BOSTON -- Monday on the HealthBeat, memory loss during menopause, panic attacks after and Chinese wisdom -- a movement to give your health a boost.
A new study from UCLA finds Tai Chi, a meditative Chinese movement exercise, boosts the body's immune system. The study found doing Tai Chi increases the body's ability to fight shingles by 50 percent and is one of the first to show behavior can positively affect the immune system.
The researchers also found staggering physical benefits for older adults. Doing Tai Chi resulted in movement improvements similar to changes that follow hip replacement surgery.
Memory And Menopause
Does a woman's memory decline during menopause? A new study says no. Chicago researchers followed more than 800 menopausal women for six years, testing them annually for loss of brain function.
Their conclusion is that menopause is not accompanied by a decline in working memory and perceptual speed. This was the first study to track cognitive performance during the change.
Panic Attacks
Women have many discomforts during menopause, but some face real anxiety after. About 10 percent of postmenopausal women experience panic attacks, which is much higher than previously thought.
Women reported feeling sudden intense fear, with shortness of breath, palpitations and dizziness. The study in the
Journal of the American Medical Association found some commonalities.
"There was an association with depression. Women who reported more depressive symptoms were more likely to experience the attacks, and there were some medical conditions that seemed to be associated with the attacks," Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Jordan Smoller said.
Women with a history of migraines, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and thyroid problems were more likely to report panic attacks.
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