What You Must Know About Your Cholesterol

by Jessica Snyder Sachs

Many of us are in the danger zone, and we don’t realize it. What to do right now.

How’s your cholesterol? Here’s a guess: If you’re healthy, you probably have no idea. New surveys show women tend to be clueless about their risks of heart disease, especially when it comes to managing their cholesterol.

But this kind of ignorance is anything but bliss. The reason: The artery clogging that makes heart disease the number-one killer of women late in life begins much earlier—in your 20s, 30s, and 40s—and that’s when your cholesterol numbers may be sounding alarms. So, are you ready to start paying attention? Here, the things all women need to know now.

1. High cholesterol is surprisingly common.
Researchers with the Framingham Heart Study recently delivered a nasty surprise: Nearly a quarter of women in the study who are in their early 30s have borderline-high levels of bad cholesterol, as do more than a third in their early 40s and more than half in their early 50s. A third of women in all three age groups have low levels of good cholesterol.

Bad cholesterol, also known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), contributes to heart disease by laying down artery-clogging plaque; good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), helps clear it away. “The double whammy of high LDL and low HDL is particularly dangerous,” says Framingham researcher Vasan Ramachandran, MD, of the Boston University School of Medicine.

2. Your doctor may miss the problem.
Though women are better than men about seeing a doctor regularly, the care they receive isn’t as good when it comes to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, according to new studies. “Perhaps doctors still haven’t gotten the message that women need to control cholesterol,” says Chloe Bird, PhD, author of one of these studies and a senior sociologist at the nonprofit RAND Corporation. Bird found that doctors are less likely to monitor and control cholesterol in women than in men, even when the women are at superhigh risk of heart attack.

Part of the problem, she says, may be that many women see only a gynecologist. This isn’t to say that OB-GYNs can’t be good primary care doctors, but you have to make sure the doc is willing to monitor your heart health, especially if you already have diabetes or a heart issue. That means she should order cholesterol checks as part of your regular blood work and discuss the results with you. What does “regular” mean? See “How Often Do I Need a Checkup?”

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Solutions to your common skin worries

Know the causes of common skin problems, how to prevent them and how to treat them. By Dr. Awi Curameng

We all have suffered from common skin afflictions at one time or another. Though none are overtly life threatening, they can compromise the way we feel about ourselves and present ourselves to others. Go through this list of skin conditions and see how they should be treated.

Acne
The problem: Acne vulgaris is inflammation of a hair follicle and its accompanying oil gland. The area assumes the characteristic swollen, red appearance of a pimple, filled with pus, and often quite painful.

The cause: Acne is partly hereditary and could also be due to factors such as hormonal fluctuations, stress, bacteria in skin pores, skin irritation, or certain medications. Eating oily food or chocolate does not cause acne.

What to do: Keep your face clean by washing twice daily with a mild facial cleanser. Apply benzoyl peroxide ointment twice a day on pimples. If your acne doesn’t respond to a few days’ treatment, see a dermatologist. Do not squeeze your pimples! This may lead to infection and unsightly scarring.

Wrinkles
The problem: As skin ages, it loses its elasticity and begins to wrinkle, showing either fine surface lines or deep furrows.

The cause: Wrinkling is caused primarily by excessive sun exposure and smoking.

What to do: Medical treatments containing vitamin A, alpha-hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid), or antioxidants may reduce fine lines. Cosmetic procedures like glycolic-acid peels, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing, surgical procedures and Botox injections are for deep furrows. As with any skin condition, see your dermatologist for the right treatment regimen for you.

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The buzz on brittle bones

  By Dr. Ivan Olegario

With more and more people reaching the ripe old age, diseases such as osteoporosis are becoming increasingly prevalent. Take care of your bone health now before you become another statistic.

Osteo-what?
Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become so thin and weak you run the risk of fractures. Bone is a living tissue that grows in a porous, mesh-like structure. Throughout life, the body breaks down old bone and rebuilds new bone in a continuous cycle. You should gain more bones than you lose, but when it is the other way around, you become a candidate for osteoporosis.

Building bones requires several components:

• The minerals, calcium and phosphorus, when combined, form the "cement" of the bone.
• The protein called collagen acts as steel reinforcements to the brittle cement.
• Vitamin D stimulates absorption of calcium.
• Hormones, estrogen in women and testosterone in men, signal special bone cells to build bone.
• Physical activity can also be a stimulus to deposit more cement and reinforcement into the bone.

The major problem with aging-related osteoporosis (found typically among perimenopausal women) is a lack of hormones—the materials are there, but there are no orders to build.

Osteoporosis affects more than half of women and a third of men over 60 years old, as well as a few younger people.

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Long-term aspirin and death risk for women: new study

Better chances for women at risk

Women who took low to moderate daily doses of aspirin had a reduced death rate, especially from heart disease, according to decades-long research. The research, based on data from a major trial that has tracked almost 80,000 women since 1976, found women who reported using aspirin on a regular basis had a 25% lower risk of death from any cause than women who didn’t take the drug.

The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 38% lower for aspirin users, and there was also a 12% reduction in cancer deaths that took effect after a decade of aspirin use, the researchers found in their report based on the Nurses’ Health Study.

The results were published in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

However, an accompanying editorial in the journal cautioned that the results were open to debate and far from definitive.

The dissenting editorial, by Dr John A. Baron of Dartmouth Medical School, was based in large part on results of a different trial, the Women’s Health Study, which followed almost 40,000 women for 11 years and found no reduction in overall deaths or cardiovascular mortality associated with aspirin therapy.

Therefore, Baron said, the new findings "cannot overcome the accumulated evidence that aspirin is not particularly effective for the primary prevention of death from cardiovascular disease in women."

"This is a complicated issue," said Dr Andrew T. Chan, an assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and lead author of the new report. "We understand that aspirin has potential health benefits, but who would aspirin therapy be appropriate for?" There are "areas of disagreement that need further study" before that question can be answered, Chan said. But there is information from the two large studies and other trials that can help guide women and their physicians, he said.

For starters, some studies suggest aspirin has benefits for older women and those who have cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity, Chan said. "Our study and the Women’s Heath Study do suggest that there is a potential role of aspirin for women who have subclinical cardiovascular disease," he added.

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China tells Japan it cares about food safety: official

TOKYO (AFP) - Chinese food experts promised Japan Monday they were serious about consumer safety, an official said, amid a nationwide scare over Chinese-made dumplings that left hundreds complaining of illness.

Ten people were diagnosed with pesticide poisoning after eating the frozen meat dumplings, prompting major foodmakers to recall food products manufactured at the same factory in China.

A team of Chinese experts, headed by food safety official Li Chunfeng, held a second day of closed-door talks on Monday at Japan’s Cabinet Office.

The meeting was originally scheduled to end in the morning but was to extended to Monday afternoon, Japanese officials said.

"The talks took place in a very friendly atmosphere — which is what the Chinese side asked us to emphasise to you," said Masaki Ichikawa, head of the international affairs division at the Cabinet Office.

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Laura Bush promotes healthy living

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In a rare break from tradition, first lady Laura Bush offered this week’s national radio address to promote healthy living and heart-disease prevention.

"President Bush has handed the mike over to me," she said, according to a White House transcript of the address, which will air Saturday. "And today, I’d like to talk about something that’s close to my heart — America’s heart health."

Mrs. Bush is the ambassador for the Heart Truth, a campaign to educate women about the risks of heart disease and the steps to prevent it. She said the disease affects more than 80 million people in the U.S. and claims the life of one American every minute.

"Symptoms of a heart attack can be different in women than in men," she said. "Symptoms in women can include persistent fatigue, difficulty breathing, and a pain in the jaw or neck. If women have these symptoms, they should go immediately to the hospital."

In Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, President Bush also tried to raise awareness as he signed a proclamation declaring February as American Heart Month.

He met with Joyce Cullen, who learned of the symptoms of heart disease from media coverage of Mrs. Bush’s efforts. Cullen credits the experience as helping to save her life.

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A Daily Skin Care Routine

People often ask me which skin care products I use… so here they are! As you’ll see, most of my favorite products are inexpensive and widely available.

Whatever your skin type, the brands you find at your local drugstore are typically your best bet. Larger skin care companies have the biggest budgets for research and development, and can sell highly effective products at affordable prices. There are a couple of products I recommend splurging on if you can - keep reading to find out which ones.

Remember, though, that skin care is not one-size-fits-all. It’s important to choose products that are tailored to your particular skin needs. If you’re familiar with my book The Skin Type Solution and the 16 skin types it describes, you know that I define skin according to four different parameters.

I’m a DSNW, for example: That means my skin is dry, sensitive, non-pigmented (not prone to hyperpigmentation), and "wrinkled" (more susceptible to aging than "tight" skin types).

If your skin sounds similar to mine, check out these excellent products - they’ve all served me well!

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Folic Acid May Help Prevent Premature Birth

By Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter - Thu Jan 31, 4:02 PM PST

THURSDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) — Long known to help prevent birth defects, folic acid may also help prevent premature births, new research suggests.

In a large study that included almost 40,000 women, a team of U.S. and Irish researchers found that women who took folic acid supplements for a year or longer before conception had a 70 percent decreased risk of preterm birth between 20 and 28 weeks of gestation.

"There have been all sorts of protocols, lifestyle interventions and medications tested, and nothing has made a difference in preterm births, so this is a really exciting study," said Dr. Katharine Wenstrom, president of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Wenstrom said it’s likely that folic acid is regulating certain genes that malfunction to cause early labor. "Now that we know that folic acid makes a huge difference, researchers can look at the different reactions that folic acid causes and see which might be related to preterm labor," she said.

A premature birth is one that occurs before 37 weeks’ gestation, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Improved medical knowledge and technology have made survival for these small infants more likely — of babies born at 28 weeks or after, 90 percent are expected to survive, according to the NIH.

But the earlier a baby is delivered, the greater the risk of serious complications, including bleeding in the brain, infection, delayed growth and intestinal problems, according to the NIH.

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New treatment can clear brain clots

WASHINGTON - It’s a tiny vacuum cleaner for the brain: A new treatment for stroke victims promises to suction out clogged arteries in hopes of stopping the brain attack before it does permanent harm.

Called Penumbra, the newly approved device is the latest in a series of inside-the-artery attempts to boost recovery from stroke, the nation’s No. 3 killer.

Now the question is how to determine which patients are good candidates — because, illogical as it may sound, unclogging isn’t always the best option.

"Is the patient at a stage of stroke where you’re going to hurt them by pulling a clot out, or show benefit?" asks Dr. Walter Koroshetz of the National Institutes of Health. "It’s good we have devices. Now we have to learn how to use them."

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Conquering chronic pain: scientists find a key

Scientists have found a substance that, in mice, blocks chronic pain but does not appear to cause any of the unwanted side effects of existing painkillers, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Researchers led by Hanns Zeilhofer at the University of Zurich in Switzerland found the compound after exploring the way pain signals travel up to the brain via the spinal cord.

"Normally the spinal cord acts as a kind of filter, ensuring that not all painful signals coming from the periphery of the body reach the brain," Zeilhofer told AFP in an interview.

If these neurological gatekeepers were totally absent, even the lightest touch on the skin would make us wince with discomfort, he explained. "We would be in constant pain without them."

But in patients with chronic pain, this filter function is impaired, meaning that the spinal cord is like an open channel for pain signals, he said.

A key role in the inhibition process is played by two nervous-system chemicals, called neurotransmitters.

One is gamma-aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA, and the other is glycin.

"We thought we could restore the filter function if we pharmacologically enhance the action of GABA or glycin in the spinal cord," said Zeilhofer.

But as no compounds had been developed that target glycin, they focused instead on GABA.

In experiments reported in the British journal Nature, the researchers induced inflammation in the paws of mice and rats, and then gauged the force needed to make the animal withdraw its leg, creating a rough measure of pain.

First they injected Valium into the spinal cord. As predicted, the drug increased the transmission of GABA, significantly reducing the rodents’ aversive reactions.

But the problem with Valium as a treatment for pain is that it also causes drowsiness, impairs memory formation and rapidly loses its effectiveness, said Zeilhofer.

All these unwanted side-effects occur in the brain, he noted, so he and his team wondered if there wasn’t another chemical that would act only on the spinal cord.

That’s when they found L-838,417, a compound that suppressed the pain signals without causing sedation or losing its effectiveness over time.

"During a nine-day treatment in rats, we found the morphine completely lost its analgesic effect, whereas the analgesic effect of L-838,417 was completely retained," Zeilhofer said.

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