Screening all postmenopausal women for osteoporosis, or thinning of the bones, using bone densitometry and treatment of women found to have this condition is highly cost effective, regardless of age.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of Arranon (nelarabine) for marketing in the United States. This is a new drug to treat adults and children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), whose disease has not responded to or has relapsed following at least two chemotherapy regimens. Arranon is the first drug to treat this limited population of patients.
A condition involving abnormally high levels of androgens (steroid hormones) known in medical circles as “hyperandrogenemia” starts early in obese children, a study shows, possibly placing them at increased risk for the metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels that raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Treating a rare form of eye cancer with radiation therapy can spare patients from significant vision loss, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Researchers are now saying that chemotherapy with drugs called aromatase inhibitors is unnecessary after lumpectomy, radiation and 5 years of Tamoxifen, for the vast majority of women with breast cancer.
The addition of testosterone to hormone therapy in women after menopause en hances their se ual function. However, it may also reduce HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) in women.
The use of implanted defibrillators that keep the heart beating in proper electrical rhythm to prevent cardiac arrest appears to be cost-effective for those patients who receive a significant mortality reduction, according to researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), Stanford University and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Calif.
Hidradenitis suppurativa is primarily a disease of occlusion (obstruction) and inflammation of the apocrine (odor) sweat glands of the groin and axilla (armpit). It is similar to acne, which is a disease of the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin. Hidradenitis develops when ducts from the apocrine glands to the skin surface become blocked, leading to a red swollen area on the skin and to the formation of cysts, infection and scarring.
Deciding whether to use hormone therapy (HT) after menopause is a difficult decision many women face as they age. Research has shown that HT is very effective for relieving menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It can also reduce the risk of osteoporosis. However, there are also known health risks and uncertainties about long-term use. Recent research has demonstrated that long-term use of estrogen–either alone or in combination with progestin–results in more risks than benefits.
Elderly women with breast cancer whose surgeons refer them to cancer specialists are twice as likely to be prescribed tamoxifen, a treatment recommended for preventing recurrence of the disease, a new study shows.