In Brief: Postpartum Depression Common in COVID-Positive Women Separated from Their Newborns Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended temporarily separating newborns from mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 immediately after delivery. In a retrospective cohort study of 224 new mothers delivering at a New York hospital between March 18… Read More »
A meta-analysis of 24 studies, including 99,614 women, demonstrated higher levels of depression among women with endometriosis compared to unaffected controls. When researchers restricted the analysis to healthy controls, the association between endometriosis and depression was even stronger. Pain seemed to be the primary driver of the association between endometriosis and depression; in fact, rates… Read More »
Up to 80% of women experience symptoms as they transition into the menopause, including vasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbance, and depressive symptoms. While hormone replacement therapy and certain medications may be helpful, these interventions may have side effects. In a recent study, 71 peri- or postmenopausal women who were seeking treatment for menopausal symptoms, including vasomotor… Read More »
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. Bremelanotide (to be marketed as Vyleesi) is used on-demand. Bremelanotide is a peptide which acts as a melanocortin receptor agonist. Its mechanism of action is distinct from flibanserin and is thought to have… Read More »
Pregabalin (marketed in the US as Lyrica) is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and neuropathic pain. It is also used off-label to treat psychiatric disorders, most commonly generalized anxiety disorder. While it is not used as frequently as other anti-epileptic drugs, we do occasionally see women… Read More »