Has The Medical System Betrayed Women? How To Take Back Control of Your Health

Gender disparities in medical care have been a longstanding issue that requires urgent attention to ensure women receive adequate and effective treatments. Years of women's exclusion from medical studies, combined with gender bias in research, have led to a medical system that often neglects the unique needs of women.

Medical System Neglects Women's Unique Needs

Historically, women have been systematically excluded from medical research. This exclusion was not addressed by law until 1993 which means that, prior to that, a majority of clinical trials primarily included male participants. This neglect resulted in skewed data that has significantly impacted healthcare treatments available to women.

Women's Exclusion From Studies Skewed Data, Impacting Female Treatments

One catastrophic example was the use of [restricted term] in pregnant women to combat nausea which led to severe birth defects. As a consequence, regulatory bodies excluded all women from studies to avoid potential pregnancy risks. This blanket exclusion has had long-term effects on the understanding of how various medications and treatments affect women specifically.

Gender Bias in Research Leads To Poor Women's Care

Researchers often avoid studying women due to higher costs and complexities, as women's hormonal cycles can complicate study results. As a result, they preferentially study men and then infer that the results apply to women. This inference overlooks fundamental gender and sex differences that can alter how diseases manifest and how treatments should be applied.

Cardiovascular medications, like statins, serve as an example where clinical assumptions based on male-dominated research fall short for women. Studies indicate that statins do not demonstrate the same preventive benefits for heart attack or cardiovascular death in women as they do in men. Despite this, statins are routinely prescribed to women because of evidence gathered predominately from men.

Recognize and Address Biological Differences Between Men and Women

There is a pressing need to recognize and address the biological and physiological differences between men and women in medical care.

Mandatory Menopause and Gender-Specific Disease Training For Healthcare Providers

It's critical for all clinicians interacting with ...

Menopause is a significant life transition for women, affecting their physical and emotional well-being, often increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and leading to other health concerns.

Menopause Impacts Well-Being, Increasing Cardiovascular, Osteoporosis, and Other Risks

The onset of menopause can trigger a range of changes that impact a woman's health. Postmenopausal women face a 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease as they become more [restricted term] resistant and their cholesterol levels rise; estrogen previously played a protective role for heart vessels. Health care providers sometimes prescribe statins to manage the significant increase in cholesterol levels, although there is no definitive evidence that statins decrease the risk of heart attacks in women.

Menopause Estrogen Drop Causes Symptoms Like Hot Flashes

Menopause is characterized by the drop in estrogen levels, leading to symptoms like hot flashes. Haver discusses using systemic estrogen replacement with a patch to manage symptoms and mitigate risks such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular issues. Additionally, she uses topical estrogen on her face to combat thinning skin, a symptom caused by the loss of collagen associated with menopause.

Menopause Triggers Emotional Upheaval: More Depression, Anxiety, Mood Swings

Emotionally, menopause can be a tumultuous time, leading to more cases of depression, anxiety, and mood swings. Haver reflects on the profound emotional changes women endure during menopause, asserting that preventing these could significantly improve women’s mental health, resilience, and ability to function during this period.

Hrt Is Underutilized Due to Outdated Fears Despite Being the Standard Menopausal Treatment

Hrt Aids Menopause, Heart, and Bones, yet Only 4-6% of Eligible Women Use It

Despite Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) being the gold standard for ...

As researchers look deeper into the human body's biological processes, the prospect of altering the menopause experience through scientific breakthroughs becomes increasingly plausible.

Researchers Seek to Extend Ovarian Lifespan and Delay Menopause

Emerging Tech Targets Biological Signals to Delay Ovarian Aging and Menopause Effects

Mary Claire Haver discusses the potential of a hormone known as AMH that may extend ovarian lifespan. Labs and companies like OVIVA are delving into how to delay the atrophy and atresia within ovarian follicles. This innovative direction in technology and pharmacology could potentially make menopause optional, allowing women to maintain protective levels of estrogen longer without prolonging childbearing years.

Haver mentions that for future generations, such as her early 20s daughters, menopause might become optional due to hormone therapy advancements starting during perimenopause.

Breakthroughs Could Enhance Women's Health Post-Reproduction

The discussion led by Haver and Lewis Howes centers on the speculation of completely bypassing or significantly delaying menopause. Haver suggests that beginning treatments at a younger age could stave off signals that lead to ovarian decline. This kind of intervention could redefine women's post-reproductive health.

Epigenetic Reprogramming and Cellular Rejuvenation: Promise For Reversing Aging

Cellular Reprogramming May Rejuvenate Aging in Animals, Hinting At Human "Tune-Up"

Rhonda Patrick introduces the concept of aging as a programmed event dictated by the methyl groups on our DNA that alter over time. She references the fertility of sperm and egg cells that merge to produce youth despite the age of the individual cells, a result of the epigenome's complete reset.

Shinya Yamanaka's groundbreaking discovery allows an old cell to revert to its embryonic stem cell state by reprogramming with four transcription factors, thereby resett ...