GenderBiology.net

Link Between Feelings Of Hopelessness and Stroke Risk In Healthy Women

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE:  August 29, 2009

EXCERPT: "Healthy middle-aged women with feelings of hopelessness appear to experience thickening of the neck arteries, which can be a precursor to stroke, according to new research  ... The study found a consistent, progressive, and linear association between increasing neck artery thickness and rising levels of hopelessness.  ... this is the first study to suggest that hopelessness may be related to subclinical cardiovascular disease in women without clinical symptoms of heart disease and who are generally healthy .... These findings suggest that women who experience feelings of hopelessness may have greater risk for future heart disease and stroke."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Whipple MO, Lewis TT, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Matthews KA, Barinas-Mitchell E, Powell LH, Everson-Rose SA. Hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and carotid atherosclerosis in women: the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) heart study. Stroke. 2009 Oct;40(10):3166-72.

Risk Of Death Following Acute Coronary Syndromes Different For Men, Women; Attributable To Various Factors

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  August 26, 2009


EXCERPT:  "Women may have a slightly higher risk of death than men in the 30 days following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS; such as heart attack or unstable angina), but this difference appears attributable to factors such as severity and type of ACS, clinical differences and angiographic severity according to a study in the August 26 issue of JAMA."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Berger JS, Elliott L, Gallup D, Roe M, Granger CB, Armstrong PW, Simes RJ, White HD, Van de Werf F, Topol EJ, Hochman JS, Newby LK, Harrington RA, Califf RM, Becker RC, Douglas PS. Sex differences in mortality following acute coronary syndromes. JAMA. 2009 Aug 26;302(8):874-82.

Testosterone supplementation benefits heart failure in older men

SOURCE:  MedPage Today

DATE:  August 25, 2009

EXCERPT: "Testosterone injections significantly improved the strength, endurance, and physical function of elderly men with heart failure, a double-blind Italian study found. ...    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Caminiti G, Volterrani M, Iellamo F, Marazzi G, Massaro R, Miceli M, Mammi C, Piepoli M, Fini M, Rosano GM. Effect of long-acting testosterone treatment on functional exercise capacity, skeletal muscle performance, insulin resistance, and baroreflex sensitivity in elderly patients with chronic heart failure a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Sep 1;54(10):919-27.

Testosterone Makes a Difference in Financial Risk Taking, Study Finds

SOURCE:  Chronicle of Higher Education News > Administration > Student Affairs)

DATE:  August 24, 2009

EXCERPT:  "Female M.B.A. students with higher testosterone levels are more likely to feel comfortable taking financial chances and to choose risky careers like investment banking or trading .... "   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Sapienza P, Zingales L, Maestripieri D. Gender differences in financial risk aversion and career choices are affected by testosterone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Aug 24.

Increase In Visceral Fat During Menopause Linked With Testosterone

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE:  August 21, 2009

EXCERPT: "In middle-aged women, visceral fat, more commonly called belly fat, is known to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but what causes visceral fat to accumulate?

The culprit is likely not age, as is commonly believed, but the change in hormone balance that occurs during the menopause transition, according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Janssen I, Powell LH, Kazlauskaite R, Dugan SA. Testosterone and Visceral Fat in Midlife Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Fat Patterning Study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Aug 20. [Epub ahead of print]

New Initiative for Women's Heart Health at Main Line Health Heart Center

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE:  August 18, 2009

EXCERPT:  "The Main Line Health Heart Center announces the launch of its Women's Heart Initiative, a one-of-a-kind team of physicians and clinical staff in southeast Pennsylvania, designed specifically to empower women in taking charge of their cardiovascular health.

Unlike other women's cardiovascular initiatives, the Women's Heart Initiative features a unique difference - it includes focused, highly structured medical training for both physicians and nurses that will help them recognize and assess the often overlooked disease. In this way, it is slated to become a leading resource not only for women, but also for clinicians who aim to further their understanding of cardiovascular disease and how it affects women."   more

RELATED LINK:

Main Line Health Heart Center. Women's Heart Initiative

Risk of Diabetes Linked to Sex Hormone Protein

SOURCE:  MedPage Today

DATE: August 5, 2009

EXCERPT:  "People with low blood levels of a protein that regulates sex hormones are at higher risk of diabetes, and genetics may play a role in determining both the levels and the risk, ....  Men and women with the lowest blood levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were 10 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with the highest levels of the protein ...."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Ding EL, Song Y, Manson JE, Hunter DJ, Lee CC, Rifai N, Buring JE, Gaziano JM, Liu S. Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women and Men. N Engl J Med. 2009 Aug 5.

Weight Gain After Birth-Control Shot May Last

SOURCE:  MedlinePlus.gov  (Reuters Health Information)

DATE:  August 4, 2009

EXCERPT:  "Women who quickly put on pounds after starting birth-control injections seem to be at risk of significant long-term weight gain, a new study suggests.  The findings, say researchers, should help clarify which women are likely to see unhealthy weight changes with the contraceptive, called depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) -- better known by the brand-name Depo Provera."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Le YC, Rahman M, Berenson AB. Early weight gain predicting later weight gain among depot medroxyprogesterone acetate users. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Aug;114(2 Pt 1):279-84.

Heart-failure therapy for women underresearched, Cleveland Clinic doctor says

SOURCE: Harlan Spector, Plain Dealer Reporter 

DATE:  August 04, 2009

EXCERPT:  " Doctors have little information on the most effective therapies for women because women have been under- represented in clinical research.

The Clinic's Dr. Eileen Hsich calls attention to the fact in a new research paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The lack of sex-specific guidance means doctors treat women the same as men. But "there's some concern that men and women may benefit differently from therapies," said Hsich, who directs the women's heart failure clinic.

Her research paper cites evidence that some treatments may not benefit women the same way they do men. In particular, Hsich says implanted defibrillators and ACE inhibitors, medications that slow the progress of heart failure, appear less effective."   more

RELATED LINK:

Hsich EM, Piña IL. Heart failure in women: a need for prospective data. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Aug 4;54(6):491-8.