Vitamin D: What ’s the “right” level?
Many of my patients who come into the office for their physical exams ask to have their vitamin D levels checked. They may have a family member with osteoporosis, or perhaps they have had bone thinning themselves. Mostly, they want to know that they’re doing everything they can to keep their bones strong. Vitamin D is critical for healthy bones. But when we check that blood level, how to act on the result is the subject of great controversy in medical-research land.
Pinpointing a “healthy” vitamin D level is tricky
So, what is the current cutoff value at which people are considered “low,” and thus at risk for dev...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 19, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Drugs and Supplements Health Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
Menopause and work
Louise Newson discusses new guidelines Related items fromOnMedica Don ’t deny menopausal women HRT and explain pros and cons, doctors told Pregnancy key opportunity to identify FGM Tackling obesity ‘must be made a national priority’ Fewer than ever women smoke at point of birth NICE can help NHS maintain public trust (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - December 5, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: blogs
Prioritizing Sex-Based Research in Heart Disease and Alzheimer ’s Disease
This blog was originally published by The Huffington Post on 11/30.
Co-authored by Jill Lesser, President of WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s and British Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Heart Alliance.
What if we could access knowledge that would transform modern medicine, enabling better disease prevention, better clinical decision-making, better therapeutics and better health outcomes for all Americans?
We don’t have to imagine. The answer lies in making medical research truly inclusive—in part, by filling the widespread gender, racial, and ethnic gaps in clinical trials; and most significantly, by stu...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - December 2, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Alzheimer’s Disease Heart Disease Source Type: blogs
Olympus Vying to Bring Back Laparoscopic Power Morcellation Thanks to PneumoLiner Safety Device
A couple years ago the FDA, realizing the dangers of laparoscopic power morcellation when used for removing the uterus (hysterectomy) or uterine fibroids (myomectomy), recommended that doctors quit using this type of technology. The issue is that women may have undetected cancerous tissues within the affected anatomy and taking a morcellator to them can spread the cancer intraperitoneally. Now a new system from Olympus is aiming to bring back laparoscopic power morcellation while preventing the spread of any cancer that may be present.
Cleared by the FDA back in April and just unveiled at the American Association of Gyn...
Source: Medgadget - November 17, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Ob/Gyn Source Type: blogs
So Much to Gain by Giving Up Grain!
Elimination of grains can do more than just free you from the health-impairing effects of the seeds of grasses.
This will unleash physical, mental & life performance. – Tweet this!
We are not grain-free supremacists; we are people who have removed the yoke of impairment placed on us by the easy, accessible, and addictive products produced from grains.
Grain-free performance means that you can be freed from common impediments to performance such as joint pain, swelling, bloating and gas, water retention, and mind fog, leaving you able to run longer, jump higher, think more clearly, and focus longer and more ef...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - November 15, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Dr. Davis Grain Brain Grain Free Lifestyle Grains Weight loss Wheat Belly Wheat Belly Lifestyle Wheat-Free Lifestyle Wheat Belly Total Health Source Type: blogs
The dreaded D word for the older infertile woman.
Most women know that their fertility declines as they get older because they run out of eggs. It's true that life is unfair - while men continue producing sperm all their life, women are born with whatever eggs they're ever going to have, which means they never produce any new eggs after birth.Sometimes women find this confusing, because don't they produce an egg every month? Isn't that called ovulation? The truth is that the egg which you ovulate every month was actually manufactured when you were a baby fetus in your mother's womb. This egg is recruited after years of dormancy , and it matures and is released...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - November 12, 2016 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
Smoke, Early Menopause And Fertility
Women who smoke and those who have been exposed to second hand smoke have more problems getting pregnant and are more likely to reachmenopause at an earlier age than women who never smoked or those who were exposed to the least amount of second hand smoke. A new investigation from Roswell Park Cancer Institute reached these conclusions after researchers analyzed data on nearly 89,000 women in the U.S. Women who reported smoking were 14 percent more likely to have infertility (meaning that they were unable to get pregnant for a year) and 26 percent more likely to reach menopause earlier than women who didn’t smoke. Th...
Source: Dr. Weil's Daily Health Tips - November 3, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Dr. Weil Tags: Science and Supplement News fertility menopause women's health Source Type: blogs
Antidepressants And Women ’s Bones
Certain antidepressants used to relieve hot flashes, night sweats and other menopausal symptoms appear to increase the risk of bone fractures. The class of drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), include Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil and Zoloft, and are now considered effective alternatives to hormone replacement therapy. Investigators from Boston’s Northeastern University used a pharmaceutical database to identify more than 137,000 women age 40 through 64 who began taking SSRIs for menopausal symptoms between 1998 and 2010 and compared them with some 236,000 women taking prescription drugs fo...
Source: Dr. Weil's Daily Health Tips - November 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Dr. Weil Tags: Science and Supplement News antidepressant bone density bones Source Type: blogs
Staying active at “that time of the month”
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
This past August, her exuberance, emotion and enthusiasm had already made Fu Yuanhui the most famous Chinese athlete at the Olympics. After winning a bronze medal in the women’s 100-meter backstroke with a personal best, she nearly exploded with excitement: “I was so fast! I’m really pleased! I’ve already… expended my primordial powers!” Her interview went viral with millions of hits worldwide.
Then she said something truly shocking: she was having her period. Noticing that the swimmer was grimacing after her relay team narrowly missed medaling, an interviewer asked if she had...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Exercise and Fitness Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Psychology Around the Net: October 1, 2016
Ah, October, my absolute favorite month. How I’ve missed thee.
This year, I get to start off my favorite month at a wedding later today, watching two sweet friends marry and begin their lives together.
Speaking of marriage, let’s take a look at some of this week’s latest in mental health topics such as surviving a marriage with a special needs child as well as how the “selfie culture” is affecting young women’s mental health, today’s most common personality type, how your body reacts to food when you’re stressed, and more.
Young Women ‘Highest Mental Health Risk’...
Source: World of Psychology - October 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Alicia Sparks Tags: Aging Marriage and Divorce Memory and Perception Mental Health and Wellness Personality Psychology Around the Net Research Self-Esteem Stress Technology Women's Issues anxiety Depression Diet discrimination Eating envious Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 64-year-old woman with an incidental pituitary adenoma
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 64-year-old woman is seen for follow-up evaluation. Two weeks ago, she was in a car accident, and an incidental pituitary adenoma was found on a cervical spine CT scan. She has no residual injuries from the car accident.
She is otherwise healthy and takes no medications. She went through menopause at age 51. She has night sweats two to three times per month and occasional hot flushes. These have improved over the past decade and are not bothersome. She is not sexually active. She has never taken hormone replac...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 17, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Endocrinology Source Type: blogs
I ’ve come to think of these lessons as mum’s dementia blessings
Initially, I found it very hard to accept that mum was living with dementia. I knew very little about the condition or what to expect, and frankly I found it terrifying.For some it seems elusive but as Alice Ashwell has explained in this two part interview with Tom and Karen Brenner, Alzheimer's care and dementia care gives to each of us the opportunity to live a meaningful and purposeful life.This is part two of an interview with Alice.Alzheimer's Care The Power of Purpose in Our LivesSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:By Tom and Karen Brennerwith Alice AshwellAlzheimer's Reading Room4.How did your mother ’s...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 14, 2016 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's awareness alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia dementia care dementia help for caregivers help with dementia care memory care nursing home searches related to dementia care Source Type: blogs
Letting Go of a Depression Cure Can Set You Free
I keep going back to this quote by Vivian Greene when it comes to learning how to live with my chronic illness: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
In fact, every morning I drink out of a mug with that quote on it to remind myself of Vivian’s wisdom: IT’S NOT ABOUT GETTING TO THE OTHER SIDE. With chronic illness, the important exercise is to get out the rain boots and start stomping in the puddles — to not let the downpour stop you from living.
Going into the second decade of living with a host of conditions — retractable depression, inflam...
Source: World of Psychology - September 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Depression Inspiration & Hope Mental Health and Wellness Motivation and Inspiration Personal Self-Help Bipolar Disorder Mood Disorder Stigma Source Type: blogs
How Has MS Affected Your Family Planning or Your Pregnancy?
For many years, there’s been anecdotal evidence that multiple sclerosis activity can slow — and some symptoms even improve — during pregnancy. The evidence was so strong that a multiyear study of the effect of hormone therapy to mimic pregnancy has been undertaken to test whether higher levels of a type of estrogen is behind this phenomenon.
As a man — even a man with MS — I have no way to experience this firsthand. As an “enlightened” man, I wouldn’t even try to comment on it. I suppose it’s not unlike the blog we posted on MS and menopause a number of years ago. I simply cannot make any informed...
Source: Life with MS - September 7, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS and family Source Type: blogs
Breast cancer and HRT
No need to panic about recent study results, says Louise Newson Related items fromOnMedica HRT may benefit mood but not cognition NICE publishes first guideline on menopause Tackling obesity ‘must be made a national priority’ Vulvovaginal atrophy Combined HRT risk for cancer underestimated (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - August 29, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: blogs
