Updates

Medications can affect bone metabolism and be a secondary cause of osteoporosis. A recent publication has reviewed the data on a possible influence of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on the bone [1]. PPIs, drugs in widespread use for gastroesophageal reflux and other gastric disorders, could impair intestinal calcium absorption, leading to a negative calcium balance,… Read More

The Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention Study is a prospective population-based cohort study. In a new publication [1], the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the new incidence of diabetes mellitus was examined. Almost 8500 women in the early postmenopause were followed over a 5-year period. Almost one-third of the women were current… Read More

In a recently published study [1], the authors try to prove the possibility of using low-dose aspirin for the prevention of clinical type 2 diabetes in women. Information on long-term use of aspirin (100 mg every other day) to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes was gathered from the Women’s Health Study (WHS) as… Read More

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are frequent health-care problems and the most frequent cause of death. Shortages of antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene and folic acid) have been shown to be associated with the blood vessel changes that occur in cardiovascular disease. Other information suggests that vitamins might lower a person’s chances of… Read More

The incidence of colorectal cancer has been reported to be lower in Asians than in Caucasians, even though rapid increases in Asian countries, particularly in Japan, have been noticed [1,2]. Higher soy food consumption by Asians than by Caucasians has been thought to be one of the possible reasons for the difference. A recently published… Read More

A recent report from Koomen and colleagues in the Annals of Oncology [1] has reopened the discussion on the association between the development of cutaneous melanoma (CM) and hormones.  The paper reports on a case–control study conducted in the Netherlands using two databases: PHARMO, a pharmacy database recording all prescriptions on an individual basis, and… Read More

A recently published study is part of a larger research project on postmenopausal sarcopenia and the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and physical activity [1]. Fifteen 54–62-year-old monozygotic female twin pairs, where one twin in each pair was receiving HRT and the other twin was not, were recruited from the Finnish Twin Cohort. This… Read More

Using a case history of a patient with classical menopausal symptoms, Martin and Manson have recently reviewed in brief the recent data and controversies over hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and discussed hormonal regimens (oral, transdermal) and dosage, duration of therapy and alternative treatment options [1]. The main motif of the article is safety, namely, how… Read More

In a recently published investigation [1], Calle and colleagues selected a large cohort of postmenopausal US women (n = 67,754) from the 97,786 female participants of the prospective study Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. This cohort was established in 1982 by the American Cancer Society. Women aged 50–74 years were mailed self-administered questionnaires from… Read More

The Raloxifene Use for The Heart (RUTH) trial results were published in 2004 [1]. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study which recruited 10 101 women above the age of 55 years (mean age 67.5 years), with established coronary artery disease (CAD) or at high risk for CAD. Women were followed for a median period… Read More