News on Reuters Group Plc

Chinese herb mix may cool hot flashes a bit

2011-12-02T12:30:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A mix of certain traditional Chinese herbs thought to have weak estrogen-like activity might help ease menopausal hot flashes, a small clinical trial suggests.

But the herbal mix, dubbed Jiawei Qing'e Fang, is not widely available. And while the new study suggested some benefits, it had enough limitations that the true effects of the herbs are still unclear, accor...

Yoga may ease insomnia, menopause problems

2011-11-30T14:30:31Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A couple of yoga sessions a week could help ease sleep problems and other effects of menopause, a small study suggests.

The study, reported in the journal Menopause, included postmenopausal women diagnosed with insomnia.

"We are not saying that yoga can cure postmenopausal symptoms," Dr. Helena Hachul,...

Estrogen use tied to bladder control problems

2011-10-28T07:00:29Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal women who take estrogen for years are more likely to experience incontinence than those on the hormone for a shorter time or not at all, a new study finds.

Of 167 women surveyed in the early 1990s and again in 2004, those who had taken estrogen for five years or more were three to four times more likely to report bladder control problems in the seco...

Smoking linked to earlier menopause: study

2011-10-16T20:00:05Z

(Reuters) - Women who smoke may hit menopause about a year earlier than those who don't light up, according to a study that also notes an earlier menopause may influence the risk of getting bone and heart diseases.

The study, which was carried in the journal Menopause, pooled data from several previous studies that included about 6,000 women in the Reuters Health) - A daily spoonful of Malaysian honey may boost postmenopausal women's memory, researchers say in a new report that aims to provide an "alternative therapy" for hormone-related intellectual decline.

In the study, 102 healthy women were randomly assigned to eat 20 grams of honey a day, take hormone-replacement therapy containing estrogen and progesterone or do nothin...

Flaxseed may not cool hot flashes: study

2011-10-13T23:00:13Z

(Reuters) - Eating flaxseed may not ease menopausal hot flashes after all, despite some promising early evidence that it might, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rocheste...

Soy may not prevent clogged arteries

2011-09-15T14:30:25Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking extra soy supplements did not help stave off artery hardening in a new study of postmenopausal women.

But, researchers said, soy showed a possible benefit in young women just a few years after menopause -- warranting more research in that age group.

The findings add to conflicting data about the role of soy in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol a...

Women may get unneeded osteoporosis screening

2011-08-29T10:30:42Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many women who get screened for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis may not actually need such testing, a new study suggests.

A number of expert guidelines say that women age 65 or older should get a bone scan to screen for osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become fragile and vulnerable to breaks. Some women with risk factors for osteoporosis, such as sm...

Hip fracture risk rises after women stop hormones: research

2011-08-29T08:00:14Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When postmenopausal women discontinue hormone therapy, their bone mineral density drops and their risk of a hip fracture climbs, new research suggests.

Among nearly 81,000 postmenopausal women followed for six and a half years, stopping hormone therapy was linked with an overall 55 percent increased risk of hip fracture.

The jump in chances of a fracture was...

Soy may not provide relief during menopause: study

2011-08-08T19:00:09Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking soy supplements may not help women ease their menopause symptoms or prevent the bone changes that start at that time of life, suggests a new study from Florida.

Women who took the supplements every day for two years didn't have any improvement in their symptoms compared with those who took a soy-free placebo pill -- and they suffered more hot f...

Japanese herb for hot flashes fails in U.S. trial

2011-07-22T12:00:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An herbal remedy widely used in Japan to ease menopause symptoms failed to show the same benefits in a clinical trial of U.S. women, researchers report.

The study looked at the effects of keishi-bukuryo-gan, a mix of cinnamon bark, peach pit and several...

Paternal smoking linked to menopause age in daughters

2011-06-02T08:30:40Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - If men smoke when their partners are pregnant, their daughters may end up reaching menopause about a year earlier than their peers, according to a study.

Previous research has found that a woman's own smoking habits, as well as those of her partner, may also have an impact on her fertility and may precipitate the point at which she can no longer get pregnant.

Dad's smoking linked to menopause in daughters

2011-06-01T12:30:19Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When men smoke while their partners are pregnant, their daughters may end up hitting menopause about a year earlier, suggests a new study.

Previous research has found that a woman's own smoking habits, as well her partner's, may also precipitate the point at which she can no longer get pregnant.

Now, "it seems that the effect of paternal smoking on daughters...

Menopause age related to when mom went through it

2011-05-25T13:30:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The age at which women go through menopause depends a lot on when their relatives did, according to new study findings.

Specifically, women whose mothers or sisters experienced menopause by age 45 were roughly 6 times more likely to do the same. Women who underwent menopause at a relatively late age - 54 or older - were also 6 times more likely to have seen the sa...

Hot flashes may last a decade or more: study

2011-05-08T21:30:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The hot flashes that are common during and after menopause may last an average of more than 10 years, more than twice as long as previously assumed, according to a U.S. Study.

The research, published in "Obstetrics and Gynecology," also found that women who start getting hot flashes before menopause or in th...

Mindfulness classes help women with hot flashes

2011-03-17T15:00:09Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with severe hot flashes said their quality of life improved after taking mindfulness classes that included meditation and stretching exercises, according to a new study.

The findings also suggest that such classes could help improve sleep quality, stress, and anxiety in women during menopause.

In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative study found that the...

Hot flashes, night sweats tied to heart risks

2011-02-25T09:30:22Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women who have hot flashes and night sweats at the start of menopause may be less likely to have a heart attack later in life, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

But women who develop these symptoms later in menopause may have higher heart disease risks, the team reported in the journal Menopause.

"Our study...

Study finds no evidence black cohosh damages liver

2011-01-28T12:30:22Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite reports of liver damage in some women using black cohosh to ease menopause symptoms, clinical trials testing one major brand of this herb have so far found no evidence that it is to blame, according to a research review.

Extracts of black cohosh, a plant native to North America, are mar...

More support for soy after breast cancer

2010-10-18T12:30:29Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More evidence suggests eating soy may pose a slight benefit to some women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, but it's too early to recommend cancer survivors change their diets, some experts say.

Among more than 500 women in China whose breast cancer was driven by the hormones estrogen or progesterone...

Breast cancer rates fell with hormone therapy drop

2010-09-23T13:30:26Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Breast cancer rates among postmenopausal women in Canada dropped nearly 10 percent after news of a big study in 2002 that found taking hormone replacement therapy could increase breast cancer risk, researchers said on Thursday.

The decline coincided with a sharp decline ...

Hormone therapy doesn't boost brainpower: study

2010-08-19T14:46:42Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hormone therapy with either estrogen or testosterone might not affect women's thinking and memory skills in the years soon after menopause, hints a new study.

The findings are the latest addition to a complicated picture of the possible link between hormones and mental functioning in women. Some researchers think hormone therapy may help improve brain function and prevent Alzheimer's disea...

Estrogen-only therapy may not up lung cancer deaths

2010-08-13T16:01:20Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy don't appear to be at increased risk of dying from lung cancer.

That's according to a new analysis of earlier data from postmenopausal women who had had their uterus removed (hysterectomy).

Previous studies of women with intact uteruses had shown that taking combined estrogen and progestin -- a synthetic version of the hormone p...

Mediterranean diet tied to lower breast cancer risk

2010-08-03T15:46:29Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who follow a traditional Mediterranean diet may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer after menopause than women with different eating habits, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 14,800 Greek women followed for a decade, those who kept most closely to the region's traditional diet were less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those whose eating habit...

Womb environment may affect timing of menopause

2010-07-07T14:03:23Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Events surrounding a baby girl's birth may affect the age at which she later goes through menopause.

In a study of more than 20,000 middle-aged Puerto Rican and American women, researchers found that exposure in the womb to the man-made estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES), as well as certain characteristics of the mom, had small effects ...

Testosterone may not help memory after menopause

2010-07-02T14:45:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have wondered whether replacing the small amount of testosterone women stop producing after having hysterectomies could improve the memory loss many postmenopausal women experience. But testosterone treatment may not improve women's memory skills after such surgeries, according to a new study, suggesting that it may not help other women after menopause either.

Women who took es...

Estrogen-like lignan diet, less breast cancer linked

2010-06-04T12:30:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal women who eat foods rich in estrogen-like plant chemicals called lignans may have a modestly decreased risk of developing breast cancer, a research review suggests.

In an analysis of 21 studies published in the past 13 years, researchers found that postmenopausal women who reported the highest intakes of dietary lignans were 14 percent less likely to develop breast cancer th...

Antidepressant cools hot flashes in study

2010-06-11T22:58:53Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The antidepressant citalopram may help lessen the severity of menopausal hot flashes, at least in the short term, a new clinical trial suggests.

The findings, from a seven-week study of 254 women, add to evidence that certain antidepressants can offer relief from severe hot flashes.

Studies have found that some antidepressants in the class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibi...

Soy trims postmenopausal fat, study suggests

2010-05-28T11:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small new study has found that taking soy supplements may help postmenopausal women slim down.

The effect, however, differed between African-Americans and whites: While white women lost more fat around their middles, black women showed greater overall reductions in body fat, researchers found.

Researchers have been interested in soy's potential for treating problems that affect wom...

Walking may ease some burdens of menopause

2010-04-13T12:45:39Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Walking for 45 minutes a few times a week may help women in the "battle of the bulge" that often accompanies menopause, and at the same time improve overall well being, hints new research from Canada.

Pointing out that the 45 minutes can be broken up into shorter jaunts, researcher Dr. P...

Raquel Welch deals with aging gracefully in new book

2010-04-08T11:17:48Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iconic actress and sex symbol Raquel Welch had to face the process of aging doubly -- as a woman and as an international celebrity famous by her body.

In her new book, "Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage," the American actress discusses getting older, starting a career at age 19 with two children in tow and reconciling her public persona with her p...

Herb shows no added benefits for women's bones

2010-09-01T12:18:38Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exercise may help older women maintain their bone density, but adding the supplement black cohosh to the routine does not bring any extra benefits, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 128 postmenopausal women they studied for one year, those who were randomly assigned to regularly exercise generally maintained their bone density. In contrast, women who were assigned to a "we...

Evidence that soy eases hot flashes inconclusive

2010-03-17T13:32:21Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite supplement makers' claims and popular perceptions, the benefits of soy in fighting hot flashes in women going through menopause remain unproven, according to a new analysis of 19 studies.

Soy contains estrogen-like compounds, and researchers have proposed that the amount of soy a woman consumes may influence her risk of having hot flashes and night sweats during menopause. These sy...

Soy unlikely to trim body fat after menopause

2010-04-16T06:58:13Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Estrogen-like compounds found in soy won't help limit body fat in post-menopausal women, new research shows.

Animal studies and small studies in humans have offered some evidence that these compounds, known as isoflavones, could help build muscle mass and reduce fat mass, Dr. Oksana A. Matvienko of the Reuters Health) - Women seeking relief of hot flashes and other bothersome symptoms of menopause might want to take a pass on laser acupuncture, based on a new study showing that it is largely ineffective in relieving menopausal symptoms.

Laser acupuncture uses a laser beam instead of the traditional acupuncture needles. The low-power laser beam is directed at the same points used in traditional acupuncture...

Acupuncture eases tamoxifen-related hot flashes

2010-06-11T22:58:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study provides more evidence that acupuncture can help ease hot flashes in women with breast cancer who are being treated with the "anti-estrogen" drug tamoxifen. Acupuncture, researchers found, is free of side effects and has a side benefit for some women: an increased sex drive.

"Acupuncture appears to be at least as effective as dr...

Soy compounds may not prevent bone loss

2010-09-01T12:16:53Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Supplements containing soy isoflavones may do little to preserve women's bone mass after menopause.

In a study of more than 200 women ages 46 to 65, researchers found that the soy supplement did not appear to ward off bone-density loss over 3 years. In general, women on the supplement showed the same degree of bone loss as those given a placebo -- though there was some evidence that a high...

Hormone replacement therapy tied to mental benefits

2010-04-16T08:39:57Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women who use certain forms of hormone replacement therapy seem to perform better on tests of memory and mental speed than other women do, a new study finds.

In a four-year study of 3,130 French women age 65 and older, researchers found that those currently on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) performed better on certain cognitive tests. Those who had used HRT in the past but were no...

Soy foods may curb hip fracture risk in older women

2010-09-01T12:16:58Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal women may lessen their chances of fracturing a hip by adding soy-based foods to their diet, a study from Singapore hints.

Women in the study were 21 to 36 percent less likely to fracture a hip when they reported eating a moderate amount of soy, Dr. Woon-Puay Koh, at th...

Hot flashes may mean increased heart disease risk

2010-04-16T09:58:48Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hot flashes can range from irritating to debilitating, but they may also be a sign of something worse: As women go through menopause, hot flashes may signal a higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks, according to new data presented Friday at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Societ...

Watch for depression during and after menopause

2010-04-16T10:00:56Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk for major depression more than doubles while women are going through menopause and afterward, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in San Diego.

Recent studies have sugge...

Does estrogen help women survive colon cancer?

2010-04-16T10:04:58Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Estrogen could help women diagnosed with advanced colon cancer to survive longer, a new study out in the journal Clinical Cancer Research suggests.

While younger, presumably premenopausal women lived longer after being diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer than men of the same age, women 55 and older had worse survival than their male peers, Reuters Health) - Women who add more fat to their frames as they approach menopause will have a harder time with hot flashes, a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows.

People used to think that fat helped protect against hot flashes because it contains hormones that can be converted into estrogen...

Seizure drug helps women with hot flashes sleep

2010-04-16T10:20:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Gabapentin, a drug used to treat seizures, improves the quality of sleep in menopausal women bothered by hot flashes, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report in the Journal of Women's Health.

Approximately 40 percent of menopausal women have trouble sleeping. They o...

Nearly any lifetime smoking ups breast cancer risk

2010-04-16T10:24:05Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women taking the next puff of a cigarette might consider this: smoking 100 or more cigarettes may substantially increase their odds of developing breast cancer, researchers report.

Previous studies linked regular exercise, limiting alcohol intake, and avoiding postmenopausal obesity as lifestyle changes that can reduce women's odds of developing breast cancer, notes Reuters Health) - Healthy women who put on weight between the premenopausal and postmenopausal years risk losing nerve cells in the brain, research suggests.

Gaining weight is a "highly modifiable" risk factor that may be targeted to prevent or slow the progression of potentially harmful age-related changes in the brain, the Univers...

Hormones may tie caffeine to cancer risk

2010-04-16T11:27:31Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Coffee and general caffeine intake may affect a woman's levels of estrogen and other sex hormones, a new study suggests -- offering a potential explanation for findings that link caffeine to certain cancers.

Several studies have found connections between caffeine and breast and ovarian cancers, though the findings have not always been consistent.

For instance, different analyses of t...

Wikileaks Berkeley

2010-12-14T22:31:11Z

Beverly Dove holds a sign as she speaks during a city council meeting in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The council in this famously liberal city is considering a resolution Tuesday night bestowing hero status on Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier at the center of the