New studies show that oral contraceptive pill use is associated with localized decreases in cortical thickness and may make women more vulnerable to Crohn's disease with extended use and a family history of the disease.
This article originally appeared in this issue of the WSR: 2015-04-15
Neuroscientists at UCLA conducting research on the impact of the pill on the brain found that the areas of the brain that process emotions and control decision-making are smaller in women who use the pill. The study used brain scans to compare 44 combined hormonal contraceptive pill users and 46 women who did not use hormonal birth control.
“Some women experience negative emotional side effects from taking oral contraceptive pills, although the scientific findings investigating that have been mixed,” said Nicole Petersen, a neuroscientist at UCLA and the study’s lead author. She told The Huffington Post: “So it’s possible that this change in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex may be related to the emotional changes that some women experience when using birth control pills.”
The study, published in Human Brain Mapping, found that oral contraceptive use was “associated with significantly lower cortical thickness measurements in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. These regions are believed to be important for responding to rewards and evaluating internal states/incoming stimuli, respectively.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.22797/full
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Birth Control Pill May Triple Risk Of Crohn's Disease In Women With Family History Of The Condition
Another recent study indicates that the pill triples the risk of developing Crohn’s disease. By weakening the gut, artificial hormones in the pill set the stage for the development of this debilitating, incurable disease. Researchers noted that use of emergency contraception—or the morning-after pill—which has higher doses of the gut-weakening hormones, can make women even more susceptible to Crohn’s disease.
A UK Daily Mail article quotes Dr. Hamed Khalili, a gastroenterologist from Harvard, who says that since widespread use of the pill began 50 years ago, the incidence of Crohn’s disease has risen two- or three-fold.
“If you took oral contraceptives for more than five years, you have a three-fold increased risk of Crohn’s disease,” Khalili explained, as reported by Health News.
“What’s very clear is that Crohn’s is not caused by oral contraceptive use by itself,” he told The Daily Mail. “It’s a combination of oral contraceptive use among individuals with a strong genetic predisposition to Crohn’s.”
http://www.medicaldaily.com/birth-c...disease-women-family-history-condition-325850
This article originally appeared in this issue of the WSR: 2015-04-15
Neuroscientists at UCLA conducting research on the impact of the pill on the brain found that the areas of the brain that process emotions and control decision-making are smaller in women who use the pill. The study used brain scans to compare 44 combined hormonal contraceptive pill users and 46 women who did not use hormonal birth control.
“Some women experience negative emotional side effects from taking oral contraceptive pills, although the scientific findings investigating that have been mixed,” said Nicole Petersen, a neuroscientist at UCLA and the study’s lead author. She told The Huffington Post: “So it’s possible that this change in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex may be related to the emotional changes that some women experience when using birth control pills.”
The study, published in Human Brain Mapping, found that oral contraceptive use was “associated with significantly lower cortical thickness measurements in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. These regions are believed to be important for responding to rewards and evaluating internal states/incoming stimuli, respectively.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.22797/full
______________________________
Birth Control Pill May Triple Risk Of Crohn's Disease In Women With Family History Of The Condition
Another recent study indicates that the pill triples the risk of developing Crohn’s disease. By weakening the gut, artificial hormones in the pill set the stage for the development of this debilitating, incurable disease. Researchers noted that use of emergency contraception—or the morning-after pill—which has higher doses of the gut-weakening hormones, can make women even more susceptible to Crohn’s disease.
A UK Daily Mail article quotes Dr. Hamed Khalili, a gastroenterologist from Harvard, who says that since widespread use of the pill began 50 years ago, the incidence of Crohn’s disease has risen two- or three-fold.
“If you took oral contraceptives for more than five years, you have a three-fold increased risk of Crohn’s disease,” Khalili explained, as reported by Health News.
“What’s very clear is that Crohn’s is not caused by oral contraceptive use by itself,” he told The Daily Mail. “It’s a combination of oral contraceptive use among individuals with a strong genetic predisposition to Crohn’s.”
http://www.medicaldaily.com/birth-c...disease-women-family-history-condition-325850
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