Category: Women’s Health and Wellness

Bacteria 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.

A 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, 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.

If 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.

Healthy 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..

The formula for peak exercise heart rate that doctors have used for decades in tests to diagnose heart conditions may be flawed because it does not account for differences between men and women, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Scientists may be edging closer to a permanent cure for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Researchers led by microbiologists from the University of Utah have shown the efficacy of a compound called chitosan when it’s used in combination with antibiotics. Chitosan is already approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pharmaceutical and agricultural uses.

Changes to two previously unstudied genes are the centerpiece of a new theory regarding the cause and development of endometriosis, a chronic and painful disease affecting 1 in 10 women.

A study published in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) showed that women with distal radius (wrist) fractures had decreased strength compared to similar patients without fractures. The authors suggest that this fact could explain why these women were more likely to fall and might sustain future fractures.

New research done at at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and published in the journal Diabetologia shows that diabetes in women is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Yet the data do not show the same association among men. Also, the researchers found the risk of stroke among diabetic women was substantially raised for women aged 55 years and over compared with younger women.

Here's another addition to our Third Age video collection. Press play to start learning!

Although more people survive a stroke now than 10 years ago, women have a poorer post-stroke quality of life than men do, according to a study done at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC and published in the February 7^th 2014 online issue of the journal Neurology.  

In 2003, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute created National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about the fact that heart disease was claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year. The event is held annually on the first Friday in February. Today, February 7^th 2014, why not wear red to participate in the effort to make sure we realize that, especially as we age and reach postmenopause, heart to heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women?

Researchers have taken a step toward better diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis by discovering a pattern of molecules and cellular activity linked to the painful condition.

Endometriosis, the invasion of uterine tissue into surrounding organs, including the peritoneal cavity and the ovaries, affects an estimated 10 percent of women. It can cause severe pain and infertility. It’s also difficult to diagnose because symptoms may disappear for years at a time, and very little is known about its cause.

Experts say that a nonsurgical option can be as good as medicine or sugery for women suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, which includes bladder and bowel probems as well as pelvic pain.

Patients who receive good information about the medicine they’re taking do better than those who aren’t given as many positive details, according to a new study of migraine sufferers.The study showed that patients’ expectations of the drugs’ effic

Doctors may need to treat high blood pressure in women earlier and more aggressively than they do in men, according to scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The study was published in the December 2013 edition of the journal  Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease.