News on United States

Hormone replacement may not save women's muscle

2010-09-01T12:19:19Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite some earlier evidence that hormone replacement therapy after menopause can help maintain women's muscle mass, a new study suggests that any such benefit does not last. That women's muscle mass declines after menopause has long been known, and researchers have speculated that waning estrogen levels may play a role -- raising the question of whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can he...

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 progesterone ...

Task force urges bone-density tests for more women

2010-09-01T12:19:12Z

US government task force urges more postmenopausal women to be screened for osteoporosis

Routine screening for osteoporosis should include all younger postmenopausal women who have at least the same chance of a bone break as an older woman, a government task force said Monday. Also, for the first time, the group weighed whether men should be checked for the bone-thinning disease, but it decided there wasn't enough evidence to recommend for or against the screening...

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 estrogen...

Early menopause raises heart disease risk

2010-06-21T10:15:18Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who go through menopause early, before age 46, may have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event later in life, researchers reported on Monday. The risk was the same even when women took hormone replacement therapy, which doctors once prescribed expressly to prevent heart disease, the researchers said at a meeting of Reuters) - Women who want to use hormone replacement therapy may be less likely to have a stroke if they use low-dose patches instead of pills, Canadian researchers reported on Thursday. Their study of British women showed that those who used estrogen patches to control symptoms of menopause did not have any higher risk of stroke than women who did not use HRT. The study, published in the 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 "wellness...

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 symptoms...

Hormone replacement won't prevent physical decline

2010-04-16T07:53:53Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite some hopeful hints from earlier research, a new study finds that older women on hormone replacement therapy may not gain any protection from disability as they age. Researchers have speculated that waning estrogen levels may contribute to muscle loss and other declines in physical function as women age. Muscle cells have receptors for estrogen, and recent research has linked higher blood...

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 longe...

'Bioidenticals' not FDA-approved, contain estrogen

2010-04-16T09:38:23Z

Raging hormones: Unproven 'bioidenticals' for menopause contain estrogen too, experts say

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional series examining their use and potential risks. ___ Miserable in menopause, Eliz...

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 suggested t...

Weight gain during menopause tied to brain changes

2010-04-16T11:18:40Z

NEW YORK (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 University of...

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 the Nurses' H...

Study links lung cancer to menopause hormones

2010-04-16T12:02:31Z

Hormonal therapy for menopause, already linked to an increase in breast cancer and strokes, also strongly increases the risk of death among women who develop lung cancer, new research has shown. The findings are based on secondary analyses of a study of 16,608 menopausal women in good health by the US government known as the Women's Health Initiative. Researchers sought to evaluate the effects of US government known as the Women's Health Initiative. Researchers sought to evaluate the effects of Penn State coach Joe Paterno answers a question during his weekly NCAA college football news conference on Tuesday, Sep. 7, 2010 in State College, Pa. Penn State plays at top-ranked Alabama...

Anatomy Of A Disaster

2010-09-08T21:30:38Z

FILE - In this undated file photo released by Transocean, the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig Deepwater Horizon is shown operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The cause of the April 20 explosion that killed 11 people and caused the worst offshore oil spill in Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin throws to the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris...

APTOPIX Indians Angels Baseball

2010-09-08T21:15:58Z

Cleveland Indians' Trevor Crowe, left, is caught stealing by Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. ...

Obama Economy

2010-09-08T15:32:46Z

President Barack Obama waves after delivering remarks on the economy,Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010, at Cuyahoga Community College West Campus in Parma, Ohio. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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