Women's Health Advisor back issues from January 2007:
Advancing osteoporosis treatment: there are effective medications to stem bone loss, but which women need them and which drugs are best for whom?
Jan 01, 2007 ... As you sit and read this, you are losing bone. It's a fact of aging. You could be one of the estimated 10 million Americans over the age of 50 with osteoporosis, bone loss that, over time, could lead to a fracture or broken bone. Many osteoporotic fractures could be prevented with ...
Bone-building drugs are not always forever.(Cover story)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Our cover story this month addresses one of the most common concerns in my practice: osteoporosis. I am frequently asked "If I take bone-building drugs, do I have to be on them for the rest of my life?" Right now, my answer may be "No." While it takes around a year for the ...
Red meat may raise breast cancer risk; dietary fat does not.(FRONTLINE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... For years, studies have suggested that high red meat intake may increase the risk of breast cancer, but the evidence was not conclusive. Now a major study has found that eating red meat every day increases the risk of the most common type of breast cancer tumors whose growth is fueled by ...
Kyphoplasty beneficial for elderly vertebral fractures.(FRONTLINE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Compression fractures of the spine due to osteoporosis can be extremely painful and disabling, causing pressure on nerves from collapsed vertebrae. During kyphoplasty, a tiny balloon is used to inject material into the fracture site to restore the volume of the vertebra. A study in the ...
Federal advisory panel recommends shingles vaccine.(FRONTLINE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... An advisory committee on immunizations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that adults 60 and over receive the recently approved shingles vaccine. Clinical trials show that the vaccine, Zostavax, approved in May 2006 by the U.S. Food and Drug ...
News from the FDA.(drug approval of Januvia)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new kind of medication for type 2 diabetes. The drug, sitagliptin phosphate (Januvia), has a unique mechanism of action: it increases a hormone that triggers the pancreas to produce more insulin to turn blood sugar (glucose) into ...
Vitamins don't aid heart health: new studies find few benefits from vitamins C, E, and beta carotene, and none from B vitamins and folic acid.(CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH)
Jan 01, 2007 ... If you've been taking vitamin supplements in hopes of preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), save your money. Two major randomized clinical trials of vitamins conducted among thousands of women have found few, if any, benefits from taking antioxidants except among high-risk women, and no ...
HPV test is best for over-40 women.(NEWS FOR YOUR HEALTH)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most common sexually transmitted infections in the U.S., and more than a dozen high-risk strains are known to cause most cases of cervical cancer. In June 2006, the first vaccine was approved to protect against infection from two high-risk HPV strains, ...
Smoking and HPV.(NEWS FOR YOUR HEALTH)(papillomavirus infections)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Meanwhile, Swedish researchers say that women who smoke and carry the high-risk strain of HPV-16 are at greater risk for cervical cancer in situ (CIS), cancer confined to the surface cells of the cervix. The risk was especially great in smokers with high levels of HPV-16. The ...
Finding lung cancer early: study led by Weill Cornell finds early detection of lung cancer with special CT scans can save lives.(Leading Edge)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Could screening smokers for early lung cancer with computerized chest scans save lives, just as mammograms have helped to do by detecting breast cancers earlier? A new study led by Claudia I. Henschke, PhD, MD, professor of radiology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, ...
Don't get taken in by diabetes "cure" scams.(Leading Edge)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have launched a drive to stop deceptive Internet advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes. In addition to advisories and legal efforts against makers ...
When your hands hurt: osteoarthritis can be the cause of pain and loss of mobility in your hands, but there is help.(Body Wise)
Jan 01, 2007 ... When you get up in the morning do your hands feel stiff and achy? When you try to do a simple task, such as twisting a jar lid or writing a letter, does your thumb hurt? It could be osteoarthritis (OA). Around half of women over age 60 are affected by OA in their hands and thumbs, ...
Complementary medicine benefits: many complementary and alternative therapies help improve patients' quality of life and reduce distress.(Alternatives)
Jan 01, 2007 ... If you've ever reached for herbal remedies to ward off a cold, you're in good company. The most comprehensive report ever issued on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the U.S. finds that 36 percent of adults use some form of CAM. Those most likely to turn to CAM are ...
Ask Dr. Etingin.
Jan 01, 2007; ... I just read a new book by the actress Suzanne Somers called Ageless, in which she says naturally compounded "bioidentical" hormones help keep her young. She does look great. I am 61, and stopped taking hormone therapy after all those studies came out about the risks of breast cancer and ...
Women will benefit from a stronger FDA.(FYI: NEWS FROM THE SOCIETY FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Most of us take for granted the safety of the food we eat and the medications we take. Experts say recent recalls of fresh produce and headlines over side effects that emerge long after a drug has been approved point to the need for better oversight of the FDA, the agency assigned to ...