Menopause Symptoms and Memory Loss

Menopause Symptoms and Memory Loss


While you may experience the misery of hot flashes and mood swings as you enter menopause, one thing you can't blame on the "change" is memory loss.

In the latest study that exonerates menopause as a cause of impairing the ability to recall, Taiwanese researchers compared the memory of hundreds of women before they had any menopausal symptoms to their memory as they entered menopause.

They found the women who were going through the menopausal process scored as well or nearly as well on five different cognitive function tests. Results of the study are to be presented Oct. 4 at the American Neurological Association annual meeting in Toronto.

"When women go into perimenopause, they don't need to worry about cognitive decline," said Dr. Jong-Ling Fuh, an attending physician at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and an associate professor of Yang-Ming University School of Medicine.

The researchers said the myth of memory loss during menopause is a perception some women have because as they went through menopause, they felt their memory wasn't as sharp as it had been before. Studies suggesting that hormone replacement therapy might protect against dementia strengthened that belief. However, a large study later found that in older women, hormone replacement therapy not only didn't help protect women from dementia, but could actually increase the risk.

To try to answer the question of whether menopause did have any effect on memory, Fuh and her colleagues studied nearly 700 premenopausal women living on a group of rural islands between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese government restricted access to these islands until the 1990s, so the authors report that the study's population was nearly homogeneous, which would help rule out other potentially causative factors of memory loss.

The women were between the ages of 40 and 54. None of them had had a hysterectomy, and none took hormone replacement therapy during the study.

All took five cognitive tests designed to assess their memory and cognitive skills at the start of the study, and then again 18 months later.

During the study period, 23 percent of the women began to have symptoms of menopause.

The researchers then compared the memory of the women who had entered menopause to those who had not, and found very little difference. In four of the five tests, there were no statistically significant differences in the two groups of women.

Only on one test was the difference statistically significant, and that difference, said Fuh, was very slight. This test was designed to assess verbal memory and involved showing the women 70 nonsensical figures. Some of the figures were repeated during the test, while most were not. The women were asked whether they had seen the figure earlier.

"For women, menopause does not mean you'll develop memory loss," said Dr. Raina Ernstoff, an attending neurologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. As you're going through perimenopause and experiencing symptoms like hot flashes, she said, you may feel lousy and have trouble sleeping, which might temporarily affect your cognitive skills.

"I don't think declining estrogen levels are what causes memory loss," said Dr. Steven Goldstein, an obstetrician/gynecologist at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "It's not like your memory is bopping along, doing fine and then takes this big dive during menopause, like bone density can."

Both Ernstoff and Goldstein said they weren't aware of many women who believed that menopause might cause significant memory loss. They also both felt that results from this group of women who were so homogeneous might not apply to different groups of women, such as those living in more industrialized society. And they both said that other factors that weren't studied could play a role in memory loss, such as hypertension, which can contribute to vascular dementia.

Ernstoff also pointed out that the education backgrounds can play a large role in memory loss. Fuh acknowledged the researchers did attempt to control the data for educational differences.

SOURCES: Jong-Ling Fuh, M.D., attending physician, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and associate professor, Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Steven Goldstein, M.D., obstetrician/gynecologist, New York University Medical Center, and professor, obstetrics/gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York City; Raina Ernstoff, M.D., attending neurologist, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich., and member, Alzheimer's Board of Detroit; Oct. 4, 2004, presentation, American Neurological Association, Toronto.



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What You Need to Know About Caralluma Fimbriata

Caralluma fimbriata is a succulent plant, in the cactus family, that has been used as a natural appetite suppressant in India for centuries. It's a new arrival in the family of cactii and succulent plants that are becoming increasingly popular for their appetite suppressant, and weight loss properties, as well as their ability to lower blood sugar. Supplements made from the popular hoodia gordonii cactus from the Kalahari Desert in Africa, are, for example, growing in popularity and usage in the U.S. and Europe.Like hoodia, caralluma fimbriata has been used to suppress appetite, and as a portable food for hunting. It is used to suppress hunger and appetite, and enhance endurance throughout India. It is also sometimes considered a "famine food," used during periods of famine to suppress appetite. For centuries, people in rural areas of India have eaten Caralluma fimbriata, which grows wild over various parts of the country. Caralluma fimbriata is cooked as a vegetable, used in preserves like chutneys and pickles, or eaten raw. Caralluma fimbriata is believed to block the activity of several enzymes, which then blocks the formation of fat, forcing fat reserves to be burned. Caralluma fimbriata is also believed to have an effect on the appetite control mechanism of the brain. Ayurvedic (traditional Indian medicine) experts have noted that there are no adverse effects when using Caralluma fimbriata, and the plant has no known toxicity. A patented, tested extract of Caralluma fimbriata has been developed and standardized by a company called Gencor. Known as "Slimaluma," the extract delivers the plant in a concentrated form. One of the only products available in the U.S. that uses the Slimaluma formula is Country Life's GenaSlim supplement, which combines the patented Slimaluma extract of Caralluma fimbriata with EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) from green tea. Together they reportedly have a synergistic effect on appetite control and weight loss. In several clinical trials Slimaluma was shown to be effective in reducing body fat through appetite control.If you're interested in trying this product for weight control, you can compare prices now from various online vendors.SourcesKhan B, et. al. "Hypogylcemic activity of aqueous extract of some indigenous plants." Pak J Pharm Sci., 2005 Jan;18(1):62-4.For more information visit:


 
 
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Breast Enhancement Surgery

Breast enlargement surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), was the fourth most popular invasive surgical procedure among cosmetic plastic surgeries performed in 2000. In a press release dated July 12, 2001, the ASPS says that breast augmentation was performed on 212,500 women last year.
Meanwhile, millions of women have been subjected to the ill effects of these modern day vanity contraptions that were bought in good faith.

Remember!!

Silicone gel implants were banned in 1992 by FDA.

If you have (or had) a ruptured silicone breast implant, you will be denied Health Insurance Coverage.

Saline-filled implants tend to have a higher rate of leaking and deflation than silicone gel implants, which means more frequent surgery to replace them.

In a study published in the Lancet medical journal, Dr Lori Brown of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says: "There is emerging consensus that both the incidence and prevalence of breast-implant rupture are much higher than previously suspected."

21% overall increase in cancers for women with implants, compared to women of the same age in the general population.

Implant patients were three times as likely to die from lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia as other plastic surgery patients.The study is based on medical records and death certificates of almost 8,000 women with breast implants, including silicone gel implants and saline implants, and more than 2,000 other plastic surgery patients. ( National Cancer Institute (NCI), Boston University, Abt Associates, and the Food and Drug Administration, with Dr. Louise Brinton from NCI as lead author. )

For more information visit: BREAST ACTIVITIES



DOES YOUR PRESCRIPTION AFFECTS YOUR PREGNENCY AND YOUR BABY DEFINED BY FDA U.S.A? CHECK THIS OUT

How much weight will I lose right after giving birth?

You probably won't return to your pre-pregnancy weight for some time, but you will lose a significant amount of weight immediately after delivery. Subtracting one 7- to 8-pound baby, another pound or two of placenta, and another 2 pounds or so of blood and amniotic fluid leaves most new moms about 12 pounds lighter.

The weight keeps coming off, too. All the extra water that your cells retained during pregnancy, along with fluid from the extra blood you had in your pregnant body, will be looking for a way out.

So you'll produce more urine than usual in the days after birth — an astounding 3 quarts a day. And you may perspire a lot, too. By the end of the first week, you'll lose about 4 pounds of water weight. (The amount varies depending on how much water you retained during pregnancy.)

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How long will it take for my uterus to shrink?

By the time you go into labor, your uterus is about 15 times heavier (not including its contents!) and its capacity is at least 500 times greater than before you conceived. Within minutes after your baby is born, contractions cause your uterus to shrink, clenching itself like a fist, its crisscrossed fibers tightening in the same way they do during labor.

These contractions cause the placenta to separate from the uterine wall. After the placenta is delivered, the uterus clamps down even more, closing off open blood vessels in the area where the placenta was attached. As the uterus continues to contract, you may feel cramps known as afterpains.

For the first couple of days after birth, you can feel the top of your uterus at or a few finger widths below the level of your belly button. In a week your uterus weighs about a pound - half of what it weighed at delivery. After two weeks it's down to a mere 11 ounces and located entirely within your pelvis. By four to six weeks, it should be close to its pre-pregnancy weight of about 2.5 ounces. This process is called involution of the uterus.

Even after your uterus shrinks back into your pelvis, you may continue to look somewhat pregnant for several weeks or longer. That's because your abdominal muscles get stretched out during pregnancy, and it will take time – and regular exercise – to get your belly back in shape.

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10 kinds of women most likely to get breast cancer

As modern women, lifestyle, eating habits and environmental factors, new physiological characteristics of female corresponding to these changes emerge. All these provide a breeding ground for the incidence of breast cancer for the following 10 groups of people:

1, breast hyperplasia has been unhealed for many years

Mammary gland hyperplasia is a chronic disease. Although not every case will be malignant breast hyperplasia, there are many links between the two. It is suggested that people fallen in this group need to actively care and treat their breasts.

Tip: Breast hyperplasia patients, who are older and have longer history and larger mass, and the relationship between tumor and menstruation is not obvious, are prone to malignant transformation. In the view of possible malignant breast hyperplasia, it is recommended to improve condition as soon as possible and not delay.

2, repeated abortion surgery

Many women do ask their doctors before flow: how will flow effect on the body? But they generally merely consider physical injury and pain, and do not recognize the insignificant impact of hormonal changes in the body.

3, regular us hormone drugs or cosmetics

Studies have shown that: misuse of health care products containing estrogens may cause breast cancer.

4, there is a family history of breast cancer, regardless the genetic causes and environmental factors

Each of us is on an outstretched branch of his huge FAMILYTREE, which means the health condition of tree trunk will, in varying degrees, affect our future.

5, no breast-feeding or breast-feeding too long

6, obesity or excessive intake of fat

7, mental depression, often angry, or in bad mood

8, long-term exposure to various radiation (computers, mobile phones, etc.)

9, celibacy and without sterile or long time infertile after marriage

10, menarche comes before age 13 or late menopause

In the modern world, new life style leads to new female physiological phenomena, such as early menarche, delayed menopause, infertility and childbearing, etc. which has greatly increased the incidence of breast cancer. Epidemiological studies have shown that children are now nutrient-rich and supplements abusing. Therefore, they universally have early menstruation. Some women try to delay menopause by extension of human puberty. All these cases force the breasts are affected by estrogen too long. In addition, celibacy, short marriage, multiple sex partners, as well as having her first baby older than 30 years old, female patients with breast hyperplasia increased. Although breast hyperplasia is not cancer, it is likely to turn into breast cancer after a long term.

Therefore, breast disease experts remind: Understanding breast health knowledge, changing lifestyles, and curing breast hyperplasia, are the best methods to block breast cancer precancerous lesions and prevent breast cancer.