News in brief - June 14, 2004

Hormone replacement benefits - Aspirin helps women, too - If asthma is bad, it's a girl

Hormone replacement benefits

Researchers believe it might be too soon to rule out any and all benefits from hormone therapy after menopause, despite the Women's Health Initiative's well-publicized findings regarding the dangers posed by hormones.

"It was right to close the Women's Health Initiative trial," said Judith L. Turgeon, PhD, professor of internal medicine at the University of California, Davis, and lead author of an HT article in the May 28 Science. "But we should not generalize the results of this trial and overlook the real potential that other forms of hormone therapy may offer postmenopausal women."

Formulation, dose, whether given by pill or patch and characteristics of the woman being treated are all important factors that should be considered, said Phyllis M. Wise, PhD, dean of the University of California, Davis, division of biological sciences, and a co-author of the study.

Aspirin helps women, too

An aspirin a day may help keep a heart attack away, but many women at risk for heart disease still don't take one, according to a new study. Men, by comparison are more likely to take aspirin but are less likely to follow advice about diet and exercise.

The study did uncover some good news: Men and women are getting their cholesterol and blood pressure checked at about the same rates.

Researchers for the study, which was published in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Risk Factor Surveillance System.

If asthma is bad, it's a girl

Pregnant women with asthma are more likely to experience a worsening of symptoms if they are carrying a girl, according to a paper presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Orlando last month.

Researchers at the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle, Australia, found that more than 70% of women carrying a girl were symptomatic by 30 weeks, compared with 40% of those carrying boys. Nighttime wheezing also was exacerbated.