Taryn Smith MD, NCMP Sabrina Sahni MD, NCMP Holly L. Thacker MD, FACP, CCD, NCMPAbstractEvery woman, if she lives long enough, will transition into menopause, and as the US population ages, women will be spending more time in a postmenopausal state than before. For postmenopausal women, the decision to initiate menopausal hormone therapy should be individualized. A thorough evaluation of the patient's cardiovascular, venous thromboembolic, cancer, and fracture risk should be considered along…

Menopause Transition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Implications for Timing of Early Prevention A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, who have a notable increase in the risk for this disease after menopause and typically develop coronary heart disease several years later than men. This observation led to the hypothesis that the menopause transition (MT) contributes to the increase in coronary…

Pfizer and BioNTech Conclude Phase 3 Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate, Meeting All Primary Efficacy Endpoints Primary efficacy analysis demonstrates BNT162b2 to be 95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose; 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group versus 8 in the vaccine groupEfficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics; observed efficacy in adults over 65 years of age was…

The FDA announced that it had asked five pharmaceutical firms to voluntarily recall products containing extended-release formulations of metformin hydrochloride, a drug frequently prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes to manage blood glucose levels. The recall stems from a recent series of tests that revealed unacceptably high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine, a probable human carcinogen, in several lots of metformin extended-release products. "Now that we have identified some metformin…

PROBIOTICS CAN BE PARTICULARLY BENEFICIAL FOR WOMEN There's still a lot to be discovered about probiotics, says Dr. Holly Thacker of Cleveland Clinic. One thing that's for sure, however, is that your gastrointestinal (GI) health can play an important role in your bodily functions. "A lot of different medical conditions, from cardiovascular to autoimmune to cancers to even potentially mood, that can be affected by the food you eat," Dr. Thacker tells Woman's Day. "Obviously, there’s a complex…

Women who reported two or more moderate to severe menopause symptoms had increased risks for cardiovascular disease and stroke, but vasomotor symptom severity did not affect risk, according to data from the WHI Calcium and Vitamin D trial. Researchers analyzed data collected during the Women’s Health Initiative-Calcium and Vitamin D trial (n = 20,050), a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in which women aged 50 to 79 years received 400 IU of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,000 mg of…

Metformin Use Is Associated With Slowed Cognitive Decline and Reduced Incident Dementia in Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Sydney Memory and Ageing Study

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) affects more than one third of adult women. HerDesire.net is an online central-source for education about screening, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of HSDD. The goal of the HSDD initiative is to provide the following education objectives: Define and differentiate between FSD and HSDD through careful use of screening questionnaires, assessment, and physical examination, to ensure proper diagnosis and successful non-medical and medical…

When you exercise could impact how well you sleep later. EXERCISE IS A KEY WAY to stay healthy and live a longer, more productive life. It’s beneficial in several ways, not least of which is its ability to promote good sleep. Tiring yourself out with a tough workout is a great way to help your body feel ready for sleep when it’s time to go to bed. And regular physical activity can help you stay asleep longer and wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning. However, the time of day you…

A wave of illness involving children and teens is starting to raise some concern. The illness, which doctors are calling pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), is believed to be linked to COVID-19, but there is much that is still unknown. Pediatric rheumatologists Sirada Panupattanapong, MD and Elizabeth B. Brooks, MD, PhD share what we know so far about MIS-C. MIS-C is a Kawasaki-like illness MIS-C mirrors the symptoms of another rare childhood illness, Kawasaki disease,…

President Trump signed multiple executive orders on Friday aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs such as insulin. The executive orders the president signed will require discounts on insulin and EpiPens that were given to some hospitals to be passed on to patients; and speed up a proposal to import prescription drugs from Canada and other countries for pharmacies, wholesalers and states. The president said the changes should eliminate the "middlemen" in drug purchases. "The…

FDA advises consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico, due to the potential presence of methanol (wood alcohol), a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested. FDA has identified the following products manufactured by Eskbiochem: All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)Lavar 70 Gel Hand…

Link between progesterone and depressive symptoms is new, and may have therapeutic implicationsWomen are particularly vulnerable to mood disturbances, ranging from subsyndromal depressive symptoms to major depression, during the menopausal transition period. While epidemiologic studies consistently demonstrate this, our understanding of the biological mechanisms for these prevalent symptoms remains limited.An observational study by Joffe et al., published in the Journal of Clinical…

Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVFM) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Phexxi™ (lactic acid, citric acid and potassium bitartrate) vaginal gel for the prevention of pregnancy in females of reproductive potential for use as an on-demand method of contraception. Phexxi is the first non-hormonal, on-demand, vaginal pH regulator contraceptive designed to maintain vaginal pH within the normal range of 3.5 to 4.5 – an acidic environment that is…

State of Ohio Covid-19 post stay at home options impact analysis summary utilizing a transmissibility modified SEIR modeling technique. Summary Overview This summary discusses the findings from an Ohio focused COVID-19 modified SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, Recovered) model that was created to correct perceived shortcomings in existing predictive models which tend to overestimate the number and rate of infections. This summary is intended for use as another data point in the ongoing…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for a blood purification system to treat patients 18 years of age or older with confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure. The authorized product works by reducing the amount of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators, i.e., small active proteins in the bloodstream that control a cell’s immune response by filtering the blood…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is requesting manufacturers withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) ranitidine drugs from the market immediately. This is the latest step in an ongoing investigation of a contaminant known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in ranitidine medications (commonly known by the brand name Zantac). The agency has determined that the impurity in some ranitidine products increases over time and when stored at higher than room…

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