Category Archives: Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone therapy: Is it right for you?

Hormone therapy was once routinely used to treat menopausal symptoms and protect long-term health. Then large clinical trials showed health risks. What does this mean to you?

Hormone replacement therapy medications containing female hormones to replace the ones the body no longer makes after menopause used to be a standard treatment for women with hot flashes and other menopause symptoms. Hormone therapy (as it's now called) was also thought to have the long-term benefits of preventing heart disease and possibly dementia.

Use of hormone therapy changed abruptly when a large clinical trial found that the treatment actually posed more health risks than benefits for one type of hormone therapy, particularly when given to older postmenopausal women. As the concern about health hazards attributed to hormone therapy grew, doctors became less likely to prescribe it.

Hormone therapy is no longer recommended for disease prevention, such as heart disease or memory loss. However, further review of clinical trials and new evidence show that hormone therapy may be a good choice for certain women, depending on their risk factors.

The benefits of hormone therapy depend, in part, on whether you take systemic hormone therapy or low-dose vaginal preparations of estrogen.

Systemic hormone therapy. Systemic estrogen which comes in pill, skin patch, gel, cream or spray form remains the most effective treatment for relief of troublesome menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. Estrogen can also ease vaginal symptoms of menopause, such as dryness, itching, burning and discomfort with intercourse.

Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still approves estrogen for the prevention of the bone-thinning disease called osteoporosis, doctors usually recommend medications called bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis.

Long-term systemic hormone therapy for the prevention of postmenopausal conditions is no longer routinely recommended. But some data suggest that estrogen can decrease the risk of heart disease when taken early in postmenopausal years.

A recent, randomized, controlled clinical trial the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) explored estrogen use and heart disease in younger postmenopausal women. The study found no significant association between hormone therapy and heart disease.

Continue reading here:
Hormone therapy: Is it right for you? - Mayo Clinic

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is any form of hormone therapy wherein the patient, in the course of medical treatment, receives hormones, either to supplement a lack of naturally occurring hormones, or to substitute other hormones for naturally occurring hormones. Common forms of hormone replacement therapy include:

As recently as 2005 women have had a positive attitude towards hormone replacement therapy but based on the empirical data these attitudes may be overly optimistic.[3] There is still much to learn about how HRT affects people. In the combined hormone trial, the WHI tested only one estrogen (Premarin) and one progestin (Provera), in a single pill (Prempro), at a single dose (0.625mg Premarin and 2.5mg Provera). Therefore the results are not reliable nor representative.

To avoid HRT risks it is essential to use the most effective delivery method of both estrogen and progesterone. Bioidentical estradiol (estrogen) when taken orally is converted in the liver to estrone, a weaker bioidentical estrogen. However when estrogen as estradiol is used transdermally as a patch, gel, or pessary, it enters the bloodstream as bioidentical estradiol. When estrogen is ingested it is subjected to first pass metabolism (Phase I drug metabolism) and is processed through the liver. This first pass metabolism stimulates proteins associated with heart disease and stroke, such as C-reactive protein, activated protein C, and clotting factors. Using a patch, gel or pessary to take estrogen avoids first pass metabolism and the risks associated with it and the same level of blood concentration can be achieved avoiding the serious side effects associated with oral estradiol HRT. Current research shows that the transdermal route of estradiol administration can also be advantageous for women with diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, as those risks increase with advancing age.[4] Women taking bioidentical estrogen, orally or transdermally, who have a uterus must still take an FDA-approved progestin or micronized progesterone to lower the risk of endometrial cancer. The natural, plant-derived progesterone creams sold over the counter contain too little progesterone to be effective. Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) extract creams are not effective since the natural progesterone present in the extract is not bioavailable.[5]

Past research has highlighted potential risks of HRT. The principal results from the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Trial was that hazard rate of invasive breast cancer exceeded the stopping boundary for this adverse effect and the global index statistic supported risks exceeding benefits.[6]

A study where women going through menopause using HRT with Progestin as a major component of the therapy showed a few negative effects on hearing, which highlights the importance of choosing bioidentical progesterone instead of synthetic progestin. Not only does the Progestin decrease the functionality of many regions of the ear it also reduces the effectiveness in parts of the central nervous system used for hearing.[7] Also in some situations it has been shown that menopausal women who are caregivers and receive HRT can have an increased chance for cardiovascular issues. As caregivers it is implied that they have more acute stress in their lives and that acute stress along with the HRT is priming negative cardiovascular effects.[8]

Recent research done by the Million Women Study, funded by Cancer Research UK has proven that certain forms of HRT increase the risk of endometrial (womb) cancer. However, previous research has shown that the combined type of HRT poses a greater breast cancer risk than tibolone or oestrogen (estradiol)-only HRT and, because breast cancer is more common than endometrial cancer, the researchers believe that when considering the overall effect of HRT it is important to look at both breast and endometrial cancer.[9] However this study was conducted using oral estradiol instead of transdermal estradiol which avoids the risks which the study highlights. Again, this shows that the combined estrogen patch (such as Evorel Conti) or gel (ESTROGEL PROPAK - 17-estradiol and micronized progesterone) is the preferable treatment choice.[10]

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada recommends Transdermal Estrogen and Micronized Progesterone as a first line hormone therapy option stating that the overall benefits of this therapy include reduction of vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes), lower risk of osteoporotic fractures, lessening of urogenital atrophy, lowering somatic pain and arthralgia, lowering the risk of colorectal cancer and mood stabilisation.[10]

There is a structural difference between hormone therapies that are bioidentical and those that are non-bioidentical, as non-bioidentical are responsible for side effects and health risks in humans. However, they can have positive health benefits for women, and bioidentical hormones can be customized from individual to individual.[11]

Hormone replacement therapy has been shown to have other beneficial effects. In a study women taking estrogen through HRT showed that the estrogen positively affects the prefrontal cortex by boosting the working memory. This suggests that estrogen may play a key role in certain frontal lobe functions in women.[12] Women using HRT after menopause have no additional weight gain compared to women who do not use HRT.[13] Also women who use HRT with an estrogen component show positive effects in their sex life (mainly increasing their sex drive and sexual sensitivity) but the effects are inconsistent across women. These sexual improvements may dissipate after receiving some forms of HRT for extended periods of time.[14]

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Hormone replacement therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A patient #39;s Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy success in Los Angeles. Also HCG Diet success at Angel Longevity Medical Center.

By: Angel Longevity

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-Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy and HCG Diet Success In Los Angeles - Video

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-Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy Success In Los Angeles - Video

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Dr. Wendy Ellis is a naturopathic physician and hormone expert based in the Seattle, Washington area. In this episode, she shares her top nutritional and hormonal replacement strategies to...

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Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Nutrition w/ Dr. Wendy Ellis - Video

Hormone Replacement Therapy, What You Need To Know
http://powerhealthtalk.com Today we are discussing Hormone Replacement Therapy as it applies to post menopausal females. In todays broadcast, we will attempt to present both sides of the...

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Hormone Replacement Therapy, What You Need To Know - Video