Hormone Therapy in Early Menopause May Benefit Some Women: Study

By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that hormone replacement therapy, used to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, might be safe for younger menopausal women when taken in smaller doses for short periods of time.

Women have shied away from this type of therapy since the landmark Women's Health Initiative study found elevated risks of breast cancer, heart disease and other health problems among women taking estrogen plus progestin, a synthetic form of progesterone. That study was halted early because of the results, published in 2002.

But research scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in Orlando, Fla., found that estrogen, either in oral form (Premarin) or as a patch (Climara), plus a progesterone (Prometrium) did not harm the heart either in terms of raised blood pressure or hardening of the arteries.

Progesterone is added because estrogen alone can promote uterine cancer.

In another part of the study, hormone replacement therapy did help with mood and depression, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health found. It did not worsen memory, as the Women's Health Initiative had indicated, the researchers said in a university news release.

The roughly 700 women participating in the study were age 53, on average, and within three years of menopause -- the time when periods stop. This was much younger than the average age of women participating in the Women's Health Initiative, many of whom were taking hormone therapy in the hope of staving off some of the problems of old age, such as heart disease.

The new study, funded by the Phoenix-based Kronos Longevity Research Institute, was too small to assess any effect on breast cancer rates, one of the main concerns of women considering hormone replacement therapy.

Some experts remain unconvinced by these latest findings. Among them is Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La.

"I still say the bottom line is if you don't need to take [hormone replacement therapy], don't take it," Brooks said.

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Hormone Therapy in Early Menopause May Benefit Some Women: Study