What Do Women Want? Identifying Life Goals in a Community-Based Sample of Women Aged ≥60 Years.

Few studies have examined women's perspectives on their health and priorities in older age. In the current study, we administered a cross-sectional survey to women aged ≥60 years, recruited at a large community event in 2019. Participants ( = 303; mean age = 68 years) reported up to three 12-month life goals in open-text fields ( = 1,053 goals).

Green Tea Catechin Extract Supplementation Does Not Influence Circulating Sex Hormones and Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis Proteins in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Postmenopausal Women at High Risk of Breast Cancer.

Background: Consumption of green tea has been associated with reduced risk of breast cancer. Hormonal modulation has been suggested as one of the potential underlying mechanisms; however, it has yet to be fully elucidated in large, long-term human clinical trials.

Objective: We investigated the effects of decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) on circulating sex hormones and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) proteins.

Exposure to Cold Unmasks Potential Biomarkers of Fibromyalgia Syndrome Reflecting Insufficient Sympathetic Responses to Stress.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronically painful condition whose symptoms are widely reported to be exacerbated by stress. We hypothesized that female patients with FMS differ from pain-free female controls in their sympathetic responses, a fact that may unmask important biomarkers and factors that contribute to the etiology of FMS.

Materials And Methods: In a pilot study, blood pressure (BP), skin temperature, thermogenic activity, circulating glucose, and pain sensitivity of 13 individuals with FMS and 11 controls at room temperature (24°C) were compared with that after exposure to cold (19°C).

Quality of life among postmenopausal women enrolled in the Minnesota Green Tea Trial.

Background: Postmenopausal symptomatology has not been elucidated in large, long-term human clinical trials. Our objective was to measure quality of life in postmenopausal women aged 50-70 years.

Methods: A Menopause-Specific Quality of Life-Intervention (MENQOL) questionnaire was completed by women enrolled in the Minnesota Green Tea Trial (n=932) to assess vasomotor, physical, sexual, and psychosocial symptoms in the years following menopause.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Green Tea Extract Supplementation and Mammographic Density in Postmenopausal Women at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer.

Epidemiologic and animal studies suggest a protective role of green tea against breast cancer. However, the underlying mechanism is not understood. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial to investigate whether supplementation with green tea extract (GTE) modifies mammographic density (MD), as a potential mechanism, involving 1,075 healthy postmenopausal women.

Effect of Green Tea Supplements on Liver Enzyme Elevation: Results from a Randomized Intervention Study in the United States.

Liver injury effects of green tea-based products have been reported in sporadic case reports. However, no study has examined systematically such adverse effects in an unbiased manner. We examined the potential effects of a high, sustained oral dose of green tea extract (GTE) on liver injury measures in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded phase II clinical trial, which enrolled 1,075 women with the original aim to assess the effect of daily GTE consumption for 12 months on biomarkers of breast cancer risk.

Use of Strontium Chloride for the Treatment of Osteoporosis: A Case Report.

Context • Strontium ranelate is an approved prescription medication for the treatment of osteoporosis in Europe. In the United States, the only available forms of strontium are those that are nonprescription, dietary supplements. Some patients with osteoporosis use those products because they prefer an alternate treatment to conventional therapy.

Interprofessional Intervention to Support Mature Women: A Case Study.

Understanding the impact interprofessional teamwork has on patient outcomes is of great interest to health care providers, educators, and administrators. This article describes one clinical team, Women's Health Specialists, and their implementation of an interprofessional health intervention course: "Mindfulness and Well-being: The Mature Woman" (MW: MW) to support mature women's health needs in midlife (age 40-70 years) and empower patient involvement in self-care. The provider team works to understand how their interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) interventions focused on supporting midlife women are associated with improved quality and clinical outcomes.

The Minnesota Green Tea Trial (MGTT), a randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of green tea extract on biomarkers of breast cancer risk: study rationale, design, methods, and participant characteristics.

Purpose: The Minnesota Green Tea Trial (MGTT) was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial investigating the effect of daily green tea extract consumption for 12 months on biomarkers of breast cancer risk.

Methods: Participants were healthy postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer due to dense breast tissue with differing catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes. The intervention was a green tea catechin extract containing 843.

The safety of green tea extract supplementation in postmenopausal women at risk for breast cancer: results of the Minnesota Green Tea Trial.

Green tea is thought to provide health benefits, though adverse reactions to green tea extract (GTE) have been reported. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of GTE on breast cancer biomarkers, including mammographic density, in which 1075 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to consume GTE containing 843 mg (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) or placebo daily for one year. There were no significant differences in % of women with adverse events (AEs, 75.

Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Trametes versicolor in Women with Breast Cancer.

Introduction. Orally administered preparations from the Trametes versicolor (Tv) mushroom have been hypothesized to improve immune response in women with breast cancer after standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Methods.

Tibetan medicine and integrative health: validity testing and refinement of the constitutional self-assessment tool and lifestyle guidelines tool.

Context: Tibetan medicine offers an ancient, timely model for the promotion of health and treatment of disease by teaching individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices. This holistic model consists of analyzing one's unique constitution and recommending supportive lifestyle modifications. An experienced Tibetan medicine practitioner is the gold standard for constitutional assessment.

Vitamin D intake and mental health-related quality of life in older women: the Iowa Women's Health Study.

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency and mood disorders are both prevalent among the elderly. We evaluated the association between vitamin D intake and mental health-related quality of life (QOL) among elderly women participating in a large population-based study.

Study Design: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of the Iowa Women's Health Study, a prospective study of cancer risk factors among post-menopausal women in Iowa that began in 1986.

Noninvasive quantification of ascorbate and glutathione concentration in the elderly human brain.

In this study, ascorbate (Asc) and glutathione (GSH) concentrations were quantified noninvasively using double-edited (1)H MRS at 4 T in the occipital cortex of healthy young [age (mean ± standard deviation) = 20.4 ± 1.4 years] and elderly (age = 76.

The TU-025 keishibukuryogan clinical trial for hot flash management in postmenopausal women: results and lessons for future research.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of TU-025, keishibukuryogan, a Japanese prescription herbal medicine used for hot flash management, in American women.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II trial enrolled 178 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 58 years with a Mayo hot flash score greater than 28 per week who met other inclusion criteria. After a 1-week placebo run-in period, participants were randomly assigned placebo, or 7.

Noninvasive quantification of human brain antioxidant concentrations after an intravenous bolus of vitamin C.

Until now, the lack of a means to detect a deficiency or to measure the pharmacologic effect in the human brain in situ has been a hindrance to the development of antioxidant-based prevention and treatment of dementia. In this study, a recently developed (1) H MRS approach was applied to quantify key human brain antioxidant concentrations throughout the course of an aggressive antioxidant-based intervention. The concentrations of the two most abundant central nervous system chemical antioxidants, vitamin C and glutathione, were quantified noninvasively in the human occipital cortex prior to and throughout 24 h after bolus intravenous delivery of 3 g of vitamin C.

Nonpharmacologic complementary therapies in symptom management for breast cancer survivors.

The request and use of nonpharmacologic interventions and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer survivors is increasing. Given the large number of breast cancer survivors and the multiple treatment-related symptoms they endure, it is important for physicians to be aware of the evidence supporting nonpharmacologic therapies. Several studies evaluating such interventions have demonstrated improved overall quality of life (QOL).

Vitamin E and evening primrose oil for management of cyclical mastalgia: a randomized pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin E, evening primrose oil (EPO), and the combination of vitamin E and EPO for pain control in women with cyclical mastalgia.

Procedure: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at two U.S.

Integrative holistic medicine in Minnesota.

Minnesota has played a leading role in the integrative holistic medicine movement in the United States for more than 2 decades. This article defines integrative holistic medicine and describes how it is practiced. It also discusses the reasons why institutions and providers here and elsewhere in the country have embraced this approach to patient care.

Breast cancer and the immune system.

This article reviews the evidence that the functioning of both the innate and the adaptive immune system plays a role in preventing relapse in women with breast cancer. Lymphocytes, including T cells, T regulatory cells, and natural killer cells, and their cytokine release patterns are implicated in both primary prevention and recurrence of breast cancer. Cancer prognosis may be related to immune system functional status.

Trametes versicolor mushroom immune therapy in breast cancer.

Data from multiple epidemiologic and clinical studies on immune effects of conventional cancer treatment and the clinical benefits of polysaccharide immune therapy suggest that immune function has a role in breast cancer prevention. Immune therapy utilizing the polysaccharide constituents of Trametes versicolor (Tv) as concurrent adjuvant cancer therapy may be warranted as part of a comprehensive cancer treatment and secondary prevention strategy.

Immune defects in breast cancer patients after radiotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immune status of women with stage I-III breast cancer after receiving external beam radiotherapy (RT). Fourteen stage I-III, estrogen or progesterone receptor-positive or-negative (FER/PR +\-), postsurgical breast cancer patients undergoing a standard course of chemotherapy and radiation were studied. Complete blood counts (CBC) with differential, phagocytic activity, natural killer (NK) cell functional activity, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma cytokine activity were measured immediately before and for the six weeks following the completion of radiation therapy.

Evaluation of a complementary and alternative medicine rotation in medical school.

Background: Despite widespread public use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, no standardized CAM curriculum is available to medical educators, and evaluation of such curricula is limited.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the impact of a 3-week elective CAM rotation--integrating site-visits, small groups lectures and discussion, reference materials, a research paper--on medical students' confidence in their knowledge about CAM, attitudes toward CAM, and perceived effectiveness of CAM therapies. (2) To generate greater interest in evaluation of CAM curricula in medical school.