Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomas, are the most common female genital mutilation as a benign tumor, more common in women aged 35-45, about one in 35 women over the age of 4-5 people have a uterine fibroid patients .

In recent years, the deterioration of living environment, women's increased work pressure, accelerate the pace of life and other factors so that was getting younger and younger patients with uterine fibroids, 20% -30% of patients in his early 20-year-old female, uterine muscle tumors to their physical and mental health, quality of life seriously negative impact.

 Fibroid degeneration of the health hazards

Benign tumor itself is not terrible, but its complications are numerous hazards. Not only is often complicated by tubal ovarian disease, but also easy and the uterus and cervical malignancy malignant glands exist; also an important reason for infertility. Medical research found that patients with uterine fibroids infertility rate is about 30% to 40% infertility rate than the general population (10%) higher. Even in pregnancy, often because of embryonic development and abortion. As to the third trimester of pregnancy can result from abnormal uterine contractility caused by premature birth, birth or hinder the cause of postpartum hemorrhage. Therefore, do not think that the most common uterine fibroids despise it.

Early signals discounted

Uterine fibroids occur in patients with symptoms and severity of what degree, the main part with the growth of fibroids, growth rate, size, and there is no degeneration or combined with other diseases. If a woman under the cases of five kinds of situations arise, we need to arouse vigilance is recommended in a timely manner to the hospital for further examination.

1. Menstrual changes: If you change the normal menstrual cycle, increased by the amount of blood, menstruation and menstrual irregularities during regular hospital need to find the reasons why.

2. Pain: the patients with uterine fibroids, most feel no pain, but there are few people in the fibroids or uterine infection, lower abdominal pain after deformation.

3. Mass: the lower abdominal mass can be palpable, especially in the case of filling the bladder urine mass touch more obvious.

4. Oppressive: in patients with uterine fibroids, most people have no feeling, however, if the fibroids a lower status, not even cancer can also be pressure to neighboring organs such as bladder and dysuria; if oppression rectum may constipation occurred; if the site is ureteral compression may be back pain and other symptoms.

5. Infertility: a small number of uterine fibroids can cause infertility, its causes are uterine fibroids cause distortion, thus affecting the implantation of fertilized eggs.

Therefore, the phenomenon of female friends once found, should seize the time to professional gynecology hospital for treatment, attention to early signs of the disease are women important principle to maintain their own health.

Proper medical treatment regularly

Treatment of uterine fibroids should be based on patient age, symptoms, tumor size, location, and the birth of request. Generally divided into conservative medical treatment and surgery. When the drugs can not control the growth of fibroids or myoma is too large, an excessive number of fibroids, it should be considered for surgery.

As some patients with no obvious symptoms of uterine fibroids, gynecologist recommended once every six months or a year periodic physical examination, which is very effective in early detection of uterine fibroids. If you find that uterine fibroids should normally be 3-6 months of review time, such as fibroids and significantly increased compared with severe bleeding, treatment should be carried out.

Regulate emotions effectively prevent

Should try to be contented, cheerful, avoid over exertion. In addition, patients should pay attention to moderate sexual intercourse to prevent aggravating condition. Must pay attention to sexual intercourse, health, maintain genital cleansing in order to prevent exogenous pathogens intrusion, into the inside of heat, stagnant blood and increase the disease.

The formation of uterine fibroids and large quantities of estrogen stimulation, whereas the animal experiments showed that high-fat diet promoted the production and release of certain hormones, so obese women, the incidence of uterine weight was significantly higher than normal. So cultivate good eating habits, such as food rationing, low-fat diet, insist on a certain inhibition of uterine fibroids.

                                                                                                                                                               2010-08-27

As many as one in five U.S. teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers who said the problem is growing.

"Teenagers really underestimate how much noise they are exposed to," Dr. Josef Shargorodsky of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston told Reuters Health.

"Often the individual won't notice it, but even slight hearing loss may lead to differences in language development and learning," said Shargorodsky, who led the new research.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared national surveys from the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. Each included only a few thousand adolescents, but was carefully designed to represent the whole country.

In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss, as measured by trained staff. Some 15 years later, that number had risen by a third, to nearly 20 percent.

"That's a few kids per classroom who will have hearing problems," said Shargorodsky.

Most of the hearing loss was in one ear only. While it was usually slight, one in 20 adolescents had more pronounced problems -- up 50 percent since the first survey.

"This certainly is big news," said Alison Grimes, who manages the audiology clinic at Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. "It has some potential implications in terms of children's learning."

Hearing loss is very common in the elderly, Grimes said, but she added that it was concerning to see it creep into the younger age brackets.

In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to delay language development, which in turn influences performance in other areas. Slight hearing loss, for instance, makes it difficult to distinguish between high-frequency consonants like "s" and "f."

The science is less clear for adolescents, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could hamper learning, said Grimes, past president of the American Academy of Audiology.

"What is the primary job of a kid or teenager? It is to sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher lecturing," she told Reuters Health. "We know from a lot of data that noisy classrooms are one of the biggest challenges to learning."

Grimes often puts hearing aids on children with slight to mild impairments, although the decision depends on how much the child's life is being affected.

Shargorodsky said he was surprised by the new findings. Better medical care for ear infections -- one of the usual suspects in hearing damage -- should in theory have decreased the numbers, he said.

The reasons for the rise are still murky. When asked about noise exposure -- on the job, from firearms or recreational activities, for instance -- the teenagers didn't indicate any change.

But Shargorodsky said that might not necessarily be true. "We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure -- they underestimate it."

Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for instance.

"There is a difference between what we consider to be loud and what is physically intense and could be hazardous to the ear," said Grimes. Although it's not clear that these devices are to blame, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the volume and take frequent breaks from listening.

But, having been the mother of two teenagers, she pointed out the advice would likely fall on deaf ears. She said the American Academy of Audiology had also contacted Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, about adding a volume limiter on iPods. But they never heard back.

For now, said Shargorodsky, "it is important to try to learn why there has been this increase in hearing problems."

                                                                                                                                                               2010-08-27

An abundance of belly blubber doubles the likelihood of death within a decade, new research finds.

If your pants are feeling a bit tight around the waistline, take note: Belly bulge can be deadly for older adults, even those who aren't overweight or obese by other measures.

One of the largest studies to examine the dangers of abdominal fat suggests men and women with the biggest waistlines have twice the risk of dying over a decade compared to those with the smallest tummies.

Surprisingly, bigger waists carry a greater risk of death even for people whose weight is "normal" by the body mass index, or BMI, a standard measure based on weight and height.

"Even if you haven't had a noticeable weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing that's an important sign," says lead author Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society, which funded the study. "It's time to eat better and start exercising more."

Other research has linked waist size to dementia, heart disease, asthma and breast cancer.

Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. It's estimated that more than half of older men and more than 70 percent of older women have bigger waistlines than recommended. And it's a growing problem: Average waistlines have expanded by about an inch (2.5 cm) per decade since the 1960s.

To check your girth, wrap a tape measure around your waist at the navel. No sucking in your bulge. Men should have a waist circumference no larger than 40 inches (102 cm). For women, the limit is 35 inches (89 cm).

The new study is the first to analyze waist size and deaths for people in three BMI categories: normal, overweight and obese. In all three groups, waist size was linked to higher risk.

About 2 percent of people in the study had normal BMI numbers but larger than recommended waists. Jacobs says the risk increased progressively with increasing waist size, even at waist sizes well below what might be considered too large.

The study used data from more than 100,000 people who were followed from 1997 to 2006. Nearly 15,000 people died during that time.

The researchers crunched numbers on waist circumference, height and weight to draw conclusions about who was more likely to die. Study participants measured their own waists, so some honest mistakes and wishful fudging could have been included, the authors acknowledged.

Four extra inches around the waist increased the risk of dying from between 15 percent to 25 percent. Oddly, the strongest link - 25 percent - was in women with normal BMI.

People with bigger waists had a higher risk of death from causes including respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer.

The study was observational, a less rigorous approach that means the deaths could have been caused by factors other than waist size. But the researchers did take into account other risk factors for poor health, such as smoking and alcohol use.

Some older adults gain belly fat while they lose muscle mass, Jacobs says, so while they may not be getting heavier, they're changing shape - and that's taking a toll.

A tape measure, or a belt that doesn't buckle the way it used to, "may tell you things your scale doesn't", Jacobs says.

Fat stored behind the abdominal wall may be more harmful than fat stored on the hips and thighs. Some scientists believe belly fat secretes proteins and hormones that contribute to inflammation, interfere with how the body processes insulin and raise cholesterol levels.

But Dr Samuel Klein, an obesity expert at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, is skeptical about that theory.

Removing belly fat surgically doesn't lead to health improvements. That may mean it's simply a stand-in for some other culprit that is causing both belly fat and poor health.

Klein wasn't involved in the new research.

He says the new study, while showing a link between waist size and mortality, doesn't pinpoint exactly how much belly fat is dangerous for normal, overweight and obese people.

The 40-inch for men and 35-inch for women cutoff points are irrelevant for many people, he says.

What can be done to fight belly fat? It's the same advice as for losing weight. Eat fewer calories and burn more through walking, bicycling and other aerobic exercise. "Sit-ups are useless," Klein says.

                                                                                                                                                      2010-08-26