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Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks for older women

Scientists in New Zealand say healthy post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may be increasing their risk of heart attacks.

16 Jan 2008

African-American women's magazines more likely to encourage fad diets

Magazines catering to African-Americans may be falling short in their efforts to educate readers about weight loss, a new University of Iowa study suggests.

16 Jan 2008

New research advancements in the treatment of premature ovarian failure

Scientific Director of the Meharry Center for Women's Health Research and a team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch and the University of Saskatchewan have recently discovered that the gene mutation believed to be a possible cause of premature ovarian failure may be corrected when an adenovirus compensating for the mutated gene is introduced. Findings were reported in the recent issue of Molecular Human Reproduction.

15 Jan 2008

The link between combined HRT use and the risk of lobular breast cancers

Postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

15 Jan 2008

Diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E lower risk for cataracts

Women who have higher dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin—compounds found in yellow or dark, leafy vegetables—as well as more vitamin E from food and supplements appear to have a lower risk for developing cataracts, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Jan 2008

New folic acid seal helps women choose enriched grain foods to help prevent birth defects

Not enough American women understand that consuming the B vitamin folic acid every day can help prevent serious birth defects, and only 40 percent are taking daily multivitamin supplements containing this essential nutrient beginning before pregnancy, two recent surveys show.

14 Jan 2008

Cranberries combat urinary tract infections

Cranberry juice, long dissed as a mere folk remedy for relieving urinary tract infections in women, is finally getting some respect.

11 Jan 2008

Women wait longer to pursue knee-replacement surgery than men do

Is getting new knees on your list of New Year's resolutions? Research at the University of Delaware indicates that women wait longer to pursue knee-replacement surgery than men do.

10 Jan 2008

Soybeans for hot flashes

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a compound in soybeans is effective in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes in menopausal women.

10 Jan 2008

Breast cancer screening cuts mortality by half

Breast cancer screening in East Anglia has reduced deaths from the disease by nearly half, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer 1 today.

9 Jan 2008

BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations and breast cancer

Breast cancer risk varies widely among women who are carriers of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, according to a new study published in the January 9, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

9 Jan 2008

Brain response differences found in way women with irritable bowel syndrome deal with pain

UCLA researchers found that women with IBS cannot effectively turn-off a pain modulation mechanism in the brain, which causes them to be more sensitive to abdominal pain, compared to women without IBS.

9 Jan 2008

American women prefer overly aggressive treatments for breast cancer

Despite a 1990 consensus recommendation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that lumpectomy plus radiation was the treatment of choice for early stage breast cancer, the United States continues to have the highest rate of mastectomy surgery among industrialized countries.

9 Jan 2008