European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To to it or health from wire reports the Best treatment for women suffering from pms May be As close As their refrigerator. A recent agriculture department study supports earlier findings that Calcium a available in milk Yogurt and cheese a appears to help women Deal with the stress and anxiety that can be symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Although Only 10 women participated in the 5 month us a study nine told nutritional experts they were in a better mood before and during their menstrual periods while on a diet that included 1,300 milligrams of Calcium daily. The average woman consumes about 600 milligrams or about two cups of skim milk a Day researchers say. An 8-ounce Container of Plain Low fat Yogurt has 450 milligrams of Calcium while a cup of skim milk has 302 milligrams of Calcium. There s also significant Calcium in a number of vegetables including 205 milligrams in one medium Spear of Broccoli and 245 milligrams in a cup of raw spinach. The findings in the us a study Are consistent with an earlier investigation of Calcium and pms done at new York s metropolitan Hospital. It also corresponds with research done by or. C. James Choung director of the pms program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Choung a research found that women who suffer the most from pms have Low Calcium Levels in their blood. Quot it is an interesting finding because we actually looked at the Calcium Levels in pms and we did find there is decreased Calcium during the time of pms Quot Choung said the study s results Are a potential breakthrough because current treatment for pms relies primarily on Over the counter drugs like pms Calcium May provide Relief acetaminophen ibuprofen and aspirin or higher dose prescription Medicine. Most treatments Deal with the symptoms of pms and not with the causes. Quot pms occurs in the last seven to 10 Days of the menstrual Cycle. While premenstrual syndrome remains a mysterious malady there is growing recognition that it is a True physical syndrome Quot according to a recent . Food and drug administration report released Independent of the department of agriculture study. The Fra outlined four major categories of pms symptoms. The first group includes breast tenderness swelling weight gain and bloating. The second involves emotional changes such As depression forgetfulness crying insomnia and confusion. Another grouping includes headaches food cravings especially Sweet increased appetite fatigue and dizziness. The fourth symptom category groups together anxiety nervous tension mood swings and irritability. The women in the us a study weren t debilitated by pms but they said they usually experienced some degree of the symptoms associated with the condition fearfulness loneliness anxiety restlessness irritability depression and tension before and during menstrual flow. They also complained o some water retention Calcium counting and pain. All of those symptoms were noticeably eased however when their Calcium intake was boosted they said. The government recommends a daily Calcium intake of 800 milligrams for women Between the age of 25 and menopause but the director of the us a study does t know if that s enough to affect pms. Quot we Don t know yet if 800 milligrams of Calcium will also reduce the symptoms Quot said psychologist James g. Penland who conducted the study at the us a s human nutrition research Center in grand Forks . The women in Penland s study Ages 21 to 35, were Given a liquid Calcium supplement each Day. They reported that the added Calcium did t affect positive feelings associated with the menstrual Cycle Energy bursts feelings of Well being orderliness heightened desire for affection. Most people could get the same boost in Calcium with an extra cup of skim milk and eight ounces of non fat Plain Yogurt each Day Penland said. He recommends those foods because they re High in Calcium but Low in fat. Four cups of ice Cream or three ounces to four ounces of cheese also would add about 700 Here Are some common foods and the amount of Calcium they contain collard greens Frozen chopped chinese cabbage raw sardines Salmon canned spinach raw Leaf spinach Frozen turnip greens Frozen american cheese 1 ounce cottage cheese 2% fat 1 cup Parmesan cheese 1 cup grated Ricotta cheese 1�?~cup part skim milk skim milk 1 cup Yogurt Plain Low fat. 8 ounces Yogurt fruit 8 ounces 174 my 155 my 1,376 my 669 my 302 my 450 my 345 my 1 cup 357 my 1 cup 3 ounces 3 ounces 1 cup 1 cup 1 cup 158 my 371 my 167 my 245 my 277 my 249 my ice Cream 1 cup 176 milligrams Broccoli 1 medium Spear 205 milligrams Swiss cheese 1 cup 272 milligrams whole milk 1 cup 291 milligrams a amps Susan Harris milligrams of Calcium to a daily diet but would provide Many added calories and fat. Over the counter products also provide a Way to boost Calcium Penland said his study was one of several conducted simultaneously to research the effects of Calcium and manganese on women. A women in the us a study answered questions about their menstrual Cycle at the end of their periods. They were asked the same questions after a month of High Calcium intake As Well As after a month of Low Calcium intake after the month with High Calcium intake nine of the 10 women reported fewer mood swings. Six said their concentration was improved eight Felt More control Over their behaviour eight retained less water and seven experienced less menstrual pain. The manganese had some effect Penland said but it was t As Strong As Calcium. The new York study published in the journal of general internal Medicine in june 1989, found that 1,000 milligrams of Calcium Given daily to 33 women significantly eased premenstrual and menstrual symptoms. Penland said that a follow up study to confirm his results was under Way. It will require women to keep daily diaries to pinpoint reactions More precisely. Calcium he said is known to smooth muscle responsiveness which May be Why pain was eased. It also has an Impact on hormone secretion and neurotransmitters a molecules that carry messages from cell to cell through the body to the brain. That could explain Why mood swings were less severe. Quot it s unlikely that Calcium is the Only Mineral affecting the mental and emotional status of women Quot Penland said citing nine other studies at the Center that suggest Copper Iron Zinc and aluminium Levels also can affect a woman a  alternative to hysterectomies by Sandra Blakeslee new York times growing number of american women Are undergoing a non surgical procedure to destroy the lining of the uterus As an alternative to Hysterectomy the method Calk d endometrial ablation also eliminates the menstrual period and makes the womb inhospitable to newly fertilized eggs and some women Are using it As a form of permanent birth control according to doctors who perform the procedure it was developed As a non surgical alternative to hysterectomies in women who suffer from excessive uterine bleeding. Endometrial ablation a is catching on Quot said or. Jordan m. Phillips chairman of the Board of the american association of gynaecological laparoscopy its in Santa be Springs Calif. Quot patients Are hearing about it from other patients Quot he said. Quot Many doctors Are doing it for women who no longer want to have periods. It s very  but or Alan h. Decherney a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Yale University warned that endometrial ablation is an untested method of birth control Quot it s probably pretty Good Quot for preventing pregnancy he said but the Long term safety of the method has not been proven. Decherney said he worries that Small Quot islands Quot of endometrial tissue might be left in the uterus. If these became cancerous he said the woman might not experience bleeding which is the most reliable warning sign of uterine cancer. In addition As Many As 10 pregnancies May have occurred according to doctors who Are tracking the procedure. A each year More than a million women visit their doctors complaining of heavy irregular menstrual periods according to the american College of obstetrics and gynaecology. Regular menstruation depends on the monthly development of a healthy layer of uterine tissue called the endometrium and cyclical production of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen released in the first half of the Cycle thickens the endometrium and readies it to nurture a fertilized egg if Conception does not take place after ovulation progesterone is released in the second Hall of the Cycle thinning the endometrium and prompting it to shed the most common cause of excessive Tenne bleeding is the failure to ovulate Decherney said then the woman s body does not Pioci uce progesterone and her end Omentum keeps on thickening lie said until it bleeds spontaneously and heavily the condition olten responds to hormones that restore a natural balance Between oestrogen and progesterone but hormone therapy fails to help 15 percent to 20 percent of the women Decherney said some of them have physical abnormalities inside the uterus like benign tutors called fibroid and polyps or endometriosis a condition in which fragments of the endometrium Are found in the Pelvic cavity outside of the uterus. Although endometriosis can cause excessive bleeding Decherney said it is w e can f guarantee it Wilt do away with periods. But most of the time there is not enough endometrium left to support a pregnancy or. Jordan m. Phillips not treated with endometrial ablation because it occurs in splotches outside the uterus. Heavy bleeding that does hot respond to drug therapy is routinely treated with hysterectomies Decherney said in 1989, about 541,000 hysterectomies were performed the majority of them for heavy uterine bleeding according to cog. As Many As half of these operations May have been treatable using non surgical procedures some doctors say. Three or four years ago Decherney said gynaecologists realized they could use an endoscope a tube like instrument with lenses and a Light source attached to see the insides of the uterus determine the problem and then Correct the problem without major surgery. The Ultra thin instrument called a haste Roskope. Is inserted through the cervix in a procedure that does not require anaesthesia and can be performed in a doctor s office the uterus which is normally collapsed in on itself is inflated with a liquid of with Carbon dioxide Gas Quot we go a panoramic View inside Quot the uterus said Decherney if it is cancer the uterus and possibly the ovaries Are removed. If it is fibroid drugs Are Given for several months to shrink the growths then the doctor re enters the items with a Hyster scope and cutting tool and removes the fibroid polyps Are similarly removed. If there Are no growths and the woman no longer wants to Bear children the end Omentum is cauterized with an electrical wire or laser beam such treatments require general anaesthesia or a spinal Block and must be administered in a Hospital said or. Benjamin Gocial a gynaecologist at the Philadelphia Fertility clinic. Bui patients can go Home the same Day there Are no incisions and no scars. Women go Back to work the next Day Gocial said. They May feel sore for one or two weeks he added but they Are not in great pain recently women who do not have bleeding problems have begun asking their doctors to perform endometrial Ablations to Stop their periods Phillips said. Many Are in their Early 40s and do not want More children he said most private doctors who perform Endor retrial Ablations have no qualms about helping such patients. Phillips said. It is considered a Quot social indication Quot rather than a medical indication Lor the treatment Quot we can t guarantee it will do away with periods Quot Phillips said. Quot but most of the time there is not enough endometrium left to support a  he said however that he had personally heard of Aboul 8 to 10 pregnancies afterwards. For unknown reasons the endometrium regenerates in part in a substantial number of women who have undergone the procedure Decherney said. A study published in a recent Issue of the lancet a British medical journal found that 50 percent of patients had reduced menstrual flow 30 percent had no flow and 20 percent had no change. Many patients need to be treated More than once to eliminate their periods completely Decherney said endometrial ablation endometrial ablation is a non surgical procedure to destroy the lining of the uterus. It is used As an alternative to Hysterectomy and some women Are now asking their doctors to perform it to Stop their periods. Nyt/s4s Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday september 17 egg i the stars and stripes Page 15