Medications Archive

A new study suggests that hormone therapy might help with perimenopausal depression. But is it safe for you?

Hormone therapy has long been a controversial topic, and a new study about the role of hormones in depression is adding some fodder to the debate. A study published in the January 10 issue of JAMA Psychiatry determined that hormone therapy may help ward off symptoms of depression in women. Researchers found that perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women who were treated with hormones were less likely to experience symptoms of depression than women in the study who were given a placebo.

But while the findings of the study are important — particularly considering that a woman's risk of depression doubles or even quadruples during the menopausal transition — that doesn't mean hormone therapy should be widely used for preventing depression in women at this stage of life, says Dr. Hadine Joffe, the Paula A. Johnson Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Women's Health at Harvard Medical School, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. "It's not a 'never,' but it shouldn't be a standard approach; in general, all of medicine has moved away from using hormones for prevention," she says.

Ask the doctor

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Q. I recently got a coronary artery calcium scan and the results showed that I have quite a bit of calcium in my heart arteries (my score was 900). Should I have an angiogram to confirm the results? I don't have any heart-related symptoms, but I'm worried about having a heart attack.

A. That is a very high coronary artery calcium score. But the short answer to your question is no. The main reason to have an angiogram is to locate a narrowed heart artery that is causing chest pain or other symptoms. For the test, a cardiologist injects a dye that is visible on x-rays into the blood vessels of your heart, then takes a series of x-ray images. This is done in preparation for angioplasty, in which a narrowed artery is opened, or as a prelude to referral for coronary artery bypass surgery.

Research we're watching

A team of scientists have created a tiny heart muscle "pump" using human cells and a three-dimensional bioprinter. The model heart — which was sized to fit inside a mouse's abdominal cavity — may one day prove useful for studying new heart medications and other therapies, they say.

The researchers first tried using heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) in the 3D printer, but the cells didn't grow to a sufficient size and volume. So they instead used so-called pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to transform into different cell types. After printing a chambered structure, they were able to program the stem cells to become cardiomyocytes, which then began to organize and work together. Within about a month, the cells began beating together, similar to a human heart. The research is detailed in a study published July 3, 2020, in the journal Circulation Research.

Research we're watching

A recent study found that nearly one in 10 people who received opioid pain relievers following heart surgery continued to take them for three to six months — a time point when no one should still be experiencing pain from the operation.

The study included nearly 36,000 people with private health insurance who had a coronary artery bypass graft (known as CABG or bypass surgery) or a heart valve replacement between 2003 and 2016. People who were prescribed more than 40 5-mg tablets of oxycodone (Oxycontin, Roxicodone, others) or an equivalent amount of a similar drug were at a much higher risk of prolonged opioid use than people who were prescribed lower doses. Other factors that increased a person's odds of taking opioids long-term included having CABG, being female, or having a history of chronic pain or alcoholism.

How can you protect yourself from both viruses?

With flu season here and the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, what can people expect when these two illnesses meet?

It's anyone's guess.

"While we're in the midst of the COVID pandemic, there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen when this collides with our yearly flu epidemic," says Dr. Mary Watson Montgomery, an infectious disease expert at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Men often don't talk about delayed or absent orgasm. Still, these issues can have a profound impact on their sex life.

Erectile dysfunction continues to be the main sex-related issue among older men. Yet, two other problems also can arise with age: anorgasmia, the inability to achieve an orgasm during sex, and delayed orgasm, in which it takes longer than usual to reach orgasm and ejaculate despite proper stimulation. Men can experience either one or both.

While these conditions can cause stress for both men and their sexual partners, they don't have to hinder a healthy, active sex life.

In the journals

Age may not be a factor when it comes to who can benefit from statins. A study published online July 7, 2020, by JAMA found that people who started taking the cholesterol-lowering medication in their mid-70s or later had fewer heart-related problems and lived longer than non-users.

Researchers looked at 326,981 mostly male veterans, ages 75 and older, who were free of cardiovascular disease and did not take statins. Over the next 10 years, more than 57,000 began statin therapy.

Many provide links to published research about these heart -protecting drugs. Others mention personal beliefs about statins, some of which are inaccurate.

Statins are among the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States. These cholesterol-lowering drugs help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially for people who've already had one of those life-threatening events. But many people stop taking their statins or don't take them as prescribed, a phenomenon doctors refer to as nonadherence.

Hoping to gain some insight into this trend, researchers analyzed 11,852 posts that mentioned statins on Twitter over a five-year period. About a quarter of Americans use Twitter, which is one of the most popular social media platforms. Although many of the tweets featured ads or financial market information, nearly half were related to health issues associated with statins. Of these, more than a third provided resource information, such as a link to a published study. About 20% included personal beliefs or attitudes about statins, which proved to be quite polarized. Some people described statins as lifesaving, while others referred to them as poisonous or deadly, according to the researchers, whose study was published June 25, 2020, in JAMA Network Open.

Ask the doctors

Q. Is there anything I can do at home to ease sciatica pain?

A. Sciatica is a condition that causes pain that radiates down the buttock and the leg. It occurs when one of the two sciatic nerves in your body, which run from your back down to your toes, is compressed or irritated. Most often the problem is triggered by a ruptured disc or arthritis in the lower spine. This condition can be quite painful, but there are some strategies you can use at home to ease your discomfort.