When women undergo surgical removal of ovaries (for various reasons), one consequence can be rapid onset of menopause and symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.

In a novel study, Indiana University researchers have discovered that women who underwent the surgery and had young children living at home experienced fewer and milder menopausal symptoms.

"These are intriguing findings," said study co-author Tierney Lorenz. "For women who were menopausal when our study began, those with young children at home actually showed more symptoms of hot flashes. But the women who underwent rapid menopause because of the surgical removal of their ovaries showed a dramatic reduction of symptoms."

Researchers have no ready answer for the phenomenon but suggest that the hormone oxytocin, which regulates mood and behavior, may be involved. Oxytocin levels can be disturbed during menopause, but social interactions, specifically those involving loved ones, have been linked to boosting the hormone, which in turn may moderate the severity of menopausal symptoms.

Body of Knowledge

An adult human spine compresses roughly 0.59 inch from morning to night.

Get Me That, Stat!

A typical pair of tennis shoes will last 500 miles of walking, according to Popular Science.

Life in Big Macs

One hour of quietly sitting and watching TV burns 68 calories (based on a 150-pound person), or the equivalent of 0.1 Big Mac, two carrots or one-third of a 12-ounce can of Coke.

Stories for the Waiting Room

In the weeks to come, many of us will eat way too much, with the result being that we'll weigh too much. Pumpkin pie is a favorite seasonal offender, but new research suggests that Cucurbita pepo (that's the Latin name for the popular pumpkin species, but you can just call it Jack) possess a variety of biologically active ingredients that could help treat one of the downsides of obesity: diabetes.

Scientists at the University of Nottingham say various polysaccharides, oils, sterols, proteins and peptides found in pumpkins may assist in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. The researchers are working to pin down exactly which elements are responsible.

Unfortunately, they've already ruled out whipped cream.

Phobia of the Week

Alliumphobia: fear of garlic.

Best Medicine

Patient: "Doctor, whenever I get up after sleeping, I feel dizzy for a half-hour, and then I'm fine. What can I do?"

Doctor: "Wait a half-hour before getting up."

Observation

"The word aerobics comes from two Greek words: aero, meaning 'ability to,' and bics, meaning 'withstand tremendous boredom.'" — humorist Dave Barry

Medical History

This week in 1935, the first modern frontal lobotomy to treat a mental disorder was performed by Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal. Moniz injected absolute alcohol into the frontal lobes of a mental patient through two holes drilled in the skull. He later used a technique that severed neurons and led to the prefrontal lobotomy techniques of the 1940s. Moniz was subsequently awarded a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine of 1949, but the radical surgery fell out of favor when psychoactive medications became available.

Curtain Calls

In 2010, an 80-year-old woman was rushed to a hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack. Doctors could not revive her, and she was declared dead. Her body was put in a bag and placed in the morgue freezer faceup.

According to reports, when mortuary workers arrived the next day to claim her body, they found the woman facedown, with the body bag half-open. The woman's nose was broken, and there were cuts to her face. Her family sued, alleging that the hospital had grossly mishandled the woman's corpse. But a medical inspection concluded that the facial injuries could not have occurred postmortem and that the woman most likely woke up in the freezer because of the extreme cold, struggled to get out of the bag and died of hypothermia and asphyxiation.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.