A new study has identified risk factors associated with the development of premature ovarian failure (POF) and early menopause. Researchers from centers in Chungju, Seoul and Ilsan, in the Republic of Korea, set out to identify premenopausal risk factors associated with idiopathic POF and early menopause in Korean women, and to find out if the risk factors for POF are distinct from those for early menopause.For the study, menopause was defined as a period of amenorrhea of more than 12 consecutive months. POF was defined as the cessation of menstruation before the age of 40 years, and early menopause was defined as the occurrence of menopause at age 40-44 years. The study population, recruited from local districts as part of a larger study investigating cancer, consisted of 84 women with idiopathic POF, 261 women with idiopathic EM (women with surgical or medical menopause were excluded) and a control group of 1,318 women with ‘normal’ menopause, at age 45-60. The women provided information on their premenopausal lifestyle and reproductive factors.
The main findings of the study, reported in a new paper in the journal Maturitas, include:
Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with idiopathic POF, but not early menopause: the odds ratio of developing idiopathic POF was 1.82 for women who had ever smoked, compared with those who had never smoked. Environmental smoking (defined as a woman living in the same house for at least 1 year prior to menopause with a family member who smoked at least 20 packs of cigarettes in a lifetime) was also significantly associated with idiopathic POF, but not early menopause.
Being 13 years-old or younger at menarche significantly increased the risk of idiopathic POF and idiopathic early menopause.
Having a regular menstruation cycle (defined as occurring every 21-35 days) significantly reduced the risk of idiopathic POF and idiopathic early menopause (odds ratio 0.55, 95 percent confidence interval 0.32-0.95).
Using oral contraceptives significantly reduced the risk of idiopathic early menopause, but not idiopathic POF.
Among parous women, breast-feeding for 24 months or more significantly reduced the risk of idiopathic POF, but not early menopause.
Other environmental, physical and reproductive factors investigated – including alcohol consumption, physical activity per week, sedentary time per day, exposure to agricultural chemicals, parity, and spontaneous abortion in the first pregnancy – did not show any significant relationship with idiopathic POF or early menopause.
The researchers discuss their findings in detail, including the biological mechanisms likely to account for some of the associations such as with cigarette smoking. They conclude that they were able to identify some risk factors that were specific to either POF or early menopause, but that many of the risk factors related to ovulation, such as later menarche, irregular menstruation, and longer duration of breast feeding, were common to both POF and early menopause.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Proud To Be A Punju
Over the week-end, a friend sent me these Punju-truths. I am a proud Punjabi with cousins from Delhi to Amritsar and could identify with these witty Delhi-isms. Would love more Punju-truths over week-ends.
ABC OF PUNJABIS
A is for Adjust, Punjabis will always ask you to adjust whenever they want to push you around.
B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever.
C is for cloney and its first name is not George nor is it a process for replicating sheep – it is an area where people live eg. Dfence cloney.
E is for expanditure – and believe me Punjabis are not scared of spending money – the latest cars, marble floors, their ambitions are always expanding.
F is for fackade, and even though it sounds like a bad word it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course).
G is for Gaddi and the way a Punjabi can pilot a car puts any F1 driver to shame, if the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder and Sukhvinder.
H is for Ho Jayega, the moment you hear that, you have to be very careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen.
I is for Intezaar… to know more about it see P.
J is for Jindagi and if there's one person who knows how to live life to the full it's a Punjabi.
K is for Khanna, Khurana, etc – the Punjabi equivalent of the Johnses ie, keeping up with the Khuranas.
L is for Lovely but she never is. Nor is Sweety.
M is for Mrooti – the car that moved an entire Punjabi generation.
N is for No problem ji - to find out how that works see H.
O is for Oye which can be surprise (oyye!), a hailing (oyy), anger (OYY) or pain (oy oy oy).
P is for Panch minit and no matter how near (1 km) or far a Punjabi is from you (100 km) they usually say they'll reach you in panch minit.
Q is for Queue for which there's really no word in Punjabi.
R is for Riks and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one, even if the odds are against them.
S is for Sweetie, Bunty, Pappu and Sonu who seem to own half the cars in Delhi.
T is for the official bird of Punjab – Tandoori chicken.
U is for when U lose your sex appeal and become 'Uncle' ji.
V is for VIP phone numbers @ Rs 15 lakh and counting.
W is War – on the roads.
X is x-rated words they flow freely in casual conversations on the street.
Y is 'You nonsense', anger replacing vocabulary in a shouting match. And
Z is for Zig zag for which you should see G, M and P.
ABC OF PUNJABIS
A is for Adjust, Punjabis will always ask you to adjust whenever they want to push you around.
B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever.
C is for cloney and its first name is not George nor is it a process for replicating sheep – it is an area where people live eg. Dfence cloney.
E is for expanditure – and believe me Punjabis are not scared of spending money – the latest cars, marble floors, their ambitions are always expanding.
F is for fackade, and even though it sounds like a bad word it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course).
G is for Gaddi and the way a Punjabi can pilot a car puts any F1 driver to shame, if the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder and Sukhvinder.
H is for Ho Jayega, the moment you hear that, you have to be very careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen.
I is for Intezaar… to know more about it see P.
J is for Jindagi and if there's one person who knows how to live life to the full it's a Punjabi.
K is for Khanna, Khurana, etc – the Punjabi equivalent of the Johnses ie, keeping up with the Khuranas.
L is for Lovely but she never is. Nor is Sweety.
M is for Mrooti – the car that moved an entire Punjabi generation.
N is for No problem ji - to find out how that works see H.
O is for Oye which can be surprise (oyye!), a hailing (oyy), anger (OYY) or pain (oy oy oy).
P is for Panch minit and no matter how near (1 km) or far a Punjabi is from you (100 km) they usually say they'll reach you in panch minit.
Q is for Queue for which there's really no word in Punjabi.
R is for Riks and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one, even if the odds are against them.
S is for Sweetie, Bunty, Pappu and Sonu who seem to own half the cars in Delhi.
T is for the official bird of Punjab – Tandoori chicken.
U is for when U lose your sex appeal and become 'Uncle' ji.
V is for VIP phone numbers @ Rs 15 lakh and counting.
W is War – on the roads.
X is x-rated words they flow freely in casual conversations on the street.
Y is 'You nonsense', anger replacing vocabulary in a shouting match. And
Z is for Zig zag for which you should see G, M and P.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Art Critics
At the National Art Gallery in Dublin , a husband and wife were staring at a portrait that had them completely confused. The painting depicted three black men totally naked sitting on a park bench. Two of the figures had black willies, but the one in the middle had a pink willie.
The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble interpreting the painting and offered his assessment. He went on for over half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation of black men in a predominately white, patriarchal society. "In fact," he pointed out, some serious critics believe that the pink willie also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in contemporary society."
After the curator left, an Irishman, approached the couple and said, "Would you like to know what the painting is really about?" "Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the gallery?" asked the couple. "Because I'm the guy who painted it," he replied. "In fact, there are no black men depicted at all. They're just three Irish coal miners. The guy in the middle went home for lunch."
The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble interpreting the painting and offered his assessment. He went on for over half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation of black men in a predominately white, patriarchal society. "In fact," he pointed out, some serious critics believe that the pink willie also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in contemporary society."
After the curator left, an Irishman, approached the couple and said, "Would you like to know what the painting is really about?" "Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the gallery?" asked the couple. "Because I'm the guy who painted it," he replied. "In fact, there are no black men depicted at all. They're just three Irish coal miners. The guy in the middle went home for lunch."
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
IVF linked to high Blood Pressure during pregnancy
A team of US researchers based at Boston University have found that women who have IVF treatment are more likely to have high blood pressure during pregnancy than women who conceive naturally. The study, published last week in the journal Fertility and Sterility, links IVF treatment to two conditions - gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia - both of which are characterised by high blood pressure during pregnancy, affecting the mother and unborn baby.
Pre-eclampsia, also characterised by protein in the urine, accounts for about 15 per cent of premature births. The babies are not only premature but also often 'small for dates' because of growth problems, according to the publication.The researchers, lead by Dr Allen Mitchell, director of Boston University's Sloane Epidemiology Centre, interviewed over 5,000 recent mothers about any unusual symptoms during pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia, and whether or not they underwent any IVF treatment. In women who had undergone IVF treatment, they found that the risk of gestational hypertension was 90 per cent higher, and the risk of pre-eclampsia more than twice as high. However, after taking into account for other factors linked to these conditions, such as number of previous pregnancies, weight and having multiple births, these risks dropped to just 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
The researchers concluded that the increased risk of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia in women who underwent IVF treatment was mostly explained by the fact that such fertility treatment increases the chances of multiple births.
Pre-eclampsia, also characterised by protein in the urine, accounts for about 15 per cent of premature births. The babies are not only premature but also often 'small for dates' because of growth problems, according to the publication.The researchers, lead by Dr Allen Mitchell, director of Boston University's Sloane Epidemiology Centre, interviewed over 5,000 recent mothers about any unusual symptoms during pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia, and whether or not they underwent any IVF treatment. In women who had undergone IVF treatment, they found that the risk of gestational hypertension was 90 per cent higher, and the risk of pre-eclampsia more than twice as high. However, after taking into account for other factors linked to these conditions, such as number of previous pregnancies, weight and having multiple births, these risks dropped to just 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
The researchers concluded that the increased risk of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia in women who underwent IVF treatment was mostly explained by the fact that such fertility treatment increases the chances of multiple births.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Marzipan Babies
Marzipan is an Almond paste: a sweet paste made of ground almonds and sugar, often with egg whites or yolks, used as a layer in cakes or molded into ornamental shapes.You might appreciate these. Truly amazing and I thought you'd be as fascinated with these as I. These are made with marzipan....really unbelievable! While some of the faces may look "crafted" rather than "real", every detail is amazing, and the babies look amazingly real!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Chettiars allergic to Anesthesia
It might sound bizarre, but anesthetists in hospitals in Coimbatore solicit caste details of patients before administering anesthesia. The precaution is taken because the patients belonging to the Arya Vaisya Chettiar clan, popularly known as Kommutti Chettiars, are believed to be fatally allergic to some anesthetics. Arya Vaisya Chettiar, one of the 24 sects of the Chettiar community, are extremely allergic to the muscle relaxant or the paralyzing anesthetic agent, Suxamethonium popularly known as Scoline, say anesthetics here.
“The enzyme, pseudo choline esterase, present in the human body, helps patients regain consciousness after administration of anesthesia. This may be completely absent or present in reduced concentration in blood of people belonging to this particular community. An atypical form of this enzyme is also sometimes present in such patients and so they are unable to regain consciousness within the stipulated time,” says Dr. B.S. Dhanashekaran, an anesthesiologist in the city. Sometimes, the patient does not awaken even after five to six hours afterwards when Scoline is administered and in certain cases they die, he says.
“The genetic predisposition of the community does not permit intake of this drug,” he explains. It has been found that some Aryan sub-sects in various parts of the world are also similarly allergic, says Dr.Balavenkatasubramainan, a city-based anesthesiologist who belongs to the same community. As the reaction visible is same in the case of Aryans and the Arya Vaisya Chettiar clan, several Indian researchers believe that there is a clear link between the two.
“This seems to be more of a racial defect and both the mother and father can pass on this defect to the progeny,” says anesthesiologist. The CAS Guidelines to the practice of Anesthesia say that for others who are not allergic to it. Suxamethonium produces rapid, complete, and predictable paralysis and recovery is spontaneous. It is administered in severe liver disease and patients with burn injuries.
Please spread this message far and wide & inform all your Chettiar friends to inform their anesthetists about this enzyme deficiency before any surgery.
“The enzyme, pseudo choline esterase, present in the human body, helps patients regain consciousness after administration of anesthesia. This may be completely absent or present in reduced concentration in blood of people belonging to this particular community. An atypical form of this enzyme is also sometimes present in such patients and so they are unable to regain consciousness within the stipulated time,” says Dr. B.S. Dhanashekaran, an anesthesiologist in the city. Sometimes, the patient does not awaken even after five to six hours afterwards when Scoline is administered and in certain cases they die, he says.
“The genetic predisposition of the community does not permit intake of this drug,” he explains. It has been found that some Aryan sub-sects in various parts of the world are also similarly allergic, says Dr.Balavenkatasubramainan, a city-based anesthesiologist who belongs to the same community. As the reaction visible is same in the case of Aryans and the Arya Vaisya Chettiar clan, several Indian researchers believe that there is a clear link between the two.
“This seems to be more of a racial defect and both the mother and father can pass on this defect to the progeny,” says anesthesiologist. The CAS Guidelines to the practice of Anesthesia say that for others who are not allergic to it. Suxamethonium produces rapid, complete, and predictable paralysis and recovery is spontaneous. It is administered in severe liver disease and patients with burn injuries.
Please spread this message far and wide & inform all your Chettiar friends to inform their anesthetists about this enzyme deficiency before any surgery.
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