The end of the “hormone therapy era” appears to have been greatly exaggerated. More than a decade ago, research from the Women’s Health Initiative, a major study, advised menopausal women to stop their hormone replacement therapy due to a reported increase in breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks. In the years since then, though, potential… Continue reading The Hormone Therapy Decision
Tag: Menopause
Helping Women Navigate the Hormone Replacement Therapy Debate
The end of the “hormone therapy era” appears to have been greatly exaggerated. More than a decade ago the Women’s Health Initiative published in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association advised menopausal women to stop their hormone replacement therapy due to a reported increase in breast cancer, strokes, and heart attacks.… Continue reading Helping Women Navigate the Hormone Replacement Therapy Debate
Taming Hot Flashes Without Hormones
Some three-quarters of North American women have menopausal hot flashes, but many cannot use hormones for medical reasons or choose not to. Numerous products and techniques are promoted for hot flashes, but do they work and are they safe? To answer these questions, a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) panel of experts weighed the evidence… Continue reading Taming Hot Flashes Without Hormones
Expert Advice on Adult Acne
Acne, often thought of as confined to the teen years, can be frustrating and even embarrassing for adults. Here, from the American Academy of Dermatology, is an explanation of why it happens, and what you can do about it: Some adults continue to get acne well into their 30s, 40s, and even 50s, the AAD… Continue reading Expert Advice on Adult Acne
HRT Neither Raises Nor Lowers Risk of Dying
Menopausal hormone therapy (HT) does not have a significant effect on the risk of death, according to a Mayo Clinic review of the medical literature published over the past three decades. The results, which included studies with follow-up as long as 18 years, were presented in March 2015 at the Endocrine Society’s 97th annual meeting… Continue reading HRT Neither Raises Nor Lowers Risk of Dying
When I’m 64, I’ll Still Have Hot Flashes?
The answer is “yes” for many women. Some 40% of women 60 to 65 years old still have hot flashes. For many, the hot flashes are occasional and mild, but for others, they remain really troublesome. That’s the finding of a study published in March 2015 in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause… Continue reading When I’m 64, I’ll Still Have Hot Flashes?
Menopause Symptoms Reduced With Nanotechnology
Nearly nine out of 10 premenopausal and postmenopausal women in the United States experience hot flashes, night sweats or other disturbances in mood and sleep. Until now, there haven’t been many safe and effective therapies available to manage these symptoms. However, in a pilot study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North… Continue reading Menopause Symptoms Reduced With Nanotechnology
Kids Help Ease Menopausal Symptoms
Women enduring the menopausal characteristics of hot flashes and night sweats don’t suffer as much if young children live with them, according to new research from The Kinsey Institute and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Of the 117 women who took part in the study, 69 were menopausal or post-menopausal at the time of… Continue reading Kids Help Ease Menopausal Symptoms
Free Menopause Mobile App
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is set to launch a first-ever menopause mobile app, MenoPro, designed for use by both clinicians and patients to help manage menopausal symptoms and assess risk factors. An article about the app is published in the October 15th 2014 issue of Menopause. A release from NAMS explains that MenoPro… Continue reading Free Menopause Mobile App
GSM, New Term for Postmenopausal Problems
Talking about genital, sexual, and urinary problems can be uncomfortable for postmenopausal women and their doctors. Having a term that doesn’t carry stigma, isn’t embarrassing to say, and is medically accurate could go a long way in helping women get the help they need and allowing them to make smarter healthcare decisions. That term is “genitourinary syndrome of menopause” or GSM. The term was developed and endorsed by The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH).
Many Menopausal Women Go to Anti-Aging Docs
Feeling 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.
What to Expect and How to Prepare for Menopause
By Marni Andrews
There 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.
Toolkit to Diagnose Menopause
The “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.
Menopause Brain: What You Need to Know Beat the Odds
By Soriyya Bawa
As 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.
Are You Setting Off Your Hot Flashes?
By Gary Elkins
If 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.
Non-Hormonal Hot Flash Remedy Works
A 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.
PCPs Must Know More About Menopause
According to Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women's Health, "It is essential that new curricula be developed to train internists in the core competencies needed to manage menopausal symptoms."
A New Way to Zap Hot Flashes
A newly developed program can help women fight obesity and reduce health risks in just five visits, according to a new study.
The finding was published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
The pilot program, called WAIPointes (WAI stands for "who am I"), is also reimbursed by insurance. The authors of the article said WAIPointes, which lasts six months, helped women stay engaged with their goals of reducing menopausal symptoms and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.