menopause

U.S. researchers and Chinese researchers say rat studies show losing estrogen can lead to diminished brain function. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found areas of the brain -- such as CA3 -- that tend to be stroke resistant and important in learning and memory, became vulnerable to stroke in rats that went without estrogen for long periods. It appears estrogen helps Read more...

MILWAUKEE -- Miserable in menopause, Elizabeth Alsgaard pondered an awful choice: Drenching hot flashes or hormone therapies that might raise the risk of cancer. What former actress Suzanne Somers raved about held much more appeal -- custom-mixed "bioidentical" hormones, just like ones the body makes. "Anything I can put into my body that's natural has to be better," Read more...

What to do if menopause makes you miserable? Start with a visit to your doctor. If you don't have one you really trust, fix that problem before you try to tackle the rest, women's health experts recommend. A good doctor will do an exam to make sure menopause is what is causing your symptoms, take stock of which ones are most bothering you, and help you weigh the benefits and risks of Read more...

Postmenopausal women respond much like younger women to regular, vigorous exercise, U.S. researchers found. Study leader and exercise physiologist George Brooks of the University of California at Berkeley said despite changes in hormones and changes in body composition, postmenopausal women can make significant changes in their cardiovascular fitness without going on extreme diets. The Read more...

If it seems like every morsel of food you eat goes straight to your hips, it could be that your hormones are to blame. According to Dr. Pamela Peeke,best-selling author and Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health TV, women go through four "hormonal milestones"--puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause. Each stage is fraught with its own unique weight gain perils. Peek Read more...

A placebo works better than black cohosh and red clover in treating menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, U.S. researchers say. But the commonly used botanicals won't hurt you, the researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University found. Lead author Stacie Geller of the Chicago school and colleagues enrolled 89 women with moderate to severe hot flashes in Read more...

The jury is still out as to whether estrogens can be effective for aging skin, a U.S. dermatologist says. Dr. Margaret E. Parsons of the University of California at Davis in Sacramento reviewed studies that showed mixed results when examining whether estrogen improves the appearance of skin. There were reports of some women on hormone replacement therapy -- given to women during menopause Read more...

Bones are the body's first lines of defense. They protect the brain, heart and lungs and anchor the muscles. They keep us mobile. And all they ask in return is our support to keep them strong: good nutrition, weight-bearing exercise, calcium and vitamin D. Bones' needs also vary with age. You accumulate an astonishing 90 percent of all your bone mass by the time you're 21, so it pays to bank Read more...

You wake up just as it is growing light outside, a half-hour ahead of your alarm clock. With a sigh, you close your eyes. If only you could go back to sleep. After a few minutes, you give up, tired, but not sleepy. As you get out of bed, you wonder, "Why am I so tired all the time? I thought people needed less sleep as they got older." It isn't true. Older adults need just as Read more...

LOS ANGELES -- The death of a Spanish woman who is believed to be the oldest woman ever to give birth may be a tragedy for her children, but it doesn't mean menopausal women are unfit for pregnancy, the doctor who performed her fertility procedure said. "Men have kids at that age all the time and they're praised as being virile and macho," said Dr. Vicken Sahakian of the Pacific Read more...