Health Highlights: Feb. 1, 2008

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However, she noted there are still serious challenges. One in four women dies from heart disease and women of color have higher rates of some risk factors for heart disease and are more likely to die of the disease.

"Unfortunately, many women still do not take heart disease seriously and personally," Nabel said. "Millions of women still have one or more risk factors for heart disease, dramatically increasing their risk of developing heart disease. In fact, having just one risk factor increases a woman's chance of developing heart disease two-fold."

An NHLBI-sponsored campaign called "The Heart Truth" is striving to educate people that heart disease is largely preventable. As part of that campaign, Friday is National Wear Red Day, when thousands of people across the country wear red to give women a personal and urgent reminder about their risk for heart disease.

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Marigold Therapies May Help Treat Stubborn Warts

Marigold-based therapies show promise in helping people with hard-to-treat warts, according to preliminary research by an assistant professor at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.

Tracey Vlahovic offers Marigold therapy -- creams, ointments, tinctures and oils -- to her patients and has investigated it as an alternative treatment for three HIV-infected patients with warts that hadn't responded to other treatments.

Plantar warts are common among healthy adults. In HIV patients, these warts are often more difficult to treat, more numerous and less receptive to common treatments such as cryotherapy or surgical removal.

Vlahovic found that four to six sessions of marigold-based therapy either cleared or greatly reduced the number and size of the warts. The findings were presented Friday at the American Academy of Dermatology's annual meeting.

"Mainstream treatments are sometimes not an option for HIV-positive patients because they have weakened immune systems and invasive procedures can further compromise them," Vlahovic said in a prepared statement. "But alternative therapies like Marigold therapy don't pose that threat."

She plans further research with more patients and a standardized treatment regimen.

Marigold plants have been used as a treatment for a variety of health problems as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, when marigold tea was used to combat sleep disorders and calm nerves. During the Renaissance, the yellow plant was used to treat everything from headache, red eyes and toothaches to jaundice and skin problems, the statement said.