Managing Poor Response to Hormone Therapy.

Publication: OB/GYN Clinical Alert

Publication Date: 01-SEP-06

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Managing Poor Response to Hormone Therapy

Special Report

By Leon Speroff, MD, Editor, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, is Editor for OB/GYN Clinical Alert.

Hormone therapy is highly effective for relieving symptoms associated with menopause and for preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis. Some women, however, respond unsatisfactorily to standard doses of hormone therapy. When hormone therapy is administered to control menopausal symptoms, response is assessed by the patient's report of symptom relief, but the subjective nature of this response makes it difficult to measure the efficacy of the treatment. Assessing true efficacy requires an objective measurement, such as bone mineral density. Evidence indicates that from 5% to 15% of post menopausal women on hormone therapy continue to lose bone and experience fractures.1-3

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