Having problems with message search?
It's been known for years that estrogen prevents osteoporosis (brittle bones) which is a painless condition that leads to boney fractures. What's not so well known is that estrogen also prevents osteo-"arthritis" - the disease responsible for most of the pain we get in our joints. Here is an article which shows that estrogen reduces this very common, crippling disease.
Association of estrogen replacement therapy with the risk of osteoarthritis of the hip in elderly white women.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
The objective of the study was to determine whether postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy is associated with a reduced risk of X-ray findings of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip.
In the study, X-rays of the pelvis were obtained in all subjects and were assessed for features of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip on a scale of 0 (none) to 4 (severe). Postmenopausal estrogen use was assessed by interview. The association of current and past estrogen use with OA of the hip was analyzed, adjusting for potential confounding variables.
The results showed that women who were currently using oral estrogen had a significantly reduced risk of any osteoarthritis of the hip (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-0.86) and moderate to severe manifestation of disease (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33-0.88).
The above odds ratio [OR] of 0.54 means that taking estrogen reduced the risk of moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the hip by 46%, which is a very significant number. Dr. Rehert
Though nobody knows the reason why, the next story demonstrated that if you are a twin, your chance of having an early menopause is increased by about 500%.
Twins five times as likely to suffer early menopause
JOHN VON RADOWITZ
WOMEN with a twin are up to five times more likely to suffer a premature menopause than those without, new research has shown. A study of more than 1,600 Australian and UK twins found the women had a significantly increased risk of premature ovarian failure (POF).
WOMEN with a twin are up to five times more likely to suffer a premature menopause than those without, new research has shown. A study of more than 1,600 Australian and UK twins found the women had a significantly increased risk of premature ovarian failure (POF).
Twins taking part in the research were between three and five times more likely to have suffered premature ovarian failure (POF) by the age of 40 than women from the general population.
Professor Roger Gosden, of Cornell University, New York, who led the investigation, said: "The differences were large, at three to five-fold at both the 40 and 45-year threshold, and were similar in both the national registers."
And last, another benefit of hormone therapy. These scientists showed that estrogen not only improves a women's memory, but it also increases brain activity as seen on an MRI scan.
Keep Memories Alive with Hormone Therapy
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By Dr. Manny Alvarez
A large number of women experience a loss in their memory function during and after menopause. Memory loss is a natural part of aging, but women in menopause tend to lose their memory faster and in a shorter period of time. Memory loss related to these kinds of events has been linked to changes in the prefrontal cortex, a region in the brain responsible for memory function.
In this new study, ten women aged 50-60 years old were given hormone therapy or a placebo for four weeks. After the initial four weeks they received no treatment for a month and following that women who were previously taking hormones received the placebo for an additional four weeks, and visa versa. The women were given a memory test and hooked up to an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine. The fMRI is able to “map” brain activity in real time and play it back on a screen.
Researchers noted that women who were taking the hormone replacement therapy showed more brain activity in their prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that women who use hormone replacement therapy for even relatively short periods of time could benefit in terms of memory function.
The above is not meant to be medical advice. Please read the attached Disclaimer, Etc.
If you know anyone you think would like to receive "DrRehertsAlerts," CLICK HERE to send me their email address and I'll add them to the list.
Best wishes, Dr. Rehert
Offline 
Send Email