New Study Offers Help For Menopause Symptoms

My cholesterol level swings in the danger zone, despite two mile daily walks, a low-fat diet and regular doses of hormones.

When I recently heard of a new menopause study that showed a different hormone concoction would improve my cholesterol level more dramatically, I faxed the newspaper story to my doctor and asked for a new prescription.

My doctor, a menopause symptoms researcher, was more than happy to make the switch. More important, she welcomes the new research just released from one of the best U.S. studies of hormone replacement.

My doctor said she didn't feel it's her place to convince somebody to take hormone replacement drugs. "It's my place to share the [spin]knowledge|information|research
results[/spin], to do it accurately, to answer people's questions and to persuade them to stay healthy," she told me.

The new Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions study - called PEPI - will help doctors offer better support for dealing with signs and symptoms of menopause. It doesn't answer all the concerns, particularly about links between long-term artificial hormone use and breast cancer. But it does override a major doubt about whether the hormone therapy combinations taken by most women help guard against heart disease. And it clarifies the best ways to take the hormones.

Women already are contacting their doctors about the PEPI study. It was presented recently at an American Heart Association meeting and is expected to be published very soon in a leading medical journal.

The study is important for other reasons: Doctors and women's groups are more polarized than ever on whether the drugs are necessary. There's less discussion about using estrogen therapy short-term to relieve menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes. The bigger question is whether women going through menopause should take them for several years to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, two major causes of death and disability in post menopausal women.

Many nay sayers, including a raft of new authors on the subject, urge caution. They ask: Didn't our grandmothers get along OK without taking {spin]hormones|HRT|estrogen therapy[/spin]? Couldn't they cause cancer? Aren't there ways to keep in good health without taking {spin]pills|drugs|artificial substances[/spin]? And who wants to take a drug that causes menstrual periods for a year – or even longer?