During menopause, lack of oestrogens increases the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases. For her doctoral thesis, University of the Basque Country researcher, Ainhoa Ruiz del Agua, studied the effects of substitute treatments and the genetic factors influencing the response to these therapies.Menopause is a natural period in the ageing process of a woman.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today

“Are you taking or did you take hormones? whether yes, which hormone medication and for how faraway? When did you stop taking hormone replacement medication?” 3,464 breast cancer patients and 6,657 healthy women amoung the ages of 50 and 74 years participated in a large survey and elicited detailed knowledge about hormone replacement medications they are taking or used to take for relief of menopausal symptoms.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have taken some fundamental first steps to creating a synthetic copycat of a living cell, a leading science journal reports.Dr Cameron Alexander and PhD student George Pasparakis in the University’s School of Pharmacy have used polymers - long-chain molecules - to construct capsule-like structures that have properties mimicking the surfaces of a real cell.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today

December 13, 2003–In a recent survey of dental offices, 61% of dentists believe that they are in need of providing better language assistance to their non-English speaking patients, while 83% of dental receptionists and office managers indicate that translated materials can help them become more productive on the job. These results have important implications on how dental practices can adequately and profitably service the country?s fast growing immigrant populations.

This national survey of 415 dental practices was conducted by Transcendent International, a leading language services agency based in New York City. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the number of Americans with limited English proficiency (LEP) grew nearly 40%, to 14 million. The widening language gap heightens the need for linguistically competent services, as reflected in the results of the study:

– When compared to communicating with English-speaking patients: 20% of dental receptionists rate their interaction with LEP patients ?much more difficult,? and 46% rate it ?somewhat more difficult.?
– Among the dentists interviewed: 28% believe that, by communicating with patients in their native languages, their practice can improve patient retention; 36% believe that it can encourage LEP patients to keep follow-up appointments and return for regular check-ups; and 17% believe that it can improve payment collection from LEP patients.
– Only one in every six receptionists and office managers interviewed are bilingual (the majority of their language pairs being English-Spanish).
– Less than 8% of dental practices interviewed offer translated materials to LEP patients.

?One of the most intriguing findings of the survey is that even bilingual receptionists want to have tools that can help them communicate with patients who don?t speak English,? says William Tan, president of Transcendent. ?Their overwhelming desire is to focus on doing their job as receptionist and office manager, rather than doubling up as an interpreter and explaining how to fill out a health history form.?

Based on the results of the study, Transcendent is currently developing language software specifically catered to the dental industry. Dubbed ?LanguageMate,? this software application will put multilingual materials ? frequently used phrases, forms, questionnaires, medication instructions, educational brochures, etc. ? at the fingertips of dentists and their staff. The first release of LanguageMate? will debut in mid-December 2003, and will feature four languages: English, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.

Patients who have chronic hepatitis C with advanced fibrosis have twice the risk of developing liver cancer whether they plus have diabetes. These findings are published in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American organization for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The write-up is plus available online at Wiley Interscience (http://www.interscience.wiley.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today

Head and neck cancer patients who reported lower physical quality of life were more likely to die from their disease, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The findings could mean that identifying patients with poor quality of life could additionally identify patients with particularly aggressive tumors.”Low quality of life may have value in screening patients for recurrence.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today

The gene that allows fireflies to flash is helping researchers track the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs by day.UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are among the first to show that a technique called bioluminescence imaging (BLI) can be used to determine the effectiveness of cancer drugs that choke off a tumor’s blood supply.The technique requires a substrate called luciferin to be added to the bloodstream, which carries it to cells all through the body.

Original post by Women’s Health / Gynecology News From Medical News Today