In the workplace and in the news, there are many examples of older women having babies and some women may feel reassured. Others are simply not ready for kids until later, perhaps because they're too immersed in their work or haven't found the right match.

Take Gigi Fernandez, who retired from a successful and intense career playing tennis in 1997 at the age of 33. Ms. Fernandez decided to try and have a baby when she was in her 40s and after seven unsuccessful fertility treatments, she and her partner were told that Ms. Fernandez's eggs were too old and that her intense athletic career had contributed to her inability to conceive. Finally, using donated eggs and sperm, the former Hall of Famer became pregnant. She gave birth to twins in April 2009.

Ms. Fernandez and her partner say they spent about $100,000 over the course of five years in their attempt to become moms. 'As an athlete, you have this attitude, 'I can do anything with my body,' ' Ms. Fernandez told the New York Times. 'That's how you think. So your biological clock is ticking, but you're in denial.'

Fertility rates decline gradually from ages 35 to 38 and then more quickly after that, according to the Times. Personally, I felt nervous about trying to conceive after 35 and wound up having my son just three weeks shy of that milestone. At my obstetrician visit afterward, my doctor asked when I'd be having the next one. When I expressed anxiety to him about being 'too old,' he assured me I'd be fine if we wanted to have another.

Of course, the reasons for starting a family are personal and complicated. Maternal age is a factor and, according to recent research, so is paternal age. There's also the 'energy' factor - the older you get the less energy you may have to chase after a child. Adding to the complexity is our need to balance our professional and financial goals along with health concerns.

When we've looked at this topic before, some have said that they wished they'd started families sooner-but were too focused on their careers. Others say that establishing themselves in their professions and being financially stable was critical.

Juggle readers, how did you decide that you were ready to have kids? Do any of you feel that you waited too long, or started too early? If you're planning on having kids at some point in the future, do you have any anxieties about maternal or paternal age? Have any of you set a parental 'deadline' - an age by which you hope or hoped to have children?

                                                                                                                                                                   2010-09-07

However, the researchers emphasize that the finding, which builds on prior evidence touting the possible link, still does not prove that decreased thyroid function is the fountain of youth -- it may just be related to something else that is.

"In an earlier study, we observed that middle-aged children of long-lived siblings have lower thyroid function compared to controls from the general population," Diana van Heemst of Leiden University Medical Center, in the Netherlands, told Reuters Health in an email.

"In the current study, we sought to assess whether in the generation of the long-lived siblings low thyroid function was related to enhanced survival of the parents of the siblings as well," she said.

The researchers studied 859 siblings from 421 long-lived families. As reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, their average age of 93 years old far exceeded current U.S. life expectancy of about 78 years.

After rating the longevity of these siblings' parents, the team analyzed the thyroid hormones in the siblings' blood. The two sets of values appeared to be strongly linked, supporting previous findings of heritability in decreased thyroid functioning and its relationship to long life, they say.

This result held up even after accounting for critical illness, which can also affect thyroid activity.

From its location in the neck, the thyroid secretes hormones that affect metabolism. The researchers suggest that the lower activity of thyroid hormones could shift the body's energy expenditure away from growth and proliferation in favor of protective maintenance, keeping the body healthier longer. However, other factors could be associated with both thyroid function and longevity, removing credit from the thyroid.

"These results may come as (a) surprise as low thyroid function is commonly regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," said van Heemst. "The prevailing recommendation therefore is to treat elderly with low thyroid function with hormone supplementation."

But it is still too early to say whether this practice cheats the elderly of some extra years.

"These data underpin the need for a dedicated clinical trial to test whether treating (mild decreases in thyroid function) with thyroid hormone supplementation is effective in the elderly," van Heemst said.

                                                                                                                                           2010-09-06
 

1. Constipation:

If you have more than 3 days intervals, or more than three days, you may be suffering from constipation. According to the symptoms can be divided into different, constipation and occasional constipation constipation habitual two types. Faecal coliform formation and control of defecation, the body is to secrete toxins of one of the main channel. If a virus exists in vivo effects of running, and stomach, causing large conduction disorders, cause intestinal barrier constipation. Chronic constipation, and fecal matter can not be timely discharge, can produce large amounts of toxin accumulation, these toxins to be absorbed by the intestines are consequential discomfort, halitosis, pigmentation and other symptoms that cause human organ function, resistance to degradation.

2. Obesity:

If your weight is 20% more than standard weight or BMI [weight (kg)/body surface area (m2)] is greater than 24, it belongs to obesity. Obesity is a disease of the excess, if long-term excessive eating high-fat, high-calorie food, the body grow, causing imbalance in the body, causing obesity. In addition to frail, dexterity, action asthma, heart palpitations, hot Hyperhidrosis or back pain, joint pain and other symptoms of lower limb, mostly with sugar, fat, water and other substances of metabolic and endocrine abnormalities.

3. Chloasma:

Endocrine changes, long-term oral contraceptives, liver disorders, cancer, chronic alcoholism, sunlight is Chloasma there. Everyone is expected to have her good looks, but I do not know when you face a yellow-brown or black-spotted, it sends a map or a butterfly-shaped leaf blade, the skin lost its water gloss.

4. Acne:

Acne is a hair follicles and sebaceous glands of chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin. Various bacterial toxins in the loads produced large amounts of toxic substances, with the blood circulation endanger the whole body; and when from the blocked again through the skin to extravasation, the skin becomes rough and acne. In addition, the trace element deficiencies, stress, high-fat or high-carbohydrate diet are the cause of acne.

5.Bad breath:

  Bad breath is the mouth smell dirty after a symptom, a lung, spleen, stomach or Shiji no heat accumulation due to long-term deposition of these things could go in the body becomes a toxin. Belly-spicy food or overeating, fatigue, excessive heat, suffering from a sense of stagnation, or some oral diseases, such as oral ulceration, tooth decay and digestive diseases can cause bad breath is fresh.

6.Pruritus:

The skin is the body's largest organ toxin on the skin to sweat and sebaceous glands, through sweating from other organ cannot be solved by toxins. External stimuli, life is not law, mental tension, and endocrine disorders, such as the skin of this function will throw an itch weakened.

7.Duodenal ulcer:

Anxiety-depression and anger, the stagnation of the drugs, diet, hunger belly, smoking and drinking too much of the toxicity associated with alien can be caused by a duodenal ulcer.

8.Irritable bowel syndrome:

Means to stimulate intestinal on excessive reactions or distortions occur, causing blood flow, Detox does not open, a variety of toxin retention in the body. The main feature is the abdominal discomfort or abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal distention.

9.Eczema:

Much is made of digestive diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, nervous, or in the context of a variety of physical, chemical substances stimulate the skin disease inflammatory reactions, it is the metabolic process of too much waste can not be timely discharge in vivo.

                                                                                                                                                             2010-09-05
 

All modern-day "solid gold" jewelry is in fact an alloy of gold mixed with baser metals such as copper and nickel. The "carat" designation indicates the amount of gold. The higher the carat number, the more gold and less base metal there is in the piece of jewelry - and the higher the price.

In the past, it was generally assumed that the negligible amounts of base metals in "solid gold" jewelry could not possibly result in an allergic skin reaction. The new findings show that you can indeed be allergic to cheap jewelry.

For many people, wearing a pair of alloy earrings can produce a painful red swelling and blisters. Coins, belt buckles, and even mobile phones may cause an unpleasant allergic reaction when they rub against the skin.

The reason is that they all contain nickel, the most common cause of skin-contact allergies in the industrialized world. But few people realize that nickel is commonly used to make "gold" jewelry.

The researchers, led by Dr Matthias Goebeler from the University of Giessen in Germany, have shown that nickel binds to a particular immune-system protein normally involved in detecting harmful invaders. In susceptible people, this results in the body recognizing nickel as an infectious agent and triggering inflammation.

As the immune system goes into overdrive, it produces the classic symptoms of burning, itching, redness, swelling and blisters.

The scientists studied the nickel-immune response in genetically engineered mice. Only animals capable of producing the human protein TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4), developed "contact hypersensitivity" (CHS) when exposed to nickel.

Human TLR4 acts like a "switch" that triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions when certain substances bind to it. The molecular signals it gives off result in the increased blood flow, leaky tissue, and influx of immune-system cells that give rise to inflammation.

Although the reaction is due to the body defending itself, it often has undesirable side effects.

The scientists outline their findings in the journal Nature Immunology. Drugs that block specific TLR4 binding sites could provide a way of treating nickel allergy, the researchers suggest.

"Our data implicate site-specific human TLR4 inhibition as a potential strategy for therapeutic intervention in CHS that would not affect vital immune responses," the scientists write.

In Europe alone, an estimated 65 million people are sensitized to nickel and develop contact dermatitis when atoms of the metal touch their skin.

                                                                                                                                                             2010-09-05
 

The study shows the benefits of genetic tests that give women with a family history of cancer the chance to take steps to increase their chances of survival, they said.

"This is the first study to prove women survive longer with these preventive surgeries and shows the importance of genetic testing when there is a family history of early breast or ovarian cancer," Dr. Virginia Kaklamani of Northwestern University in Chicago wrote in a commentary about the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 56 to 84 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetimes.

Those with the BRCA1 mutation also have a 36 to 63 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer and those with the BRCA2 mutation have a 10 to 27 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer.

Because of this, many women make the difficult choice to have their breasts or ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed to reduce their risk.

Dr. Susan M. Domchek of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and colleagues studied the effectiveness of these procedures, comparing rates of cancer and death in 2,482 women who had the surgery with those who decided against it in favor of frequent cancer screenings.

No woman who had a mastectomy developed breast cancer during the three years of follow-up testing.

Seven percent of women who decided against a mastectomy were diagnosed with breast cancer in the same period.

"Our results confirm that risk-reducing mastectomy is associated with a significant reduction in breast cancer risk," Domchek and colleagues wrote.

Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations who had their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed had similar results.

About 10 to 20 percent of breast and ovarian cancers are due to BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. "Most of these women will die of ovarian cancer, so you can save 20 percent of them with the prophylactic surgery," Kaklamani said.

"And you can save the majority of women who would have died of their breast cancer," she added.

She said primary care physicians, gynecologists and women "need to be more aware that these tests exist."

Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, a breast cancer expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who counsels women with BRCA mutations, said the study adds more evidence that the surgery can help save lives, but the choice is never easy.

"It's not cookie-cutter medicine," Pruthi, who was not involved in the study, said in a telephone interview.

She said women need to come to terms with the psychological issues involved in having their breasts removed, and younger women who have their ovaries removed must contend with early menopause symptoms.

"It's not a decision made on a single visit," she said.

According to the American Cancer Society and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1.3 million new breast cancer cases are diagnosed around the world every year and it kills 465,000 women annually, making it the leading global cancer killer of women.

                                                                                                                                                                     2010-09-04

1. simple Vulvovaginal candidiasis: vaginal medication-based

Symptoms of vulvar lighter, although an itch, but is not very serious, easy to cure. Preferred vaginal medication, shower with warm water flush genital. Oral medication and therapeutic drugs. Also, do not use liquid, do not sit in a bath.

2. severe candidiasis: mainly oral medication

Symptoms of more serious, generally expressed as Dingbat negative is rubbish, genital Erythema, edema, often accompanied by scratches, peeling skin chapped skin, vagina, erosion, cervical hyperemia symptoms, while oral medication, preferred vaginal douche after drug (non-menstrual period).

In addition, it is necessary to regularly clean the vulva, 4% of soda water to clean the vagina, it is best to go to the hospital cleaning, because in the hospital can be attached to the vaginal wall of germs clean and impulse, assure complete and clean, generally one day cleaning price is cheaper.

3.Recurrence vulva vagina moniliasis: After the strengthening, treats consolidated

Some females cure, in one year manifests suddenly 4 times or above. Uses treatment including strengthened treatment and consolidated treatment, after the strengthened treatment achieves the fungus cure, consolidated treatment at least a half year.

The recurrence vulva vagina moniliasis medication aspect needs to pay attention, because after some medicine use, possibly has the drug resistance, needs to make the bacilliculture and the medicine experiments sensitively, chooses the medicine according to the result.

4. pregnancy merge vulva vagina moniliasis: Pregnancy merge vulva vagina moniliasis resists the rosary fungus with medicine

To treat the effect cautiously to be slow, easy to recur. The partial treatment, chooses to the embryo harmless vagina medication, on 7th the therapy effect is good.if
 
 the vulva vagina moniliasis symptom is serious, possibly will cause the miscarriage, the premature delivery. Moreover, will affect embryo's health, the embryo easy to infect the bacterium, after the childbirth, baby easily mouth diseases and so on goose sore, dermatitis.

 5. breast-feeding period mycotic vaginitis: The vagina applies drugs 

The breast-feeding period the female should better do not use the mouth to take medicine, may choose the vagina medication.

6. no sex: drug use is not affected

For not having sex while infected with fungus vaginitis, don't worry about your medication will be affected, even if you choose the correct vaginal medication, do not damage the hymen.

                                                                                                                                          2010-09-02

However, the researchers stress that the findings do not prove that allergies actually cause heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

To look for ties between common allergic symptoms and heart disease, Dr. Jongoh Kim of Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and colleagues analyzed data on more than 8,600 adults aged 20 or older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 1988 and 1994.

They found that common allergies and heart disease frequently paired up.

Eighteen percent of the adults reported wheezing and 46 percent suffered bouts of a stuffy nose or itchy and watery eyes -- a combination of allergic symptoms known as rhinoconjunctivitis.

Heart disease was present in 6 percent of the adults overall. It was found in 13 percent of wheezing cases, 5 percent of rhinoconjunctivitis cases and 4 percent of people without any allergic symptoms.

After adjusting for other related factors, such as age and asthma, there was a 2.6-fold increased risk of heart disease with wheezing and a 40 percent increased risk with rhinoconjunctivitis, compared to no allergies. The association was mainly seen in women younger than age of 50.

Kim suggests that the intermittent inflammation that comes with allergies may lead to the thickening of artery walls, and eventually heart disease. It could also be that some people simply carry genes that are linked to the development of both allergies and heart disease, Kim added.

But given the nature of the study, the researchers are not yet able to say if allergies truly have a role to play in the development of heart disease.

Much more study is needed to "clearly see" whether there is a cause and effect relationship, Kim said. "And even if there is a cause and effect, it is not clear whether treating allergic disease can reduce the risk," Kim noted.

Dr. Carlos Iribarren, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, who was not involved in the study, said: "Because common allergic symptoms are highly prevalent in asthma, these findings are consistent with prior research conducted at Kaiser Permanente showing a significant association between self-report of asthma and future risk of coronary disease, particularly among women."

But he cautioned, in an email to Reuters Health, against jumping to any "premature conclusion, consumer-level advice or public health recommendation based on these findings."

Iribarren also noted that study subjects with allergy (particularly wheezing) had a greater burden of heart disease risk factors (for example, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure), compared with allergy-free subjects. Therefore, "allergists, internists and cardiologists should be made aware of this link and intensify cardiovascular risk profile assessment and modification among patients presenting with allergy."

Dr. Viola Vaccarino, of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, told Reuters Health that the current findings also fit with studies she and her colleagues have done, "finding of an association of chronic inflammatory conditions such as asthma and other allergic conditions with coronary disease in women but not in men."

"Young women may have a stronger inflammatory response due to allergic conditions than men, perhaps due to estrogens," explained Vaccarino, who was also not involved in the current study.

It's also possible, she said, that "people with history of coronary heart disease are sicker with respiratory symptoms just because they have coronary heart disease and not vice-versa."

"I really wouldn't draw any strong message from this study," said Vaccarino. "I would not alarm the public with the news that common allergic symptoms (other than asthma) increase the risk of coronary heart disease in women, based on this study."

                                                                                                                                                                      2010-09-01

Primary infertility refers to a couple that never become pregnant after a year of unprotected sexual intercourse.

Secondary infertility means a couple have been pregnant at least once in their lifetime however have difficulty to become pregnant again.

Causes of infertility:

Infertility factor Type Percentage
Female factor Tubal problemAnovulationOther 15%20%10%
Male factor Ejaculation and erection dysfunction and reduce sperm quality 40%
Unknown IdiopathicSexual problem 25%5%

The total of causes are more than 100% because most of the time there is more than one factor that cause the infertility. Management of infertility is different for each problem. In severe case, assisted reproduction will be necessary.

Infertility – female factor

Female factor infertility is the inability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term due to one or more problems specific to females. For example, if a couple is struggling to achieve pregnancy and the male has adequate sperm count, motility, and shape, but the woman has polycystic ovarian syndrome, then their inability to conceive is likely due to female factor infertility.

There are several conditions that contribute to female factor infertility, including uterine and pelvic abnormalities, secondary infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and hostile cervical mucus.

It is important to understand, however, that infertility, whether male infertility or female infertility, is not the same thing as sterility - conception and successful pregnancy are possible in many cases. Likewise, secondary infertility (the inability of a couple to conceive after having already achieved a successful pregnancy or pregnancies) can often be treated.

Infertility – male factor

Approximately 15% of couples attempting their first pregnancy meet with failure. Most authorities define these patients as primarily infertile if they have been unable to achieve a pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. Conception normally is achieved within twelve months in 80-85% of couples who use no contraceptive measures, and persons presenting after this time should therefore be regarded as possibly infertile and should be evaluated. Data available over the past twenty years reveal that in approximately 30% of cases pathology is found in the man alone, and in another 20% both the man and woman are abnormal. Therefore, the male factor is at least partly responsible in about 50% of infertile couples.
 
Important issues related to the evaluation of the male factor include the most appropriate time for the male evaluation, the most efficient format for a comprehensive male exam, and definition of rationale and effective medical and surgical regimens in the treatment of these disorders. It is extremely important in the evaluation of infertility to consider the couple as a unit in evaluation and treatment and to proceed in a parallel investigative manner until a problem is uncovered. It has been shown that the longer a couple remains subfertile, the worse their chance for an effective cure. Many couples experience significant apprehension and anxiety after only a few months of failure to conceive. Unduly prolonged unprotected intercourse should not be advocated before a workup of the man is instituted. Initial screening of the man should be considered whenever the patient presents with the chief complaint of infertility. This initial evaluation should be rapid, non-invasive and cost effective. Of interest is the fact that pregnancy rates of up to 50% have been reported when only the woman has been investigated and treated even when the man was found to have moderately severe abnormalities of semen quality.

                                                                                                                                                         2010-08-31

The findings, from a study of 89 patients at one U.S. hospital, add to research showing that doctors and patients are often not on the same page when discussing diagnoses and treatment.

In interviews with the patients on the day of their discharge, researchers found that only 18 percent even knew the name of the main physician in charge of their hospital care. Meanwhile, just 57 percent left the hospital knowing what their diagnosis was.

In contrast, two-thirds of the 43 physicians interviewed thought their patients knew their name, and 77 percent believed their patients were aware of their diagnosis.

Drs. Douglas P. Olson and Donna M. Windish of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, report the results in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The finding that many patients were unsure of their diagnosis or their doctor's name may sound surprising, but it is not new, according to Olson. Past studies have found that the majority of hospital patients cannot name their main physician, and frequently cannot name their medical problem.

However, the current study also shows that many doctors mistakenly believe their patients know more than they do.

"What's new here is the discrepancy between doctors and patients," Olson told Reuters Health. "Patients aren't really getting the take-home message."

The communication gaps go beyond names and diagnoses, the study found. Of patients in this study who were prescribed a new medication during their hospital stay, one-quarter said their doctor never told them about it. And very few -- 10 percent -- said their doctor discussed the drug's potential side effects with them.

In contrast, all physicians in the study said they at least sometimes told patients about any new prescriptions, and 81 percent said they described the possible side effects at least some of the time.

In recent years, the medical community has increasingly focused on improving doctor-patient communication. In residency programs at academic hospitals, for instance, doctors-in-training are taught to include patients in discussions rather than talking amongst themselves in front of patients, Olson pointed out.

"But there's still a disconnect," he said, adding that even when patients say they understand, that often turns out not to be the case.

One explanation, according to Olson, may be that many hospitalized patients are elderly and have complex medical problems -- not just one diagnosis, but several co-existing health conditions -- and the information they receive during their stay "could understandably be overwhelming."

And compared with 30 or 40 years ago, Olson noted, patients' hospital stays are now typically much shorter; that leaves them with less time to absorb and fully understand information about their condition and any treatment changes.

One potential way to address the communication gaps would be to give patients and families written information, in addition to spoken explanations, during the hospital stay -- and not only at discharge, Olson said.

"It's important for us to take a step back and see how some system changes might improve communication," he said.

Steps patients and their family members can take include writing down any questions as they come up so they can raise them with the doctor later, according to Olson.

Family involvement is important, he noted, particularly for older patients with more complex medical problems and multiple medications.

"How is my life going to be different when I leave the hospital?" is a good general question that patients can ask their doctors, Olson recommends. It can help start a discussion about a range of concerns, including any lifestyle adjustments and medication changes that need to be made, he said.

Olson also advised that patients lacking a primary care doctor get the number of someone at the hospital whom they can call with any questions after they are discharged.

                                                                                                                                                               2010-08-31

Wear a mask.

Cliff Mugnier, a 66-year-old Baton Rouge civil engineering professor has one that conforms around the bridge of his nose with memory foam to block out the glare from the cable news shows his girlfriend insists on keeping on all night.

Get your own sheets and blankets.

Stacey Scaravelli, a 44-year-old Wheat Ridge, Colo., environmental consultant tried this after her boyfriend began using all the covers to wrap himself up 'like a burrito' on his side of the bed.

Host bedroom 'visiting hours.

'That's what financial adviser Greg Scherr and his wife, Valorie, did before he retired. She'd climb into bed with him at 8:30 p.m., then leave around 10 p.m., after he fell asleep. 'Both of us being in bed and awake and coherent at the same time was a major advantage to the physical part of our relationship,' says Mr. Scherr.

Build another bedroom.

Forty-year-old Belton, Texas, insurance salesman John Farwell and his wife plunked down $22,000 and converted their three-car garage to a two-car one to make room for another bedroom. Now, whether or not the sheets are tucked in and the number times Mr. Farwell gets up to use the bathroom are non-issues. 'People in the 1800s were considered rich if they had separate rooms as married couples,' says Mr. Farwell. 'That is what we keep reminding each other.'

Use three beds.

Pablo and Beverly Solomon have two -- both full-sized -- in their bedroom: One with a hard mattress and a light blanket for him and one with a soft mattress and an electric blanket for her. 'We took the easy way out,' says Mr. Solomon, 62, an artist.

So where's the third bed? In a guest room downstairs, which the Lampasas, Texas, couple uses for intimate moments.

'It's sexier that way,' says Ms. Solomon, 56, who does the sales and marketing of her husband's art. 'The bedroom is where you brush your teeth and go to bed. This is where we actually add some romance to the marriage -- to keep it rocking.'

                                                                                                                                                                 2010-08-30