Ovarian Cancer
By Shahida Nisar
It is the hormone progestin in oral contraceptive pills that provides the highest level of
protection against ovarian cancer, according to a new study. Researchers at the
Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center in Durham, N.C, found that ovarian cancer risk was cut
by about 50 percent in all women taking contraceptive pills containing the hormones
estrogen and progestin.

pills that had high levels of progestin, the risk was reduced an additional 50 percent, says Patricia G. Moorman, a Duke University Medical Center researcher and the co-author of a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "The take- home message from his study is that oral contraceptives are protective against ovarian cancer and our finding that the high progestin potency effect is a scientific (result) that might lead to new protective drugs against ovarian cancer”, says Moorman. The study is based on a re-examination of the medical and oral contraceptive histories of more than 3,200 women who took part in a study project conducted from 1980 to 1982.

The group included 390 women who developed ovarian cancer and 2,865 who did not. It compared the ovarian cancer outcome among women who did not take the pill and women who took different formulations of the contraceptive pill. The groups included women who took no pills; those who took pills high in both estrogen and progestin; women who took pills high in one or the other of the hormones, and women who took pills with low levels of both hormones. Earlier results had proven that pills protect against ovarian cancer, while the new study shows which of two hormones in the pills, estrogen and progestin, are most protective. The study should lead to the investigation of progestin as a chemopreventative agent for ovarian cancer. The contraceptive pills used by the women in the study 20 years ago are not now commonly available. The birth control pill formulations have changed over the years as research showed that pills with lower hormone levels were effective contraceptives. Pills with lower levels of hormone generally have fewer side effects. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women, excluding the skin cancers. It accounts for about 4 percent of all cancers in women, with about 23,400 new cases diagnosed in 2001, according to the American Cancer Society. About 13,900 American women died of ovarian cancer in 2001, the society reported.

Glaucoma Vision Loss Getting regular eye exams is important, especially as one gets older, to determine about glaucoma; a disease that damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness, yet it has no symptoms at first. Glaucoma affects about 3 million people in the United States, and half of them don't know they have it. In many people, glaucoma is caused by increased pressure within the eye. Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma, and damage to the eye develops over time. At first, someone with glaucoma notices no change in vision, and has no pain or other symptoms. If untreated, glaucoma will eventually cause side vision to fade, so that objects appear as though viewed through a tunnel. As the disease progresses, sight can fade entirely. Having increased pressure in the eye doesn't automatically mean one has glaucoma, however it does put one at risk for developing glaucoma,. Each person's eye pressure is different. Normal pressure ranges from 12 mm Hg to 21 mm Hg, although that might be high for some people. Only an eye specialist can make that determination. Doctor can tell if you have glaucoma by using several tests. Your eye doctor first tests how well you can see at different distances and checks your peripheral vision. He or she then dilates your pupils to look at the optic nerve for any signs of damage. The standard test for eye pressure is called tonometry, which measures pressure using purple light or a puff of air, among several methods. People 60 or older and with family history are at risk of developing glaucoma. Glaucoma can be treated. There is no cure for glaucoma, but the pressure in the eye can be controlled, helping to prevent further vision damage. Medication, in the form of an eye drop or pill, is the most common treatment. Laser surgery and conventional eye surgery can also be used to treat glaucoma, to help fluid drain from the eye. In many cases, even after surgery, medication to control eye pressure must still be taken.