Fw: Hormone therapy can lower energy levels

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

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Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 9:42 PM

Subject: Hormone therapy can lower energy levels

> ~ thanks for the heads up, my dear Cousin ~

>

>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/healthscience/health/women/2002-02-06-hormone-t

hera

> py.htm

>

>

> 02/05/2002 - Updated 06:24 PM ET

>

>

> Hormone therapy can lower energy levels

>

> By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY

>

> Postmenopausal women who aren't having hot flashes may feel worse

> physically if they start taking hormones, says a study out Wednesday.

>

> The research, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the

> first to show that hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, can worsen a

> woman's quality of life.

>

> The study " should challenge the widely held belief that hormone therapy

> helps women remain more youthful, active or vibrant, " Rexrode and

> JoAnn Manson of Harvard University write in an accompanying editorial.

>

> Roughly a third of postmenopausal U.S. women take estrogen, approved only

> for relief of symptoms such as hot flashes and osteoporosis prevention.

But

> many doctors prescribe it for other reasons, from smoother skin to a

> healthier heart. Premarin, the leading brand of estrogen, is one of the

> world's most widely prescribed drugs.

>

> Recently, though, cardiologists have begun telling women not to expect HRT

> to protect against heart attacks or strokes. That advice stems from

several

> randomized trials, in which a coin toss determined which woman would get

> hormones or a placebo. Such trials are thought to minimize the bias that

> might have occurred in earlier, promising studies, in which women decided

> on their own whether to take hormones.

>

> The first randomized trial of HRT was the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin

> Replacement Study (HERS) of 2,763 postmenopausal women with heart disease.

> After three years of treatment, there was no difference in the risk of

> heart problems between the HRT and placebo groups. At the beginning and

end

> of HERS, researchers assessed participants' physical function, mental

> health and energy. The new report looks at those findings.

>

> Among the 15% of HERS participants who reported having hot flashes at the

> start, those on HRT had improved mental health compared with those on

> placebo. But among the other women, physical function and energy levels

> declined in those on HRT, compared with those who took the placebo.

>

> Says lead author Mark Hlatky of Stanford University: " I'd love to sit down

> and try and dissect why these changes occurred. "

>

>