Hormone
Replacement Therapy
Kelly
Schweitzer
Psychology
WHAT IS HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
(HRT)?
This is a type of treatment used in a number of women to
nurse the various symptoms of menopause. This treatment is prescribed as a
substitute for the female hormones estrogen and progestin to relieve the
symptoms of menopause. These
prescriptions can be in the form of a pill, patch, or vaginal crème. HRT is
available in several forms: oestrogen-only HRT (which is normally prescribed to
women who have had a hysterectomy), oestrogen-progestogen combined HRT (which
can be prescribed to women who still have a uterus) and tibolone (a steroid
compound that has oestrogenic, progestogenic and weak androgenic properties).
WHAT IS ESTROGEN AND PROGESTIN?
Estrogen
regulates the woman’s menstrual cycle while progestin, also called
progesterone, prepares the body for fertilization and reproduction.
WHAT IS menopause?
Menopause
is, in basic terms, the end of the menstrual cycle. Several hormones change in
concurrence with the aging of the body. HRT is used to replace those hormones
that are depleted with aging.
WHEN SHOULD ONE BEGIN HRT?
It depends
on factors such as personal needs, medical and family history, symptoms, and
the risk of bone loss.
Almost everything you want to know about HRT
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BENEFITS TO HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY? Benefits to using HRT
Relieves menopausal symptoms—hot
flashes, vaginal dryness, etc.
Prevents and treats osteoporosis
May improve mood
May protect against heart disease
May provide some protective
effect/benefit with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes
HEART ATTACKS
Estrogen
levels change fat levels in the blood; these changes increase the hardening of
the arteries that may cause a heart attack.
Estrogen might help to prevent artery spasms that carry
blood and oxygen to the heart, it may also lower protein levels that cause
blood clots. Heart diseased individuals sometimes have damaged blood vessels.
Estrogen helps to heal these damaged blood vessels and keep blood from
thickening.
OSTEOPOROSIS (What is Osteoporosis?)
Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens the material of
which the bone is made. The bone that was healthy now becomes porous and dense.
This bone loss can lead to breaks or fractures in older women. The estrogen in
hormone replacement therapy helps to keep the bone forming cells from
deteriorating, therefore reducing density in bone mass.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
“Recent studies found that women who took HRT had a
reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease. In one study, elderly women were followed
for five years. Among the women who did not take estrogen, 16% developed
Alzheimer’s disease compared to only 1.7% who did take estrogen. In another
study, women who suffered only moderate memory problems from Alzheimer’s
disease improved their memory while on HRT.” (Imaginis
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)).
DIABETES
“Recent studies reveal that HRT may improve the body’s
response to insulin. Rather than making the body’s blood sugar level go up, HRT
improves blood sugar metabolism. Women with diabetes are also three to seven
times more likely to develop heart disease, another condition HRT may help
prevent.” (Imaginis - Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT))
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF HRT
May increase risk of heart attack and stroke
May increase risk of blood clots in legs and lungs
May increase risk of breast cancer when taken for more
than 5 years
Increases risk of endometrial cancer—cancer of the uterine
lining (risk counteracted if estrogen is combined with progestin)
Increases risk of ovarian cancer
May be associated with side effects, such as bloating,
nausea, breast tenderness, etc.
BREAST
CANCER
This effect is controversial. Some researchers say that
there are no risks associated with HRT and breast cancer.
According to the Cancer Research
OVARIAN CANCER
“Women who took estrogen HRT's like Premarin for longer
periods of time had a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, and the
researchers noted a 7% increase in risk associated with every extra year of
estrogen HRT use.” Ovarian cancer
Study’s conducted by the Karolinska Institute compared
women with cancer and without cancer. They have determined that women using oestrogen-only
HRT increased the risk of ovarian cancer by 43%. When using both sex hormones
such as progestin and estrogen, there was an increase to 54%. Supposedly, the
stopping and starting of the hormones stimulate the ovarian tissues, some
doctors say that if hormones are given at a constant, then the risk for ovarian
cancer will be reduced.
Natural alternatives to Hormone Replacement 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Ann J., M.D. Hormone Replacement Therapy &
Menopause,
The June
13, 2000 Imaginis report, "Contradictory Reports on Hormone Replacement
Therapy and Breast Cancer Risk Alarm Women," is available at http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/news/news6.13.00.asp
National Cancer Institute provides information
on menopause and HRT at http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/
Shumaker,
Sally A. et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, May 28,
2003.
Continuous Hormone Replacement Therapy After Menopause
Medical Library: Hormone Therapy
Imaginis
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)