Tag: menopause

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Herbal Medicine Causes Menopause-Like Symptoms In 11-Year-Old

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An 11-year-old girl began experiencing hot flashes, a common symptom of menopause, due to a common herbal medication, according to a new study, published in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers say the finding is troubling, and underscores the need to study the effects of these unregulated medications further.

The herb, saw palmetto, is typically used to treat an enlarged prostate in men. However, it is also used to treat baldness, and the 11-year-old girl was taking the supplement to treat telogen effluvium, a common cause of hair loss in children. Read full article.

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Early Menopause May Double Heart Disease Risk, Study Says

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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) — Women who experience early menopause may face double the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.

This increased risk is true across different ethnic backgrounds and is independent of traditional heart disease and stroke risk factors, the researchers said.

The study included more than 2,500 women, aged 45 to 84, who were followed for between six and eight years. Twenty-eight percent of the women reported early menopause, which occurs before the age of 46. Read full article.

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Killer Whales Live on After Menopause to Protect Sons

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Killer whale mothers live longer lives in order to protect their sons, a study has found. Females give birth in their thirties but can live for a further 50 years after having their offspring. Scientists from the University of Exeter used long-term records to identify possible reasons for this long non-reproductive phase of life.

They found that the presence of mothers ensured greater survival of adult sons to breeding age.

The findings are published in the journal Science. Read full article.

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Study: Hormone Use By Postmenopausal Women Keeps Dropping

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The number of U.S. women popping post-menopausal hormone pills didn’t just drop after one big study a decade ago — it kept dropping through at least 2010, a large new study shows.

As of 2009-2010, just 4.7% of women over age 40 said they were taking the hormones (estrogen or estrogen plus progestin), at least in pill form, says the study of 10,107 women published this week in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

That’s down from 22.4% in the years 1999 through 2002, says researchers led by Brian L. Sprague of the University of Vermont. The big plunge first showed up in 2003-2004 — after the 2002 publication of results from the Women’s Health Initiative. That study linked the combination of estrogen and progestin with breast cancer, heart disease and stroke and found average risks outweighed benefits. It left women seeking other solutions — many of them not very effective — for hot flashes, vaginal dryness and other menopause symptoms. Read full article.

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Early Menopause: A Genetic Mouse Model of Human Primary Ovarian Insufficiency

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Scientists have established a genetic mouse model for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a human condition in which women experience irregular menstrual cycles and reduced fertility, and early exposure to estrogen deficiency.

POI affects approximately one in a hundred women. In most cases of primary ovarian insufficiency, the cause is mysterious, although genetics is known to play a causative role. There are no treatments designed to help preserve fertility. Some women with POI retain some ovarian function and a fraction (5-10 percent) have children after receiving the diagnosis. Read full article.

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Jury to Decide if Hormone Therapy Caused Utah Woman’s Breast Cancer

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More than eight years after alleging hormone therapy drugs caused and promoted her breast cancer, Toshiko Okuda is finally getting her day in court.

Okuda was among dozens of Utah women — and thousands nationwide — who filed federal civil lawsuits against Wyeth and other drug manufacturers after researchers halted a National Institutes of Health sponsored study in 2002 upon finding an increased risk of invasive breast cancer among those using hormone replacement drugs. Her lawsuit, along with 68 others filed in Utah, was initially transferred to the Eastern District of Arkansas; three were remanded back to Utah’s district court in April 2010. Read full article.

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In-Law Infighting Boosted Evolution of Menopause

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Conflict between women and their daughters-in-law could be a factor in explaining an evolutionary puzzle — the human menopause.

Humans, pilot whales and killer whales are the only animals known to stop being able to reproduce long before they die. In terms of evolution, where passing on your genes is the main reason for living, the menopause remains puzzling.

Mothers-in-law can help to care for their grandchildren — unless they have their own children at the same time.

Now, using a large data set from Finland, researchers have for the first time been able to test a hypothesis that competition between different generations of genetically unrelated breeding women could have promoted the evolution of the menopause. The results are published today in Ecology Letters1.

Mirkka Lahdenperä, an ecologist at the University of Turku in Finland, and her colleagues used data from meticulous birth, death and marriage records kept by the Lutheran church in the country between 1702 and 1908. As they dug into the data, the researchers found that the chances of children dying increased when mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law gave birth around the same time. For children of the older women, survival dropped by 50%. For children of the daughters-in-law, it dropped by 66%. However, if mothers and daughters had children at the same time, the survival of those children wasn’t affected. Read full article.

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Katie Couric discusses fitness and menopause: Turning 55 was a wake-up call

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Television journalist Katie Couric doesn’t mind getting older, but admits that turning 55 was a major wake-up call alerting her that time is indeed running short.

“Being in the last half of your life is very scary,” Couric tells the September 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping. “Turning 55 was more of a wake-up call for me than 50 was. I’m very aware of getting every drop of joy from the present.”

Katie, who’s going through menopause, made a renewed commitment to working out to ward off menopausal weight gain.

“I kept hearing, ‘Your weight is going to re-distribute, you’re going to get thick in the middle.’ So I decided I needed to be more committed to exercising,” says Couric. “I’ve always done exercise, but I’ve never really committed to it. I’m not very good about pushing myself physically.” Read full article.

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Women Face Decision on Risks, Benefits of Hormone Therapy

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For women of a certain age, there comes a moment of truth. The moment arrives after sleepless nights, a lot of sweat and maybe even some tears.

Inevitably, though, virtually all women must make a decision: Can I endure the symptoms of menopause or should I undertake hormone replacement therapy?

Oddly enough, there is no single — or simple — answer for all women. Your best friend may have the same symptoms or none. The same goes for your sister, and even your mother’s experience is of no help because menopause is a highly personalized condition. Treatments also vary depending on the severity of the symptoms and the person — some need a single hormone, others combinations of two hormones. Other medications also can help, including birth control pills, anti-anxiety drugs and even natural remedies.

“We have to talk about it,” said Dr. Nigel Delahunty of Greer Ob/Gyn. “We inform them of all the potential risks and see what they need and want.”

Delahunty has been practicing medicine for 17 years, and during that time the way to help women get through their menopausal years — in terms of the use and popularity of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) — has changed dramatically.

“It has fluctuated over time,” said Dr. Margery Gass, executive director of The North American Menopause Society based in Cleveland. “But what has remained the same is that estrogen has been effective in treating symptoms for more than 30 years.”

Read full article.

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Physical Function Poorer After Menopause

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – As women go through menopause, they may see a decline in their ability to carry groceries, climb stairs and get other routine tasks done, a new study suggests.

Exactly why is not clear, though extra pounds and depression symptoms seemed to account for some of the link.

“There is something going on during menopause. There is definitely a connection between menopause and the physical limitations women perceive themselves as having,” said lead researcher Lisa Tseng, a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh.

According to Tseng, her findings suggest that the “physiological changes” of menopause play a role.

A woman’s body composition, for example, tends to change – with an increase in fat and decrease in muscle mass. And with the decline in estrogen levels, bone mass dips as well.

Men also lose muscle mass and strength as they age. But studies have found that women’s strength decline seems to speed up around menopause.

The bottom line for women is to stay physically active as they age, according to Dr. Timothy Church, who was not involved in the new study.

And that should include aerobic exercise and strength training to help hang on to your muscle mass, said Church, a researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Read full article.