from puberty, through the reproductive years, and during the menopausal transition.
"Numerous diagnostic tests exist to help understand the complex endocrine system in women of all ages," said Patrick Sluss, Ph.D., Associate Director of Clinical Chemistry at Massachusetts General Hospital. "In the diagnosis of reproductive dysfunction, or during the treatment of infertility using assisted reproductive technologies, diagnostic testing plays an extremely vital role in assessing a woman's health."
The Trends in Women's Health Workshop at AACC will review the latest studies and findings related to reproductive health issues as well as many other chronic conditions women face in their lives today.
About Abbott
Abbott Diagnostics offers a variety of tests for the early detection of endocrine and thyroid dysfunction with additional assays in development. Spanning a variety of systems, including ARCHITECT(R) and AxSYM(R), Abbott's fertility tests include: estradiol, FSH [follicle stimulating hormone], LH [luteinizing hormone], progesterone, prolactin, testosterone and total beta- hCG [Beta human chorionic gonadotropin]. Thyroid tests include: thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies (Anti-TPO), thyroglobulin autoantibodies (Anti-Tg), free and total triiodothyronine (T3), free and total thyroxine (T4), thyroid- stimulating hormone (TSH) and T-Uptake.
Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 60,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com/ .
Abbott
CONTACT: Media, Amy Woodworth, +1-847-935-4755, or mobile,+1-847-846-6753, or Financial Community, John Thomas, +1-847-938-2655, both ofAbbott
Web site: http://www.abbott.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/121546.html
Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall
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