Keep abreast of what your patients are currently seeing in the media with our round-up of popular news stories, available from WHF as abstracts with links to the full-text articles.

From the week of June 23, 2008:

Six Questions to Find Ovarian Cancer Early

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it is in its late stages, due to the unobtrusive and vague nature of the disease’s symptoms. Researchers have linked more than 20 symptoms to the onset of ovarian cancer, including urinary frequency and urgency, back pain, fatigue, and constipation. Since these symptoms are associated with a host of conditions, and are often not particularly disruptive to a woman’s life, they are routinely ignored by patients or dismissed by doctors. However, researchers have now developed a series of 6 questions for women to answer that, coupled with a blood test, can raise the detection of early ovarian cancer by 20%. The questions address 6 key symptoms of early ovarian cancer: pelvic pain, abdominal pain, bloating, increased abdominal size, difficult eating, and feeling full quickly. For women who have experienced this constellation of symptoms within the last 12 months, a CA-125 blood test may be administered to determine if the symptoms are a sign of ovarian cancer. A transvaginal ultrasound can also be requested to help detect early ovarian cancer.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

So Much to Do, So Little Sleep

Many women have confessed to believing that lack of sleep is a basic fact of life for women. In a National Sleep Foundation survey, 60% of women polled reported getting a good night’s sleep only a few nights a week, and 43% reported daytime fatigue interfering with their day-to-day activities. Sleep deprivation at night can lead to sluggish behavior during the day, making it difficult to perform routine actions. Women also put themselves at greater risk for obesity by sleeping less than 7 hours per night: too little sleep is associated with an elevated body mass index and a higher likelihood of obesity. Other possible health consequences of sleep deprivation include high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, substance abuse, and a greater risk of car accidents. Since lack of sleep can often be caused by physical and psychological issues rather than lack of time, researchers offer the following suggestions to combat sleep problems: exercise regularly, but not close to bedtime, finish eating 2 to 3 hours before going to sleep, avoid nicotine and caffeine close to bedtime, maintain a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends, sleep in a dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool environment, and use a comfortable mattress and pillow.

Read the full story on healthday.com

Healthy Diet Lowers Death Risk for Women

Eating a diet low in saturated fats and sugar and high in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can significantly decrease a woman’s risk of dying from heart disease. Conversely, a Western eating pattern, which includes a lot of red and processed meat, French fries, refined grains, and sweets, can greatly elevate the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. In a study of 72,000 women between the ages of 30 and 55 who adhered to either a Western eating pattern or a prudent eating pattern—eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, and poultry—the women with a high adherence to the prudent eating pattern had a 28% lower risk than women with a low adherence of death from cardiovascular disease, as well as a 17% lower long-term risk of premature death from all causes. What the researchers defined as a prudent eating pattern closely followed the American Heart Association’s dietary guidelines. It is also advisable to limit saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium; lower sugar consumption; eat fish twice a week; eat fat-free and low-fat diary products; and raise consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high-fiber foods. Previous studies have found that consuming high levels of red meat, fried foods, and refined grains also leads to diabetes, along with heart disease.

Read the full story on healthday.com

Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia

The symptoms of dementia can be difficult for both patients and caregivers to deal with, and many turn to the use of medications to control the outbursts, agitation, and combative behavior that is associated with the disease. However, the use of antipsychotics has shot up in the past decade, leaving many patients overmedicated. Nursing homes are especially guilty of abusing antipsychotics to control the behavior of dementia patients. It is estimated that roughly one-third of all nursing home patients have received antipsychotic drugs, despite research revealing that antipsychotics provide no significant improvement over placebo in the treatment of aggression and delusions in Alzheimer’s patients. Physicians tend to prescribe antipsychotic medications “off label,” since the US FDA has not approved marketing such drugs to older dementia patients. Antipsychotics have been linked to a heightened risk of repetitive movement disorders, weight gain, and diabetes, as well as highly sedating patients. While some situations do call for the use of antipsychotic medications, these drugs should be used at the lowest possible dose and for the shortest period of time necessary. More patient-friendly approaches to controlling combative behavior include providing intellectual and physical stimulation, reducing boredom, calming music, exercise, and pet therapy.

Read the full story on nytimes.com