New findings on hormone replacement therapy

(CNN) -- When hormone replacement therapy was first introduced, it was billed as not only halting the annoying symptoms of menopause -- such as hot flashes and mood swings -- but it was also supposed to protect against heart disease and fractures due to osteoporosis.

It was on the cover of numerous magazines including TIME and soon a large percentage of the 17 million menopausal women in the United States were taking it. Well, reports about increased breast and ovarian cancer soon raised doubts.

Two new studies have confirmed that hormone replacement therapy offers no protection against heart attacks in women with any heart disease and that it actually seems to increase the risk of gallbladder disease and clots in the legs.

While it may still be useful for controlling the familiar signs of menopause such as hot flashes, many doctors will no longer recommend it long term.

The best cure-all is prevention and knowledge -- which you can get each week by reading "The Pulse," my weekly column on the week's top health and medical news.

Now here are this week's headlines, including more information about the new findings on hormone replacement therapy.

Research: Hormones may not reduce heart attack risk

New research suggests long-term hormone use does not reduce the risk of heart attack in postmenopausal women with heart disease.

In fact, in addition to increasing the risk of a heart attack during the first year of treatment, hormone supplements may increase chances of developing blood clots and gallbladder disease.

A seven-year study challenges the long-held belief that hormone replacement therapy protects the heart by mimicking the effects of natural estrogen – which helps keep cholesterol at healthy levels.

Click here to find out how the findings of the study challenge doctors' long-standing belief.

AIDS still on the rise

The 14th International Conference on AIDS opens July 7 in Barcelona. Experts are painting a bleak picture for the course of the disease unless industrialized nations start spending more to help less developed countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The United Nations released a report in advance of the conference saying the AIDS epidemic hasn't yet reached its peak.

More than 20 million people have died since it was discovered in 1981 and the report predicts another 70 million will die of AIDS over the next 20 years.

The report predicts that most of the deaths will be in sub-Saharan Africa where infection rates can top 35 percent of the population -- and where only 4 percent of those infected have access to the latest drugs.

Click here to read more on the report and in-depth information on the AIDS epidemic.

Weighing the benefits of a tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy -- the most commonly performed major surgery on children in the United States -- should be used only in the most severe cases of throat infections, according to a new study.

New research shows that the modest benefits of a tonsillectomy -- with or without adenoidectomy -- do not justify the inherent risk of surgery, or the cost for young patients moderately affected by recurrent throat infections.

Click here for more information on the study.