Estrogen Therapy During Menopause and the Treatment of Osteoporosis

Cissus quadrangularis prevented the ovariectomy induced oxidative stress in the femur of adult albino rats

The increasing evidence suggesting the role of free radicals in bone resorption and bone loss prompted us to explore whether the consumption of antioxidant rich medicinal plant C. quadrangularis modifies antioxidant status in ovariectomized rats.

METHODS

Twenty four female adult rats, 90days old showing regular estrous cycles were used for the present study. The animals were divided into two groups. The Group-1 rats (n=6) were sham operated and Group-II rats were bilaterally ovariectomized (n=18) and treated with C. quadrangularis for sixty days (100mg/kg body weight and 250mg/kg body weight). After sixty days, the rats were killed, femora were dissected out, minced and homogenized in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4) and the supernatant was collected and used for biochemical assays.

RESULTS

Ovariectomy registered a decrease (p<0.05) in the activities of SOD, GPx, GST, ALP, collagen content and increased (p<0.05) the activities of TRAP and lipid peroxidation. Simultaneous administration of C. quadrangularis maintained the enzyme activities in ovariectomized rats.

CONCLUSION

C. quadrangularis, a natural herb may be used to treat the estrogen deficiency/menopause onset and ovariectomy induced oxidative stress.

Periodontal status of women taking postmenopausal estrogen supplementation

The association between supplementary estrogen intake and periodontal and gingival status in a total of 228 women 50 to 64 years of age was examined. Clinical parameters including visible supragingival plaque, subgingival calculus, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level, alveolar bone height measurements, and number of remaining teeth were measured. Gingival status was recorded as gingival bleeding after gentle manipulation. Selected periopathogens, socio-economic, demographic, smoking habits, and health care variables were assessed. Gingival bleeding was significantly lower in the estrogen supplement group (n = 57) compared to the control group (n = 171) (P = 0.009); the estrogen group also exhibited significantly lower visible plaque levels (P = 0.030) and fewer Capnocytophaga-ssp. (P = 0.032). Dental care was more frequent (P < 0.001), and education levels were higher (P = 0.022) in the estrogen group. To investigate whether differences among the above parameters contributed to the difference in gingival bleeding, an age-adjusted analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used. The final ANCOVA indicated non-significant relationships for all parameters examined except estrogen intake (P = 0.044). Women taking estrogen exhibited lower gingival bleeding than the control group after correcting for these factors. The results indicate that estrogen supplementation is associated with less gingival bleeding in women aged 50 to 64, as compared to an age-matched control group.

Estrogen replacement therapy and the risk of venous thrombosis

PURPOSE

Estrogen replacement therapy is believed by many physicians to cause thrombophlebitis and to be contraindicated in women at risk for this disease. However, clinical data supporting this assumption are scant, and further investigation is required.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We tested the estrogen-thrombophlebitis association in a case-control study. Charts of all consecutive women aged 45 years or older with a primary or secondary discharge diagnosis of thrombophlebitis, venous thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism were reviewed; 121 cases and 236 controls matched for age, year of admission, admitting service, and socioeconomic status were obtained. Hormone use and nonuse were validated in a subset of randomly selected women.

RESULTS

Cases and controls, whose average age was 65 years, did not differ significantly on matching variables or on current use of exogenous estrogen (5.1% of cases versus 6.3% of controls). Other analyses that variously excluded women with a past history of thrombosis, women less than 50 years of age, women with thrombosis occurring after admission, and women whose estrogen use was indeterminate also did not support an increased risk of thrombotic disease. Adjustment for the presence of independent thrombotic risk factors did not alter the odds ratio for estrogen use.

CONCLUSION

This case-control study of older women, unselected for other thrombotic risk factors, does not support the commonly held assumption that replacement estrogen increases the risk of venous thrombosis.