The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

ATLANTA, Aug. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing in its major efforts to transform PCOS care and empower stakeholders, PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association has organized the largest PCOS Awareness Month to date for this September with nearly 1,000 partners and over 400 lighting events in 33 countries. "Voice of Strength, Agents of Change" is the 2024 PCOS Awareness Month theme. The September events and campaign are set to galvanize patients, healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to join forces in addressing the urgent needs of the PCOS community. Continue Reading PCOS Challenge Mobilizes Global Community for 2024 Awareness Month with Over 400 Landmark Lightings and National Tour PCOS Challenge Mobilizes Global Community for 2024 Awareness Month with Over 400 Landmark Lightings and National Tour "Voice of Strength, Agents of Change" underscores the power of collective action in transforming PCOS care. This theme invites stakeholders to share personal stories, support patient-centered research, and contribute to initiatives that address the unmet needs of patients. Collaborative efforts will focus on amplifying stakeholder voices to initiate impactful changes across healthcare, including accelerating the development of new PCOS-specific treatments and empowering all stakeholders to co-create healthcare solutions with patients. "It is an honor to be able to create opportunities for all PCOS stakeholders including patients, clinicians, researchers, and government agencies to learn and engage around PCOS awareness. PCOS is the most common hormone condition and a leading cause of infertility in women. It can have severe quality-of-life impacts, and lead to lifelong complications and other serious health conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, mental and maternal health complications and cancer," says Sasha Ottey, Founder and Executive Director of PCOS Challenge. "With an economic burden exceeding $15 billion a year in the U.S. alone and 50-70% of people with the condition going undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it is crucial that we increase awareness, resources and innovations for improving PCOS outcomes. This year's theme, 'Voice of Strength, Agents of Change,' reflects our commitment to amplifying patient voices, closing gaps in care, and driving meaningful change." The 2024 PCOS Awareness Month will kick off with the Seventh Annual World PCOS Day of Unity on Sunday, September 1st. Starting on World PCOS Day, hundreds of landmarks will illuminate teal at various points throughout the month, symbolizing global solidarity and awareness for PCOS."It is truly incredible to see the growth of PCOS awareness and PCOS Awareness Month over the last decade. It's inspiring to see many global leaders recognizing the seriousness of PCOS, shining a light on this important cause, supporting their communities, and engaging with us to bring change," says Ashley Levison, @PCOSGurl, the Patient Advisory Board Member who coordinated all the lighting events for PCOS Challenge. Ashley is the recipient of the PCOS Challenge Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award.Each week of PCOS Awareness Month has a specific focus: Week 1: PCOS Support and Advocacy (Sep. 1–7) Week 2: Fertility, Family Building, and Pregnancy and Maternal Health (Sep. 8-14) Week 3: Lifestyle Management for PCOS (Sep. 15-21) Week 4: PCOS Related Disorders (Sep. 22-28) Week 5: Adolescent Health (Sep. 29-30) Throughout the month, PCOS Challenge will host multiple events bringing together patients, researchers, healthcare providers, industry leaders, and others to educate the global community about PCOS and promote the need for timely diagnosis and improved care. Key events include a workshop titled, "Advancing PCOS Research and Care: Innovations in Cardiometabolic Health and AI-Driven Diagnostics," featuring speakers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).Additionally, PCOS Challenge will launch a national PCOS Tour of PCOS centers and clinics across the country to highlight advances in PCOS care and connect patients with expert resources.PCOS Challenge thanks its partners and sponsors for their support in making this year's awareness month impactful.For more information about PCOS Awareness Month, PCOS Challenge, sponsorship opportunities, lighting events, the social media toolkit, or to schedule media interviews, please visit PCOSAwarenessMonth.org and PCOSChallenge.org. About PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association Serving nearly 60,000 members, PCOS Challenge is the largest support and advocacy organization for people with PCOS. PCOS Challenge is the sponsoring organization for World PCOS Day and PCOS Awareness Month and offers supporting resources, information, and events. Media Contact: William Patterson Director of Public Affairs PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association Telephone: 404-855-7244 SOURCE PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association

From asking endless questions about the causes of illness as a young girl to pioneering therapeutic innovations as an adult, Dr Favit-VanPelt’s journey is marked by relentless curiosity and a drive to find new ways to help patients. Her advice to young women entering science is simple yet profound: be curious, challenge the status quo, and never take no for an answer. As the chief medical officer at Helius Medical Technologies, she continues to break barriers, developing cutting-edge treatments that offer new hope to patients with neurological disorders. ​ Her advice to women entering into what she strongly feels remains a male-dominated profession is 'think for yourself, work hard and make it happen' and she points out that nobody can do it for you. We were delighted to speak to her for our regular female-focused feature. Could you give us an overview of your work? ​ I’m a neurologist focused on therapeutic innovation, helping the medical community and patients gain access to novel treatment options.  For the past 30 years, I’ve used my clinical development experience and knowledge of experimental therapeutics to advance development of new pharmacological treatments to manage and treat patients with rare neuromuscular, neurological and movement disorders. Since 2021, I’ve put that expertise to work as chief medical officer at Helius Medical Technologies, raising awareness and expanding the clinical development of a novel therapeutic option to treat neurological disorders that affect movement and coordination functions, such as multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke and, perhaps soon, other conditions.  This new technology, called PoNS® (Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator), is a pioneering approach that leverages translingual stimulation of the trigeminal pathway, sending a flow of neural impulses to the brain structures that control balance and gait.  Regular and consistent neurostimulation, combined with physical therapy, promotes mechanisms of neuromodulation and neuroplasticity that upregulate directly specific areas in the brain, to replace or repair impaired corticospinal tract pathways that affect one’s ability to walk well, regardless of the underlying medical condition. googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('text-ad1'); }); When did you realize you were interested in science - as a young child, teen, or older? ​ Ever since I can remember, to be honest.  I was curious about sickness as a child – but more interested in the 'why' than the 'what'. One of my favorite questions was 'why did you get sick?' I never really asked what ​ they had; my focus was on how someone ended up with a fever, stomachache or disease.  As I grew older and realized medicine and science were my passions, I understood that if I really wanted to have a meaningful impact on treating patients, I needed to figure out why they developed their symptoms; why one patient ended up with a different clinical presentation than another with the same disease, or why a therapy would work on one patient and not another.  Through medical school, I realized that medical research is the science of the “why” rather than the “what or how” and started to gravitate toward the more challenging and unexplored areas of medical research.  I developed an attitude of “finding a new way,” whether it related to diagnosing a disease, finding the right treatment or even managing how patients deal with their condition.  Even the work I do today at Helius is a testament to my interest in and predisposition toward “finding a new way” to treat patients with functional disabilities like walking impairment due to neurological deficits. Could you describe your personal journey bringing us to where you are now? ​ I grew up and completed my education through medical school in Italy.  I always knew I’d be a physician, but in Europe students interested in medicine typically focus on science and math.  I didn’t; I chose a humanistic course of study because I was - and remain - staunchly convinced that to treat a disease one must first understand the human soul, spirit and mind.  Empathy is critical.  It turned out to be a good decision. My career path has been shaped by a long-standing passion: I’ve always looked for opportunities to be at the forefront of research and innovation that could better the standard of care and offer more-impactful therapeutic options to patients.  A scholarship brought me to the United States for an internship in Clinical Neuroendocrinology at the National Institutes of Health.  I later worked as a research fellow in neuroendocrinology at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and then at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, working on groundbreaking research in neurodegeneration.  Eventually I moved into the pharma industry, developing neuroimaging diagnostics for Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Along the way I shared three patents for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment and co-founded and led two companies: Synaerion Therapeutics and Thera Neuropharma, a career pinnacle fueled by the objective of developing a breakthrough therapeutic approach for ALS. What challenges did you face - as a woman or otherwise - along the way and what is the most valuable lesson you have learned? ​ As a young woman in Italy in the 1980s – especially an intellectually curious and independent one – I often was viewed as a threat to the status quo.  My instincts, intuition, search for 'the meaning' and deductive thinking skills brought me beyond mere learning, but often upset peers and, even, teachers. At first, it was difficult not to get bogged down with what people thought or said about me.  But to move forward, I knew that I couldn’t rely on dispensed truths or, worse, take “no” for an answer.  The only truth that mattered was the one supported by facts and evidence – but even facts and evidence could, and should, be challenged to 'find a new way'.  I recognized I had to work hard and rely on myself to make things happen for me, but I also was blessed with extraordinary mentors who saw my potential.  They encouraged me to never stop thinking outside the box in my research, and to use my uncommon intuition to develop a bond with my patients. Throughout my journey as a physician, I realized that helping patients is not just about managing their disease.  My patients are often affected by an untreatable neurodegenerative progressive disorder.  To help them, I first need to understand their journey and disposition – how they perceive the disease and react to the challenges posed by it.  The human factor is almost always the best predictor of success of the therapeutic management plan I set for them. What ignites your passion in your current role? ​ Exploration through thinking outside the box to find solutions and alternatives that aren’t intuitive.  Finding breakthrough approaches through disruptive technologies. My calling always has been to foster innovation.  I’m drawn to opportunities that allow me to develop and bring new therapeutic options to a field with dire unmet medical needs.  This is the principle that guided my choices throughout my career path, including my current role.  PoNS Therapy is a different, new, one-of-a-kind way of thinking about neuromodulation to unmask its potential for deploying the brain’s full power to compensate and adapt.  It’s not often that a researcher gets to work on a technology that has the potential to make a therapeutic impact across the spectrum of multiple neurological disorders – and has been granted two breakthrough designations (in MS and stroke) by the FDA! What is your current work ethos/style? ​ A commitment to lifelong learning is a conditio sine qua non ​ for researchers, physicians and scientists.  You must be curious if you ever hope to think outside the box.  I’m no longer in school, but I’ve never stopped learning: in fact, I spend most of my free time studying, reading publications, seeking opinions from others. Nevertheless, my approach to gathering and processing information always has been highly critical and inquisitive.  I need evidence to make up my mind about information that others provide.  As a scientist, I believe that sharing opinions is great fuel to spearhead research and innovation, but meaningful information is something else altogether.  When it comes to patients it’s our duty as healthcare providers to acquire validated knowledge and well-documented information. Could you share some advice for young women starting to develop an interest in science or wanting to pursue a career like yours? ​ Anyone who’s read this far will recognize key themes: be curious, have an inquisitive mindset, embrace evidence and facts.  Always challenge the status quo and, most importantly, don’t take “no” for an answer.  Always think for yourself and, if you’re confident in your abilities, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, women today must work harder than men; this is still a harsh reality in our field. Too often women seek support, leniency and some form of gratification and – it’s still a painful truth – rely on their femininity to move ahead.  My advice is to be confident, self-sufficient and focus on yourselves, your skills and your ambition. Success is a hard-won endeavor.  My first mentor, the late Professor Umberto Scapagnini, a world-renowned pioneer in the field of neuropharmacology, once told me: 'If you work more than 16 hours a day you may ​ be successful. Work more than 18 hours a day, then success is a sure thing.' Therefore, think for yourself, work hard and make it happen. No one is going to do it for you.

Research creates a framework to better balance the nutritional benefit of fish consumption with the risk of mercury exposure to the developing brain. Fish consumption during pregnancy is a complex scientific topic. On one hand, fish are rich in nutrients essential to brain development, including polyunsaturated fatty acids, selenium, iodine, and vitamin D. On the other, fish contain methyl mercury, a known neurotoxicant. This has led the US Food and Drug Administration to recommend that expectant mothers limit consumption, which inadvertently causes many women to forgo fish consumption during pregnancy altogether. Fish consumption is an important route of methyl mercury exposure, however, efforts to understand the health risk posed by mercury are further complicated by the fact that the nutritional benefits from fish may modify or reduce the toxicity posed by mercury. A new study appearing in the American Journal of Epidemiology based on data from a cohort of residents of a coastal community in Massachusetts creates a new framework that could untangle these questions, reduce confusion, and produce clearer guidance on fish consumption for pregnant mothers. "We propose an alternative modelling approach to address limitations of previous models and to contribute thereby to improved evidence-based advice on the risks and benefits of fish consumption," said the authors, who include Sally Thurston, PhD, with the University of Rochester Medical Center, Susan Korrick, MD, MPH, with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and David Ruppert, PhD, with Cornell University. "In fish-eating populations, this can be addressed by separating mercury exposure into fish intake and average mercury content of the consumed fish." The new research comes from an analysis of data from the New Bedford Cohort, which was created to assess the health of children born to mothers residing near the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site in Massachusetts. The current study included 361 children from the cohort who were born between 1993 and 1998 and underwent neurodevelopment assessments, including tests for IQ, language, memory, and attention, at age eight years. The researchers were able to measure mercury exposure during the third trimester of pregnancy through hair sample collected from the mothers after birth. While hair samples have been the traditional method to study maternal mercury exposure, this approach alone cannot distinguish between mothers who frequently consumed low-mercury fish compared to those who consumed a smaller quantity of high-mercury fish. To overcome this limitation, the researchers instead created a model that includes estimates of mercury exposure per serving of fish. This was possible because mothers in the cohort also completed a food questionnaire and reported the type and frequency of fish and shellfish consumed during pregnancy. The authors estimated the average mercury levels by type of fish, and when combined with the information about the mother's diet, they were able to create a more precise and detailed method to estimate the joint associations of pregnancy fish intake and fish mercury levels on neurodevelopment. Using this model, the researchers found that the relation between pregnancy fish consumption and subsequent neurodevelopment varied depending on the estimated average mercury levels in the fish. Specifically, consuming low mercury-containing fish was beneficial, while consuming fish with higher levels of mercury was detrimental. "Given methodologic limitations to previous analyses, future work expanding our alternative modelling approach to account for both the average mercury and nutritional content of fish could facilitate better estimation of the risk-benefit tradeoffs of fish consumption, a key component of many healthy diets," said the authors. The authors are in the process of applying this model to other large studies of maternal fish consumption, including the Seychelles Child Development Study, which Thurston serves on as an investigator. The American Journal of Epidemiology study was supported with funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.