Rachel’s Well is happy to announce the release of “The Menstrual Cycle and Adolescent Health.” This is a volume created in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences. Karima Hijane of Rachel’s Well was a contributing author as a POI advocate in this special edition. The volume is filled with intriguing articles written by advocates, physicians and researchers like Dr. Paula Hillard (Board Member) and Dr. Lawence M. Nelson (Federal Liaison). Many leaders in the area of the menstrual cycle and adolescent health contributed to this project.
Please click here to read more about this volume published in The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Book abstract:
“A group of basic scientists, clinicians, patient advocacy groups, and representatives from governmental agencies met at the National Institutes of Health with the long-term goal of getting the menstrual cycle accepted and understood as a marker of general health in adolescent girls and to define a related research agenda. This volume comprises the proceedings of this meeting.
Health issues linked to the menstrual cycle include the status of bone health, heart disease, and ovarian failure, as well as long-term fertility. A change in the menstrual cycle could be the first sign of a problem in general health.
Specific topics covered in the volume include the following: (1) normal processes of the adolescent menstrual cycle, including menarche, the psychology of puberty, and cultural perceptions and practices surrounding menarche; (2) disease processes and the adolescent menstrual cycle, including genetic mechanisms of amenorrhea, Turner syndrome, FMR1 premutation, galactosemia, disorders of sexual differentiation, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, chronic disease, chemotherapy, autoimmune oophoritis, premature ovarian failure, and polycystic ovary syndrome; (3) bridging normal and abnormal processes, including amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, adolescent antecedents to adult reproductive disorders, bone health, and HRT in the adolescent; (4) modern dilemmas and the adolescent menstrual cycle, including developmental delay, obesity, exercise-induced amenorrhea, eating disorders, stress-induced amenorrhea, and amenorrhea induced by medications; (5) the synthesis of the volume consisting of a contribution on the transition to adulthood.”