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http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/02/07/menopause060207.html
After years of confusion over its safety, hormone replacement therapy is now being recommended as a treatment for the symptoms of menopause in new guidelines released Tuesday. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says women can go on HRT to relieve moderate to severe symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood changes. "A very key message for women who are having symptoms and are afraid of hormone therapy is for managing their symptoms, they can safely use hormones," said Dr. Jennifer Blake, co-chair of the group that wrote the consensus report on menopause. It's the group's first attempt at clarifying the safety of HRT since a landmark trial, called the Women's Health Initiative, was stopped in 2002.
Researchers discovered combined estrogen and progestin therapy increased women's risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke, compared to those study subjects taking a placebo. Since then, doctors have been looking for guidance on whether it was safe to prescribe HRT and for how long. The society's report recommends that HRT be prescribed at the lowest effective dose to manage moderate to severe symptoms "for the appropriate duration," although this isn't defined.
Quelling breast cancer fears ( Read more... )
After years of confusion over its safety, hormone replacement therapy is now being recommended as a treatment for the symptoms of menopause in new guidelines released Tuesday. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says women can go on HRT to relieve moderate to severe symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood changes. "A very key message for women who are having symptoms and are afraid of hormone therapy is for managing their symptoms, they can safely use hormones," said Dr. Jennifer Blake, co-chair of the group that wrote the consensus report on menopause. It's the group's first attempt at clarifying the safety of HRT since a landmark trial, called the Women's Health Initiative, was stopped in 2002.
Researchers discovered combined estrogen and progestin therapy increased women's risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke, compared to those study subjects taking a placebo. Since then, doctors have been looking for guidance on whether it was safe to prescribe HRT and for how long. The society's report recommends that HRT be prescribed at the lowest effective dose to manage moderate to severe symptoms "for the appropriate duration," although this isn't defined.
Quelling breast cancer fears ( Read more... )
