The risk of heart attack, stroke or breast cancer due to hormone replacement therapy has been overstated, and that has scared away some women who could benefit from it, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada said at its annual conference in Ottawa this week. The SOGCsays HRT is not the scourge it was once considered to be. "I do think that a generation of women were denied the opportunity to have better health," said Dr. Robert Langer, who spoke at the conference. For decades, HRT was the go-to treatment for women experiencing symptoms of menopause that can include night sweats, insomnia, depression, anxiety and hot flashes,and was even thought to have a protective effect against bone density loss and heart disease. In 2002, however, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) prematurely ended a massive study involving thousands of women when it was discovered HRT failed to protect against heart disease andincreased the risk of heart disease as well as blood clots, stroke and breast cancer. Shirley Weir, founder of the Menopause Chicks website, says most women dont have anyone to talk to about menopause (Shirley Weir/menopausechicks.com) That finding "seemingly turned the world upside down," said Langer, medical … Continue reading →

23 Jun 2017 Of all the diseases that afflict people in old age, people fear Alzheimers most. How can they protect themselves? A report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) acknowledges some possible steps, but stops short of issuing concrete recommendations. They base their report on a thorough review of the literature that finds modest but inconclusive evidence that cognitive training, blood pressure management, and regular physical activity prevent or delay cognitive decline. However, the data are still too weak to issue specific guidelines to the general public, wrote the committee of senior scientists led by Alan Leshner, CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Story Landis, director emeritus of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders andStroke. The evidence has not yet matured to the level that would support an assertive public health campaign, the authors wrote. However, the report does identify those interventions, supported by some evidence of benefit, that should be discussed with [people] who are actively seeking advice on steps they can take to maintain brain health as theyage. Its a very balanced report that truly reflects the level of evidence currently available, said Edo Richard, Radboud University, … Continue reading →

Brooke Baxa Photo: Human Rights Campaign, via YouTube. The Human Rights Campaign has released a video highlighting the important role that Planned Parenthood plays in providing culturally competent health care to the LGBTQ community. The video, which was launched Friday, is in response to a provision in the Senate version of a Republican-led health care reform effort that would prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid dollars. Because Senate Republicans plan on using reconciliation to pass the bill, the defunding of Planned Parenthood would only last one fiscal year, as opposed to a permanent ban. But the damage likely forcing several Planned Parenthood clinics to close would be done by the time the prohibition expired. Brooke Baxa, a 22-year old non-binary transgender healthcare advocate, is featured in the video explaining how they were able to get medical treatment through Planned Parenthoods clinic in Denver, Colo. Baxa says they first met other transgender people living authentically through a Planned Parenthood youth conference, which aided them in coming out as transgender and non-binary. In the fall of 2015, after seeking medical care from Planned Parenthood, Baxa began taking hormones, including testosterone, to help with their transition. Baxa also discovered that Planned Parenthood was … Continue reading →