FDA Panel Urges Lifting Decades-Old Limits On Testosterone Medications
Urologists and experts on the committee say the drug labeling should be revised so that doctors may prescribe it for more uses. Testosterone replacement therapy has gained popularity on social media as a way for young men to increase muscle mass. Plus, Meta cuts some reproductive health accounts.
NBC News:
FDA Panel Calls To Loosen Restrictions On Testosterone Replacement Therapy
A Food and Drug Administration panel on Wednesday advocated for regulatory changes that would make testosterone medications more widely accessible, including removing their classification as controlled substances and changing product labels to expand eligibility. The 13-person panel — composed primarily of urologists and federal health officials — gave a resounding endorsement of testosterone replacement therapy, a treatment for men whose bodies don’t produce enough of the hormone. (Bendix, 12/10)
More reproductive health news —
The Guardian:
Meta Shuts Down Global Accounts Linked To Abortion Advice And Queer Content
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years. The takedowns and restrictions began in October and targeted the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of more than 50 organisations worldwide, some serving tens of thousands of people – in what appears to be a growing push by Meta to limit reproductive health and queer content across its platforms. (Down, 12/11)
The Guardian:
Texas And Florida Sue FDA In Latest Effort To Restrict Abortion Pill Access
Texas and Florida have launched the latest lawsuit seeking to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, following the US Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of a new generic version. In the lawsuit, filed late on Tuesday in federal court in Wichita Falls, Texas, the states’ Republican attorneys general argue that the FDA has failed to thoroughly evaluate the drug’s safety and effectiveness since its initial approval in 2000 and disregarded the risks to the women who take it. (Guardian staff and agencies. 12/10)
The New York Times:
A Surrogacy Firm Told Parents-To-Be Their Money Was Safe. Suddenly, It Vanished
Micah Nerio had known since his early 30s that he wanted to be a father, even if he did not have a partner. ... Eventually, Mr. Nerio, now 40, selected a surrogate, who is due to give birth to his baby next month. Since 2022, he has sent over $118,000 to the agency that found his surrogate — money that went into an account to cover her medical bills, monthly compensation and other costs through the end of the pregnancy. About a third of that money disappeared on Friday when the agency, Surro Connections, closed without warning. (Kliff, 12/10)
AP:
San Francisco Woman Gives Birth In Self-Driving Waymo Taxi
Self-driving Waymo taxis have gone viral for negative reasons involving the death of a beloved San Francisco bodega cat and pulling an illegal U-turn in front of police who were unable to issue a ticket to a nonexistent driver. But this week, the self-driving taxis are the bearer of happier news after a San Francisco woman gave birth in a Waymo. (Har, 12/10)
CNN:
At Least 197 Children Were Fathered By Sperm Donor With Cancer-Causing Gene. Some Have Already Died
A sperm donor with a rare genetic mutation linked to an increased risk of developing cancer fathered at least 197 children across Europe, some of whom have already died from the disease, according to a new investigation. (Guy, 12/10)
Bloomberg:
Denmark To Pay Greenlandic Victims Of Forced Birth Control
Denmark will compensate victims in a decades-long scandal in which thousands of Greenlandic girls and young women were fitted with birth control devices by Danish doctors, often without their consent or awareness. (Wass, 12/10)
Also —
NBC News:
Heart Disease Risk 81% Higher For Women With Uterine Fibroids, Study Finds
Heart disease has long been the top killer of women in the United States, but new research suggests uterine fibroids, which many may not even be aware they have, could be putting them at a significantly greater risk. A large, 10-year study found that women with leiomyomas had an 81% higher long-term risk of heart disease than those without the common condition. Women with fibroids — generally benign tumors that can form on or in the uterus — also had higher individual risks of cerebrovascular, coronary artery and peripheral artery diseases a decade after diagnosis. (Leake, 12/10)
MedPage Today:
Next-Gen SERD Cuts Breast Cancer Recurrence Risk By 30% In Trial
In a large phase III trial of adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer, the investigational oral drug giredestrant reduced the risk of invasive disease recurrence by 30% versus standard endocrine therapy. (Bassett, 12/10)
