Estrogen Replacement Therapy Strengthens Bones of Frail Elderly Women.(Brief Article)

2001 SEP 6 - (NewsRx Network) -- Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, have found the first evidence that estrogen replacement therapy can significantly increase bone density in frail elderly women.

Their research was published in the August 15, 2001, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) often leads to osteoporosis and fractures. This weakening of the bones can cause hip fractures, a leading cause of disability in the elderly. Doctors have known for some time that hormone replacement therapy in younger postmenopausal women does increase BMD and thereby reduce the risk of osteoporosis. But whether very elderly women would benefit from replacement estrogen has been a controversial question.

"We know that the most rapid period of bone loss is immediately after menopause when there is an acute cessation of estrogen production," says Dennis T. Villareal, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and the paper's lead author. "That happens in women roughly 50 years old, and scientists believed that estrogen is less important later in life for bone health."

But these latest findings imply that even older populations can benefit from hormone replacement therapy.

Villareal and colleagues examined 67 women ages 75 or older who were mild to moderately frail for nine months. Levels of frailty were established using an exercise stress test and a physical performance test that involved activities such as stair climbing and carrying objects. The researchers also recorded the participants' observations of their own levels of impairment during daily activities such as ...