_ MenopauseMany Menopausal Women Go to Anti-Aging Docs By Sondra Forsyth articleFeeling that conventional doctors did not take their suffering seriously, women instead sought out hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms from anti-aging clinicians, according to a sudy done at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
_ Women's Health and WellnessToward Tx for Interstitial Cystitis By Sondra Forsyth articleA search for biomarkers is aimed at improving treatment of the painful bladder condition called interstitial cystitis (IC). Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem North Carolina are taking advantage of technology that can analyze tissue samples and measure the activity of thousands of genes at once.
_ Women's Health and WellnessWhat's Your Bladder Telling You About Your Health? By Jane Farrell articleHow your bladder functions every day can tell you a lot about your overall health. How often you urinate during the day and during the night, the color of your urine and whether you can “hold it” all provide clues to health conditions that don’t involve your urinary system. “Eighty percent of the causes of bladder problems are related to conditions outside of the bladder,” says urologist Raymond Rackley, MD. These can include problems with the nervous or cardiovascular systems, Rackley says. So what should you look out for?
_ MenopauseWhat to Expect and How to Prepare for Menopause By Sondra Forsyth articleBy Marni AndrewsThere are a record number of North American women now entering a new period of their lives, menopause, which marks the official end of their reproductive period. Women are born with a finite number of eggs in their ovaries—by the time they reach their 50s, the number of fertile eggs has dropped significantly. When the remaining eggs are released, or hormones in the body can no longer stimulate their release, the body enters menopause. This generally happens between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age being around 51.
_ Women's Health and WellnessFemale Boomers with Asthma Face Challenges By Sondra Forsyth articleAn article published in the August 2014 issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), outlines the challenges faced by older women in treating asthma, and offers practical solutions to improve their care.
_ Women's Health and WellnessHysterectomy With Morcellation Poses Cancer Risk By Sondra Forsyth articleAmong women undergoing a minimally invasive hysterectomy using electric power morcellation, uterine cancers were present in 27 per 10,000 women at the time of the procedure, according to a study published July 22nd 2014 by JAMA. There has been concern that this procedure, in which the uterus is fragmented into smaller pieces, may result in the spread of undetected malignancies.
_ MenopauseToolkit to Diagnose Menopause By Sondra Forsyth articleThe “Practitioner Toolkit for Managing the Menopause”, designed to guide physicians in the management of menopausal conditions for women from the age of 40 has been designed by researchers at Monash University in Australia. The kit, which includes a diagnostic tool as well as a compendium of approved hormone therapies, was published on July 6th 2014 in the journal Climacteric.
_ MenopauseMenopause Brain: What You Need to Know Beat the Odds By Sondra Forsyth articleBy Soriyya BawaAs if hot flashes and irritability weren’t enough to handle, women going through menopause also worry about the risk of memory loss. Some of the common cognitive concerns relating to memory loss that are reported by women going through menopause include trouble with routine mental tasks and remembering what was once easily retrievable information. A lot of research has delved into evaluating the link between menopause and memory loss, and we’re now beginning to understand even more.
_ Women's Health and WellnessWatch: How to Treat An Overactive Bladder By Jane Farrell articleHere's another addition to our ThirdAge video collection. Press play to start learning!
_ Women's Health and WellnessFor Some Older Women, Calcium Supplements Up Risk of Kidney Stones By Sondra Forsyth articleCalcium and vitamin D are commonly recommended for older women, but the usual supplements may send calcium excretion and blood levels too high for some women, according to a study published online June 18th 2014 in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society. Excess blood and urine calcium levels may lead to kidney stones or other problems. The study will be published in the November 2014 print edition of Menopause.
_ MenopauseAre You Setting Off Your Hot Flashes? By Sondra Forsyth article By Gary ElkinsIf you start taking note of your hot flashes, you may recognize some events, emotions, or activities that actually seem to contribute to, or “trigger,” the onset of a hot flash. Scientifically speaking, while the physiology of hot flashes is associated with a decrease in estrogen level or an increase in gonadotropin concentrations, the actual physiological mechanism of hot flashes is not known.
_ Women's Health and WellnessPreventive Surgery Can Have Serious After-Effects By Jane Farrell articleWomen with the cancer-causing BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations have a number of serious issues that need to be monitored following preventive surgery, researchers say.A study from the University of Pennsylvania examined the after-effects of a preventive hysterectomy - known as risk-reducing salpingo-oopherectomy (RRSO).
_ MenopauseNon-Hormonal Hot Flash Remedy Works By Adprime Admin articleA study done at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and published in the May 27th 2014 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine compared low-dose oral estrogen and low-dose non-hormonal venlafaxine hydrochloride extended release (XR) to a placebo. Both treatments proved to be effective in reducing the number of hot flashes and night sweats reported by menopausal women.
_ Women's Health and WellnessBacteria and Overactive Bladder By Jane Farrell articleBacteria in urine appears to contribute to overactive bladder in some women, according to new research.The finding, by researchers from Loyola University Chicago, appears to contradict the belief that urine is germ-free. The investigators used DNA-based detection methods to reveal the presence of bacteria that couldn’t be revealed by standard techniques.
_ Women's Health and WellnessCervical Cancer Screening Guidelines May Be Wrong By Jane Farrell articleA study has found that cervical cancer rates are higher than previously believed, especially among women 65 and older as well as African-American women in all age groups. The finding brings into question current screening guidelines that don’t recommend Pap smear screenings for women 65 and older. The study, led by researchers from the University of Maryland School of medicine, was published in the journal Cancer.
_ Women's Health and WellnessWomen & Peripheral Artery Disease By Sondra Forsyth articleWomen, especially older women, face greater limits on their lifestyle and have more severe symptoms as a result of peripheral artery disease (PAD) than men do. The condition happens when fatty deposits build up in arteries outside the heart, usually the arteries supplying fresh oxygen and blood to the arms, legs and feet. About 8 million Americans have peripheral artery disease.
_ Women's Health and WellnessProof of Women’s Intuition By articleIf you suspect that you have what is popularly called women’s intuition, you may be right. Researchers at the University of Granada, the Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University, and the Middlesex University of London have shown that the tendency to be intuitive could have a biological component related to the lower prenatal exposure to testosterone females receive in the womb. This team says this would lead women to have a "more intuitive and less reflective" attitude to life than men. The study was published in 2014 in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
_ Women's Health and WellnessDiet Drinks May Be Risky for Older Women By articleHealthy postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C..