However, in contrast to the results with estrogen-only HRT, the study also found another type of estrogen-containing medication birth control pills were linked with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer when used over the long term. [ 7 Surprising Facts about The Pill ] Women who took oral contraception for 10 years or more had a 72 percent greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who had never used oral contraception. The study found associations, and cannot prove that estrogen whether in hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills actually causes an increase or decrease in pancreatic cancer risk . Factors not taken into account by the researchers may be responsible for the links.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/13/hormone-replacement-therapy-may-reduce-pancreatic-cancer-risk/

Manning wants hormone therapy in prison. Will it happen?

Vanessa Adams entered a North Carolina facility at age 29. She was biologically male but “self-identified as female throughout her adult life,” according to court documents. “Because of this, she wanted to initiate the gender transition process prior to her incarceration, but found herself unable to do so in the face of the restrictions imposed on her by a conservative family and workplace,” the lawsuit continues. Adams had been diagnosed with gender identity disorder; Manning has also received the same diagnosis. Adams filed a lawsuit in 2009 after her prison denied treatment. That suit was settled outside of court two years later, with one prong of the settlement being a change to prison policy, allowing hormone therapy treatment to start in prison.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/22/manning-wants-hormone-therapy-in-prison-will-it-happen/

Hormone therapy, calcium may lower fracture risk

Michele Curtis, a women’s health researcher from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “At the end of the day what this study really says is, what you thought was a good thing to do really is a good thing to do.” Because of the known risks of hormone therapy, one of the study’s authors said women should not take it solely to ward off fractures – but if they’re taking hormones for other reasons, it might be a good idea to add calcium. Although many women take calcium and vitamin D for bone health, evidence has been mixed on how much supplements really help over and above what women get through their diets. In February, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said there were no benefits but some risk for post-menopausal women taking low-dose vitamin D and calcium. The group recommended against supplement use to prevent broken bones.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/28/us-hormone-therapy-idUSBRE95R0YN20130628

Hormone Therapy Linked to Higher Breast Cancer Death Risk

Rowan Chlebowski, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and lead author of the study. Women in the study who used estrogen and progestin for five-and-a-half years — which is considered long-term use of the therapy — were at higher risk of getting breast cancer, said Chlebowksi. Earlier results of this trial indicated a connection between synthetic hormone therapy — commonly marketed as as the drug Prempro — and less aggressive forms of breast cancer . But results now suggest that women who took hormones may be at risk of any, including more aggressive and late-stage, forms of breast cancer.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCallPlusBreastCancerNews/combination-hormone-therapy-linked-breast-cancer-death/story?id=11920352

Avoidance of Hormone Therapy May Have Harmed Hysterectomy Patients: Study

The findings refer only to women who’ve had a hysterectomy and then experience menopausal symptoms, the researchers emphasized. “In women who have had a hysterectomy who have symptoms of hormone deficiency [such as hot flashes ], it can be lifesaving for them to take estrogen,” said review author Dr. Philip Sarrel, of Yale University School of Medicine. For women between the ages of 50 and 59, estrogen-only therapy after a hysterectomy reduces the risk of heart attack and death, Sarrel said. “The main reduction [in deaths] is the reduction in heart attacks, but there is also a clear reduction in the incidence of breast cancer and deaths from breast cancer ,” Sarrel said.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=171752

The 19-site meta-analysis, involving nearly 30,000 African-Americans, also found that the set of genetic mutations are also associated with blood pressure across other populations. Co-senior author Xiaofeng Zhu, PhD Epidemiology and biostatistics professor, said that in addition to their disproportionate suffering, hypertension occurs earlier in life for African-Americans compared to individuals of other ancestries. Zhu and his colleagues also confirmed that previous findings regarding other genes whose presence correlates with increased hypertension risk. Zhu said that although it is unknown how the genes regulate blood pressure and that their findings contribute to better understanding of blood pressure pathways that can lead to future development of drug target for hypertension and may guide therapy for clinical care. Experts estimate genetic make-up accounts for roughly 40-50 percent of individuals’ susceptibility to hypertension.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.medindia.net/news/genetic-variants-linked-with-blood-pressure-discovered-124878-1.htm

Financial incentives on hypertension care shows increased blood pressure control

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation recently announced a performance pay plan for physicians. These and other value-based purchasing systems are intended to align incentives to promote high-quality health care. Evaluations of the effectiveness of pay-for-performance programs directed at hospitals have shown contradictory results,” according to background information in the article. Laura A. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of explicit financial incentives to individual physicians and practice teams for the delivery of guideline-recommended care for hypertension in the primary care setting.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130911/Financial-incentives-on-hypertension-care-shows-increased-blood-pressure-control.aspx

Francine Grodstein, who wrote an editorial accompany the new study in JAMA Internal Medicine, told Reuters Health the findings are primarily reassuring. “So for (younger) women who really need hormone therapy to treat menopause symptoms this study didn’t find hormone therapy had the amount of harm as it did for older women,” said Grodstein, an associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Espeland told Reuters Health there could be a few possible explanations for the difference between older and younger women using hormone replacement therapy. One possible explanation could be that older women already have more memory problems and hormone therapy accelerates the decline.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/26/us-hormone-therapy-idUSBRE95P1CT20130626

Hormone therapy, calcium may lower fracture risk

For the new study, Jean Wactawski-Wende from the University at Buffalo and her colleagues compared seven years’ worth of fracture data for women in their 50s, 60s and 70s participating in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study. In one arm of the trial, participants were randomly assigned to take either hormone therapy or a drug-free placebo. In another, they took 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D or placebo tablets each day. About 16,000 women were part of both the hormone and vitamin trials, including 4,000 randomized to both hormone therapy – either estrogen alone or estrogen and progesterone – and calcium and vitamin D. In total, 214 women had a hip fracture during the study.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/28/us-hormone-therapy-idUSBRE95R0YN20130628

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