SYMBOLWomen with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who are older than age 45 have a significantly greater risk of premature carotid artery atherosclerosis, according to a study in the November 2000 issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Carotid artery ultrasonography revealed greater carotid artery intima media wall thickness and more plaque in women with PCOS as compared with age-matched control subjects. Among women with this reproductive endocrine disorder-associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and an adverse lipid profile-important preventive measures to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease include weight control, dietary management, exercise, and pharmacologic therapy.
SYMBOLExercise may be as effective as sertraline in the treatment of major depression, according to a study published in the September-October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. Patients randomly assigned to take exercise, sertraline (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), or both had comparable remission rates at four months. However, at 10 months, those in the exercise group had significantly lower rates of relapse than did those in the other two groups. The researchers suggested that patients not receiving drugs may be more likely to have a sustained recovery resulting from a sense of "personal mastery and positive self-regard" that exercise-but not drug therapy-confers.