| Pregnancy eases arthritis
When Denise Swanson developed rheumatoid arthritis nearly three decades ago, it was like a sudden storm of pain, swelling and fatigue. It was excruciating for the then-21-year-old college student just to pick up her backpack. She couldn't even write. Medication eased her pain and stiffness, but not much. "I would move like an old lady," said Swanson, now a 49-year-old special-education teacher. "It was scary." But then a few years later Swanson and her husband, Tom, did something that happened to bring total relief from the devastating disease: They decided to have a baby. All of Swanson's symptoms disappeared about a month after she became pregnant. "With all the things you're supposed to cope with in pregnancy, this was a joy," Swanson said.
Preventive Ovary Removal Linked To Early Death In Younger Women, Mayo Clinic Discovers
Death rates rise when women under 45 years old undergo bilateral ovariectomy -- surgical removal of both ovaries -- and do not receive proper hormone replacement therapy, according to a new Mayo Clinic study to be published in the October 1 issue of The Lancet Oncology. Mortality from all causes increased 1.7 times for women in this age category, and was particularly increased for estrogen-related cancers and diseases of the brain and cardiovascular system. The increased risk was mainly restricted to those women who were not given estrogen after the surgery until at least age 45 (within five years of the approximate age of normal menopause). Also, the increased risk became evident only 10 or more years after the ovariectomy. .
Maternal vitamin E levels linked to asthma risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Levels of vitamin E in women during pregnancy are inversely associated with the risk of asthma in their children, according to a report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. However, in an interview with Reuters Health, lead author Dr. Graham Devereux emphasized that "the message for pregnant women isn't to go out and stock up on vitamin E." He explained that the use of vitamin E supplements during pregnancy is controversial with many studies suggesting no benefit and possibly even a harmful effect. As such, the current findings have no immediate implications for treatment, but hopefully will lead to studies that could provide definitive answers, Dr. Devereux, from the University of Aberdeen in the UK, noted. For now, "pregnant women should just be encouraged to eat a healthy diet." .
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