Carla & Pat & All re Hyst & Heart Health; Chlamydia Pneumoniae

[Guest guest]

Re Hyst & Heart Health:

Thanks to Carla & Pat for the good info and citations indicating

possible negative impact of hyst on heart health EVEN WHEN ovaries

are retained. Yes, there definitely needs to be more research on

this. I will share info with my young hot-shot cardiologist, who must

have been some kind of child prodigy and is apparently a rising

star/researcher in the area of women & heart health (she is also the

granddaughter of an acquaintance so I have an " in " to e-mail her

without a concern about impinging on her time). She is a good one to

educate on this subject, as her studies seem to get funded and she

has been presenting papers at cardiology conventions at a fast clip.

Piquing her interest would be a plus for all of us.

*********

Re Chlamydia Pneumoniae

I believe the info Carla indicated was interesting is that chlamydia

pneumoniae may be implicated in relation to cardio-vascular disease,

in particular the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, that

is, it may promote artherosclerosis. Question, therefore, is might it

also promote proliferation of uterine smooth muscle cells (fibroids).

A further interesting connection, even if a reach: a couple of years

ago I was diagnosed with possible mild Crohn's disease, an

inflammatory bowel condition. Guess what? Chlamydia pneumoniae is one

of the bugs being studied as a possible cause of Crohn's disease.

This is a very preliminary theory; there is no medical consensus on

the causes of inflammatory bowel disease and the " infectious " theory

is not in favor overall (more likely to be autoimmune, though it is

known that infection can trigger autoimmune conditions).

For me, though, an interesting possible connection and enough to

prompt me to ask for the test for antibodies at the next opportunity.

Since the sigmoidoscopy & colonoscopy a few years ago, both of which

showed the inflammation, a subsequent colonoscopy was completely

normal. So go figure. Crohn's is not known to show up and then

disappear, so the diagnosis is now considered questionable (and even

then, it was the result of a second opinion, others felt the

inflammation could not be diagnosed).

Appreciating the questing spirit of this list,

Sunny