Some Summaries from NY Times

The New York Times on Tuesday in its health section published several articles related to women's health:

• "Heart Health: Panic Attacks Seen as Risk in Postmenopausal Women": Women ages 51 to 83 who have panic attacks are four times more likely to have coronary heart disease than postmenopausal women who do not have such attacks, according to a GlaxoSmithKline-funded study of 3,300 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative and published in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, the Times reports. The study found that compared with women who did not have panic attacks, women who had such attacks had a 75% higher mortality rate and were more likely to smoke and have high blood pressure, diabetes, a history of cardiovascular conditions and symptoms of depression (Bakalar, New York Times, 10/9).
  
  
• "In the Battle Against Cancer, Researchers Find Hope in a Toxic Wasteland": Two compounds discovered in a hole filled with toxic waste in Butte, Mont., by Don Stierle, a professor at Montana Tech of the University of Montana, and Andrea Stierle, a chemistry researcher at MTUM, have shown initial success in killing NIH-developed breast and cervical cancer cell lines, according to two papers recently published in peer-reviewed organic chemistry journals, the Times reports. Although Andrea Stierle said the research is at an early stage, she and Don Stierle have been negotiating with a pharmaceutical company to possibly develop new cancer medications from the compounds (Maag, New York Times, 10/9).
  
  
• "Antidepressants Emerge as Coolant for Hot Flashes": An increasing number of women are taking antidepressants to treat hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause as more women and doctors are seeking alternatives to hormone replacement therapy, the Times reports. According the Times, studies are highlighting a "wide variation" of responses among women taking the drugs to treat hot flashes (Parker-Pope, New York Times, 10/9).

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