Clinicians Fail to Address Menopausal Symptoms in Women Treated for Breast Cancer
A medical survey led by the University of Southampton (located in the South Coast of England) shows that hot flashes are one of the most common complaints for women who have been treated for breast cancer, however few clinicians take the time to discuss the problem with their patients. Research shows that more than 70% of women with breast cancer experience menopausal symptoms for as long as 5 years after treatment has ended. Further research is needed to find interventions that meet the needs of this special population. This research was presented at the National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Conference.
Transplant of Stem-Cell-Derived Dopamine Neurons Shows Promise for Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is an incurable movement disorder that affects millions of people around the world, but current treatment options can cause severe side effects and lose effectiveness over time. Parkinson’s disease is caused, in part, by the death of neurons that release a brain chemical called dopamine, leading to the progressive loss of control over dexterity and the speed of movement. In a new study, researchers showed that transplantation of neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells, hESCs, can restore motor function in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, paving the way for the use of cell replacement therapy in human clinical trials.
Obesity Increases Risk of Certain Breast Tumors Among African American and Hispanic Women
Two large new studies provide compelling evidence that obesity increases the risk of the most common type of postmenopausal breast cancer among both African Americans and Hispanics. Over one of every two African American woman and almost one of every two Hispanic woman is obese. The first study, published today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, is the largest of its kind among Hispanic women. The Cancer Prevention Institute of California, analyzed 3,200 Hispanic women and found that those who gain weight through adulthood – especially after menopause – had a higher risk for estrogen receptor-negative and progesterone receptor-positive breast tumors. The other study, by epidemiologist Elisa V. Bandera, MD, PhD, at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and her colleagues analyzed the associations of obesity with different hormone-receptor types among over 15,000 African American women, finding that excess weight is linked with a 31 percent increased of ER positive tumors in postmenopausal Black women.
Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines Miss Many Younger Post-Menopausal Women
A new UCLA-led study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, however, finds that the USPSTF strategy predicted only slightly more than one fourth of the women who went on to experience major osteoporotic fractures within 10 years. The study also found that two older osteoporosis risk-assessment tools were not much better. “If we want to prevent fractures, we need tools that help us accurately predict who will suffer these osteoporotic injuries so that we can target these at-risk people for preventive measures,” said Dr. Carolyn Crandall, professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and the study’s primary investigator. “Our results suggest that our current guidelines for screening in younger post-menopausal women do not accurately identify who will suffer a fracture.”
