Hormonal contraception and STI acquisition explored.
Do hormonal contraceptive methods increase women's risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) other than HIV? This question is of critical concern, given that more than 100 million women worldwide use these methods. (1) Decreasing STI incidence by identifying and addressing any factors contributing to it is a major...

HPV infection to HPV vaccine: a preventive medicine breakthrough or political polemic.
Our understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its consequences has increased greatly over the past few decades. Screening technologies such as liquid-based cytology and HPV DNA testing are available to help clinicians distinguish between transient infection, which is benign, and persistent infection with high-risk HPV types, which may...

Some vulvovaginal ills nearly unique to children.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Girls may present with vulvovaginal skin problems that are seldom or never seen in women, Dr. Libby Edwards said at a meeting sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation. Vulvovaginal aphthae, pseudowarts, and infantile labial agglutination are nearly unique to children, she said. ...

Expert warns of ominous signs in fight against AIDS.
LOS ANGELES -- The number of Americans diagnosed with AIDS is now approaching the 1 million mark, with more than a half-million deaths since the epidemic began and 17,000 more people dying of the disease each year, Dr. Harold Jaffe said during a plenary session at the 14th Conference...

Elusive solution; HPV vaccine remains difficult to find.
Byline: Elizabeth Cooney A vaccine to prevent cancer sounds like a sure thing. The Food and Drug Administration approved it for sale in June. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended it shortly after. Insurance companies cover it. State public...

Better strategies need funds in fight against AIDS.
Los Angeles -- The number of Americans diagnosed with AIDS is now approaching the 1 million mark, with more than a half-million deaths since the epidemic began and 17,000 more people dying of the disease each year, Dr. Harold Jaffe said at the 14th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic...

Genetic and environmental effects on sexual excitation and sexual inhibition in men.
Much research has been conducted in order to raise our understanding concerning sexuality and sexual desire. Distinctions between concepts related to sexuality have, however, been difficult to make. As Heiman (2001) noted, we still have only vague notions of what individuals mean when they say they are experiencing sexual...

Alcohol use and protective sexual behaviors among high-risk adolescents *.
EMPIRICAL DATA REGARDING ALCOHOL and sexual risk behavior suggest that the association of alcohol use and risky sex is strongest amongst adolescents (Cooper, 1992; Leigh and Morrison, 1991; Testa and Collins, 1997; Wilsnack et al., 1997), putting them at risk for a host of negative outcomes. Adolescents and young...

Health advocates working to bring HPV vaccine to developing world: addressing the global toll of cancer.
Last year's announcement that a new vaccine could help protect against cervical cancer tipped off a whirlwind of ethical debate in the United States. But in developing nations, where cervical cancer is most deadly, questions were more direct: How long will it be before the vaccine is available to...

Alcohol's effects on sexual decision making: an integration of alcohol myopia and individual differences *.
BOTH SURVEY AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH indicate that alcohol consumption is often linked to riskier sexual behaviors, including sex with multiple partners, sex with casual partners, unprotected sexual intercourse, and intentions to engage in unprotected sexual intercourse (see Cooper, 2002, for a review). The present research examines the influence of...