Women and heart disease
Published April 13, 2024 | 
Women and heart disease
Here’s what you can do now to avoid heart trouble later
( 1993 )
If you’re like many women, you don’t worry much about heart disease. The thought of developing breast cancer may concern you more. But heart disease claims five times as many female lives as cancer of the breast. And of the more than 520,000 Americans who die from heart attacks each year, close to half are women.
On average, women develop heart problems seven or eight years later in life than men. One in nine women aged 45 to 64 has some form of cardiovascular disease. By the age of 65, the number climbs to one in three.
Sharing the risks Continue reading
Hormone replacement therapy
Published April 13, 2024 | (1997)
You’re relieved that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. And you’re comforted by the fact that it cuts your risks linked to cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis in half. But how do you get these benefits without the side effects?
As many as two-thirds of women who start HRT stop within two years. One main reason they stop is because of side effects, particularly the irregular bleeding that can last anywhere from a few months to a few years.
So how do you reap the benefits of HRT and bypass the side effects? Customize. HRT comes in a variety of doses, regimens and preparations designed to make you more comfortable with your therapy while gaining long-term benefits. Continue reading
WOMEN’S SEX HORMONES
Published April 13, 2024 |
WOMEN’S SEX HORMONES (1999)
According to a survey presented at the October 1998 meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 64 percent of women couldn’t name the hormones that play a key role in reproduction. Of those surveyed, 44 percent said they didn’t know much about estrogen, and 65 percent didn’t know about progesterone.
For women approaching menopause, lack of knowledge about female hormones could make it difficult to decide about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). To help, here’s a refresher course in female hormones and what they do.
Sex hormones 101
Hormones are substances that carry chemical messages from one organ to another organ or to other tissues. Sex hormones work together in an intricate pattern to make the reproductive cycle function properly. Continue reading
Genital warts
Published April 13, 2024 | Genital warts
(1997)
By themselves, genital warts — sometimes called venereal warts or condyloma — are mainly a nuisance because they have a tendency to recur. However, genital warts are caused by types of sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). If you have genital warts, it’s a good idea to be checked for other infections. The presence of genital warts should increase your suspicion that you may have been exposed to other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including those that may increase your risk for certain cancers.
Some non-wart-causing strains of HPV cause cervical cancer. In fact, in 95 percent of women with cervical cancer, HPV is present and believed to be the underlying cause. Some types of HPV have been linked to anal cancers.
o Cervical cancer - Preventable and treatable Continue reading
OVARIAN CANCER
Published April 13, 2024 | OVARIAN CANCER
(1999)
• The ovaries - A vulnerable lifesource
• An elusive enemy
• Stages of ovarian cancer
• Ovarian cancer treatment
• Genetic risk factors
• Environmental and lifestyle factors
BREAST CANCER GENE TESTING
Published April 13, 2024 | BREAST CANCER GENE TESTING
(1999)
• Should you be tested?
• Preventive options for BRCA-positive women
• Understanding negative test results
• Unanswered questions
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that about 175,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed each year among women in the United States, and there are more than 43,000 deaths yearly from the disease. This Continue reading
ESTROGEN TO TREAT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Published April 13, 2024 | ESTROGEN TO TREAT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
(1998 )
The female hormone estrogen has been making headlines for years as an effective therapy in reducing women’s risk of osteoporosis during and after menopause, as well as for easing symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes. Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) also has shown significant benefit in reducing the risk of heart disease and substantially lowering the risk of heart attack. Now there’s evidence that estrogen may have a protective effect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hopeful news
When scientists reported in 1995 that women past menopause who took estrogen were 40 percent less likely to die of Continue reading
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ALZHEIMER’S Markers on the path
Published April 13, 2024 | EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ALZHEIMER’S
Markers on the path (1999)
Only about one person in 1,000 has Alzheimer’s disease at age 65, but that risk increases to about three in 100 by age 80. By age 90, about 18 in 100 have some symptoms.
The source of these data, as well as other important facts about Alzheimer’s risk, is the branch of health science known as epidemiology. Using past and current medical data, epidemiologists investigate the occurrence of diseases such as Alzheimer’s in specific populations. Their findings relate to such things as percentages, prevalence (frequency), incidence (new cases) and risk factors. All are crucial to understanding the evolution of a disease, as well as guiding the focus of research and evolving treatments. Continue reading