HEALTH NEWS IN BRIEF: Disorder affects 1 in 15 women

Articles: HEALTH NEWS IN BRIEF: Disorder affects 1 in 15 women

Posted by admin on Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 08:09 AM

A hormonal disorder marked by infertility, acne, weight gain and excess hair affects more women of childbearing age than experts previously believed.
One in 15 women suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, lead author of a study in June's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology. It is the most common endocrine abnormality of reproductive-age women in the United States, the study said. In the analysis, Azziz and his team evaluated 400 women, aged 18 to 45, using medical histories, physical exams and lab results that were taken as part of pre-employment physicals. Screeners looked for ovulation problems, excessive hairiness and other common symptoms of the disorder. Polycystic ovary syndrome is a genetically complex hormonal disorder. Women with PCOS have many small cysts on the peripheries of their ovaries and excessive levels of androgens, so-called male hormones. The ensuing ovulatory problems can lead to infertility. Mental pictures aid patients A healthy dose of imagination helps older people remember to take medications and follow other advice, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found older adults who spent a few minutes picturing how they would test their blood sugar were 50 percent more likely to actually do these tests regularly than those who used other techniques. The findings by Dr. Linda Liu, of the University of Michigan, and Dr. Denise Park, of the University of Illinois, appear in the June issue of Psychology and Aging. Clinical trial diversity fails Efforts over the past decade to make enrollment in cancer-treatment trials more representative of the U.S. patient population have largely failed, a new report says. Despite Congressional action, black and Hispanic patients make up an even smaller fraction of clinical trial participants today than they did in 1994, according to a study published in the June 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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