Miami Herald - October 16, 2005

• High blood pressure: Women who consume high doses of non-aspirin painkillers are much more likely to develop high blood pressure than women who don't use them, according to research reported in August in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Women who took 500 mg or more of acetaminophen per day on average were about twice as likely to develop high blood pressure. Older women, ages 51-77, who used an average of 400 mg or more per day of ibuprofen were about 80 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure.

• Heart attacks: Chest pain or discomfort and arm numbness are considered two classic warning signs of heart attack in men, but women are more likely to experience unusual fatigue in the weeks before the event and little or no chest pain, according to research published in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation, in November 2003. Trouble sleeping and unusual anxiety also ranked high as symptoms among women.

• Osteoporosis: Growing evidence suggests a potential role for soy in preventing postmenopausal bone loss. Postmenopausal women who consume high levels of soy protein daily have a reduced risk of bone fracture, according to findings from the Shanghai Women's Health Study, published in JAMA in September. Those who consumed as much as 13.27 grams or more of soy per day had a 37 percent reduced risk for fracture.

• Breast cancer: Women who refuse surgery for breast cancer have a strongly impaired survival rate, researchers in Switzerland have found. Women who refused surgery had a two-fold increased risk to die compared with operated women, according to the study, published in September in Annals of Surgery.

• AIDS: The number of people over age 50 who are infected with HIV is significant -- and growing -- according to research from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Older patients who have drastic weight loss may initially be misdiagnosed as having cancer. Data show that HIV-infected older people not taking HAART have double the risk of death compared with untreated young people with HIV.

• Longevity: Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have identified a hormone that suppresses aging. Produced by a gene called Klotho, the hormone is believed to block insulin action, which is known to extend life in worms, flies and mice. Only animal studies have been done so far, but scientists speculate the possibility of a future blood test for levels of the hormone to help determine a person's potential life span.

• Alzheimer's disease: Estrogen pills appear to slightly increase the risk of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in postmenopausal women, according to the Women's Health Initiative Pooling 2004 results. Researchers found estrogen users faced a 38 percent increased risk of developing dementia or forgetfulness.

• Ovarian cancer: Most breast cancers are not linked to ovarian cancer, according to a study published in September in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York suggest that removal of ovaries as a preventive measure is unnecessary for women with a family history of breast cancer who test negative for BRCA mutations.

• Depression: Older women do not respond as well to depression treatments as younger men and women, and the reason could be hormonal, according to a 2002 study at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle. The study evaluating the effectiveness of both drugs and psychotherapy for treatment of patients with chronic depressive symptoms found that women over age 60 were among the least likely to report a treatment benefit. Hormonal changes in postmenopausal women may affect their ability to recover.

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