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Menopause Is Connected To Early Aging

July 28, 2016 By Sandy Morton Leave a Comment

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences revealed that menopause is connected to early aging

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences revealed that menopause is connected to early aging. Some of the menopause symptoms include insomnia, hot flashes, sweating at night. And even though it’s a natural life stage, experts have more unwanted news.

Apparently, menopause hastens the aging process for women.

To compile the report, scientists from the UCLA documented the changes of DNA in women going through menopause, to decide whether the body’s biological age was the same as their actual, chronological age.

Research revealed that the earlier a woman enters menopause, the more her biological age increases. Eight years of menopause add one year to the biological age, according to lead author, Professor Steve Horvath.

The team led by Horvath observed DNA samples from 3,000 women in four big, long-term studies. They recorded the biological age of blood cells, saliva cells, and cells from inside the cheek.

Findings pointed to the conclusion that menopause sped up the aging of cells by six percent on average.

In other words, a woman who enters early menopause at 42, in eight years’ time she’ll be one biological year older than a 50-year-old woman, who entered menopause at the age of 50.

Although it is not a dramatic effect, it shows that women who enter early menopause have a slightly increased risk of dying early.

Until now, it wasn’t clear whether menopause brings accelerated aging, or if quick aging caused menopause. Now, scientists confirmed the first hypothesis.

Another example is when women go through a “surgical menopause” if they have their ovaries removed. This type of surgery is sometimes necessary if the ovaries have radiation or cancer damage.

By analyzing the blood of these women, who went through “surgical menopause”, scientists have found that their blood was biologically older than the blood of women who had menopause naturally.

So far, the study cannot conclude if insomnia increases biological age or not, but most of the results are “powerful findings,” which could lead to better medical treatments for women. Further research needs to be done, so scientists can see what kind of relationship exists between aging and sleep disorders.

What’s your opinion on this article? Please leave a comment below!

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More and More Americans Identify as Bisexuals

January 8, 2016 By Bonnie Gleason Leave a Comment

More people feel free to reveal their (homo)sexual orientation

According to a CDC study more and more Americans identify as bisexuals as the time goes by. The study reveals that women are three times more likely than men to identify as bisexual.

The research team surveyed 9,000 adults of ages between 18 and 44. A total of 2 percent of the men identified as bisexual while among the ladies 5.5 percent said they like both Adam and Eve. The study shows an increase in bisexual men with .8 percent compared to a study from a few years ago while the rate of bisexual ladies increased by 40 percent.

However, when it comes to sexual attraction young women are more likely to be attracted only to the opposite sex. 88.6 percent of men and 75.9 percent of women said that even if they identify as bisexuals they are only attracted by persons of the opposite sex.

Cornell University’s professor of developmental psychology Dr. Ritch Savin-Williams who wrote more books on the topic of sexuality and sexual orientation said that until now male statistics wouldn’t show an attraction to the opposite sex under 90 percent.

However, Dr. Savin-Williams claims that these figures are not showing that there are more bisexuals than they were in the past but that more people are out of the closet and not afraid anymore to admit their non-straight orientation. Especially regarding women, in today’s society women feel a greater permission to admit that they are sexually attracted to other women.

Other scientists agree with Savin Williams. Indiana University’s professor Debby Herbenicksays that the increasing awareness over bisexuality makes it easier for people to identify as such.

The young population is more likely to be open regarding their sexuality. The study shows that 2.8 percent of women aged 18 to 24 identified as bisexual, 5.4 percent of women aged 25-34 and only 4 percent of women between the ages of 25 and 34.

According to CDC’s demographer Casey Copen, the trends are similar to those from the past when it comes to women’s and men’s bisexuality. Women have always been more open towards other women. However, one big change is that in recent decades more women attracted to other women identified as bisexuals instead of lesbians.

Of the lesbian and bisexual women 83.6 percent had sexual contact with a person of the same sex while 89.7 of them had sexual contact with at least one member of the opposite sex. On the other side of the bisexual and homosexual men 88.6 percent had sexual contact with a member of the same sex while only 67.9 percent had sexual contact with a member of the opposite sex.

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Texas Cuts Off Funding Of HIV Prevention Program

December 28, 2015 By Jac Hardy Leave a Comment

The state of Texas is fighting a war against Planned Parenthood

In the middle of a long lasting battle around Planned Parenthood, Texas cuts off funding of HIV prevention program.

On Monday, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast received a notice from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in which they were informed that the state is not renewing their funding for the HIV prevention program.

The contract which won’t be renewed after it expires on December 31 was receiving federal funds through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) but the funding was managed by the state. The $600,000 annual funds were used by the health care provider for HIV prevention service, HIV testing, referral consultations, counselling for HIV-positive persons and condom distribution.

According to Texas Tribune, when asked about the situation, a spokesperson for the CDC admitted they were not aware of any notice and refused to comment any further.

Planned Parenthood GF was receiving the grant since 1988 and with its help they were serving HIV-positive people located in the Huston area. Only during the last two years the grant helped the organization to test over 138,000 people at risk of infection with HIV and identifying 1,182 HIV-positive people.

Planned Parenthood GF’s spokeswoman, Rochelle Tafolla says that the state cut the funding in an ‘attempt to score political points’ but by doing so it will harm tens of thousands of people whose access to health care will be restricted as no other organization will have the resources to fill the gap created by the funds cutting.

This decision by the state of Texas is only one of the last attempts to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, coming only a month after the Republican leaders of Texas announced their intentions to kick out Planned Parenthood from Medicaid federal program which provides health insurance for poor people.

The war against Planned Parenthood has started after a video was released in which officials of Planned Parenthood were saying they harvest tissue from aborted fetuses with research purposes. However, the group has vehemently denied the accusations arguing that the video was dramatically edited. More than that, the abortion services provided by the group are separated from their health care programs.

Planned Parenthood receives $3.1 million through Medicaid which they use to get access to family planning for low income women.

Another attack on Planned Parenthood was a provision written into the budget which wouldn’t allow clinics affiliated with providers of abortion services to participate in the state-federal program which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings for uninsured poor women in Texas.

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Female Hormones Play a Role in Deadly Allergic Reactions

December 29, 2014 By William Bland Leave a Comment

According to medical researchers, the primary female sex hormone called estrogen puts women at greater risk of deadly allergic reactions. A study warns that in laboratory tests, women had worsened allergic reactions because of hormones.

Researchers discovered that for people suffering from anaphylaxis, which is an allergic reaction caused by insect stings, medication, and food, enzymes are released by immune cells which lead to blood vessels to widen and tissues to swell. Also discovered was that a type of estrogen known as estradiol, actually enhances activity and levels of this enzyme, putting women at serious risk.

When a reaction occurs, women will begin to develop a rash, the skin becomes flushed, and breathing starts to become labored. In the most severe cases, a woman can go into shock or have a full-blown heart attack.

As stated by the researchers of this study, this could explain there are differences between sexes specific to allergies. Studies conducted in the past show that women have anaphylaxis more often than men but until this new study, the reason remained a mystery.

The new study was performed by scientists with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with findings published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In laboratory testing, scientists found that not only did female mice have more serious anaphylactic reactions compared to men but that they also lasted much longer.

Scientists agree that the estrogen hormone is what makes the endothelial nitric oxide synthase enzyme cause anaphylaxis (eNOS) symptoms to be stronger. However, when activity of this enzyme was blocked, allergic reactions between men and women vanished.

Researchers also discovered that giving women treatments to block estrogen had a positive result. In female mice that were given the blocking treatments, level of allergic reactions dropped lower than levels typically found in men.

Obviously, there is a clear connection between the female hormone estrogen and the enzyme with serious anaphylactic reaction but researchers agree it is imperative to see if the same results occur in humans.

Depression Risk Higher in Women who Suffer Heart Attacks

October 20, 2014 By Sandy Morton Leave a Comment

According to new research presented by Professor Pranas Serpytis from Luthania at the Acute Cardiovascular Care 2014 event, women more than men are at higher risk for suffering from depression and anxiety following a heart attack.

Involved in the study were 160 patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction, with focus on the impact of gender and risk of heart disease as related to the development of depression and/or anxiety.

In the most recent statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDP), roughly 720,000 adults suffer heart attacks annually in the United States. A heart attack happens when there is a compromise in the flow of oxygen rich blood going to a part of the heart muscle becomes blocked. With this, oxygen is prevented from reaching that part of the heart, causing the heart muscle to die.

All of the participants of the study were admitted to the Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Clinics in Lithuania and for one month after having a heart attack, interviewed to gather specific data such as demographics, history of mental health disorders, clinical characteristics, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers found that depression was a problem for nearly 25% of those patients and of those, about 28.2% had been treated with antidepressants. The study also revealed that more than men, women had a higher risk of developing depression and/or anxiety subsequent to a heart attack.

Professor Serpytis explained that people who struggle with depression are six times more likely to die within six months after a heart attack than people without depression. In addition, this increased risk persists for up to 18 months. Unfortunately, while depression following a heart attack is relatively common, it often goes undiagnosed and thereby untreated.

The obvious first step is prevention by following a healthy diet and exercise regimen but also seeking professional help when symptoms of depression and/or anxiety first appear.

Although many people feel embarrassed or ashamed when facing mental health issues, experts strongly agree that a healthy lifestyle coupled with quick intervention, especially for women, are the keys to living a long and productive life.

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