Parenting Stress Affects New Mothers' Postpartum Lifestyle

Post-pregnancy excess weight is likely caused by the impact of new parenthood stress on physical activity, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers say.



In a study of 60 first-time mothers, researchers linked higher post-pregnancy body mass index - weight in relation to height - to a combination of a high BMI before pregnancy, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, parenting stress and a sedentary lifestyle, according to a study published in Women & Health.



The study gauged parental stress by asking participants to rate statements such as "I feel like I have less time to myself" and "I enjoy being a parent." They were also asked to recall their physical activity over the previous 24 hours, categorizing that activity from light to vigorous.



"Sedentary lifestyle, or a low amount of physical activity, was most influenced by the type of parenting stress the mothers reported," says Dr. Deborah Young-Hyman, behavioral psychologist with the Georgia Prevention Institute. "More parenting stress, especially depression, was associated with less physical activity and a higher postpartum BMI."



Interestingly, social interaction, generally considered a measure of well-being, correlated with a higher body mass index, she noted.



"We think women are socializing with their friends, not isolating themselves, but they are doing sedentary things like talking on the phone, watching television or hanging out at home, instead of taking their babies on a walk together."



New moms with a higher BMI did report more depressive symptoms, but overall felt competent as parents. Those with lower BMIs reported more physical activity and less depressive symptoms.



"We know that physical activity improves your mood and helps you lose weight, but no one has ever asked how physical activity is related to parenting stress in first-time moms," Young-Hyman said.



Lack of stress may modulate weight after childbirth because relaxed moods are associated with lower caloric intake and higher activity, she said, noting that caloric intake is the number-one driver of weight gain.



"The bottom line is that parenting stress does impact the postpartum lifestyles of new moms," she said.



Based on a current study tracking how first-time mothers adjust to parenthood, researchers will develop an intervention to help new moms create healthy lifestyles for both themselves and their babies - preventing overweight mothers and children.



Source:

Georgia Health Sciences University

Women, Space Travel and Infection: Female Immune Response on Extended Missions

A bed-rest study with female participants will help scientists understand changes to the immune response and decreased
resistance to infection in space.


Investigators with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) are researching the immune system as part of the
Women's International Space Simulation for Exploration (WISE), a collaborative venture that includes NASA, the European Space
Agency, the Centre National D'?tudes Spatiales (French Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. The study is being
carried out by the French Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology (MEDES) in Toulouse, France.


"It is clear from existing data that space flight conditions alter immune responses," said Dr. Gerald Sonnenfeld, a
researcher on the NSBRI's Immunology, Infection and Hematology Team. "Space has such limited access; to research the immune
response, we use a bed-rest model because it provides conditions similar to space conditions - fluid shift to the head and a
lack of weight-bearing on the lower limbs."


Changes in immunity could have serious effects on an astronaut's ability to resist infection and the development of tumors.
Possible causes for a compromised immune system include exposure to radiation and the effects of microgravity. With current
expeditions to the International Space Station for extended periods and future exploration missions to the moon and Mars,
astronauts will be exposed to chronic radiation that could result in serious health problems.


To help unravel the infection-resistance issue, Sonnenfeld is researching the overall impact of the body's immune response
under space-like conditions. Through tests taken before, during and after bed rest, he will gauge whether participants' white
blood cells divide normally and whether messengers of the immune system, called cytokines, are produced. Sonnenfeld also will
study the frequency by which latent viruses are reactivated and whether participants mount an immune response to a harmless
vaccine, phiX174, that is introduced during the study.


"In the past, most bed-rest studies for immunity have been carried out on men. It is significant to be part of the
international WISE study because scientists and the space community want valid conclusions about effects on women," said
Sonnenfeld, who is also vice president for research at Binghamton University, State University of New York.


The study involves 24 healthy, non-smoking female volunteers between the ages of 25 and 40. Candidates in the first phase
came from the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Poland. Recruitment for another 12
volunteers, who are needed for the second campaign, is currently ongoing (medes.fr). Each subject is assigned to one of three groups, which include bed rest, bed rest
with a series of exercises targeting the lower body, and bed rest with a nutritional supplement. Participants lie with their
heads tilted six degrees below horizontal so that their feet are slightly higher than their heads.


During the study, researchers begin by collecting physiological data to serve as a baseline. Blood samples, urine samples and
saliva swabs are taken at specified intervals during the 60 days of bed rest. After the bed-rest period, similar tests are
taken for comparison. Participants will return to measure how their bodies recovered for up to three years.


"The data garnered by this study is not only historic, it will be valuable in international efforts to plan long-duration
missions," Sonnenfeld said. "It could help determine how exercise and nutritional countermeasures for other space
flight-induced problems including bone and muscle loss influence the immune system, making researchers better able to
coordinate solutions to the challenges of human space flight."


Sonnenfeld's team also is composed of Dr. Janet Butel of Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. William Shearer of Texas Children's
Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. David Niesel of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and Drs.
Michel Abbal and Antoine Blancher of the Universit? Paul Sabatier in Toulouse.


NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration space flight. The
Institute's research and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions across the United States.


National Space Biomedical Research Institute

One Baylor Plaza, NA-425

Houston, TX 77030-3498

United States

nsbri

Intimacy And Sexuality After Cancer: Questions Answered And Concerns Addressed

Today The Women's Sexual Health Foundation (TWSHF) released an issue of the Women's Sexual Health Foundation Journal devoted entirely to women's sexuality and cancer, a topic the Foundation frequently addresses with healthcare professionals, cancer patients and survivors. This journal, entitled Women's Sexuality and Cancer, is available as a free download on the Foundation's website, TWSHF.


Intimacy and sexuality are important quality of life elements that can be negatively impacted by cancer and its treatment. Women with cancer, regardless of age, race, gender or socioeconomic background, have questions and often don't know where to turn for the answers. The Women's Sexual Health Journal Intimacy and Sexuality after Cancer is authored by two experts in this field - Sage Bolte, an Oncology Counselor at Life with Cancer® in Fairfax, Virginia and Peggy Lipford McKeal, PhD. LMHC. The introduction is The Women's Sexual Health Foundation founder and Executive Director, Lisa Martinez, RN, JD, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, four years after she established the Foundation.


"The articles authored by these two psychotherapists who work with women with cancer give us a close up view of the sexual issues with which women with breast and other women's cancers commonly struggle," comments Stephanie Buehler, MPW, PsyD, CST, and Editor of The Women's Sexual Health Journal. "It is my hope that they will inspire women, their partners, and practitioners to talk openly about sexual experiences and sexual challenges without fear of embarrassment."


In Sage Bolte's journal article, Cancer and Sexuality, she reports that 21%-39% of the more than 2.1 million women in the United States who are breast cancer survivors will be impacted by sexual dysfunction. The percentage may even be higher for those on hormone treatments and even higher for women diagnosed with gynecological cancers. "The impact of cancer and its treatments on a woman's sexuality are significant. Side effects like pain and fatigue often impact a woman's sexual function, sexual identity and feelings of attractiveness."


The Women's Sexual Health Foundation understands that there is a great need to bring educational information, from both the physical and psychological perspective, to women who traditionally have received little information in this area. And in turn this same information needs to get into the hands of healthcare providers. The Journal is designed to support women and the professionals who treat them.


"It is typical for these health practitioners to discuss everything but sexual health," writes Dr. McKeal in her article Intimacy and Sexuality after Cancer. "They normally leave it to the woman to ask. The medical community, focusing on illness and improved health does not treat pleasure or its deficit."















Dr. McKeal's article also reports insights and advice shared by women in Gynecological Cancers Support groups. "Women who were interviewed agreed that prior to treatments education about the likely side effects to sexuality should be a priority in every office associated with oncology treatments." McKeal sites the benefits of sexuality topics being discussed in a support group setting where women have the opportunity to share solutions.


"Life does change after cancer, but that does not mean women cannot reclaim many aspects of the quality of the life they had before cancer," states Lisa Martinez RN, JD. "You are not alone if you have had intimacy difficulties since your cancer diagnosis and treatment. So if you have a concern, you should raise it with your healthcare team." Martinez also states that if your doctor cannot help you, then ask for a referral to someone who can. More and more healthcare professionals are developing the expertise to help women with sexual function and intimacy difficulties. A list of websites and other resources concerning sexuality and cancer for both healthcare professionals and male and female patients is made available in the journal.


A free downloadable version of The Women's Sexual Health Journal on Women's Sexuality and Cancer is available on the Foundation's website, TWSHF.



About The Women's Sexual Health Journal


The Women's Sexual Health Journal is an on-line quarterly journal available through The Women's Sexual Health Foundation. It contains personal stories about women and their sexual health difficulties, and articles on sexual medicine, health, and research topics that receive little attention in medical schools and healthcare providers' training. For more information about the journal go to TWSHF.


About The Women's Sexual Health Foundation


TWSHF is an international non-profit organization whose primary mission is to educate the public and healthcare professionals on women's sexual health. The Foundation has numerous resources for the public and healthcare professionals at www.TWSHF, including educational brochures in English, German and Spanish and The Women's Sexual Health Journal.

The Women's Sexual Health Foundation

Interaction Of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs And Hormone Replacement Therapy

Any cardio protective effect of hormone replacement therapy may be inhibited if women are taking a particular type of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
pain killer, report researchers led by Garret FitzGerald from University of Pennsylvania in a paper published this week in PLoS Medicine.. The
researchers examined the medical records of 1,673 women aged between 50 and 84 years from the UK's General Practice Research Database who had heart
attacks or who died from coronary heart disease and compared them with 7,005 control women. Current use of hormone replacement therapy was associated
with a significantly lower risk of heart attack than non-use; with an odds ratio of 0.78. However, in women who used traditional nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, which variably inhibit both cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2, at the same time as hormone
replacement therapy, the chance of heart attack among this group of women, as compared to nonusers of these NSAIDs and hormone replacement therapy,
was 1.5, which was not significantly different.



There is conflicting evidence from previous work about whether hormone replacement therapy protects against heart disease in women. In addition, any
beneficial effect of hormone replacement therapy on the heart might be counteracted by NSAIDs which inhibit COX-2. Inhibition of COX-2 prevents
production of prostacyclin, which has a role in preventing blood clotting. As estrogen acts to increase production of prostacyclin; it is possible
that the effect of hormone replacement therapy on the heart is counteracted by these NSAIDs.



The authors conclude that "these observations, based on small numbers, are provocative rather than conclusive and are not intended to guide clinical
practice, but rather to prompt additional research." Ultimately determination of the clinical implications of these findings will need to be
addressed in future trials.



Garcia Rodr?±guez LA, Egan K, FitzGerald GA (2007)

Traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and postmenopausal hormone therapy: A drug - drug interaction?

PLoS Med 4(5): e157. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040157

Link here.



About PLoS Medicine


Medicine is an open access, freely available international medical journal. It publishes original research that enhances our understanding of
human health and disease, together with commentary and analysis of important global health issues.


www.plosmedicine



About the Public Library of Science



The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical
literature a freely available public resource.

www.plos

The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists Supports Women's Access To Universal Health Care

During Cover the Uninsured Week, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reiterates its position that all women should be guaranteed a package of essential benefits that includes primary and preventive care, pregnancy-related and infant care, medically and surgically necessary services, prescription drugs, and catastrophic care. The essential principles for achieving universal care that meets women's lifetime health needs are defined in its Health Care for Women, Health Care for All: A Reform Agenda.


Health insurance is a basic necessity for women, but too many women remain uninsured. Currently, 18 percent of women in the US have no health insurance, a number that is poised to rise if the status quo does not change. As the economy continues to struggle and rising health insurance costs cause more employers to reduce or drop coverage, more women will face the hard decision to either pay for increasingly expensive premiums from already strained household budgets or drop insurance coverage altogether.


Living without insurance can lead to negative health outcomes for women of all ages. Uninsured women are less likely to receive critical preventive health care and screening tests, such as clinical breast exams and Pap tests, than women who have insurance. They are also more likely to receive diagnoses at more advanced disease stages and tend to receive less medical intervention once diagnosed.


Being uninsured also affects the next generation. Thirteen percent of pregnant women are uninsured and, generally, women between the ages of 19-44 are more likely to be living without insurance. Reproductive-age women without health insurance stand to miss out on preconception and prenatal care that can help ensure the best outcomes possible for both mother and baby. And while programs are available to provide insurance to children, nearly 20 percent remain uninsured.


Though coverage may be hard to find, uninsured women should not forgo screening exams, prescribed medications, and ongoing care for preexisting medical conditions. The College encourages women to tap resources that provide health care to the uninsured, such as those listed below:


- The Planned Parenthood Federation of America offers affordable and comprehensive women's health care including contraceptive services, STD screenings, breast exams, and routine physicals (see here).


- The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (see here) provides free mammograms and Pap tests to uninsured, underinsured, and low-income women who qualify.


- Many pharmaceutical companies offer assistance to patients who can't afford their medication. Women can check with individual drug manufacturers for more details.


- The Bureau of Primary Health Care website allows searches for free or low-cost health care clinics by state and city.


- The Insure Kids Now! website offers links to programs that provide low- or no-cost health insurance coverage for children and pregnant women by state.


- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides state resources for finding insurance (see here).


- The American Academy of Dermatology has a database of dermatologists by state who offer free skin cancer screenings (see here).


- Find free or low-cost eye exams through the American Academy of Ophthalmology hotline service (800-222-EYES).


- Community health fairs often offer free screenings, such as blood pressure and cholesterol tests.


- State and city health departments may have information on locations offering free flu shots.


For more information, visit covertheuninsured.


Source

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Blogs Comment On Health Reform, Appropriations Bill, Military Abortion Ban

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Shocker: Nelson Rejects Abortion Compromise," Amy Sullivan, Time's "Swampland": Sullivan says that in her efforts to blog about a potential abortion compromise in the Senate, she "couldn't get past one basic fact: there was no possible abortion compromise that could ever win Ben Nelson's vote." She adds, "We could pretend otherwise, but it just wasn't so." A "red flag should have been the fact that Nelson sent [Sen. Robert] Casey's (D-Pa.) proposed language to antiabortion groups in Nebraska for their review," Sullivan writes. Although there is "nothing wrong with running legislative language by people who closely cover the issue," it does "indicate that what's at stake here is not Nelson's personal comfort with the separation of government funds from abortion procedures so much as the comfort of interest groups with his pro-life credentials," she continues. "So now we're back where we started," and "it remains completely unclear" what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would need to do to gain a Republican vote to offset Nelson's, Sullivan says (Sullivan, "Swampland," Time, 12/17).

~ "The Welcome End of Abstinence-Only Sex Education," Bonnie Erbe, U.S. News & World Report's "Thomas Jefferson Street": "[N]ormalcy is about to return" on the issue of sex education, as the fiscal year 2010 omnibus appropriations bill (HR 3288) " just approved by Congress eliminates funding for abstinence-only education," Erbe writes. "Back to the future we go," she continues, noting that "[t]here was a time in America when there was no such thing as abstinence-only education." According to Erbe, "Biologically accurate sex education has always taught teens that the only completely reliable way" to avoid sexually transmitted infections is "to abstain from sex." She writes, "But can you imagine what would happen if liberals tried to press a version of sex education that only encouraged teens to have sex, without teaching them how to avoid [STIs] and pregnancy?" Erbe says, "That would be the polar opposite of 'abstinence-only' education. And yet the public would be in an uproar" (Erbe, "Thomas Jefferson Street," U.S. News & World Report, 12/16).

~ "Choice in the Military: Crocodiles or Piranhas," Kate Harding, Salon's "Broadsheet": Prohibiting women in the military from receiving abortion services "does not stop women from seeking to end unwanted pregnancies; it drives them to risk their own lives and health to do so," Harding writes, noting that attempts at self-abortion have "continued ... thanks to restrictions on when and where abortions can be performed and who pays for them." Harding discusses Kathryn Joyce's recent article in Religion Dispatches examining the effects of the ban on abortion services at military hospitals, which Joyce says creates "just one more category of women ... who fall into the canyons created by sweeping bans on federal funding for abortion." Antiabortion-rights provisions in health care reform legislation "threaten to add middle-class women to the list -- meaning we'd essentially be right back in 1972, with safe abortion services available only to wealthy women who can afford to skirt the restrictions," Harding writes. While the military ban "may seem like a low-priority issue to pro-choice activists who aren't among the 200,000 female service members ... directly affected by it," it is a "sobering example of how cutting off access to abortion services endangers people's health and lives," she says (Harding, "Broadsheet," Salon, 12/15).














~ "While Lieberman Screws Over Public Options, Nelson Still in Control of Abortion Coverage for Millions of Women," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) "is back in the saddle" after the Senate rejected his amendment prohibiting federally subsidized insurance plans from covering abortion services, a proposal similar to an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) that the House approved in November, Jacobson writes. Nelson is "apparently negotiating abortion language behind closed doors" with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Jacobson says, adding that Nelson recently said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he "still [has] the unique issue of abortion" and that he cannot support the Senate's bill if the current language is not changed. Jacobson writes, "Actually, no. It is women that have the 'unique' issue of pregnancy, childbirth and the unique choices that come with their biological capacity for reproduction." She adds that the "only 'unique' thing about Nelson (and Stupak) is that it is uniquely disturbing that a bunch of white male senators and congressman who will never be at risk of pregnancy are struggling so hard to impose their religious and ideological views on the entire population of women" (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 12/16).

~ "Could Ben Nelson Kill Health Care Reform?" Max Fisher, Atlantic Monthly's "The Atlantic Wire": On Tuesday, Nelson told reporters "that he may not support health care reform as it stands now" because he is not satisfied with the provisions regarding abortion coverage under federally subsidized insurance plans, Fisher writes. He asks, "With one vote the difference between passing and failing, ... could the loss of Nelson [be] reform's death knell?" Fisher examines five recent blog postings regarding the issue, including the role of Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-Maine) vote and rumors that the closure of an Air Force base in Nebraska is being used as a bargaining chip with Nelson (Fisher, "The Atlantic Wire," Atlantic Monthly, 12/16).

~ "Catholic Bishops Hold the Line on Abortion Language," Jordan Fabian, The Hill's "Blog Briefing Room": The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Tuesday "reiterated its support for the addition of more stringent abortion language into the Senate's health care bill," after sending a letter to senators over the weekend "asking them once again to insert abortion language similar" to Nelson's rejected amendment, Fabian writes. The letter, signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, said, "Health care reform is too urgently needed to be placed at risk by one lobbying group's insistence on changing the law." It also said, "Before the Senate considers final votes on its health care reform legislation, please incorporate into this bill the longstanding and widely supported policies of current law" (Fabian, "Blog Briefing Room," The Hill, 12/15).

~ "How Health Care Reform Means More Access to Abortion, Not Less," Daniel Hemel, Double X: "No one seems to have much noticed, but the health care bills winding their way through Congress will do more to expand abortion access in low-income communities than any single step since the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade," Hemel, a Yale Law School student, writes. Hemel explains how under the Senate (HR 3590) and House (HR 3962) health reform bills, Medicaid coverage will be expanded to more people. Although the Medicaid expansion itself "won't increase abortion access" because of the Hyde Amendment's ban on states' use of federal Medicaid money for abortion services, the fact that Medicaid is a "joint federal-state program" means increased access, he argues. "[I]n 13 states, courts have ordered state governments to use their own money to fund abortions for women who receive Medicaid -- of whom there will be millions more post-health care reform," Hemel says, adding that the Hyde Amendment "doesn't stop the states from paying for abortion on their own." According to Hemel, "30% of Americans live in states under court order to cover abortion costs for Medicaid recipients" (Hemel, Double X, 12/15).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

European Commission Approves GARDASIL(R), Merck's Cervical Cancer Vaccine

GARDASIL(R) [Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Recombinant Vaccine], the cervical cancer vaccine from Merck & Co., Inc., has been granted a license by the European Commission. GARDASIL has been approved as the first and only vaccine in the European Union (EU) for use in children and adolescents aged 9 to 15 years and in adult females aged 16 to 26 years for the prevention of cervical cancer, high-grade cervical dysplasias/precancers [cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2/3)], high-grade/precancerous vulvar dysplastic lesions (VIN 2/3) and external genital warts (condyloma acuminata) caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. This license applies to the 25 countries that are members of the EU, including the five largest which are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.


GARDASIL will be marketed by Sanofi Pasteur MSD (SPMSD), a joint venture between Sanofi Pasteur and Merck & Co., Inc, in 19 European countries including 15 in the EU. In the remaining Central and Eastern European countries, GARDASIL will be marketed by Merck Sharp & Dohme as either GARDASIL or SILGARD(R).


Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer (after breast cancer) among young women (15 to 44 years) in Europe. Approximately 33,500 women are diagnosed with, and 15,000 women die from cervical cancer each year (40 each day) in Europe.


Worldwide Availability of GARDASIL


On June 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved GARDASIL to prevent cervical cancer and vaginal and vulvar pre-cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18 and to prevent low-grade and pre-cancerous lesions and genital warts caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. GARDASIL is approved in the United States for 9- to 26-year-old girls and women. GARDASIL is also approved for use in several countries throughout the world including Mexico, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil and two countries in Africa. Additional applications for GARDASIL are currently under review with regulatory agencies in more than 50 countries around the world. Additionally, Merck is actively working to accelerate the availability of GARDASIL in the developing world: in December, Merck announced a partnership with India's Council of Medical Research to study GARDASIL. Merck is also working with PATH and the Gates Foundation to develop HPV vaccination programs that will facilitate the introduction of GARDASIL to the most impoverished nations. Merck will make our new vaccines, including GARDASIL, available at dramatically lower prices to developing world countries.















Selected important information about GARDASIL


GARDASIL is contraindicated in individuals who are hypersensitive to the active substances or to any of the excipients of the vaccine. As with any vaccine, vaccination with GARDASIL may not result in protection in all vaccine recipients. GARDASIL is not intended to be used for treatment of active genital warts; cervical cancer; CIN, VIN, or VaIN. GARDASIL has not been shown to protect against disease due to non-vaccine HPV types. The health-care provider should inform the patient, parent or guardian that vaccination does not substitute for routine cervical cancer screening. Women who receive GARDASIL should continue to undergo cervical cancer screening per standard of care.


Vaccine-related adverse experiences that were observed in clinical trials at a frequency of at least 1.0 percent among recipients of GARDASIL and also greater than those observed among recipients of placebo, respectively, were pain (83.9 percent vs. 75.4 percent), swelling (25.4 percent vs. 15.8 percent), erythema (24.6 percent vs. 18.4 percent), fever (10.3 percent vs. 8.6 percent), nausea (4.2 percent vs. 4.1 percent), pruritis (3.1 percent vs. 2.8 percent) and dizziness (2.8 percent vs. 2.6 percent).


Other Information about GARDASIL


In 1995, Merck entered into a license agreement and collaboration with CSL Limited relating to technology used in GARDASIL. GARDASIL also is the subject of other third-party licensing agreements.


About Merck


Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck currently discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, visit merck.


Forward-Looking Statement


This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Merck's business, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements in Item 1 of Merck's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, and in its periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, which the Company incorporates by reference.




GARDASIL(R) and SILGARD(R) are registered trademarks of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, N.J., U.S.A.


About Merck

merck


View drug information on Gardasil.