Maturitas
Previous studies conducted at our clinic suggested that the administration of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women could result in the inhibition of oestrogen-induced prolactin (PRL) release. The aim of this study was to determine how the pituitary function is affected by the sequential addition of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) to oestrogen replacement therapy. Twenty-one...
Objective: To determine the effects of tibolone, a synthetic steroid used to alleviate climacteric symptoms and prevent osteoporosis, on lipoprotein metabolism, with particular reference to lipoprotein(a) levels and HDL subfraction profiles. Design: Thirty nine postmenopausal women were treated with tibolone (Livial) 2.5 mg/day for 6 months and fasting serum lipoprotein levels were estimated at 0,...
This study reports on the use of a new transdermal delivery system for estrogen replacement therapy. This was a 12 week open multicenter trial using patches that delivered 0.05 mg/24 hour of 17β-estradiol applied twice weekly, every 72 hours, with one week interval after each 3 weeks. Results indicate an overall significant improvement on climacteric complaints with a highly significant and time-related...
Compliance to distinct combination of hormone replacement therapy was assessed in 331 postmenopausal women treated for 1 to 5 years in the Menopause Unit of a third level referral Academic Hospital. Forty nine women (15%) had interrupted therapy, mainly during the first year, while 29 (9%) never had their prescriptions filled. Forty five women (14%) followed the treatment intermittently or only...
Seventy-eight premenopausal women affected by benign endometrial hyperplasia (60 simple and 18 complex) were treated from the 10th to the 25th day of the menstrual cycle with a vaginal cream containing 100 mg of natural micronized progesterone in polyethylene glycol base. The treatment lasted 3 months in 58 patients and 6 in the other 16 patients. Four patients were lost from the study. We observed...
We report climacteric symptoms among women aged 45-49, and their attitudes towards HRT and osteoporosis prevention. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 481 women attending for bone density screening after random invitation. We recorded social class, menopausal status, history of HRT exposure and climacteric symptoms, awareness of HRT and osteoporosis, and potential willingness to...
Tibolone (Livial), a synthetic steroid, relieves climacteric symptoms and maintains skeletal integrity in postmenopausal women. We have been using this compound for 8 years and have now reviewed our clinical experience in 301 postmenopausal women. The majority (65.12%) had not previously received climacteric therapy; 34.55% had previously received oestrogen/progestogen therapy. A significant proportion...
We evaluated whether a progestin, added for 14 days every 3 months to estrogen replacement therapy, is capable of preventing the development of endometrial hyperplasia in postmenopausal women during a treatment period of 2 years. Postmenopausal women (263) in 10 hospitals and medical centers in Finland participated in this non-randomized prospective multicenter trial. The women received estradiol...
Forty-nine immigrated South-American (SA) and 48 Swedish women, aged 42-67 years, were studied in a comparative semi-structured interview survey, concerning the climacteric and its treatment. The mean age at natural menopause was 47 for the South-American women and 50 for the Swedish women. The prevalence of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms at the time of the survey did not differ significantly...
Peaking in young adulthood, both bone mass and muscle strength decrease with ageing, but bone loss may accelerate after the menopause and can be delayed by estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). This study was designed to evaluate whether, like bone density, the muscle strength was affected by the onset of menopause and/or ERT. First grip strength (GS) of young female adults (group III; n = 18; age...
In the study of postmenopausal vaginal oestrogen deficiency, an objective assessment of the vaginal epithelium is necessary. The present study was undertaken to evaluate different methods for assessing the vaginal epithelium, during atrophic and mature conditions. The vaginal epithelium was assessed by clinical examination, pH and vaginal cytology, including morphometric analysis, before and after...
An open multicenter trial was performed in six centers in Finland to study the efficacy, safety and acceptability of a new biphasic oral contraceptive pill containing natural estradiol and cyproterone acetate. The participants were 288 women with a mean age of 39.3 ± 3.4 years (range 30-49) who were willing to use the new pill as their only contraceptive method. In total, 23% of the women were smokers...
The lipid and lipoprotein profiles of 39 female transsexuals, exposed to testosterone esters (250 mg monthly) for an average duration of 33 months after their sex reassignment operation (group 2), were compared to those of 29 normal menstruating female transsexuals prior to starting androgen therapy (group 1). A third group, comprising 17 post-operative female transsexuals were studied while on,...
The vaginal absorption of oestradiol was studied during maintenance therapy with low-dose oestradiol. Six women with severe vaginal atrophy due to oestrogen deficiency were treated with a vaginal tablet containing 25 μg 17β-oestradiol. Initially, a daily dose was given for 2 weeks, followed by maintenance therapy with twice weekly treatment for another 10 weeks. The plasma concentrations of unconjugated...
We reported the results of a randomized cross-over study comparing SH D 461 M (Climen) and Prempak-C in 38 postmenopausal women who were established users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Climen contains 11 tablets of 2 mg estradiol valerate (EV), and 10 tablets with 2 mg EV plus 1 mg of cyproterone acetate. Prempak-C, on the other hand, is a regimen consisting of 28 tablets of 0.625 mg conjugated...
Measurement of skin thickness has been proposed to be capable of predicting low bone mineral density and the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. In order to investigate the association between the two factors, we measured skin thickness on the leg, lower abdomen and forearm by ultrasound scanning, and bone mineral density at the lumbar spine, femoral neck and distal radius by dual-energy...
Background: Changes in asthma activity, in part related to the female hormonal profile, have been observed during pre-menstrual periods and during pregnancy. Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is an accepted routine treatment for post-menopausal women. The effect of ERT on disease activity in post-menopausal asthmatic women has not been investigated in the past and is the subject of the present...
In the present study, we evaluated a large population of aged Long-Evans female rats for the occurrence of spontaneous tail skin temperature (TST) surges. Young (5-7 months) normally cycling (NC) rats and aged (19-29 months), repeated pseudopregnant (PP) and constant estrous (CE) rats were placed in an environmentally controlled room with ambient temperatures of 24-25°C or 29-30°C and TST was monitored...
Tibolone (Livial) has advantages over other forms of hormone replacement therapy (HRT); it is easy to use and does not induce withdrawal bleeding in postmenopausal women. The evidence for the effect of tibolone on climacteric symptoms is reviewed and shows that tibolone is effective in reducing vasomotor symptoms and vaginal dryness. Tibolone's effect on a range of other symptoms such as headache...
For 176 postmenopausal women on HRT with progestogen addition on demand medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), noresthisterone and tibolone were used to protect the endometrium in 214 cases. Tibolone is a gonadomimetic steroid with combined progestogenic and estrogenic effects. In this study tibolone has been used as a progestogen. The results of these three progestogens were compared. The endometrial...