Laboratory Equipment

Hormone Replacement is Safe

A new study has examined the cognitive effects of hormone therapy on memory, language and concentration in menopausal women.

A study, published in the Menopause journal, examined the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) E2D, which used a combination of hormones estradiol and drospirenone to treat women. Early postmenopausal women aged between 49 and 55 who had never used HRT were assessed over a six-month period.

The treatment resulted in significant improvement in menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats and sexual function, and it lowered blood pressure and weight in comparison to those who were treated with an identical placebo.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/hormone-replacement-safe

Calcium, Vitamin D Pills Do Little to Help Healthy Women

Popping calcium and vitamin D pills in hopes of strong bones? Healthy older women shouldn’t bother with relatively low-dose dietary supplements, say new recommendations from a government advisory group.

Both nutrients are crucial for healthy bones and specialists advise getting as much as possible from a good diet. The body also makes vitamin D from sunshine. If an older person has a vitamin deficiency or bone-thinning osteoporosis, doctors often prescribe higher-than-normal doses.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/02/calcium-vitamin-d-pills-do-little-help-healthy-women

Women’s Brains Age More Quickly than Men’s

Researchers in Shanghai have found that, although women live longer than men, their brains age faster, local media reported.

A team of scientists from the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences determined that women’s cognitive abilities decline faster than men’s as the former grow older, according to a report in the Oriental Morning Post. They also found that women suffer Alzheimer’s disease at a higher rate. Their findings were published in the journal Aging Cell.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/women%E2%80%99s-brains-age-more-quickly-men%E2%80%99s

Mammograms May Up Breast Cancer Risk

Mammograms aimed at finding breast cancer might actually raise the chances of developing it in young women whose genes put them at higher risk for the disease, a study by leading European cancer agencies suggests.

The added radiation from mammograms and other types of tests with chest radiation might be especially harmful to them and an MRI is probably a safer method of screening women under 30 who are at high risk because of gene mutations, the authors conclude. The study can’t prove a link between the radiation and breast cancer, but is one of the biggest ever to look at the issue. The research was published in the journal BMJ.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/mammograms-may-breast-cancer-risk

Pregnant Pollution Exposure Linked to Offspring Obesity

The levels of the environmental pollutant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that mothers had in their blood during pregnancy increased the risk of obesity in their daughters at 20 years of age. The findings come from a recent study of Danish women in which the Norwegian Institute of Public Health participated.

In recent decades, there has been a sharp increase in the number of overweight children and adults in both Norway and worldwide. It is suspected that diet and exercise alone cannot explain this large weight increase.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Pollution-Exposure-While-Pregnant-Ups-Risk-of-Obesity-in-Daughters-022212.aspx

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

In the 100 years since Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, women have made leaps and bounds in science and engineering. Following the extreme example of Madame Curie, women have exponentially raised their position in S&E in the last few decades. In a field previously (and traditionally) dominated by men, women seem to be slowly but surely taking over—or at least leveling the playing field.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/editorial-slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-110111.aspx

Mother’s BPA Exposure Linked to Daughter’s Mental Health

Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical used to make plastic containers and other consumer goods—is associated with behavior and emotional problems in young girls, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and Simon Fraser Univ. in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Mothers-BPA-Exposure-Linked-to-Daughters-Mental-Health-102511.aspx