Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Estrogen Has Little Effect on Post-Menopausal Women: Study
The hormone estrogen has little effect on the quality of life of women who take it following menopause, a new study finds.
Some 10,739 participants in the U.S. government's Women's Health Initiative were questioned about their mental, physical and social health both before they began taking either estrogen pills or non-medicinal placebos, and one year later.
The study, which appears in the Sept. 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, found little difference between the two groups, according to an account by the Associated Press. The average age of participants was 63, and all had had hysterectomies.
Women taking estrogen reported slightly fewer sleep problems, but slightly worse social function, the AP said. Overall quality-of-life scores were high and about the same for both groups.
Several medical experts contacted by the wire service said the results generally couldn't be applied to younger women.
Use of estrogen and other forms of hormone replacement therapy sank after studies in 2002 showed a connection between their use and an increased risk of heart attack, breast cancer, and stroke in women, the AP said. Subsequent studies showed estrogen pills like Premarin were linked to a slight increase in older women's risk of dementia, the wire service added.
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Westerners Look East for Medical Care
More and more North Americans and Europeans are making the trek to India, Thailand and Singapore for medical care that costs them much less than it does at home.
Orthopedic and plastic surgery, as well as infertility and cardiology treatment, are among the types of health care being sought by the western patients, the Associated Press reported.
Bradley Thayer, a 60-year-old retired apple farmer from Okanogan, Wash., is one of those patients. He traveled to India to have a torn knee ligament fixed and, including the airfare, it cost him one-third of what he would have paid in a U.S. hospital.
Thayer said his U.S. doctors told him he'd have to wait six months for the surgery and it would cost him $35,000.
"Flying halfway around the world is cheaper. I came straight to India. It's a long way to come without tests, but I feel great," Thayer told the AP.
It's common for Asian doctors to train and practice in the United States, Great Britain and other western countries and then return to their home countries and have western patients come to them.
The Indian government is taking steps to promote this kind of "medical tourism," and is also planning a list of recommended hospitals, the AP reported.
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Countries Scramble to Stockpile Tamiflu
Fear of a global outbreak of bird flu in humans has sparked efforts by many countries to obtain and stockpile the drug Tamiflu, which seems to be the only effective treatment against bird flu in people.
"It appears that this is the only effective intervention we have once someone has been infected. It's the one treatment. The problem is that we don't have enough of it," Jeffrey Levi, a policy analyst for the nonprofit group Trust for America's Health, told the Associated Press.
Current flu vaccines offer no protection against bird flu. However, laboratory and animal tests have found that Tamiflu is effective against the bird flu virus. Doctors in Asia are using Tamiflu to treat people infected with bird flu.
The major problem is that global demand for the drug is outpacing supply. U.S. health officials are concerned about the nation's small stockpile of Tamiflu and some developing countries say they may ignore U.S. patents and make generic versions of the drug to ensure they have adequate supplies, the AP reported.
In an effort to meet demand, drug maker Roche doubled its manufacturing capacity in each of the last two years. The company plans a similar expansion next year.
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Laughter a Common Asthma Trigger
A New York University survey of 235 asthma patients found that 56 percent of them said laughter can trigger asthma symptoms.
The researchers said it's not clear how laughter can aggravate asthma symptoms, but they suggested it may be connected to hyperventilating. They also said laughter-induced asthma may be an indication that a person's asthma is not well controlled, BBC News reported.
The study, presented at an American Thoracic Society meeting, also found that laughter-induced asthma did not lead to more asthma flare-ups requiring emergency room visits or hospitalizations, compared with other types of asthma.
"But patients did report that during times when their asthma is well controlled they can laugh for longer without getting asthma symptoms," said lead researcher Dr. Stuart Garay. "That suggests that laughter-induced asthma may be a sign that a person's asthma isn't as well controlled as it could be."
Garay said that even though laughter isn't as well-recognized a trigger as pollen, fumes, and dust mites, it's equally or more common than those triggers, BBC News reported.
For some asthma patients, even mild laugher or a mere chuckle is enough to trigger coughing, Garay said.
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Breast Reduction Patient Screening Discovers Cancer Risk
An unexpected benefit from screening all candidates for breast reduction surgery: A significant percentage was discovered to have a high risk for developing breast cancer, and this could lead to earlier and more successful treatment.
These findings were presented Sunday at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual conference, in Chicago.
According to a news release from the society, 12 percent of the 300 breast reduction patients in the study showed abnormal pathologies. This put them at an increased risk for developing breast cancer, the study concluded.
The researchers also found that screening breast reduction candidates of all ages -- not just those over 40 -- was effective because it could find breast cancer in its early stages. Two of 10 patients considered high risk for developing breast cancer were under 40, the study found.
"In the end, we found that although it may cost more up-front to screen each breast reduction patient for cancer, we saved money and helped patients to get treatment sooner," said Dr. Kristin Stueber, co-author of the study.
