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Opinion Piece Criticizes Winfrey For 'Unbalanced' Medical Advice On Hormone Replacement Therapy
Oprah Winfrey "has scored good ratings with her health episodes" of her television show, but "in doing so, she seems to have thrown therapeutic caution to the wind," such as on her shows featuring actress Suzanne Somers" opinions on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, Salon contributor and physician Rahul Parikh writes in an opinion piece. Somers, while advocating for the use of bioidentical HRT as a safe alternative to traditional HRT for postmenopausal women, said she used "mega-doses of bioidenticals continuously and aggressively," according to Parikh. Parikh writes that Somers, on television and in her 2007 book, "argues that these hormones are more natural, more effective and safer than what doctors prescribe." According to Parikh, "In reality, ...÷ there are no good medical studies to back up those claims."Parikh says that although "what Somers was advocating was radically different from standards of medical care," Winfrey "was not concerned" and even said that Somers ""might be a pioneer,"" Parikh continues. Winfrey billed the episode as part of a ""great debate"" on hormone therapy, but she "didn"t ask about whether [Somers"] super-hormone regimen could have contributed to Somers" history of breast cancer"; "her hysterectomy, the result of pre-cancerous changes in her uterus from her use of HRT"; or the "validity of Somers" book"s s, many of whom are neither experts in women"s health or endocrinology, nor board-certified physicians, nor experienced researchers," Parikh states. He adds, "It"s not that Winfrey doesn"t try to maintain medical credibility in her shows," but "her efforts seem subpar," noting that her show "reaches millions of people, while each doctor can reach only one patient at a time." Parikh concludes, "That could easily be corrected by Winfrey providing more thought and balance in her medical advice" (Parikh, Salon, 5/15).
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Study Finds New Approach To Treating Heart Attacks Reduces Risk Of Life-Threatening Complications
Transferring heart attack patients to specialized hospitals to undergo angioplasty within six hours after receiving clot-busting drugs reduces the risk of life-threatening complications, according to a Canadian-led study published today. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that routine early transfer of patients after clot-busting drugs are administered results in significantly better outcomes than the current practice of transferring patients only when the clot-busting drugs fail.
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Alzheimer's Society Comment On New Tau Tangle Research

Tau protein tangles are found in the brains of people with a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer"s. New research published in Nature Cell Biology suggests that tangle formation can be transferred from one type of trans genetic mouse line to another. The research was carried out using two different mouse lines, one generated specifically to express a mutated form of human tau known to cause tangles and disease, the other generated to express normal human tau. Ordinary (wild type) mice do not have a type of tau that can make tangles. More research is needed to understand the implications of these results. "The observation that tangle formation can be transferred from one type of trans genetic mouse line to another is certainly exciting and may change the way we think about tangle formation in diseases such as Alzheimer"s. However, the research was carried out using two different trans genetic mouse lines and we will need a lot more research before we understand the implications of these observations. There is still so much we do not understand about the changes in tau that lead to tangle formation in humans and, eventually, widespread brain cell death. Each new piece of knowledge helps build a better picture and takes us closer to the point where we can stop loss of brain tissue and dementia for good." Dr Susanne Sorensen Head of Research Alzheimer"s Society Reference: Clavaguera F et al. Transmission and spreading of tauopathy in transgenic mouse brain. Nature Cell Biology, published online 7 June 2009 Notes - One in three people over 65 will die with dementia. - Alzheimer"s Society research shows that 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer"s disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051. - Alzheimer"s Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and the millions of people who care for them. - Alzheimer"s Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. - Alzheimer"s Society needs to raise money to help people live well with dementia today and for research to find a cure for tomorrow. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting http://www.alzheimers.org.uk Alzheimer"s Society


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