Date: Tuesday May. 29, 2012 8:46 AM ET TORONTO A decade after a major study turned the usage of hormone replacement therapy on its ear, the risks and benefits of the once commonly used medication are still coming into focus. A new analysis of the data to date suggests some previously seen benefits haven't passed the test of time, but some risks haven't either. Still, the bottom line seems unchanged: for most women, there isn't a good medical reason for taking estrogen preparations after menopause to prevent development of chronic illnesses or bone fractures. That doesn't mean the drugs don't have a role to play in treatment of the symptoms of menopause -- the debilitating hot flashes, night sweats, joint pain and insomnia some women suffer when they go through what's euphemistically called The Change. But while expert panels in both Canada and the United States are currently reviewing their advice on HRT, it seems the standing recommendations -- take the drugs at the lowest effective dosage for the shortest time possible -- are unlikely to change. "If we just look at the data, we don't see a lot of compelling benefit," Dr. Heidi Nelson, lead author of the review, … Continue reading →

May 29, 2012 8:58am Hormone replacement therapy may provide relief from the hot flashes, night sweats and other oppressive symptoms of menopause, but when it comes to preventing chronic health problems, a panel of experts for the federal government said HRT isnt helpful and may be harmful. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force today recommended against the use of HRT for the prevention of chronic conditions, such as coronary heart disease, breast cancer and fractures, for postmenopausal women. The panel classified the recommendation as grade D, meaning there is moderate to high certainty that the risks of HRT outweigh any long-term health benefits that women might gain. The panel noted that the recommendations dont apply to women taking HRT to relieve hot flashes, vaginal dryness and other postmenopausal symptoms. Womens health specialists say increasing evidence indicates that reasonable use of the therapy to fight those symptoms can have big benefits for womens quality of life. For newly menopausal women who have these symptoms and are in generally good health, the benefits of treatment are likely to outweigh the risks, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. The USPSTFs recommendations are the latest … Continue reading →

A government task force recommended Monday that postmenopausal women who are healthy should not take hormone replacement therapy in order to avoid dementia, bone fractures or heart disease, the Los Angeles Times reported. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force clarified their recommendation does not necessarily include women who take the therapy to reduce symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats. Those concerns will be addressed in a soon-to-be released report by the federal governments Office of Healthy Quality Research, according to the Los Angeles Times. The recommendation, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is mostly based on a revised analysis of the decade-old Womens Health Initiative, a 15-year study involving more than 160,000 women, which first linked HRT with higher rates of invasive breast cancer. Further research has balanced out those fears; however, this latest analysis has found little evidence that HRT is beneficial in protecting against bone fractures and no evidence that the therapy protects against heart disease. In addition, women who took HRT actually appeared to have a slightly higher risk of developing dementia. Click for more from the Los Angeles Times. See the original post: Government panel warns against hormone replacement therapy … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Transdermal Hormone Replacement: Products, Players, Markets and Forecastshttp://www.reportlinker.com/p0868621/Transdermal-Hormone-Replacement-Products-Players-Markets-and-Forecasts.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_and_Medication As life expectancy in the developed world increases and populations age, the incidence and associated morbidity of decreasing hormone levels have come to the forefront as a quality-of-life issue for patients and their families. For the past two decades, the healthcare industry has responded to this clinical need by developing, testing and marketing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products. Because of their ease-of-use and dosing characteristics, drug developers are continuing to turn to transdermal delivery systems for HRT products. There are more than 40 million post-menopausal women in the United States alone, and this group is expected to grow by 50% by 2020. With the aging of the population worldwide, conditions and diseases such as menopause, osteoporosis and heart disease, which may benefit from hormone replacement therapy, are expected to become significantly more prevalent. The industry continues to attract interest in the form of new participants and products. While the global market continues to be dominated by the FDA-approved HRT products of major pharmaceutical firms, regional markets are a bit more competitive, and present … Continue reading →

Hot flashes are a symptom of menopause for which some women may seek treatment with hormone replacement therapy. STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- The task force that sparked controversy with its breast cancer screening recommendations a few years ago -- and PSA prostate-cancer screening pronouncements last week -- is weighing in on hormone replacement therapy. But this time the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations are remarkable for their lack of controversy. The group says menopausal women should not use hormone therapy -- estrogen either alone or combined with progestin -- primarily to prevent chronic disease. "In the face of pretty good evidence, the balance of potential benefits and potential harms leads us not to recommend the use of these therapies," said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a task force member. The proposed recommendations do not apply to women younger than 50 who have undergone surgical menopause or who are taking hormone therapy to manage menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, according to the panel. "No shock there," said Dr. Carolyn Crandall, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "I don't think the recommendations are surprising at all." The question used to shape the draft recommendations, which … Continue reading →