Lower-dose estrogen replacement therapy effective in increasing bone mineral density.(Brief Article)

2002 JUN 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hormone replacement therapy using lower than commonly prescribed doses of estrogens, or estrogens combined with a progestin, effectively increases bone density for women in the early years after menopause, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Robert Lindsay, MBChB, PhD, FRCP, of Helen Hayes Hospital, West Haverstraw, New York, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled substudy of the Women's Health, Osteoporosis, Progestin, Estrogen (Women's HOPE) trial at 19 centers, from August 1995 to October 2000. The authors wanted to determine the effects of lower doses of conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs, a mixture of estrogens) - alone, or in combination with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA, a progestin) - on spine and hip bone mineral density (BMD) and total body bone mineral content (BMC).

According to background information cited in the article, the use of lower doses of estrogens for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women has been proposed to enhance the initiation and long-term continuation of HRT. Long-term continuation is especially important for preventing the loss of BMD. Lower than commonly prescribed doses of CEEs with MPA improve symptoms of menopause, but whether this lower dose protects against loss of BMD associated with menopause has not been thoroughly investigated.

The two-year substudy of the Women's HOPE trial included 822 healthy postmenopausal women, aged 40 to 65, who were within four years of their last menstrual period. Patients were randomly assigned to receive CEEs, with or without MPA, in varying dosages, or placebo, for two years. All ...