Updates

Ikegami and colleagues [1] have recently reported that a direct association may exist between insufficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], bone turnover markers and prior vertebral fractures, independent of parathyroid hormone (PTH) activity. In 330 postmenopausal Japanese women with osteoporosis and normal PTH levels who had never been treated for osteoporosis, serum 25(OH)D levels, bone formation… Read More

Moghassemi and colleagues [1] have recently reported the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Iranian postmenopausal women and its relationship to levels of estradiol, testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). This cross-sectional study was conducted in a clinical sample of 149 healthy, naturally postmenopausal women aged 43–64 years. Female sexual function was evaluated by utilizing… Read More

Jamal and colleagues recently published their results from a randomized, controlled trial on the effects of nitroglycerin ointment on bone density and strength [1]. This study follows several previous ones [2,3] which showed that the use of nitrates had a positive impact on bone mineral density (BMD) in men and women.    The present cohort… Read More

Following the dramatic fall in postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) after the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) publications in 2002/2003, a large number of papers have reported a 7% decline in breast cancer incidence in the USA and other countries. In a recent study [1], breast cancer incidence rates among non-Hispanic (NH) white women from 2003 to… Read More

The Women on the Move Through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) study, a 5-year randomized clinical trial, was designed to evaluate whether a non-pharmacological lifestyle intervention, focused on weight loss through dietary and physical activity changes, would reduce the measures of subclinical atherosclerosis among postmenopausal women aged 52–62 years. Data were collected at baseline and at… Read More

Buys and colleagues [1] have recently reported the results of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Randomized Controlled Trial aimed at assessing the effect of screening for ovarian cancer on mortality. The studied population included 78,216 women aged 55–74 years who underwent either annual screening ([i]n[/i] = 39,105) or conventional care ([i]n[/i]… Read More

A new comprehensive review by Rachner and colleagues [1] focuses on osteoporosis therapies that have been recently introduced and those with novel mechanisms of action likely to succeed in ongoing clinical trials. The paper is extensively referenced. A discussion of new insights into bone biology precedes the review of clinical trials of new agents. The… Read More

Bolland and associates have recently reported on a re-analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) observational study on calcium and vitamin D supplementation. The WHI study showed no cardiovascular risk associated with such supplementation [1]. They differentiated the treatment arm of the WHI study into women naïve to calcium and vitamin D supplementation and women… Read More

It is the experience of those gynecologists dealing with severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) that long-standing ‘bipolar depression’ which has been diagnosed by psychiatrists often disappears when the cyclical premenstrual nature of the condition is treated by hormonal suppression of ovarian cycles. This treatment could be by transdermal estradiol, GnRH analogues… Read More

Leitch and colleagues [1] have recently reported the results of a survey performed in a group of women attending a specialist menopause clinic in Edinburgh. The aims of the study were to establish the current prevalence of skin disorders in a group of peri- and postmenopausal women and to investigate any perceived effects of hormone… Read More