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FERTILITY
How Many Devastating IVF Mistakes Happen Every Year?
What: NBC News looks at errors made at fertility clinics, ranging from embryos being mislabeled and destroyed to being swapped and given to the wrong patient. In the last five years they found more than 300 lawsuits have been filed against IVF clinics for mistakes. Most are due to storage failures, around a quarter are miscommunications or mistakes. One lawyer interviewed said they have represented more than 1,000 people against fertility clinics, and the vast majority are never known publicly because they settle before trial. And one bioethics expert said unlike other areas of medicine, IVF clinics aren’t required to track mistakes.
Key line: “I do think the industry at large has gotten away from human care and patient care, and it has become big business. That level of carelessness is the only way that I could wrap my mind around someone taking the potential for human life and just – and just throwing it away,” said Marisa Calhoun, a women who had 16 embryos accidently destroyed by her fertility clinic.
Source: NBC News
MENOPAUSE
Menopause as Brain Renovation
What: New Scientist has an overview on where existing science is when it comes to menopause, from the back and forth over hormone replacement therapy to how menopause is a “renovation project on the brain.”
Key line: “’We don’t like hormonal surges, we don’t like hormonal withdrawal,’ says Pauline Maki, director of the Women’s Mental Health Research Program at the University of Illinois in Chicago. ‘That variability also likely contributes to the memory problems that many women experience during perimenopause.’”
Source: New Scientist
The Best Everyday Items for Menopause
What: New York Times’ Wirecutter rounds up the best tools to treat menopause symptoms, including a fan to cool hot flashes, sheets that are the best for night sweats, resistance bands for strength training, and much more.
Key line: “Recognizing the purchasing power of older women, other companies may simply be repackaging their products at a higher cost and marketing them as menopause solutions. ‘There’s a pink tax already, but there’s a mature women’s tax as well,’ [Stephanie S. Faubion, MD, medical director for The Menopause Society] said. This guide is a collection of products we’ve tested and relied on for years. These everyday tools aren’t necessarily menopause-specific, yet may help smooth this passage in life—and beyond.”
Source: New York Times
CARDIOVASCULAR
Using Mammograms to Check Heart Health
What: A study presented at the American College of Cardiology annual conference makes the argument that with the help of AI, traditional breast mammograms could be used to also analyze breast artery calcifications – something that could then be used to flag women at high risk for cardiovascular issues.
Key line: “While breast artery calcifications can be seen on the resulting images, radiologists do not typically quantify or report this information to women or their clinicians. The new study, which used an AI image analysis technique not previously used on mammograms, demonstrates how AI can help fill this gap by automatically analyzing breast arterial calcification and translating the results into a cardiovascular risk score.”
Source: American College of Cardiology
BEAUTY + WELLNESS
Let’s ChatGPT the Beauty Industry
What: McKinsey dives into how AI will change the beauty industry, and finds it can (may?) reshape everything from the texts you get from beauty companies to how products are developed to brand packaging.
Key line: “Consider the hypothetical automated texts that might be delivered to an imaginary customer named Camille. The beauty brand knows that Camille lives in France, has a low annual spend, and recently purchased a face sunscreen. Camille has responded positively to promotions in the past. Before gen AI, an automated text to Camille might say, ‘Exciting news! New products are here. Take up to 20 percent off when you shop sale.’ After gen AI, the automated text might say, ‘Bonjour, Camille! Did you know that our special cleansing foam for face sunscreen removal is now 20 percent off? It will pair perfectly with your recent face sunscreen purchase.’”
Source: McKinsey
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